Blue Bird Alexandria

[Anonymous]

This thread seems to go back to 2008. Does anyone have recent reviews of the Blue Bird Center in Old Town? Have the issues been resolved?

[Anonymous]

I have been very satisfied with Blue Bird II school. My kid has been learning a lot - I love all the projects they make with the kids! My child was running to teachers in the morning and giving them hugs! I felt comfortable leaving my child there for all day and could focus on work. Every time I asked for something, they did it with no fuss or unhappy face.

Recently, my perception of this place has changed! There has been a HUGE turnover with teachers for the last 2 months - especially in early toddlers class. Constantly new people! I can no longer feel comfortable dropping my child off, worry all day at work, pay them unexpected visits during different times of the day! I just cannot trust any of them yet! My child is no longer taken care of as well as before. Diapers don't get changed as often, my child has more diaper rashes, and is constipated - they don't give my child enough to drink throughout the day. I ask one teacher on Monday, and then she is gone by week end, so nobody carries my requests of how to handle my child over. It is freaking crazy and totally out of control! Staff is truly unhappy and you can see that! Sad faces, tired, literally worn out!

I have decided to look for a different daycare. More private setting this time. Maybe a nanny share. If I end up giving my child to professional large daycare setting, it would need to have cameras for parents to access from any place any time. I think this should be a feature at all daycares! Tired of having my child serve as guinea pig at this school. I deserve to have a piece of mind at work and my child deserves the best care out there - and consistent, and to see the same faces every day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been very satisfied with Blue Bird II school. My kid has been learning a lot - I love all the projects they make with the kids! My child was running to teachers in the morning and giving them hugs! I felt comfortable leaving my child there for all day and could focus on work. Every time I asked for something, they did it with no fuss or unhappy face.

Recently, my perception of this place has changed! There has been a HUGE turnover with teachers for the last 2 months - especially in early toddlers class. Constantly new people! I can no longer feel comfortable dropping my child off, worry all day at work, pay them unexpected visits during different times of the day! I just cannot trust any of them yet! My child is no longer taken care of as well as before. Diapers don't get changed as often, my child has more diaper rashes, and is constipated - they don't give my child enough to drink throughout the day. I ask one teacher on Monday, and then she is gone by week end, so nobody carries my requests of how to handle my child over. It is freaking crazy and totally out of control! Staff is truly unhappy and you can see that! Sad faces, tired, literally worn out!

I have decided to look for a different daycare. More private setting this time. Maybe a nanny share. If I end up giving my child to professional large daycare setting, it would need to have cameras for parents to access from any place any time. I think this should be a feature at all daycares! Tired of having my child serve as guinea pig at this school. I deserve to have a piece of mind at work and my child deserves the best care out there - and consistent, and to see the same faces every day!

PP, my child is also in the early toddler's class at BB II and I have had the same issues as you. Have you spoken to the Director about your concerns?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My five month old is there. So far I'm mostly pleased. His class is small and there are always the correct number of teachers on hand. I've stopped by at all kinds of odd hours and always found the teachers to be appropriately interacting with the kids. The room is clean - in fact I always seem to show up for pick-up as they are cleaning (kids outside). My son comes home tired (in a good way) and happy. When my son was ill, I was very happy with how they handled it - it impressed me that the teacher had spent enough time with my son in only two weeks there to notice and describe when he was just not himself.

I say 'mostly' happy because I had read the negative inspection reports of their other center on the state Web site and I feel like I'm always doubting my otherwise good impression because of it. That's probably more a reflection of me than them and I haven't found anything of real concern. I DID walk in on the owner addressing (a bit more loudly than I'd like) what she saw as a lack of engagement by the teachers. I appreciated her quick action - I hadn't noticed a problem myself - but thought she could have handled it more professionally and was a touch concerned that she'd felt she needed intervene at all. (I will say I noticed the staff heeding her direction after that!) She and I discussed the incident immediately and I'm comfortable with how she listened to my concerns and explained the situation.

