Current take on Columbia Baptist CDC in EFC

[Anonymous]

Hi all, I'm just moving to East Falls Church right now and the only daycare I've been able to get a spot in (just this week off the waitlist) is Columbia Baptist CDC. I've seen comments on here about how it's gone downhill and most teachers left during the pandemic but I haven't seen anything about it in the last year or so on this forum. Can anyone give me a current take? My other option is to put my kid in a home-daycare that only has 5 kids and wait a year to try for other options. Also, my family is not religious and my husband is a little worried they are going to be too god focused so I'd love any comments on that too.

[Anonymous]

How old is your child?

[Anonymous]

A lot of teachers left. Still more than half the teachers I see are the same ones since my oldest started as a toddler 5 years ago.

They used to have a huge tree covered, mulch playground and another field where the kids could run and get muddy. It was all very open ended with things like buckets and sticks - the kids got creative. Now they have very traditional looking playgrounds.

There used to be a giant “big room” where the kids could ride tricycles, now it’s divided into smaller spaces but I don’t know why.

The kids used to go to chapel, art, music, and Spanish once a week and that no longer happens.

It used to be very Reggio based and child-led / play based. My oldest spent his year before kindergarten playing. My youngest just spent his year before kindergarten doing a literacy program - aka learning to read.

I have no idea who the director even is because it has changed so much in recent years.

We are also not religious and that has not been an issue at all. The religious stories and lessons went right over my oldest child’s head - but in his year many kids from his class were church members and had pre-existing friends from Sunday school and Wednesday night dinners. A lot of families there have 3 or 4 kids and are less interested in play dates than people with 1 kid or 1 kid and a baby.

It’s still a great school, with more space and resources than most daycares. The value for the price is unmatched in Arlington/ Falls Church. The teachers are loving and attentive. I have a kid still there and another who has done all or part of the last 3 summers there for camp where he meets up with friends from preschool.

[Anonymous]

It used to be amazing, but they let too many great teachers go during the pandemic and everyone who was left followed soon after. They can’t keep a director because the church leadership is too involved in the preschool and they are hard to work with. They just lost yet another director this month. No joke. Both of my kids went there, and we still have one friend there, but I wouldn’t send mine there now.

[Anonymous]

We send our two kids there and love it. We started there mid-pandemic. We think it’s great. The teachers are wonderful. My kids have had the same primary teachers and aids all year (with of course some absences for illness and vacations). The kids get a mix of outside time, play, and structured/themed activities. Our kids love it and have a lot of fun. The other parents seem nice as I’ve gotten to know them some from birthday parties.

I think the school handled a difficult time well, at least from swapping pandemic parenting stories with friends. They don’t close down anymore when one kid or teacher tests positive for COVID, which has been a god send. I know parents still struggling with lengthy closures. I’d favor dependable child care every day my kid isn’t sick over a place with a better mix of activities, outdoor time, etc.

I can’t speak to what it was like beforehand, and if it’s somehow gone downhill. Even if it has, this downhill condition is sufficient to make me happy!

[Anonymous]

All I know is that I know two families who sent their older child there pre-pandemic and neither one has their younger child there.

[Anonymous]

OP here- Thanks for the feedback, our kid is 19mo old.