Great daycare in Old Town Alexandria -- Great Beginnings Early Learning Center

[Anonymous]

Our one year old son goes to the Great Beginnings Early Learning Center and has done so well there. If anyone is looking for good care in Old Town Alexandria, this is the place. The owners are warm people and very hands on. The center is set up to promote the development of the children in their care. We've been there for a few months and have noticed how our son has flourished. The staff are happy to be there and every one of them knows my son's name. It is a new-ish place and they've done a great job setting up a cheery and safe environment. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [e-mail].

Rhea

[Anonymous]

Here's their website if anyone is interested: http://www.greatbeginningsva.com

Rhea

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting! I'm on their list for infant care and was really impressed with them when I visited - its nice to hear from a parent who actually has a child there.

There was a post a few weeks ago about how the director was fired, I can't recall her name. Can you speak to any staff changes there?

[Anonymous]

My son (16 months) has gone to GBELC since age 9 weeks.

We enjoy the teachers there, although there DOES seem to be high turnover (not sure if this is the case with all day cares or this one in particular).

As for the directors, they are a husband and wife team and they have been in place since the beginning. I do not find them to be very good at communication. When we HAVE had issues, they sometimes come off as defensive.

I would recommend this day care but encourage the parents to be very adamant in asking questions and making sure that responses are heard. My difficulty is the transition for my son from the infant class to the toddlers. He transitioned very well. But as parents, we had/have no idea what is required of us. (We're working on it!!)

[Anonymous]

Hi - would love to get in touch with the parents of the earlier post who have a sixteen month old at Great Beginnings. My kids are signed up for the toddler class to start in May and I would love to talk to parents that have a toddler there. Would be great if you do not mind to get in touch. My em is [e-mail]. Thanks a lot.

Anonymous wrote:My son (16 months) has gone to GBELC since age 9 weeks.

We enjoy the teachers there, although there DOES seem to be high turnover (not sure if this is the case with all day cares or this one in particular).

As for the directors, they are a husband and wife team and they have been in place since the beginning. I do not find them to be very good at communication. When we HAVE had issues, they sometimes come off as defensive.

I would recommend this day care but encourage the parents to be very adamant in asking questions and making sure that responses are heard. My difficulty is the transition for my son from the infant class to the toddlers. He transitioned very well. But as parents, we had/have no idea what is required of us. (We're working on it!!)

[Anonymous]

Our son was at Great Beginnings early Learning Center (GBELC) from just about the time they opened their doors. He started in June of 2009. We really enjoyed the Center and since they were brand new, we expected a few bumps along the road. We thought the Directors were lovely people and that they had a great vision for the Center. They were wonderful with their own children and seemed to genuinely care for our son. Unfortunately, by the time our son reached the toddler room, consistent communication with staff was becoming an issue for us. What finally did it for us, though, was the high staff turnover in the toddler room that we believed to be really affecting our son's mood and behavior. He was becoming increasingly reluctant to go to school in the morning and was in such a hurry to leave at the end of the day that he would not let us even stay long enough to confer with staff about his day.

When we asked questions about their hiring practices, in an attempt to try to understand the problem with staff retention/selection, it led to a less-than-satisfactory exchange. Ultimately, that was what caused us to leave. We REALLY agonized about the decision, though, since he had been there since he was an infant and we really did like the Directors - and their vision for the Center - very much. At the end of the day, though, we decided that vision wasn't enough and we found another day care. We left in November of 2010.

Today, we are SO glad we did. Our new place is a parent-owned co-op and they have a board of parents that has direct input into the Center's practices - which I love - but the most fantastic part is that MOST of their staff have been there upwards of 10 years!!! To me, that says it all. We were nervous, and the space is nowhere as nice as GBELC's. They also do not have the rigorous curriculum that GBELC had.

However, they have lots of stability and lots of love.
And every single day we go to pick our child up, he does not want to leave his new school.
Enough said

I still think GBELC is one of the better Centers in the area and would not discourage people from checking it out.
I would ask some pointed questions about current rates of staff turnover, however, and be sure that you feel comfortable with the answers.