One thing that I do find a little frustrating is that the supporting teachers don't all speak english proficiently. I actually think it's good for my son to hear Spanish often and from a native speaker - but would like to be able to communicate with each of them more easily myself. (The head teacher is proficient if not fluent and does most of the daily reporting.) That said, I see how a couple of his teachers really enjoy my son and communicate with him in non-verbal ways that warm my heart. That is what I hold on to when I drop him off.

Which is a very long way to say that I don't think the schools is perfect (I'm not sure any is) but it's good enough for us for now. I believe my son is safe and that his caretakers genuinely care about him - and that's what I need to know most.

Believe your gut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been very satisfied with Blue Bird II school. My kid has been learning a lot - I love all the projects they make with the kids! My child was running to teachers in the morning and giving them hugs! I felt comfortable leaving my child there for all day and could focus on work. Every time I asked for something, they did it with no fuss or unhappy face.

Recently, my perception of this place has changed! There has been a HUGE turnover with teachers for the last 2 months - especially in early toddlers class. Constantly new people! I can no longer feel comfortable dropping my child off, worry all day at work, pay them unexpected visits during different times of the day! I just cannot trust any of them yet! My child is no longer taken care of as well as before. Diapers don't get changed as often, my child has more diaper rashes, and is constipated - they don't give my child enough to drink throughout the day. I ask one teacher on Monday, and then she is gone by week end, so nobody carries my requests of how to handle my child over. It is freaking crazy and totally out of control! Staff is truly unhappy and you can see that! Sad faces, tired, literally worn out!

I have decided to look for a different daycare. More private setting this time. Maybe a nanny share. If I end up giving my child to professional large daycare setting, it would need to have cameras for parents to access from any place any time. I think this should be a feature at all daycares! Tired of having my child serve as guinea pig at this school. I deserve to have a piece of mind at work and my child deserves the best care out there - and consistent, and to see the same faces every day!

.

Don't forget coops

[Anonymous]

I was a employ there for three months and what I found out is that Suzan and her husband jerry are the most evil person I have ever met .she treats her employs like slaves if you are even one minute late she send you home for two days and fire her emplys for no reasons .she says she doesn't follow Virginia laws she makes her own laws .she feed kids the worse food ever all fruit is can fruite with so much sugar and food taste so bad .she doesn't care about her emplys and kids at all and always hire people who can't speak English so they can't stand against her.dont ever send your kids there and don't ever apply for job there it's a worse place to go .

[Anonymous]

We are considering sending our 2.5 year old and 7 month old to Blue Bird this September (2015). We've visited frequently and feel like they run a tight ship and we've heard really positive reviews from a number of current families. Our concerns are: the rooms seem very small; the teachers seem very passive; the schedule seems very structured with very little free play time; and it seems that some corners have been cut somewhere to get to a "reasonable" tuition rate for the area (quality of food, low staff pay, no staff benefits??). Any recent feedback would be very helpful - both from staff and families.

[Anonymous]

I'd like to know what happened to Becky, the director until a few days ago. She was one of the main reasons we chose Blue Bird. She was very on top of things and seemed great in her position. I don't believe it was her choice to leave (based on her mentioning to my husband something like, "If you know of any available positions...").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our 2.5 year old and 7 month old to Blue Bird this September (2015). We've visited frequently and feel like they run a tight ship and we've heard really positive reviews from a number of current families. Our concerns are: the rooms seem very small; the teachers seem very passive; the schedule seems very structured with very little free play time; and it seems that some corners have been cut somewhere to get to a "reasonable" tuition rate for the area (quality of food, low staff pay, no staff benefits??). Any recent feedback would be very helpful - both from staff and families.

