Primrose Daycare in Hope Valley Farms - Day Care in Durham? (Raleigh: schools, centers)

[nu2durham]

I am seriously starting to look into daycare options, as I am looking to go back to work in January. My husband and I went and looked at the Primrose Daycare Center in Hope Valley Farms, which is about walking distance from us. I thought it seemed like a nice center, but I have heard a lot of chatter around the community that it was just recently taken over and only has 1 star. I don't know too much about daycare in general, but this would deter me from putting our daughter in there, even though it seemed like such a nice center.

Is anyone familiar with this daycare and other daycare options near Hope Valley Farms? Our daughter will be a little bit over 12 months when we put her into daycare. I heard from a few people that I shouldn't put my daughter into a daycare that doesn't have 5 stars. I don't really understand the starring system, however, and I want to make sure I make the right decisions for her. We also thought about hiring a nanny, but our daughter likes to be out and about and is very social, so we don't think that would work out for her.

[rfb]

I can't speak to Primrose at Hope Valley Farms. I take my son to Primrose of Hilburn in Raleigh and am *very* happy with it. While most (all that I'm aware of) Primrose schools rate very high, they are all independently owned and operated. Based on my experience, I'm sure you would be happy with Primrose.

[Chicky]

New centers/new owners have to wait six months before they can apply for more than one-star, so the fact that they currently have one star may not accurately reflect their program.

You can take a look at their license information at the following website. Be sure to click on all the tabs across the top to see things like the DCD visit reports, teacher ratios, etc.

NC Div of Child Development- Searching Resources in Child Care

[funkybutt]

When Primrose was bought out they took a voluntary 1 star and are going to apply for more stars. If you do a search on Triangle Mommies for Primrose, you'll find a detailed explanation of what happened when they got new management.

Here's a description of NC's star system. Star Rated License Overview

[jill7930]

My kids have been in a five-star center, and we've been very happy with it. I think you'd be remiss in discounting 4 star centers, as there are likely to be some very good ones out there. One of the requirements for a 5 star center is a high education level of the teachers and Director. There might be some Centers out there with fabulous caregivers but because they have 2 yr rather than 4 yr degrees, it might have prevented them from the 5 star rating.

I think it's really important to do what you're doing- get advice from people with kids currently at the Center you're interested, look at the Center's history/file on the State's Child Development website to see what kinds of actions/violations they've had in recent history, and go with your gut feeling after visiting/spending some time at the Center.

[funkybutt]

FYI, Primrose recently received their 4 star rating (missed 5 stars by 1 point!) and will be going for the 5th star at their annual review in May. I hope that doesn't mean they'll be raising their tuition b/c it's already pretty high!