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D.C. Area Babies
moving to Leesburg area.... daycares?
I have been driving around on my lunch breaks to check out daycares in the Leesburg / Ashburn area for a little while now, and nothing's stood out yet as a place I would want to bring my boys. (Well, I did check out Winwood Academy near Leesburg and LOVED it... then saw the pricing. Ouch.)
So far I am simply searching the area on Google maps, going to the websites of those places for more info (if they have a website), then driving over to check the place out. I don't know anyone in that area that I can ask for suggestions.
Anyone here who is around Leesburg and has any daycare recommendations?? I would be eternally grateful for help!
TIA!
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Re: moving to Leesburg area.... daycares?
we go to the Goddard in Belmont Greene, Ashburn. They are actually having an open house this Sat. email me at sssssm_2000 at yahoo if you'd like more info
they are not cheap however
we toured a winwood and were not impressed
Most of the daycare centers out this way are pretty steep in prices unfortunately. Anyway, we go to one of the other Goddard schools (Rt7 & 28). Have been really happy with them so far..DD has been going there since she was 16mos and DS will be starting there in a few months. The teachers are wonderful and the staff is very helpful and are always available to listen to concerns or issues.
They also do a fun summer program where they have a "theme" for the summer and each week does something related to that - they have shows and things, including waterplay (baby pools/hoses/water tables). DD loves being there!!
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I have been checking out the daycare centers in Leesburg as well. Here are my impressions. They are impressions only with some basic information. I don't have real life experience with these centers. So please rely on your own judgement and follow your gut feelings. I found out visiting your interested centers multiple times will also help you form a more complete picture.
1. Winwood Leesburg
The facility looks nice. When I visited the center, all children seemed happy and most teachers were nice to the children. The tuition is pretty high. The toddler class (18-28 months) costs $338 per week. The 2 1/2 -3 1/2 year class costs $308 per week. Generally, the younger the children are, the more expensive the tuition is. They do provide two snacks and one lunch. There is a web camera for parents to look at their children online at any time. They only have full time program now (i.e. five days a week). There is a waiting list for certain classes.
2. Goddard Leesburg
Like all Goddard schools, the owner is often on site. The director who gave me the tour was knowledgable and left me with good impressions. The curriculum is similar to that of winwood but seems to be executed better. I like the fact that Goddard has more children's projects posted on the classroom walls. It feels more like a school than a daycare. The children were happy during all my visits. The teachers were very nice. The school put their teachers' credentials online and also at the door of each classroom. Goddard does not provide lunch though. Goddard offers part time program and the owner is very flexible in accomodating your needs. The tuition of Goddard Leesburg is slightly less than that of Winwood Leesburg. But considering it does not provide lunch, the difference evens out. The center is closed for one week after Christmas but it is open most of year except for major holidays.
3. Open Arms Leesburg
They have way too many violations listed in Virginia Social Service's website. Although violations are normal, the nature of their violations made me cross it off my list. I have seen violations such as staff fist fighting in children's room; one child left behind and forgotten during an outing; food taken away from still hungry children because they ate too slow etc. There are very good reviews on the Internet about this center. The several negative reviews I saw before were all removed. So I am not sure whether I can trust those positive even raving reviews. They are cheaper than Winwood or Goddard and offer part time option as well as full time program. Lunch and snacks are included. The children were happy during my visits. The center is also clean. They have a whole lot more children than the other centers I visited.
4. Leesburg Montessori.
Miminum age for admitted children is 2. This is the only AMS affilicated Montessori school in Leesburg. The teachers seem nice. If you like the Montessori philosophy, you can consider this one. The school only offers five-day programs but you can choose half day, full day, and extended days. The tuition is higher than Winwood or Goddard if you choose a program with equivalent number of hours. It follows the same calendar as Loudoun County Public Schools. So they have a whole lot more days off. Also, there is a two-month long summer vacation. You have to sign your children up for summer camp. On the other hand, if you want your children to have some time off during the summer (e.g. spending a month at the grandmother's house), there is the flexibility in this school. Lunch is not provided. Morning snack is on rotation basis (i.e. each student brings morning snack for the whole class on a rotational basis) with the school providing occasional morning snack. Among all the centers I visited, this one feels most like a school instead of daycare. The school also has strick dress code.
