I live in Falls Church but commute to DC via route 66, my 2yo son attends Children's International School on Scott Street in Arlington, my daughter is now in Kindergarten but attending there from age 2-5. Its a wonderful loving environment, full-time preschool, and they have a lower tuition rate than the area preschools because they own their building. They have other locations but I can only vouch for the Scott St location. They are a short 5 minute detour off 66.

NP but happy to hear that Columbia Baptist is doing something about security! My child got in in 2015 but the lack of security was the main reason we declined (we also didn't care for the director at the time, but I know she left maybe a year or two ago).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbia Baptist is getting some new security features over the holidays so they will finally have a secure entrance.
Every family we know who went there (including us) absolutely loved it. But there will be church construction starting at some point- if you go on a tour that would be something to ask about. I have no idea on its timeline. It’s a great school if you have 2 working parents because they follow federal government for closures rather than the school districts (which close constantly for a dusting of snow).

Will the back door and the door between the childcare facility and the church also be secured? Front door security is useless if the door to the church is always open and the door between the church and the preschool are always open.

Columbia CDC
103 W. Columbia Street
703-534-5739
dlawson@columbiabaptist.org
Dear CDC Families,

I pray that you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday. With Christmas right around the corner, may your joy increase as you spend time with family and friends. When we return from the holiday festivities, you will see signs of construction at the CDC. We are excited for the changes that will be made to enhance the safety of our building and simultaneously create outdoor spaces that connect children and families to nature.

The new doors that will secure our space, are scheduled to arrive in late December. We will notify you as soon as we have a date for the installation as well as any procedural changes.

The logistics of construction are understandably massive. Columbia understands that this will impact our families and can only apologize in advance. However, Columbia, the Local Authority and the Contractors have explored all options to minimize disruption throughout the process. We believe that this will help ensure that we start life in a secure building and a natural play and learning space in a positive, orderly, and safe way. While not all spaces on Columbia grounds will be affected directly and at the same time, drop off and pick up, traffic flow patterns and part of the building will be inaccessible during installation of security doors and upgrades to the nature play space. Please note the following plan of action:

Security Upgrade 2020

All internal doors between the church and the preschool will be locked during school hours;
During the first week after the doors have been installed the CDC front door will remain unlocked all day and all other doors will be locked.
After the first week the front door/main entrance (Door #1) will only be open during peak drop-off and pick-up times;
During non-peak drop-off and pick-up times family members and visitors will have to access the CDC by being buzzed in through the main entrance.
We ask that you help us by not opening doors for people with whom you are not familiar, not prop doors open, and instruct visitors to only access the CDC through the main entrance.

Nature Play Space/Outdoor Classroom 2020

It is estimated that the outdoor space will not be available for two (2) months. During this time, both the indoor and outdoor specialist will work with teaching teams to create alternate creative play spaces.

While the building project will, at times, have an impact on the spaces children can access, it also provides a unique opportunity for exploration. Our Teachers will be able to utilize a rich environment to expand the children’s thinking. A few of the areas that might be explored are:

What it means to be a designer;
The art and science of design;
How to develop or refine a sense of aesthetics;
How to design (or redesign) an environment.
As the construction timeline is further established we will communicate information to our families. Until then we greatly appreciate your patience.

Faithfully yours,
Ms. Donna
Senior Director
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Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses so far. I would like a preschool over a daycare but I’m honestly open to both at her age.

I did look at Columbia Baptist (the only one I’ve seen so far) and generally liked it, but was a little worried about the buildings security as I could walk right in and no one was at the front desk.

They are getting a new door and buzz in procedure in Jan / Feb. Applications for new families are likely due around Valentine’s Day. It’s virtually impossible to get into the 18mo or 2yr old class if you aren’t a sibling or a church employee. The building will be under construction for the next 2 years for a huge addition. That said, we love it. Our older kid was there for 3s and 4s and our younger one has a few years left.