It's open now?

Does anyone know when or if St. Albans will be opening their new early childhood center?

i turned down a spot here too. did think the teachers seemed quite nice and the kids seemed happy. wasn't too impressed with the director...did think she talked about herself the whole time i was there, which just seemed odd to me. suspect it's a very nice school though...i just clicked better with another school my son was accepted to.

Anonymous wrote:
For the record, between this year and last year alone several children were admitted into Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS, Maret, and Washington International. So the so-called bragging was warranted since many parents are also concerned about outplacement. I know that was a factor for me. Good thing since my child has just be admitted into two of the schools mentioned. It seems to me and many others the director must being doing something right. Too bad you missed out.

What % of these admits were non ethnic minorities?

My child has been at SAECC and the administrative side has been a disaster. They are working on it - but fact of the matter is that the business managers for 2009 and the 1st half of 2010 were incompetent.

The question it left for me was - how could a director hire someone (2 times) who obviously was not qualified for the position?

However, I am most concerned with the environment that my child is in on a daily basis and I have been happy with that part of the program.

I thought the place was just too dirty, especially the bathrooms and the rooms are too small and they are all crammed in there for naps and lunch. I've seen nicer preschools that also have good programs. We pulled strings and we were accepted there but then chose another school.

I do like the program and the director. I just couldn't take the fact that it was so dirty. But, if you are more into the "name" than cleanliness then it is a great place to be.

3:27 I agree with you. Think about it. The only way a family would be notified is if they submitted an application. So I am wondering, if the person was so disappointed why did they submit an application for the waitlist following the tour? It does seem a little suspicious. For all we know they probably never got in and is merely acting out a case of sour grapes.

In response to this comment:

That being said, we turned down a spot this year because they seemed highly administratively disorganized and I thought the director was a disaster. She spent the entire tour talking about herself, why she'd taken the job, and how nicely it meshed with her long term career goals. Do I care? She also mispronounced Maret while trying to brag about outplacements, which I thought was hilarious but elicited some serious eye rolling among the other parents. None of this, of course, speaks to the quality of the program.

This is a pretentious and arrogant comment, that seems very suspicious. I am a current parent at St. Alban's ECC. I had also attended the tour/information session before enrolling and have referred many others since that time. It was outstanding. We had a chance to hear about the program, visit the classrooms, and tour the grounds. During the tour the director spent most of the time talking about the program and children. Since the tour is an information session, people tend to ask questions about the background of the staff (including the director). She mentioned something about her background once. This was in direct response to a question. Also, most people do care if the director (or staff) intend to stay at the school to ensure stability in the program. Seems to me your reasons are just your reasons and cannot be taken to seriously since it has absolutely nothing to do with the program. You do not represent the majority of people who absolutely love the school. What may have appeared to be a "disaster" or "disorganization" was a change in staff on the administrative side. The new assistant director and business manager are great. You really need to get the facts straight. Oh, and if a bunch of parents stood around rolling their eyes (according to you) because it sounded as if "Maret" was misprounced, that it an amazing reason to dismiss a great school. For the record, between this year and last year alone several children were admitted into Sidwell, Beauvoir, GDS, Maret, and Washington International. So the so-called bragging was warranted since many parents are also concerned about outplacement. I know that was a factor for me. Good thing since my child has just be admitted into two of the schools mentioned. It seems to me and many others the director must being doing something right. Too bad you missed out.

Thinking of sending my daughter here. Can someone who currently has a child there (my child is 3) drop me a note. I'd love to talk further: kandrews@msu.edu

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a reasonable assumption they send kids to Beauvoir each year. After all, plenty of SAECC kids are from the congregation, which would also give them an up in Beauvoir admissions.

It was my understanding (from a member of the congregation) that membership at the church had no bearing on admission to any of the National Catherderal Schools.

SAECC is very diverse compared to other NW DC pre-schools. I would guess that the ethnic diversity of the applicant pool coming from SAECC is something that influences acceptances at some of the TT schools.

I think it's a reasonable assumption they send kids to Beauvoir each year. After all, plenty of SAECC kids are from the congregation, which would also give them an up in Beauvoir admissions.

I'm a parent at SAECC and I do know of at least 2 kids from my daughter's class that will be at Beauvoir next year.

Anonymous wrote:Can't really comment on the "feeder" question, but they do send a few students to Beauvior each year.

Don't know for sure about feeder status. I am not aware a single kid who came from this place in the current Pr-K class, of 60ish kids.

This is a quality program. I question the statement about the director.