Bright Start in Cameron Station

[Anonymous]

I saw a thread on this facility from 9/08 and am wondering if anyone has any updated infortmation about the place. My daughter is supposed to start the infant room (non-crawler) in July. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Have you checked their violations lately? I was shocked and suprised and not in a good way. I don't have personal experience there, but based on reports alone, at the very least I would need a lot of good answers and explantions.

[Anonymous]

wow! I had my daughter signed up to start overe there soon but after seeing that recent violation there is NO WAY I would send her there. I guess its back to looking for new child care options.

[Anonymous]

My son is two and has been going there since he was an infant. We LOVE it. Clearly they did have some violations and I've been satisfied with the changes they made to rectify the problem. We've had such a great experience there since he's learned so much and the teachers are so caring. Just wanted to provide the prospective of someone with a child who actually attends the center. Also, they have a webcam so I can check in and see what's going on at any point in time.

[Anonymous]

I know someone who pulled their child out of the center because it was chaotic and none of the aid's spoke english. She said there was little structure and dreaded dropping her kid off.

[Anonymous]

YEs, I saw the violations. I spoke to the director and she said that they installed a gate in the infant room leading to the door. The gate has an alarm that sounds after it has been open for 10 seconds. She also said that they are abandoning the lanyard system and in the process of developing something new and less complicated. I have mixed feelings about sending my daughter there, but Alexandria is tough for childcare and they are the only center that called from our waitlists. I plan to wait and see how it goes. I will pull her no problem if I am not satisfied.

[Anonymous]

OP here... is this place worth a try given what we've discussed?

[Anonymous]

Is it actually in the Cameron Station neighborhood? We almost bought a house there, until learning the land is a former superfund site. When we asked about safety, they said it should be find as long as you don't eat the dirt. They thought they were being funny, but with young kids and a dog we were out of there. I wouldn't want a toddler playing on that land.

[mnchkds1]

10:13 poster

What is a superfund site? Have never heard that before

[mnchkds1]

Never mind, googled it and found out what it is. Potomac Yards and national airport are two other locations in Alexandria area.

[Anonymous]

10:22 Cameron Station used to be an Army Installation of some type. Because of that there was some cleanup necessary when it closed due to BRAC in the 90s. You can go to the EPA website for more info.