13 min drive to Karasik vs. walking option

[Anonymous]

My child (5mo) was just offered a spot in the infant room at Karasik and I have heard so many good things about it. He is supposed to start daycare next week at a small place that is a short walk from our house. I like the idea of being able to walk and getting to know people in the neighborhood, but the neighborhood location doesn't seem super organized and reopened from COVID in the past year and is still growing. I don't think we would stay there past 18mo/2 years but I do think they would take good care of him. Clearly I would loose my month's deposit if we left but Karasik is $230 less a month, so it would even out even if we loose the money. Any advice or insight would be helpful, especially those who attend Karasik.

[Anonymous]

We are at Karasik and love it. They have been so good to our daughter, who is in the prek class. We don't have any experience with the infant class, but have heard only great things. We are about a 12 min drive as well, which is not bad at all.

[Anonymous]

Wow, infant slots at Karasik are hard to come by! If you really think you wouldn't stay at the in-home beyond 18-24 months I'd be tempted to take it because I would not assume you'd get a spot there later on, especially at 18 months because you're still dealing with the ratios for under 2.

That said, we liked using an in-home daycare for the baby/toddler years. Sounds like two good options.

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks for confirming that this seems like the best choice for us! So many positive reviews and the set up makes it the best long-term option for us!

[Anonymous]

Making friends through the neighborhood better. Your child will make friends at the local Family Daycare too.

[Anonymous]

Centers are mostly for 3, 4 years old. The ratios there are awful. Too many kids and less staff

[Anonymous]

1 on 1 is very important in the first 3 years

[Anonymous]

Karasik is amazing and it is very difficult to get an infant spot. We drive 20 min to Karasik now for my 3-year old. It’s totally worth it.

[Anonymous]

We’ve been at KFICCC for many years now between our two kids. The infant room staff they have now are FANTASTIC. Older infant/toddler room is also lovely (we’re there now).

I’ve got MAJOR quibbles with the turnover at the admin/director level, but our plan is to keep our last kiddo there at least until she’s 3 or 4. If the new leadership is as good and stable as they seem to be so far, she’ll be there until elementary school.

Happy to answer questions - I’ve got one of the youngest and one of the oldest kids in the program right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been at KFICCC for many years now between our two kids. The infant room staff they have now are FANTASTIC. Older infant/toddler room is also lovely (we’re there now).

I’ve got MAJOR quibbles with the turnover at the admin/director level, but our plan is to keep our last kiddo there at least until she’s 3 or 4. If the new leadership is as good and stable as they seem to be so far, she’ll be there until elementary school.

Happy to answer questions - I’ve got one of the youngest and one of the oldest kids in the program right now.

Curious as to what are the issues with the turnover you are experiencing? My child is also at Karasik and I know we've been through many admin/director changes, but that hasn't really affected my child's experience there . Wondering if there are some things I'm not aware of. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

The admin/director changes are what I was referring to, although in the process, they lost some long-standing and well-regarded teachers, too (Beatriz, Billy, Gabby, etc.). I have no concerns with the remaining teacher staff and my kids are both happy in their classrooms. But I do think the prior administration wasn’t great about staff retention. New director/leadership seems to have that as a priority, so I’m hopeful that those that have stayed around will continue to do so.

Couple of other things that I think have been lacking as the turnover has worked itself out: still hearing parents that don’t know about the PAC or how to participate (many of us have flagged this to the PAC already), and I think the summer program and fundraising have all not quite rebounded post-pandemic to the extent I might have expected it to. Again, kids are happy. I just have a very long frame of reference given how long we’ve been there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been at KFICCC for many years now between our two kids. The infant room staff they have now are FANTASTIC. Older infant/toddler room is also lovely (we’re there now).

I’ve got MAJOR quibbles with the turnover at the admin/director level, but our plan is to keep our last kiddo there at least until she’s 3 or 4. If the new leadership is as good and stable as they seem to be so far, she’ll be there until elementary school.

Happy to answer questions - I’ve got one of the youngest and one of the oldest kids in the program right now.

Curious as to what are the issues with the turnover you are experiencing? My child is also at Karasik and I know we've been through many admin/director changes, but that hasn't really affected my child's experience there . Wondering if there are some things I'm not aware of. Thank you!

Same here. We have been at Karasik for almost 2 years now. The staff changes don't seem to have affected the day-to-day care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The admin/director changes are what I was referring to, although in the process, they lost some long-standing and well-regarded teachers, too (Beatriz, Billy, Gabby, etc.). I have no concerns with the remaining teacher staff and my kids are both happy in their classrooms. But I do think the prior administration wasn’t great about staff retention. New director/leadership seems to have that as a priority, so I’m hopeful that those that have stayed around will continue to do so.

Couple of other things that I think have been lacking as the turnover has worked itself out: still hearing parents that don’t know about the PAC or how to participate (many of us have flagged this to the PAC already), and I think the summer program and fundraising have all not quite rebounded post-pandemic to the extent I might have expected it to. Again, kids are happy. I just have a very long frame of reference given how long we’ve been there.

At least one of those teachers told us that they got a good position with MCPS offering better benefits and work-life balance. I don't blame them after what Covid put teachers through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least one of those teachers told us that they got a good position with MCPS offering better benefits and work-life balance. I don't blame them after what Covid put teachers through.

I’m the PP. Several of them have moved on to MCPS over the years, and I’m legitimately so excited for them! Many of them completed additional education requirements and their moves were career progression opportunities. Really thrilled for all of them, truly. It’s a double-edged sword, right? You’re thrilled for the individuals that leave because they’re great opportunities and it’s a good reflection of the program that staff are getting better opps… but it’s also a huge bummer that the program doesn’t have the tools and resources to keep fantastic resources in place.

KFICCC has always been a bit of an incubator for amazing talent. It’s both great and tough - your kids are getting exposure to truly dedicated and talented caregivers. But those care givers can and do leave, and that’s sad too. My kid cried when she found out that Billy had left, and it had been more than a year since she left his room.

[Anonymous]

Always blaming the director... It gets old.

Maybe the place isn't great