We are at Hopkins House right now and it does seem like a lot of there good staff is leaving or trying to leave. It is kind of upsetting as it started off as really good for us. Good information on other day cares. Thanks.

We just toured Madison Day School and thought it had a lot of potential.--Bright, clean space, owners very involved....They just opened last month. We probably will go for BB due to it being more conveniently located for us, but I wanted to throw that out there as another option.

We were at Hopkins House in 2010 and it was a horrible place.

Sorry to hear you felt that way. The experience there was good for us until the recent issues arose.

Anonymous wrote:

AVOID Hopkins House.



Why?

It used to be a good place, but there are some difficulties with finances/managment right now that resulted in a lot of good teachers leaving.

We were at Hopkins House in 2010 and it was a horrible place.

AVOID Hopkins House.



Why?

It used to be a good place, but there are some difficulties with finances/managment right now that resulted in a lot of good teachers leaving.

We were on the waiting list at SADS for under a year! Just got lucky when a family left the school and a spot opened up for my 16-month-old. Couldn't be happier. LOVE the school, teachers, director, facility, playground. My kids actually don't want to leave at the end of the day.

Take tours! I found out a lot by dropping by instead of scheduling appointments in advance when we were researching places. I stopped by a few places in Old Town to ask for information (since understandably they may not be able to drop everything to accommodate tours on a whim). We ended up going to Blue Bird because the Director was great and showed us around immediately. We LOVED the bright clean classrooms and the kids all seemed engaged and happy and it was reassuring to know it wasn't being put-on since they weren't expecting us. I'm a little more suspicious of places that only have organized tours at times when kids aren't actually there.

They could be great options too but I would definitely recommend checking daycares out in person rather than relying on second hand information.

Was on the waiting list for 4 yrs before getting into SADS - good luck!

As a parent who's been in your shoes, I'd suggest (1) reading the licensing inspection reports for schools in the area and (2) check out discussion on Old Town moms, if you haven't done both already. By and large, those two things showed us that there's a reason why ADS and SADS are the top-rated schools in the area.

There are certainly people who like Blue Bird/Tiny Tots, but some of their recent inspection reports have been bad. Flagstone generally seems to get positive reviews, Hopkins House does not. Posts on DCUM, OTM, and stuff I've heard in the playground suggests that most parents aren't happy with The Nest-- seems to be suffering from a lot of the problems of Sparkles (which you should avoid like the plague even though they probably have the soonest openings).

If you can't get into SADS or ADS, may be worth looking a little farther out. Creative Play School on Howard accepts kids at a younger age than the Windsor location in Del Ray-- people love that place. Also, possibly not widely known yet, but Crystal City Children's Center is reloacting from their CC location to the old Melody Tavern location in the Harris Teeter shopping center off Gleve. Think that's not til the fall and they haven't started filling open spots from what I know, but they're a well-liked school that will soon be much closer.

Anonymous wrote:There is also Great Beginnings on Washington Street and Happy Home on Duke. Dont know anything about either, however.

Great Beginnings struck me as having a solidly religious bent when I toured a couple years ago. Also, almost zero outdoor space for the kids.

Anonymous wrote:AVOID Hopkins House.

Why?

There is also Great Beginnings on Washington Street and Happy Home on Duke. Dont know anything about either, however.

AVOID Hopkins House.

We've been happy at Flagstone. They have a new director who is much better than the old one--friendly and keeps in good contact with the families.

My neighbor has her son at Hopkins House and seems ok with it, but we haven't really discussed it extensively.

There's also a new place that opened up on Henry St called Madison Day School. I don't know anything about it though.

Researching day cares for my 8-month-old son in the Del Ray/Old Town area. So far, I've heard good things about American Day School and St. Anthony's. Does anyone have any experience with Tiny Tots Playroom or Blue Bird (they are owned by the same person)? Or Nest Academy of Del Ray? Any others I should look into?

Thanks!