Another childcare facility that doesn’t list their pricing online. I really hate that so many childcare facilities don’t list this information, even a range would be very helpful. To all the schools out there: Whether a parent sees your pricing prior to a visit or after won’t change the decision to come visit your facility! I was given a price of $345 if tuition was paid weekly. This included morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. In addition breakfast was available for $2/day. There is also a $150 registration fee, which is pretty standard, and a $60 supply fee due three times a year (spring, summer and fall). I also dislike supply fees. I totally understand the need for them, but build them into the price for parents. You can always make that a selling point by telling them that unlike most schools you’ve included that into tuition so that parents don’t feel nickel and dimed. I did the basic math and 3 supply fees is $180, which works out to $3.46 a week. I can’t imagine any parent changing their mind because the price was $314 a week vs. $310, but I will get off all the pricing talk (:
The tour at the school went well. All the teachers seemed lovely and nice. The facility was clean and the kids seemed happy. The woman who gave me the tour new all of the kids and parents (I was there around pickup time) and that was a great sign. I also could tell many of the teachers were genuinely invested in the kids.
I didn’t like how narrow the school felt. The classes weren’t so tight, but the main and only hallway is. The outside space was nice and it was obvious they had invested money and time into having areas for the kids to enjoy. I also appreciated the technology they offered to the bigger kids.
The thing that sort of killed it for me was the end. The woman who gave me the tour was wrapping up and as one mom was on her way out stopped and engaged her, which I’d seen a few times already. This woman seemed intent on being involved specifically with our conversation. It was the feeling that she was chomping at the bit to talk to me about the school. The director said something to her like “you love the school right?â€, which obviously she is going to say yes. The mother then proceeded to go on and on and on. I would say she was in her late 30s early 0s so older than me, but told me this was her first child. As she continued speaking she sounded like she was talking to me as if I was someone with no clue. It rubbed me the wrong way, but I tried to brush it off. She tells me about new moms she’s seen crying the first day and how she tells them it’s fine and how I’ll be fine too. Finally after a few more comments that felt a little more patronizing I told her nicely that this was my second child and my oldest is 5 so I’ve been through this before and my daughter isn’t a newborn. When she asked where I kept her now I said at home with a nanny like I did my son until he was 2 1/2. The second I mentioned the nanny I felt the woman was even more intense. The whole thing was made worse by the fact that my child would’ve been in the same class as hers since they were only one month apart. I couldn’t imagine having to see this woman regularly because she made me feel so bad. I also was disappointed that the director didn’t notice how uncomfortable I was. It was in no way the directors fault what the woman was saying, but I felt it was her place to make it stop. I left knowing that was that and also disappointed as I had high hopes. I did get a follow up card thanking me for visiting, which was a nice touch. Too bad it didn’t say they’d protect me from that mom if I decided to come to the school 😆
P.S. I apologize for any grammatical errors, run on sentences and typos as I wrote this lengthy review from my iPhone