Fort Meyer Cody Center

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for feedback on current experience with the Fort Meyer Cody Center, particularly the 3 year old classroom? I'm aware of the major issues they had a year ago, but I understand they have spent the past year correcting and improving things. I really would like a parents thoughts, rather than just take the managements words for it.

[Anonymous]

I'm fine with how things are going. My son recently transitioned to a 3 year olds' classroom. He moved earlier than I would've liked because of the shortage/rearrangement of staff after the scandal. It was explained to us that they needed to move up early because otherwise there was a real danger of him getting stuck in his 18 mos-2 year old room longer than was developmentally appropriate. I agreed because I had heard rumors of older kids in this situation, both on DCUM and from other parents. Also, the staff in the 18 mos-2 year old room made it a point to get him into a room with older kids that he already knew. It worked out. The boy is happy and doesn't want to leave when I pick him up.

I have nothing to offer you in terms of any academics given his age. But there are developmental benchmarks and the like that go into a largish file you can review. So DoD!

The fallout from the scandal has put the microscope on how the place is run and if there's one thing that DoD loves, it's excruciating oversight after something embarassing happens. I would think that the new director and the base CO know that there had better be no further problems, or else. I know there was very little attrition of in the wake of the scandal. Now, that could've simply been the result of DoD parents sticking it out due to the unbeatable price and the difficulty of securing a spot elsewhere on such short notice. However, I think we all figured that they did the clean sweep of the bad apples and that things would get sorted out soon. Didn't seem to impact my son's room at all besides some short-lived security nonsense that the base CO implemented.

One concern: I was surprised to find out that the staff appear to have a union or equivalent. The lead teacher in my son's room currently is out for "up to 5 months" for labor agreement negotiations. That concerned me somewhat as unions tend to form in workplaces when there's a significant management-employee disconnect. I get the impression that seems to be the case at Cody, but I haven't seen it impact how they treat my kid.

[Anonymous]

I have a child in the 3 year old room there at Cody. The scandal happened in the other center in the 3 year old room. Center management has changed since then with less nepotism in hiring. Prior if there was a problem with staff and that person was the director's friend, nothing happened.

The new Center management is very good. I am not super impressed with the base CO but that is because she does not know what she is doing and doesn't seem to understand children. For example, during the summer they redid the playground. For MONTHS the children had no playground to play on. The playground was finally finished and passed inspection and then it sat for weeks with none of the children allowed to play on it until she could have her ribbon cutting ceremony. So apparently she is not really putting the kids first.

I have three kids in the Center and they LOVE it there. They love their teachers, I have seen nothing but warm and kind staff that genuinely seem to love my kids. They love going there, they love their friends there. We were going to put our kids in a large center close to our house and with the NAACRA subsidy the cost would have been almost the same but honestly the Cody center is nicer. Cleaner.

The wait list for the center is VERY long and tough to get into. They closed the list for almost a year and just now are placing kids in the center. There are some 300 kids on the list waiting to get in. They have alot of openings but mostly for infants right now so I don't know if you will be able to get in if you haven't been on the wait list for quite a while.

They have changed the priority system as well. Pentagon employees get a certain number of slots (obviously military over civilian DoD) and Myer get a certain number.

[Anonymous]

Where did they play when the playground was being worked on? That is appalling. It must be really cheap.

[Anonymous]

They fenced in the large front yard as an interim playground and brought them out with various toys. The kids liked it, actually. Kids will always find a place to play. The new play areas are superb now that they are open.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for the replies. Like you said, they recently started placement again and we have a very short window to reply, so this feedback is greatly appreciated. One other question.... Do you feel that there is a preschool component at the 3-4 year old level at that school, or is it more of a "we'll keep your kids safe and let them play while you're at work" type of environment? Both of these have their advantages, just trying to understand the setup there with such a short decision window.

Sincere thanks in advance for your feedback.

[Anonymous]

It is a little of both to answer your question. At 3 they start learning computers and there is a an emphasis on numbers and reading. But there is also a lot of playtime. The mornings are more learning based and the afternoons are more play based.

They did have a huge temp play area in the summer (think a field with lots of outdoor type toys) but it was irritating that they built this incredible playground and for weeks it sat unused. The new playground is amazing. It is all fenced in,etc.

I would be neurotic if my kids were in a city center where they had to walk (with traffic, etc) to a play area.

[Anonymous]

We are at Myer, I love it. I love the other parents too (since everyone is military there is a nice esprit de corps). My kids LOVE their teachers. And it is the nicest facility that I have ever seen. They take care of almost all of the extras too (nice not to have to pack lunches or pay a separate fee)

I honestly would take the slot. It will never be offered again and it is sooo competitive.

[Anonymous]

They are using a learning program called Teaching strategies Gold.