Preschools with Academic Year Schedule

2 parent questions ▼
Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • Daycare/preschool that closes for the summer?

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    Jul 12, 2023

    Hi BPN friends, I'm offered two spots at Pixar recently and have to make the decision by the end of this week. The only concern I have is there is no summer session. This means if I want to take kids to travel during the summer, I will have to continue paying for the tuition untill someone fill my spots. It is difficult to find a place that accepts both kids starting right away, so Pixar is a good choice. However, tuition for three months for two kids in the summer is a lot cuz we do plan to have a overseas trip next summer. I really appreciate any advice on this situation, or other daycare/preschool recommendation? Thanks! 

    Jul 12, 2023

    I strongly recommend Every Child Bay! The director and teachers there are super nice and the policy is very flexible. My daughter is 3.5 years old, we just moved here from another country 1 month ago. My daughter had a very successful transition there under their professional support and care. Do consider ECB, you won't regret!  Here's the director Irene's email dr.irene.russo [at] everychildincluded.org 

    Jul 19, 2023

    There are absolutely preschools that have summer breaks (for example, EB, EBI, EBGIS) however those preschools also tend to be pricier overall, so I don't know if that would save you much money.  I would look at the cost difference of year round daycare vs school year preschool with camps for when you do need summer care before you turn that spot down! Also think about whether there is any chance you wouldn't be gone those full three months or whether there are any additional years your kids would be at the day care before moving to elementary school. I get MUCH more stressed out trying to figure out what to do with my kid when his preschool is closed then I do worry about paying for additional care I may or may not need.

    Jul 19, 2023

    Little Elephant Too in central Berkeley does two summer sessions that you enroll in separately, so you can opt out and not pay tuition for three weeks or so at a time. They do mixed ages 2-5.5 and there have been several sibling pairs in the mix over the past few years. We were really happy with it for our first kid and our second is starting in September.

    Jul 19, 2023

    Good care is hard to find and even harder if you are looking for two kids. If you have to pay until someone fills your spot then it would be a good idea to plan ahead and find someone that wants to take your spot for the summer, especially if you want to go back after the summer. 

    Jul 20, 2023

  • Affordable preschool in El Cerrito (or very nearby) w/academic year schedule

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    Apr 9, 2018

    I am having a hard time finding a *reasonably priced* preschool in or around El Cerrito that runs on an academic year rather than year-round schedule. My husband and I teach, and so we spend the summer road-tripping, camping and caring for elderly parents back east. We have found a few promising places, but so far they are all year-round. The thought of paying thousands of dollars for the 10+ weeks that we are gone for the summer seems somehow absurd.

    I realize that many parents work year-round and appreciate the ability to have a stable placement for their children throughout, but I imagine that there are others in a similar position to us that have found accommodations.

    Thanks for any leads.

    Apr 9, 2018

    We LOVE Casa Cerrito, the city-run preschool.  They give an option to change your schedule over the summer, and tell them you plan to have your child back full-time in the fall.  Last year we reduced preschool to half-time for a few weeks and then went back up in the fall.  They do say there's no guarantee you'll get your full-time spot back if another kiddo comes full-time in the summer and wants to stay, but I think they try to make it work, and they're more affordable than most other preschools around.  The down side is that their hours are 9am-5pm, no extended care available, so if you can't make those dropoff/pickup times work with your work schedule it can be pretty challenging.

    Good luck!

    Apr 11, 2018

    My son went to a preschool in Berkeley, run by BUSD 2015-2016. I paid less than $800 M-F 9-3. I know that they have groups run on academic year and also groups for a longer day (these are very hard to get into). I was happy with the public preschool. I visited or spoke to ALL preschools in Berkeley-Albany-Kensigtin area. This was my top choice. My other son will start at the same school (they are called childhood development center, not preschool) in August. The downsides are that children must be fully potty-trained and if you are late 3 times to pick up your child-you are out! The had a weekly library, garden, PE, and theatre performances. Lunches are included in the price. Also they had two field-trips on a school bus. Firefighters visited them on a fire truck and dental hygienists did to teach them how to brush their teeth. I felt that my son, who is now in second grade, was  perfectly prepared for school. There are 3 sites: Franklin, Hopkins (we went there), and another one. Information is on BUSD website.

    Apr 11, 2018

    Hello,

    I don’t have a specific place recommendation in El Cerrito but my husband and I are both teachers too. When our son was in preschool, we had a year round preschool. However the preschool worked with us so our son could go part time instead of full during the summer. It saved us some money and it was actually nice to be able to take him sometimes and get a break, although we were out of town a lot.

    I’m not sure if our school was just particularly flexible, but it is worth asking wherever you go. That school has since changed owners and is entirely different now.

    We moved out to Pinole and our last preschool WAS on an academic schedule and was fantastic: La Casita Bilingue in old town Pinole. If you happen to work this direction I highly recommend.

    Apr 11, 2018

    My daughter is at the Berkeley Rose Waldorf School preschool, and we love it. They are on an academic schedule and have spaces available for next year. I'm sure someone could arrange a tour if you call.

    Apr 11, 2018

    Gay Austin school in Berkeley. Both my kids went there and loved it. Not year-round, not cheap but cheaper than many other schools we looked at, and was only a 7-minute drive from our house in El Cerrito.

    Apr 11, 2018

    Check out Sunshine Playschool in El Sobrante.  They are year round, but many teachers' children attend and they seem flexible with taking summers off without losing your spot.  Good luck!

    Apr 11, 2018

    It’s not nearby but I beleive the Mills Children’s School in Oakland uses an academic year schedule (they have a summer program but you have to pay and enroll separately). They accept kids as young as 6mo. 

    Apr 11, 2018

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Seeking preschool compatible with BUSD schedule

Sept 2012

I'm in the preliminary stages of researching preschools for my daughter as her older brother is headed off to kindergarten in fall 2013. I'd love to send her to the same preschool as her brother is currently attending, however this school seems to have frequent staff training and religious holiday breaks built into the schedule, plus lengthy vacation breaks in the winter, spring and summer, and I've heard from other parents here that the breaks don't coincide well with the BUSD schedule. We are a family with two working parents and it would be nice to find a preschool where we don't have to blow all our vacation time filling in gaps in our kids' school schedules. (Is this even realistic?) Does anyone have recommendations for preschools with breaks that coincide well with BUSD breaks, or a schedule that is generally more adapted to the needs of families with two working parents? Anywhere in Berkeley or Emeryville would be great. - running low on PTO

Check out The New School of Berkeley (www.newschoolberkeley.org/).

Its schedule is based on BUSD's, with the added bonus that it's open during BUSD one-day holidays (Malcolm X Day...) and BUSD spring break. The only days it's closed when BUSD schools are open are the Friday before Memorial Day (for the annual New School family camping trip to Mendocino, which is awesome) and a few days around the time BUSD schools start in late August.

Plus, New School is around the corner from Berkeley Arts Magnet BUSD elementary school, and it offers before- and after-school care for elementary-age kids. Both my kids, who go/went to BAM, went to New School from preschool (ages 2/3) through elementary-school after-school care (ages 6-10). Robin

Once again, please see my response above to ''Looking for a mellow preschool near Glenview''. First Years Enrichment is year-round and on the BUSD calendar. Their number is 510.658.8109. A very pleased Mom