March 2008

Re: Subsidized preschools in Bay Area?
I have to second the post for the Albany Children's Center in the UC Village (see the post below). I have one kid there now and one who attended for 2 years. Both kids really enjoy/ed the school. It's sliding scale and part of the Head Start program (which means you get lots of bonuses - including free dental/eye and ear check-ups each year and programs like brushing your teeth after lunch! - I never did that in pre-school.) The student population is mainly from the UC Village, meaning the children of UC graduate students - from all over the world.

The facilities are not the new and shiny but the rooms are full of wonderful art and all have big windows, there is a large yard with lots of swings and sand and room to ride trikes fast. You won't find a Zen fountain around but there's a small library building in the yard (built in the shape of a train) and lots of dedicated teachers, many who have been there for 20 years. And the director Susan is WONDERFUL - a smart, engaged leader and a real advocate.

Do get on the wait-list early (like now). Albany residents get preference, and here's the trick - if you can start your child during the summer you'll have a good chance to get in because that's when the students graduate and start leaving .We started both our kids in July/August.

Joanne does all the administrative work and has been there forever. Be kind and thoughtful to her and she'll watch your back. She really helped us navigate the system when my husband and I were really struggling financially. We pay full-fee now and wouldn't go anywhere else. Good luck, it's a great school!
mom of happy healthy well- cared for kiddos

My daughter has been going to Albany Children's Center for over a year now, and my son is in their waiting list.

I think the two major strenghts of the center is the teachers, and the diverse student body. My daughter adores her teachers and connects with them very easily. The main teachers are stable and most have been working there for several years. They are very experienced and very caring. On the diversity side, I think about half of all kids in our class are bilingual. My daughter is proud to sing ''twinkle twinkle little star'' in Chinese; has a Korean best friend, and a Chinese best friend; and can count in 5 languages (well, up to ten, but at her age, that is all to the numbers).

Other pros are: it is open for long hours (at no additional cost); open all year (very relaxing for a full time working mom); provides free lunch and snacks.

So, ACC can be a great choice, depending on what you expect from a pre-school. We have been really pleased with our experience, and feel free to contact me if you have more questions about ACC. Nuriye

Re: Low-Cost Preschool
Check out the Albany Children's Center - in the UC Albany Village - my daughter just started there and it's a great program. It's subsidized -you pay according to your income (I think if you make more than 3,000/mo you pay full fee)- I do think they close at 6:30 but I'm not sure. anon

I suspect the quality varies from classroom to classroom. When my child first went there, I too was dismayed the the high student/teacher ratio. But then I realized the ratio tends to rise during pre-school, and now matter where I went, the ratio would have gone up.

Whatever the official ratio is supposed to be, due to the high number of absences of children taking long vacations to visit family outside of the country, the ratio was usually around eight to one.

I thought my child's experience at the center was pretty good overall. Sure they could use more money and staffing, but I thought the same of some private centers I visited, too. I kept my child there even though I wasn't subsidized at all. I tried to participate as much as I could, and generally had lunch with the kids 3-4 times a month.

No center is perfect. You can either vote with your feet or get involved, I chose the latter. I think the multicultural nature of the center makes it a special place.