Anonymous wrote:Oh - previous poster here. I didn't see that the person was deciding between Franklin and BCDC.

We left BCDC for Franklin because we love Montessori and wanted a more intentional program for our son. BCDC is great and more affordable than Franklin, but the teachers at Franklin are real professional educators and the program has more rigor. The nature program starts with the two year olds, the art program with the 3 year olds.

Both are good choices, but if you want more of a school situation vs. a day care, I recommend Franklin.

Rigor is such an odd word to use to describe a program for 2 and 3 year olds.

Oh - previous poster here. I didn't see that the person was deciding between Franklin and BCDC.

We left BCDC for Franklin because we love Montessori and wanted a more intentional program for our son. BCDC is great and more affordable than Franklin, but the teachers at Franklin are real professional educators and the program has more rigor. The nature program starts with the two year olds, the art program with the 3 year olds.

Both are good choices, but if you want more of a school situation vs. a day care, I recommend Franklin.

My son was at BCDC for a year or so. Also LOVED Avalon. I thought the communication was great - the sheet they share with parents at the end of the day is really customized to what your child did - not just a checklist.

The outdoor space is really nice and they do fun stuff in the summer. The parking convenience is also fabulous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone speak for the Panda program?

Our 2 year old was recently offered a spot and we're trying to decided between here and Franklin Montessori.

We know their models are very different but I just want to hear about the staff in terms of temperament and personality.

My child was in the Panda and Penguins program but that was a few years ago so not sure if there has been any change of teachers in those rooms since then.

We were very happy with the teachers in both rooms, though Avalon in the pandas room was probably our favorite overall. The teachers were good and the rooms were warm and caring. We loved the playground and green space outside - that meant a lot to us as compared to many other daycares in the area. I loved almost everything about the center - the one small weird thing I didn't like was that we got a cold shoulder from some of the administrative staff after we did not participate in the annual fundraiser event. It was bizarre.

PP, interesting and sad about the fundraiser event.

We've toured BCDC twice now and I think we wil go with it. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone speak for the Panda program?

Our 2 year old was recently offered a spot and we're trying to decided between here and Franklin Montessori.

We know their models are very different but I just want to hear about the staff in terms of temperament and personality.

My child was in the Panda and Penguins program but that was a few years ago so not sure if there has been any change of teachers in those rooms since then.

We were very happy with the teachers in both rooms, though Avalon in the pandas room was probably our favorite overall. The teachers were good and the rooms were warm and caring. We loved the playground and green space outside - that meant a lot to us as compared to many other daycares in the area. I loved almost everything about the center - the one small weird thing I didn't like was that we got a cold shoulder from some of the administrative staff after we did not participate in the annual fundraiser event. It was bizarre.

Can anyone speak for the Panda program?

Our 2 year old was recently offered a spot and we're trying to decided between here and Franklin Montessori.

We know their models are very different but I just want to hear about the staff in terms of temperament and personality.

We love it too. Our LO started in the infant classroom and is now a duck (young toddler's classroom). We couldn't be happier with the teachers in both classes. The director Kim is also wonderful, very involved, responsible, and loving. I always feel secure knowing LO is under their care. They are constantly doing fun activities like music, art, yoga, playground, etc. and our LO has really thrived there. Can't say enough good things about it.

Updating this thread as a parent of an infant who started in the fall of 2016. We are very happy - the caregivers for '16-'17 have been just great, and we interact with the next set of caregivers for the next class (the ducks) and we think they will be great for LO too. Not sure what it will be like after that - we are evaluating each year. Also not sure if all the lamb and duck teachers will be back next year, but they have been an outstanding group IMO.

The infant room is windowless, but that was ok for LO who LOVED naps - I was actually turned off by some of the alternatives that I looked at (like Gtown bright horizons) b/c they had such bright infant rooms and I was concerned LO wouldn't be able to sleep as well there.

Best luck to parents making these decisions.

Anonymous wrote:We would love to hear from current families on the quality of care. We had heard that a teacher was fired over the last year for hitting a child, and see on dcum that there has been a lot of turnover at the top. How is this place now?

That is true- not teacher though, someone at the top.

The quality of care is excellent. Many teachers have been there for a long time, and the teachers are very good with following procedures, etc. (And very loving.) To my knowledge, it is not true that a teacher was fired for hitting a student- I think that is a rumor that started from some of the relatively recent turnover of staff and executive directors. And about that- there has been some teacher turnover but I don't think more than is normal in a daycare. And, as I mentioned before, there are a number of teachers that have been there for many years (even decades), so there is a lot of consistency. It is true that there has been recent churning of executive directors, but the new executive director, Kim, is fantastic and she is now a stable and positive force at the center.

We would love to hear from current families on the quality of care. We had heard that a teacher was fired over the last year for hitting a child, and see on dcum that there has been a lot of turnover at the top. How is this place now?

I have two kids there and love it. It is a great daycare filled with a lot of kids from the neighborhood (and beyond). Teachers are great, lots of space, big playground (that will be renovated soon), and nice parent group. Come join us!

That's great to know! I just saw the thread (oups), probably about your toddler who loves his teacher, right? Thanks!!

Hi there, I just posted about it to respond to a different thread. Love it!! We've been there ~a year and are really happy.

Hi! I know there are a few old threads on this, but wondering if anyone has had a recent experience about BCDC in Van Ness? For infants AND toddlers? We are interested in the daycare but don't know anyone who has had their kids there. Thanks!!