Bright Horizons Preschool- Thoughts on their curriculum??

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by riaelise

Never said that you asked for it, so not quite sure why you attributed that to me. I'm just saying that the private preschools that I've dealt with, our local Montessori, didn't administer tests so I found it interesting that they were given. That's all...

You and the post below yours were basically the same thing, so I didn't quote both of you, but answered her/his statement at the same time that I didn't ask for the test, the school automatically gives it at all their schools across the country.

[Reggieray]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

But if you went in there and said - "hi, I am here to enroll my child", they just would have said 'sure, sign here'. They would never ask for a test score nor expect anyone to have one.

And I am not really trying to be rude, so please don't take it that same way, but did you maybe come across wrong, like this parent is going to be over-the-top demanding? That would surprise me (knowing the director) but I honestly don't know why they would say 'no' to a child.

Bingo. After reading her post that's what I gather aswell.

[RoadWarrior12]

Originally Posted by mm57553

I am a preschool teacher, but I am not familiar enough with Bright Horizons to comment on that.

But I do want to comment on the NAEYC accreditation, specifically to say that it doesn't mean much. It may look good on paper, but is says nothing about how good a school or center is. The absolute worst center I have ever been in was (and still is) NAEYC accredited. There is also an NAEYC accredited school in town currently on probation with licensing for a pretty serious offense.

The requirements for NAEYC accredited schools gets much stricter in 2020, so things may change then. (However, I think the biggest change is that most schools will just drop the accreditation). But I wouldn't put much weight on it right now.

Conversely, some of the best centers I have ever been in had no accreditation at all.

It would be seriously helpful to have school names attached to your comments.

Preschools are a serious guessing game for many parents, and we all hate disrupting our kid's schedule and routine when we decide a change needs to be made. Having "insider" data, so to speak, is invaluable.

[Eastcoasting]

Aww heck, it sounds like your options are pretty limited at this point and unfortunately you may need to look beyond your original geographical parameters.

Good luck and let us know where you land.

[FalconheadWest]

Lake Travis ISD now has a daycare program at two of their elementary schools. I took my son there today to check it out. He loved it!! He's so excited that it's a "big" school like his sister goes to. The ratios are very low, and that's fantastic! I enrolled him to start in January.

The only downside is it's a school calendar program, so only goes until May. I'll need to find something to do with him then, but that's where the grandparents come in...

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by RoadWarrior12

It would be seriously helpful to have school names attached to your comments.

Preschools are a serious guessing game for many parents, and we all hate disrupting our kid's schedule and routine when we decide a change needs to be made. Having "insider" data, so to speak, is invaluable.

I don't feel comfortable naming names on the the internet. But you can go to this site and check out inspection reports, violations, etc. for every licensed center in Texas. It's all public information. Just type in the name of a school, and all of the information will be posted.

https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_C...re/default.asp

[RoadWarrior12]

Originally Posted by mm57553

I don't feel comfortable naming names on the the internet. But you can go to this site and check out inspection reports, violations, etc. for every licensed center in Texas. It's all public information. Just type in the name of a school, and all of the information will be posted.

https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_C...re/default.asp

I get not wanting to sling mud. Maybe point out the best ones you've worked with/for? Teacher retention is a big thing I look at, and the well run centers tend to have the best retention.

Thankfully, I'm almost out of the woods when it comes to early childhood education choices - only one more (well, really only 8 months) left to go!

[Trainwreck20]

Teacher retention is a big thing I look at, and the well run centers tend to have the best retention.

This was my worry originally, but now after a combined 10 years or so of daycare, I would say that some turnover can be a good sign. BH has on a couple of occasions over the years had a series of teachers in a row that stayed for a short time. It turns out that the ones they hired were not up to the task/standards that the daycare required, so they were let go after some months and a new teacher hired. It is hard on the kids, but it is even worse to keep someone that is not as good as needed, and a good teacher review process will sometimes require a bit of trial and error.

Also, some of the best daycares may get some really good teachers - but then one of the local school districts hire them away. It is very rare for a daycare to really be able to compete with a job that has a more established (and fluid) career ladder and a retirement system. A TOO stable teaching pool MIGHT indicate that there are few teachers of a very high level. Some of our best teachers over the years left for 'better' jobs (although only once while we were in the teacher's actual class, I think), and it is rare that a daycare job is the 'best' job out there.

Thankfully, I'm almost out of the woods when it comes to early childhood education choices - only one more (well, really only 8 months) left to go!

Same for us, it is nice to be eying that 'raise' coming at the end of next summer.....

[DCJetSetter]

We are new to the area and also investigating preschools. Has anyone had experience with Bluebonnet Montessori?

[albertcl]

Bright Horizons at Bee Cave now offers Kindergarten. Sharla is still the director at this location and has been fantastic along with the rest of the teachers and staff. Our 5 year old is in the kindergarten program and has been growing his knowledge by leaps and bounds. We chose to put him in this private kindergarten option since he would have been one of the youngest in his class and we wanted to give him another year to be a kid. His confidence is exploding. Our younger son has also thrived at Bright Horizons of Bee Cave and has hit milestones much faster than we ever expected. They both are having so much fun and have developed great friendships that we practically have to drag them out of school at the end of the day.