Sounds like there are no positives,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to know what happened to Becky, the director until a few days ago. She was one of the main reasons we chose Blue Bird. She was very on top of things and seemed great in her position. I don't believe it was her choice to leave (based on her mentioning to my husband something like, "If you know of any available positions...").

I would too. I thought she retired, but if she left or was fired that would be very concerning.

[Anonymous]

I think it's hard to get a sense of the place from anonymous reviews, that may include several posts from one poster, or all original posts. Who knows. I don't claim that BB2 is a perfect fit for all families, but I got to know most of the families in my kid's class through birthday parties and most families were very very happy. The most common complaint? The food. Too little, not fresh, etc. My kid was starving at pick up and so were the others. I sent in extra whole milk just so she could get a few extra calories at snack time, when they otherwise serve a few crackers with water. You are welcome to send in extra food - so a solution is workable, IME.

The pros? There was a ton of arts incorporated into the curriculum - daily arts & crafts, singing all day long. My kid had an entire repertoire of songs she sang to herself over the weekend that she had learned at BB2. The academic side of the curriculum is ambitious but appropriate, in my opinion. They don't consider reading and counting to be oppressive activities for preschoolers. They embrace as fun and of great interest and the kids like it. The free play opportunities are plenty - to address PP's question - the entire morning drop off block of time is free play, an hour plus of run around like mad time every day - with an indoor play area for bad weather days. If you tour the place you'll see that the physical set up is such that there is time for kids to have free choice of activities, and there is time for joint activities - like circle time in the morning.

They don't follow a lot of fads when it comes to the curriculum but they do offer a solid preschool program that the kids enjoy, learn, and in my kid's case - flourish in. Just bring your own snacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's hard to get a sense of the place from anonymous reviews, that may include several posts from one poster, or all original posts. Who knows. I don't claim that BB2 is a perfect fit for all families, but I got to know most of the families in my kid's class through birthday parties and most families were very very happy. The most common complaint? The food. Too little, not fresh, etc. My kid was starving at pick up and so were the others. I sent in extra whole milk just so she could get a few extra calories at snack time, when they otherwise serve a few crackers with water. You are welcome to send in extra food - so a solution is workable, IME.

The pros? There was a ton of arts incorporated into the curriculum - daily arts & crafts, singing all day long. My kid had an entire repertoire of songs she sang to herself over the weekend that she had learned at BB2. The academic side of the curriculum is ambitious but appropriate, in my opinion. They don't consider reading and counting to be oppressive activities for preschoolers. They embrace as fun and of great interest and the kids like it. The free play opportunities are plenty - to address PP's question - the entire morning drop off block of time is free play, an hour plus of run around like mad time every day - with an indoor play area for bad weather days. If you tour the place you'll see that the physical set up is such that there is time for kids to have free choice of activities, and there is time for joint activities - like circle time in the morning.

They don't follow a lot of fads when it comes to the curriculum but they do offer a solid preschool program that the kids enjoy, learn, and in my kid's case - flourish in. Just bring your own snacks.

They recently sent out a notice that no outside food can be brought in.--I assume that doesn't apply to the infant rooms. My daughter is always super thirsty when I pick her up. We drop her off with a cup of water everyday. It goes in cubby, but at least she has it at the ready when I pick her up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's hard to get a sense of the place from anonymous reviews, that may include several posts from one poster, or all original posts. Who knows. I don't claim that BB2 is a perfect fit for all families, but I got to know most of the families in my kid's class through birthday parties and most families were very very happy. The most common complaint? The food. Too little, not fresh, etc. My kid was starving at pick up and so were the others. I sent in extra whole milk just so she could get a few extra calories at snack time, when they otherwise serve a few crackers with water. You are welcome to send in extra food - so a solution is workable, IME.

