Reviews of Bright Future Early Learning Center Oakland
We are looking at Bright Future Early Learning Center for our 16-month-old daughter. They are now a non-profit business run by the Oakland State Building Kid Corporation board and is no longer contracted with 4Cs of Alameda County. I've read some lovely reviews on BPN about the director, Laura McNair, of her time running a home-based day care in Montclair. Appreciate any recent notes on the program, teachers, director, etc. Thanks in advance.
Oct 5, 2016
Parent Replies
Sorry this is not recent info. My daughter attended Bright Futures from 2012-2015 when it was part.of 4C's, but I can assure you that the director, Laura, is amazing. Such a kind woman who truly cares about every child there. We had a good experience. All the teachers are different now, but I have several friends who currently have kids there and they are quite happy.
I really liked the program for my son who started at BF when he was about a year old. It's a solid good daycare/preschool. with good teachers and a nice yard with play structures. I highly recommend taking a tour of the facility and meeting with Laura. I toured other nearby centers and didn't like those as much. It's a huge plus for our family is the location of BF, since one of us works in the same building, and another parent works just a few blocks away.
There are fancier daycares, but for us this one works, especially because of the location. Now, about the cons. There is quite a bit of teacher turnover, especially on the preschool side. It may be just this last year or so, and so far our child seems ok with that, as they have been able to find qualified replacement teachers right away, but it makes it difficult to form a relationship with teachers and feel like a part of the center. There's also a policy that could be an issue for you if you plan to arrive there after 9:30 am or after 5:30 pm: one is charged $3 per minute if they drop a child off after 9:30 am, and also per each minute late at pick up. I agree with the late pick up part of the policy, though it's a bit steep, but not with the late drop off part. The late drop off is excused if a child has a doctor appointment in the morning,
Lastly, they don't do potty training until the child transfers to the preschool side of the school, usually around 2 years of age or so, even though there is a door that between the infant site and preschool, and it opens right into the bathroom area with nice child-size toilets and a multi-user sink. With my son, the head teacher at the time refused to accommodate potty training (he was starting using a toilet at home), even when I offered to bring a potty. It may be a teacher/student ration issue, but I think they could have found away to accommodate us.
None of this may be an issue for you.
All in all, it's a good place.