TESTIMONIALS OF PARENTS

 

DATE POSTED:	April 8, 2010
FROM:	Heather Bakula
ACADEMY:	James L and Juliette McNeil Preschool
LOCATION:	Fairfax County (Alexandria)

 

 

 

DATE POSTED:	January 29, 2010
FROM:	Barbara Nocera
ACADEMY:	James L and Juliette McNeil Preschool
LOCATION:	Fairfax County (Alexandria)

 

 

Finding an outstanding preschool where our four-year old grand-daughter would be nurtured in a learning environment was a top priority for us last summer. We toured five or six local day-care centers and were absolutely thrilled when we visited the Hopkins House McNeil Academy, located on Route One in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County.  With its stunning, brand-new facility and high-caliber teachers, we were surprised to learn it actually had openings. We went back the very same day so our grand-daughter could begin right away.  Our experience at Hopkins House has been so positive we would definitely recommend it without hesitation to other families. Our grand-daughter is happy to go there every morning and frankly is reluctant to leave in the evening. It's the best kept secret in a highly affordable, top-notch preschool in the Mount Vernon/Fort Hunt area of Fairfax!

 

DATE POSTED:	January 27, 2010
FROM:	Holly Bryant
ACADEMY:	Helen Day
LOCATION:	City of Alexandria

 

I am the parent of two children enrolled at Hopkins House Helen Day Preschool Academy in Alexandria.  My daughter has attended Hopkins House since she was 16 months old; this week, she turns three.  We have been delighted with the care and teaching she receives and with the sense of community the school nurtures among the teachers and families there.  When several new siblings, including my son, were born to Hopkins House families in the fall of 2009, the leadership of the school took the tremendous step of reorganizing the school to make room for a new infant room to accommodate the new babies and to address the shortage of infant care in the community.  The principal secured new carpet, new toys, and new equipment so the older babies could move to their new room with familiar things.  My son started the first day the new infant room opened in December.  The ratio of providers to children has been quite low all along; there were two babies the first week, and now five attend regularly.  The two teachers are engaged and attentive, they care about my baby, and they know and care about my preschooler.  The teachers maintain for each child in the room a binder of photos and narrative that addresses his or her development and day-to-day activities.  Every teacher in the building knows every child by name and the children all know each other; the administrators who work upstairs and the leadership all know the children, too.  During drop-off and pick-up, big siblings do sometimes visit their baby siblings (with their parents' supervision) and talk with the infant room teachers, but they have their own place to be during the day.  Similarly, older children who were babies in the care of these ladies visit during drop-off and pick-up.  This is the natural rhythm of a community that fosters long-lasting relationships.  We've been very happy with Hopkins House and would not have chosen to put our baby elsewhere despite having other good options.

 

Have a good day at school!

 

DATE POSTED:	January 27, 2010
FROM:	Candace White Halverson
ACADEMY:	Helen Day
LOCATION:	City of Alexandria

 

My 13-month old son has been attending Hopkins House since he was 12 weeks old.  I have been thrilled with the care he receives during the day.  When he first started at the Academy, not only was he well taken care of in terms of feedings and changings, but he was also loved.  He spends much of his day being carried and held and talked to and often napped in the arms of one caregiver or the other.  As he gained strength and mobility, he spent time learning on "tummy time," sitting up with the aid of a Boppy and eventually playing in an exersaucer.

 

Since he has transitioned into the Infant II room, his teachers are encouraging his burgeoning independence and mobility.  He is on a regular eating and napping schedule and has just thrived!  He is still learning to walk and his teachers make sure that he practices, with the aid of push toys and while holding their hands.  They also make sure he doesn't "cheat" on the push toys by dropping to his knees - they encourage him to use the skills he has.  In addition, the teachers are working with all of the children in the Infant II room to transition from bottles to cups, self feeding, and using utensils.   The classroom in which he spends his day is stimulating as well.  It has a large glass window and door that looks to the interior courtyard.  My son loves to look outside and cruise along the area.  The classroom also has plenty of space for the children to walk around, while maintaining separate areas for eating, sleeping, and playing.  There are many stimulating toys for the children - enough so that they each have a number of toys from which to choose, but not so many that they are overwhelmed. 

 

I have found communication with the teachers to be satisfying.  Every day, they know exactly what activities my child participated in during their shifts and give me a "play by play" on how his day went.  I have also felt comfortable addressing concerns.  When my son transitioned from breast milk to cow's milk, he initially rejected it.  I worked with his teachers to come up with solutions to ensure he received sufficient fluids during the day.

 

One of the things I like most about Hopkins House is that it is a community.  The teachers and staff interact with all of the students - and know the students by name and by temperament and personality.  As a full-time working mother, it is difficult for me to be separated from my son all week during the day.  But, I am comforted by the fact that he is in the capable and loving hands of the Hopkins House teachers and staff.

 

Thanks so much!

 

DATE POSTED:	January 27, 2010
FROM:	Michelle H. Kennedy
ACADEMY:	Helen Day
LOCATION:	City of Alexandria

 

Hello Moms,

 

I am a Hopkins House mom and thought I would jump in with another view point. My son has been at Hopkins House since he was four months (he just turned 1).  I had reservations not necessarily about Hopkins House but about day care in general.  I think that is a right of passage for all of us.  My husband and I toured about 5 day cares in town and found that Hopkins House was actually the most receptive to our questions and concerns.  As well as the most accommodating to our timeline and location that we needed.

 

Here is what I love about Hopkins House:

 

The administration is always fighting for this school, funding, scholarships for students, improvements for both locations, education for teachers, parent involvement and above all else the safety of our children.

 

The teachers specifically in the infant rooms (as they are who I have had the most contact) love our kids.  The school provides snacks and food for the kids but the teachers felt that Cheerios wasn't the only thing the kids would want to eat so out of their own pocket they were constantly bringing in Gerber Graduates (puffs, pinwheels etc).  The parents of the infant room recently found out that the teachers were actually footing the bill for these treats (which our kids love).

 

I have been stopped on the street by a stranger passing by Hopkins House to tell me that she frequently walks by the park when the kids are out for play and the teachers are actually interacting with the kids not just chatting amongst themselves.  She said the teachers are always receptive to the kids and watching carefully as the kids run around and get some exercise and have fun.

 

Art, music, reading, language are being practiced everyday.  I have numerous art projects that my son did while in the infant room, they have reading time and were able to play with the musical instruments as well as develop their social skills.

 

He is absolutely in love with his infant teachers and before we go onto his new class we have to stop and say hello, he gives hugs and has established a relationship with each of the teachers.  Which to me, above all else, is the most important.

 

The location of the infant room is actually great because if something were to come up where those teachers needed assistance the person sitting at the front desk can easily be called upon to run in.  No one can get into the school without being buzzed in so I never felt that the location of the room put my son's safety in jeopardy.

 

Finally, I am not 100% sure but the infants in the infant room right now are not crawling around, they are under or right around 3 months and not yet mobile.  While this is not a "free" pass to wear shoes, I know that the older children are rarely if ever in the infant room.  In the past year I have only witnessed this twice.  It is required that if you are in the infant room you remove shoes.

 

This might be more than you wanted to know but, I think as a mom we will always find something that doesn't fit right with what we want for our child.  From what I know, my son is loved and taken care of, and in turn loves his teachers and his friends he has made at Hopkins House and that makes dropping him off a whole lot easier.