The pros? There was a ton of arts incorporated into the curriculum - daily arts & crafts, singing all day long. My kid had an entire repertoire of songs she sang to herself over the weekend that she had learned at BB2. The academic side of the curriculum is ambitious but appropriate, in my opinion. They don't consider reading and counting to be oppressive activities for preschoolers. They embrace as fun and of great interest and the kids like it. The free play opportunities are plenty - to address PP's question - the entire morning drop off block of time is free play, an hour plus of run around like mad time every day - with an indoor play area for bad weather days. If you tour the place you'll see that the physical set up is such that there is time for kids to have free choice of activities, and there is time for joint activities - like circle time in the morning.

They don't follow a lot of fads when it comes to the curriculum but they do offer a solid preschool program that the kids enjoy, learn, and in my kid's case - flourish in. Just bring your own snacks.

They recently sent out a notice that no outside food can be brought in.--I assume that doesn't apply to the infant rooms. My daughter is always super thirsty when I pick her up. We drop her off with a cup of water everyday. It goes in cubby, but at least she has it at the ready when I pick her up.

Hm - is that Blue Bird of Alexandria II or I? I had my daughter at BB2 a year ago and I was not the only one sending in whole milk to supplement snack time, and I was not the only one to bring in birthday treats. There were some guidelines on what was allowed, but not a blanket ban. Maybe the policy has changed since. But if your kid is starving or really thirsty, I'd bring it up with the directors. They were really easy to work with and very reasonable, IME.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's hard to get a sense of the place from anonymous reviews, that may include several posts from one poster, or all original posts. Who knows. I don't claim that BB2 is a perfect fit for all families, but I got to know most of the families in my kid's class through birthday parties and most families were very very happy. The most common complaint? The food. Too little, not fresh, etc. My kid was starving at pick up and so were the others. I sent in extra whole milk just so she could get a few extra calories at snack time, when they otherwise serve a few crackers with water. You are welcome to send in extra food - so a solution is workable, IME.

The pros? There was a ton of arts incorporated into the curriculum - daily arts & crafts, singing all day long. My kid had an entire repertoire of songs she sang to herself over the weekend that she had learned at BB2. The academic side of the curriculum is ambitious but appropriate, in my opinion. They don't consider reading and counting to be oppressive activities for preschoolers. They embrace as fun and of great interest and the kids like it. The free play opportunities are plenty - to address PP's question - the entire morning drop off block of time is free play, an hour plus of run around like mad time every day - with an indoor play area for bad weather days. If you tour the place you'll see that the physical set up is such that there is time for kids to have free choice of activities, and there is time for joint activities - like circle time in the morning.

They don't follow a lot of fads when it comes to the curriculum but they do offer a solid preschool program that the kids enjoy, learn, and in my kid's case - flourish in. Just bring your own snacks.

They recently sent out a notice that no outside food can be brought in.--I assume that doesn't apply to the infant rooms. My daughter is always super thirsty when I pick her up. We drop her off with a cup of water everyday. It goes in cubby, but at least she has it at the ready when I pick her up.

Hm - is that Blue Bird of Alexandria II or I? I had my daughter at BB2 a year ago and I was not the only one sending in whole milk to supplement snack time, and I was not the only one to bring in birthday treats. There were some guidelines on what was allowed, but not a blanket ban. Maybe the policy has changed since. But if your kid is starving or really thirsty, I'd bring it up with the directors. They were really easy to work with and very reasonable, IME.

PP here--Our child is at BB1. I'm not the one complaining about my child being hungry at daycare--just thirsty. I wish their menu were healthier, but my toddler is incredibly picky. She does seem to eat the food they serve, so I just go with it. Some people posted on the old town listserve about concerns regarding the new food policy after the notice went home (maybe a month ago) about outside snacks/food. I'm not sure about birthday treats, since that isn't an issue in the toddler room. I was sending in milk without it being a problem until dd started refusing milk.

The food is not enough of an issue for me to switch daycares, since dd seems happy there. I'll be curious to see how things go with the new director though.--I was very happy with Becky, the former director.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know who the new director is -- and have any opinion of him or her?