Any Experience w/The Clifton School? (Atlanta: appointed, renting, day care) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

Kinzie · 12-20-2007, 04:02 PM

Hello!

My family will be moving to Atlanta soon and I'm trying to find a great daycare for my 12 month old daughter. I will be working at the CDC and have heard The Clifton School is available for day care. Does anyone have any experience with this school? Good/bad/indifferent? Thanks!

sweettea1 · 12-20-2007, 07:07 PM

I have a few friends who've sent their kids there -- they all loved it. Cried when they had to leave because they changed jobs and lost their spots!

MiriL · 12-21-2007, 12:22 PM

I've had either one or two kids there for the last 5 years. We've been generally quite happy. There are two sites, with different site directors, so I can only speak to the one on Clifton Rd itself. The current director seems very good and is at least attempting to address some of the issues that come up at any daycare: low teacher salaries, teacher retention, etc. She also gives the impression of being more responsive to teachers' needs than some of the previous directors were.

We've had wonderful teachers throughout our time there, and that's what really matters. With a good classroom team, children will thrive at Clifton. The facilities are good, the hours are incredibly flexible, and it's honestly a good place to meet other families!

If you have specific questions, feel free to DM me.

eta: I should add, the waiting list is generally quite long. The vast majority of spots open up at the beginning of June because they move all children up to the next age "village" at the same time.

plessthanpointohfive · 12-25-2007, 12:47 PM

I had my son at the Clifton Rd site until he started elementary school. We were really pleased with it. Some parents don't like that they don't have a pre-school program to prep the kids for a traditional school setting. But my son had no problems transitioning to regular school. Something that probably needs consideration on a kid by kid basis. Some parents take their child out of Clifton School the year before kindergarten and put them in a private or public pre-school program.

What neighborhood are you going to live in?

Kinzie · 12-31-2007, 09:48 PM

Thank you so much for the replies! I think we will be heading to the area in the February-March time frame and I believe I'd be trying for the Clifton Rd. campus.

As far as neighborhoods, we're at the "no-idea" stage. Coming from the military the choices in Atlanta seem incredibly daunting! We will probably end up renting for a year just to make sure we find some place we'll really like.

I've scoured their website and the facilities look exceptional, but the cost does seem higher than some of the other options. What would you say the price at Clifton "gets you" that other locations may not have?

MiriL, I might take you up on your DM offer as I get more information on my job status. Do you have any sense of what an average wait might be? And is there a daycare that most CDC/Emory employees have their children prior to gaining a spot at Clifton?

Thanks

blbmcem · 04-23-2008, 01:13 PM

I'm joining the faculty at Emory in July and I'm interested in finding a preschool for my 2 yr old. I've applied to the Clifton School and I was wondering if people could comment on how long they were on the waiting list before they were offered a spot. Also, if anyone has any recommendations for other preschools nearby (we're looking to buy a house in the Virginia-Highland area) please share those with me as well. .---Thanks.

MiriL · 04-23-2008, 01:37 PM

Did they give you an estimate? I'd be surprised if you get a spot before June 09, just because of the way they do move-up. There are a lot of spots opening at the same time, and only a smattering in between. I don't have a good feeling for it, because my first started so long ago, and my second got in faster than normal due to sibling preferences.

I live in the other direction, so don't have any recs for other preschools, sorry. Good luck looking! We're going through the same thing in another city as we prepare to move, and it's no fun.

taopooh · 05-30-2011, 01:22 PM

I cannot speak to the quality of the Clifton site, but I must say that the Clairmont site is not great. I have been very disappointed with how dismissive the director is regarding parents concerns about teachers, and how often they fail to enforce their own sick policies on their own staff who have children in the school. The director does not seem to have much influence/leadership. The teachers are hit or miss - we had a few great ones but we had one that was just there for a job.