Re: Preschools with Male Teachers
Claremont Day on College Ave. in Oakland has Teacher Johnny, who is calm, patient, and insightful. The children love him. He's been there for at least 5 years. anon.

I am looking for a preschool for my almost 4 year old daughter. I went to the Claremont Day College Avenue preschool and was very pleased. However, does anyone have any comments about the school, teachers, location, safety, etc. michaelle

Does anyone have any insights on the College Avenue location? We have been considering the College Ave location and a little more feedback would be great.

We are considering Claremont Day Nursery on College for our daughter next fall (she will be nearly 2.5). We were impressed with the staff and liked what we saw when we toured the facility, and would be interested in feedback from parents who have children there now or in the recent past, especially in the two-year old program. What have been the strengths of the program for your child and family? The weaknesses? The hours, vacation schedule, and food seem to make it a good fit for us as a two-working parent family. Anything else you think that would make it a good or poor fit for someone? Even if you're happy with the program, anything you wish you had known ahead of time? Thanks for your feedback! AH

There aren't any recent postings on CDN on College, and I would like to hear both positive and negative opinions. I visited recently and while I like a lot of its features, I wasn't wowed by it, but I want to keep an open mind. One concern was that the program director isn't there the whole time- she splits her days between the college and claremont sites. They also have a higher staff-student ratio than some other places I have seen. What are your impressions of the teachers- competency, warmth, etc? Also, I wasn't crazy about the fact that they serve sweets for dessert with lunch a few days/week, though I do like the fact that lunch is provided. Any other impressions? Thanks!!! milli

For me, I love the fact that there is plenty of unstructured play time, and they do let the kids play. My son loved mingling with the older kids, when he was younger, and now is great at looking after his sister, and he also watches out for the other younger ones, on occasion (I have watched him when he didn't know I was there). I think that the teachers seem to understand what the kids need, and they watch out for the younger ones more carefully, particularly those that seem a bit lost or uncertain. For me personally, I appreciate the fact that they let the kids go a bit, I don't like to see kids hovered over: kids need to have the room to experiment and try things out on their own. That being said, I do think that it is safe, and that they do not compromise the safety of the children.

I'm not sure what is meant by ''high noise level'' - I just hear kids having fun. My son is probably one of the noise makers, though, since he is pretty active and loud, so perhaps I am biased. When kids are outside, I feel they should be allowed to be as noisy as they want. Inside is another matter, and the teachers are good, in my opinion, about getting the kids quiet when they need to listen.

All in all, I am very happy with Claremont Day Nursery. I live only 1 block away, so I often drop in unannounced, and have never found anything to be worried about. You both are welcome to contact me if you have any other specific questions or concerns. Good luck! Kelly

Re: Preschools with Afternoon Programs
Claremont Day Nursery School has an afternoon session with extended care until 6. They have locations in Kensington and on College Ave. A friend had kids at the College Ave location and was happy with it. I've also read good reviews about both locations in the UCB Parents achives. Maria

Does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, with Claremont Day Nursery on College in Rockridge? My son will be 4 when he attends preschool. The website only has comments about Claremont Day in Kensington and Berkeley. Thanks much.

My wife and I work in San Rafael and downtown SF respectively. My wife works until 5 and then has to hurry across the bridge to pick up my son before 6pm so as not to be charged the $15 late fee. First of all, while I agree that a late fee is necessary so that perpetually late parents do not take advantage of the situation, I believe $15 for each 15 minutes after 6pm is excessive especially because sometimes traffic considerations make lateness out of the parents control. So my wife continually had to rush across the San Rafael bridge and then fight Berkeley city traffic at rush hour to get to CDN at Claremont and Woolsey. I myself onetime got a speeding ticket trying to make it there before 6pm. Inevitably, there was an accident on the bridge which tied up traffic leading to my wife getting there at 6:15 one day. Two days later, it was construction tieing up traffic which led my wife to arrive at 6:02. When she arrived my son was on the potty and so didn't end up leaving until 6:20.

The director made us feel like somehow we were negligent and at fault in arriving late and tried to charge us $15 for arriving at 6:02. When we didn't pay immediately, he then continued to hound us to pay the $15 to the point of confronting me on morning in front of parents bringing their kids to school. I explained to him that I didn't think the fee was warranted due to our arrival time and the problems we had that day and he then basicly told us it was our fault we were 2 minutes late, that the rules were rules and that if I didn't pay up, my son wasn't welcome there again. We had already made the decision to pull my son due to the attitude of the director, but I was furious that he would accost me in front of my child, his schoolmates and their parents like that. I have no quarrel with the teachers there who are caring and engaged the kids in artwork which was sometimes creative and sometimes just consisted of coloring exercises. My son just seems to be much happier where he is now and gets much more individualized attention. Anonymous

The upstairs teachers are very warm, friendly and genuinely caring about the children there. They give each child the attention he/she needs, while still encouraging independent play and activities. There is a daily routine, interesting projects and activities, and enough structure to help children grow through both play and more traditional learning activities. Both my son and daughter have blossomed in the program. I feel that the care and attention they receive has helped them grow both creatively and intellectually, while they have had their emotional needs met.

There are some more logistical aspects of CDN that I like, particularly compared with Duck's Nest, which is also a terrific program. First, the hot lunches at CDN, which eliminate the need for busy parents to remember one more thing. Also, for better or worse, CDN does not have the number of inservice and vacation days that Duck's Nest has. These add up very quickly, particularly for working parents who need to scramble to find the additional care when the school is not open.

As far as the parent who complained about the fine for being just two minutes late... I've been a few minutes late to pick up my kids once or twice for exactly the same reason that he was. I gladly paid the $15 fee and I know I am not alone in that sentiment. First off, it's stated right up front in the school policy that there is a $15 fine for every 15 minutes parents are late to pick up their children after 6:00. It's no surprise to anyone. The fee structure at CDN is very reasonable; a few extra dollars to compensate the teacher for caring for your child is nothing. Traffic delays in the Bay Area are a fact of life, and we should be grateful that we can depend on someone we trust to care for our children when we are delayed. Another thing to consider is that a two minute delay for us in our cars might mean a 45 minute delay for the on-duty teacher who misses her bus or BART connection.