5. Kiddie Academy in Leesburg
This one just opened in November last year. The facility is squeakily clean as it is new. The director is super nice. The teachers seem to be nice too. The center includes lunch and web cam Internet access in their tuition just like Winwood. They have both part time and full time program. The tuition is more wallet friendly as it is significantly cheaper than some of the centers I visited. There weren't a lot of children at the time of my visit since the center was just opened. Update in May 2011: Recently, a teacher at KA was arrested for child neglect. KA subsequently fired three employees including the director.
I hope this helps and good luck to your daycare hunting.
Thank you for inquiring The Goddard School located in Leesburg. I would like to invite you to take a tour of our facility, learn about our program and meet the staff. I would like to take this opportunity to review some of the special features we are able to offer to our children and their families:
1) The Goddard School was ranked as the #1 franchise in Childcare/Preschool since 2001.
2) On-site owners: At all Goddard Schools, the owner is on site, involved in the day-to-day operations of the school. This allows a personal interest in the program and our families.
3) Director of Programming: Having on on-site owner allows our Director, to focus on the education, curriculum, teacher training etc. This heightened focus enables us to continually improve and enhance our program.
4) Goddard University: We have a huge commitment to continuing education for our teachers. For the past 2 years we have been recognized by Loudoun Child Care Network as having the most teachers achieve above 20 hours of continuing education hours. We also have had the teacher with the most continuing education hours for the past two years. Our continued commitment to our teacher?s education enhances our program and helps to keep our teacher turnover low.
5) Teachers prepare their own lesson plans: When our teacher?s create their lesson plans, they keep in mind their students interests and diversity. This allows for the instruction to be individualized for the students that are currently in the classroom. At our school we have also tailored each classroom?s curricular goals to ensure that our children are constantly being challenged and will have a smooth transition into Loudoun County schools.
6) No Institutionalized Lunches: With a growing concern about childhood obesity, we have our children bring their own individualized lunch. This allows them to learn about healthy choices. It also helps parents to know that their child is eating something nutritious.
7) Our Quality Assurance Program: In addition to state licensing visiting our school, we also have our head office visit our school twice a year, unannounced. During that visit they review the teacher?s lesson plans, observe each classroom, and ensure that Goddard Systems strict regulations for health and safety are being followed. Each year Goddard Systems reviews and adjusts the items it reviews at each school to ensure that all the schools are keeping up with the latest requirements for each state, CITA and NAEYC. Goddard Systems has been accredited through CITA, an international organization recognized by the school systems for early childhood education accreditation.
8) Enrichment programs are inclusive: The Goddard School?s philosophy is to include all children in all activities. We feel that if a parent is to pay extra for the physical fitness program or the Spanish program, to name a few, that some children will not receive these programs that enhance their early childhood education. We, therefore, include all our enrichment programs in the cost of our tuition.
If you have any additional questions, or would like to schedule an appointment to visit our school, please do not hesitate to call me.
Good luck with this very important decision.
Sincerely,
Sara Afshartous, Director
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***UPDATE***
My husband and I went to the Kiddie Academy in Leesburg (Battlefield & Sycolin Rds) today and we LOVED IT!! Super clean, awesome staff and the web cams and extremely reasonable prices convinced us! we're siging our son up for when we move!
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Did you enroll at Kiddie Academy? Are you happy with it?????
Thanks!
UPDATE - PLEASE READ
First, I need to apologize for recommending a place that we had not yet attended. We did enroll our son at Kiddie Academy, but after 6 weeks we took him out. The director (whom is no longer there) completely sold us on the facility and ALL they "do". After 6 weeks, we learned (the hard way) they do nothing. KA isn't a "learning center" environment - it is a daycare. My son learned nothing, infact he was completely bored. They have no structure in the lower age class rooms. In 6 weeks, we got 1 art project. It was complete chaios. I spent way too much time watching the cameras because I knew my son was not happy and I was not comfortable leaving him there.
Needless to say, the straw that broke the camels back was when an incident occured recently at the center where one of the workers was arrested for said incident happening. I found out about it on Twitter - NOT from the center management. Their communication sucks. So, we took our son out and now have him in a MUCH better learning center - while more expensive, we learned the hard way that cheaper IS NOT always better - especially when it comes to our son. The new structured enviroment that he is in is TOTALLY worth it!!! I regret going to KA.
The center director at KA was fired and the owners are promising to get the center up to where it should be. I hope they can do it. But even if they do, we won't go back. Sorry again all. Go with your gut when selecting a center, ask TONS of questions and go visit a few times before enrolling - see what really goes on.
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