Anyone have an update on the BH daycare at FTC?

[Anonymous]

I know there was some drama at the Bright Horizons at FTC a few years ago--are there any current parents who can comment on the center now? I think we'll have a spot for our infant. We've toured the place, so I know it's small and a little rundown, but I'm more interested in the quality of the director, teachers, and programming for the kids, and whether the kids are happy. FTC is super-close to my office, and I like that the class sizes are so small.

[Anonymous]

I'm also interested in hearing about recent experiences with FTC. I know that they just had yet another director leave and a new one start. I have heard generally from some people that they are happy there, but no specifics. Anyone have any recent thoughts on the infant room? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I was at FTC for some time but left recently, so I don't have experience with the new director or educational coordinator. I was in the infant room and the tots room (1s).

The infant room was pretty decent for infants. The separate nap area is great. There were 3 teachers: Adrianna, Alethia and Monique. Between them, they had YEARS of experience at the FTC and I think they worked really well together. They had all the babies napping, eating, etc. You could walk into chaos (babies screaming, etc) and within 10 minutes, the teachers had everyone situated and taken care of.

What I really liked about it was that there were 9 babies and 3 teachers. I felt like you needed 3 teachers because there was inevitably 1 teacher who was changing diapers at any time and then you had only 2 left for all the other babies (and one would need a bottle, etc).

Recently, the Center went down to taking only 8 babies so they could shift staffing to have only 2 teachers in infants. I think Alethia and Adrianna are still there, which is awesome. (This happened after I left, although I still get the emails. A current parent should confirm this.) I think this is really too bad (for the reasons I stated above), and I assume the decision was financial.

I did not think the 1s room was that great. The room is very small and the teachers were not as good as infants. (There's a new teacher now, so can't speak to that.) The only plus side was the on-site playground, which is rare downtown. We were so relieved to get out of there at that point.

But I may be in the minority. There are many parents who put their second kids in the infant room. Also, if this is any indication of how most parents feel about the Center, the fundraising for the holiday teacher gifts (pooled fund, divided among the teachers) is incredible. Mind you, this is a downtown GSA daycare where most parents are government employees (so not raking it in at BigLaw etc).

Other pluses-- the security is great. Even FTC employees who work in the building cannot get into the day care center unless their badge is coded to let them in. And you have federal marshalls guarding the building.

The center is small. You know all the teachers, they know your kids, etc. Fewer illnesses. They go to the sculpture garden for walks.

It IS rundown. For babies, I don't think it matters (plus the infant room is well laid-out) but as they get older, it is a minus (see my comment about the 1s room). There is constant talk of moving the FTC HQ to another location, which will have the daycare center. However, given the state of affairs in Congress, I don't think that's happening anytime soon. But this may explain why there's no investment in the facilities.

I would ask to talk to some current parents and you can get a sense there. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

any current parents that can give input?

Thanks!