[Anonymous]

After being offered a spot in the center and speaking with several parents who had children there, we elected not to take the spot and go elsewhere. It seemed fine and the facility itself was nice, but the parking situation for drop off and pick up seemed like it could be aggravating, and we thought some of the policies (no Halloween costumes because it is a Christian day care) were a little odd and not really in keeping with our family's beliefs.

[Anonymous]

I forgot about that! We thought that was a bit over-the-top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:, and we thought some of the policies (no Halloween costumes because it is a Christian day care) were a little odd and not really in keeping with our family's beliefs.

Our child care center didn't allow costumes either. I actually liked it.

[Anonymous]

To those who weren't thrilled with Great Beginnings, I would suggest checking out St Anthony's. FWIW, Halloween is a hugely-celebrated holiday at SADS, e.g., the kids all parade around the park in their costumes...followed by class parties. St Anthony's is christian-based, too, with the children saying prayers before meals, celebrating Christmas, etc. Weird about GBLC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To those who weren't thrilled with Great Beginnings, I would suggest checking out St Anthony's. FWIW, Halloween is a hugely-celebrated holiday at SADS, e.g., the kids all parade around the park in their costumes...followed by class parties. St Anthony's is christian-based, too, with the children saying prayers before meals, celebrating Christmas, etc. Weird about GBLC

Yes, lovely - but does anyone ever get off the SADS waitlist - for infants and toddlers at least??

[Anonymous]

Yes, we got in when my daughter was 16 months.

[Anonymous]

We also got off, but man, they gave us like 20 minutes to decide whether we wanted to switch or lose the spot.

[Anonymous]

So, where did you end up going instead? I would love to hear! I am going to be a new mom in October and have found the process of finding a good daycare that doesn't have a year-long waitlist nearly impossible.

Anonymous wrote:Our son was at Great Beginnings early Learning Center (GBELC) from just about the time they opened their doors. He started in June of 2009. We really enjoyed the Center and since they were brand new, we expected a few bumps along the road. We thought the Directors were lovely people and that they had a great vision for the Center. They were wonderful with their own children and seemed to genuinely care for our son. Unfortunately, by the time our son reached the toddler room, consistent communication with staff was becoming an issue for us. What finally did it for us, though, was the high staff turnover in the toddler room that we believed to be really affecting our son's mood and behavior. He was becoming increasingly reluctant to go to school in the morning and was in such a hurry to leave at the end of the day that he would not let us even stay long enough to confer with staff about his day.

When we asked questions about their hiring practices, in an attempt to try to understand the problem with staff retention/selection, it led to a less-than-satisfactory exchange. Ultimately, that was what caused us to leave. We REALLY agonized about the decision, though, since he had been there since he was an infant and we really did like the Directors - and their vision for the Center - very much. At the end of the day, though, we decided that vision wasn't enough and we found another day care. We left in November of 2010.

Today, we are SO glad we did. Our new place is a parent-owned co-op and they have a board of parents that has direct input into the Center's practices - which I love - but the most fantastic part is that MOST of their staff have been there upwards of 10 years!!! To me, that says it all. We were nervous, and the space is nowhere as nice as GBELC's. They also do not have the rigorous curriculum that GBELC had.

However, they have lots of stability and lots of love.
And every single day we go to pick our child up, he does not want to leave his new school.
Enough said

I still think GBELC is one of the better Centers in the area and would not discourage people from checking it out.
I would ask some pointed questions about current rates of staff turnover, however, and be sure that you feel comfortable with the answers.

[Anonymous]

If you are looking for care in Old Town, put your kid on the waitlist for St. Anthony's and get a nanny for two years. I think many people get a spot int he 2-year old class since it's larger. I would steer clear of Great Beginnings for all the reasons stated by previous posters. We had a very similar experience. I know a nanny is twice the cost, but if there's any way you can swing it, it's worth it to save yourself the heartache of dealing with GBELC. At least it would have been for us.