[DC] Daycare Reviews for Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights Facilities

[Anonymous]

Centronia, Barbara Chambers, Little Flower Montessori, Tiny Tots, Rosemount Center parents...

What do you like most and least about your daycare?
How long was your child on the waitlist?

Asking as the mom of a toddler who is exploring our options. Currently on waitlists at a few facilities. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Both my children attended Barbara Chambers on Irving Street. They are in prek-4/1st grade now and still consider BCCC their "real school." Most children enter as infants and graduate from their pre-k enhancement program; during our years there very few families left. Biggest pluses for me were that they are 100% bilingual with at least 1 Spanish speaking teacher in each class, they are not a revolving door for teachers, breakfast, lunch and snack are provided, metro accessible and centrally located. Keep in mind that BCCC is a community based organization that provides subsidized child care services through the Child Care Subsidy Program which may or may not influence your decision. Although my children did not attend CentroNia, they have a similar model but are also involved in many other initiatives across the city.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a child at Tiny Tots, but it's next to impossible to get any information on their offerings. They have no online presence and the only way to find a phone number is through sketchy websites (went to a few sketchy sites to verify it was in fact the right number). Their phone rings and rings with no option to leave a voicemail. I live just down the street and was walking by one day and noticed someone who appeared to be a teacher standing outside, so I approached them and asked where I could get more information. She said to call then slammed a door in my face. Not saying my experience is typical, but that made it easy to strike it off my list of potential options!

[Anonymous]

New poster, but would love additional info on this--I'm getting a bit irritated with our current daycare, and my kid was born in October, so he'd be spending more time in their preschool classroom than I'm comfortable with unless things improve dramatically. Experiences, tuition rates, etc for places such as Little Flower, CentroNia, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

New poster, my son currently goes to Estrellitas--it is about a 5 min drive up 16th st. from Mount Pleasant (16th and Colorado). It follows a Montessori philosophy and is Spanish immersion. We have had a WONDERFUL experience there. My son has learned a ton and the teachers are excellent. He is 3.5 and just got into a DC pre-K school, otherwise we would totally keep him there. If you want more info reply back and perhaps we can connect through phone or email.

[Anonymous]

Our son attended the daycare on the Columbia Heights Educational Campus from 3 months until he turned 3 and we moved to Rockville. It was affordable, the women who work there are warm and caring, and he became fluent in spanish by age 2. Right before he left, they qualified for free breakfast, snacks, and lunch, and they were super healthy meals (this didn't affect cost of tuition). They don't have a website, so you'd have to call the school, but because they're not well-known, they rarely have a wait list.

[kdColumbiaHeights]

Would you be able to say more about your experience at Columbia Heights Educational Campus? Interested in learning and this is the first I have heard about it as a day care?

[Anonymous]

My child is starting at Rosemount in September. We were on the waitlist for a few months, but were prepared to wait a long time based on other threads. We were told that generally more spots are available for older children, which I suppose may be due to kids moving to PK3 and PK4 elsewhere.

Don't have much to add as my child hasn't yet started, but this is the information we received:

Tuition for the regular program (8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.) is based upon the age of the child; the rate changes on the 1st of the month following the child’s birthday. For the 2016-2017 school year, the monthly rate by age cohort: 0-12 months = $1,750; 13-24 months = $1,550; 25 – 36 months = $1,350; 37 months and older = $1,150.

The fee for Aftercare Services (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) is in addition to tuition fees. The Aftercare fee is $300 per month for 3 or more days per week, $200 for 2 days per week, and $100 for 1 day per week.

Hope this helps!