Foster City Pre-School and Daycare Center

My son has been in Foster City Pre-​School and Daycare Center for more then a year now. We cannot be happier with that choice.
The warmth, creativity and expertise of the teachers is amazing. All of the teachers we met so far are loving professionals who take their role in children’s lives seriously and with joy. There’s no one there who is just putting their time in. The school has a clear, thoughtful vision and program. Teachers give very detailed and practical feedback to parents at regular intervals.
The best thing I love about the preschool is that they provide a atmosphere of creativity and open learning to allow the child to be a child, while helping them develop natural social skills of respect, tolerance and acceptance.
So Thank You goes to all teachers & staff. You Are Wonderfull!

We moved to Foster City in 2014 and were looking for a pre-​school for our 2 year old daughter. My wife did a pretty exhaustive search of the different pre-​schools options in our area and suggested we check out Foster City Pre-​School & Daycare Center.
Brilliant find!
The staff is super nice. You can tell they truly enjoy working with young kids. Our daughter LOVES going to school here. Each time we pick her up there’s new art projects she’s worked on in her folder, which she is beyond excited to show off.
She’s much less shy and more independent since attending this school. Time apart from mom and dad is crucial. :)
The staff does a fantastic job of keeping us informed of her progress and keeps a proactively open door for feedback and dialog.
The tuition is very reasonable and a fantastic value considering the economy where this school is located.
Very happy with the staff, education and overall vibe of the place.
Make sure you check these guys out before you commit to another pre-​school in the area.

I, along with my daughter and wife moved from India to Foster City in September 2014. Daughter is now 5.5 years, so we knew that she would be joining KG in summer 2015. Question was, what pre-​school to put her in ?
Based on some of the earlier reviews and proximity to our apartments I chose Foster city pre-​school and day care centre. This is in «Charter Square» opposite the foster city post office.
I am very glad with the way things have progressed till now.
1) Daughter looks forward to going to school everyday, which is a good sign.
2) Her speaking/​vocabulary/​attention span have all increased in the last 10 months in school.
3) She has made friends with a lot of other kids and likes her class teachers.
4) The school has all the necessary discipline and rules in place.
5) The playarea is good and they conduct lots of activities there.
6) She finds interest in the regular homeworks over the weekend
7) The teachers go through story books and activities which has improved the skills of my daughter a lot.
8) After pre-​school, she sleeps in the same area for 2 hours and then stays till 6 pm.
9) School has tie-​ups with local dance teacher, tuff tumblers (recreation and gymnastics) and soccer programs which provide valuable exposure to the kids.
Overall, its a good all-​round pre-​school and I am sure they take very good care of the children there.

We love Foster City Preschool. My 4 yr old daughter and 3 yr old son are thriving. The teachers are very caring and the curriculum is great. Both kids are learning so much and having fun. We highly recommend!

My son has been in Foster City Preschool for 3 years starting at age 2. Yes — like all parents we had complains about some things or the other but the overall experience was so good i will give them 5 stars in a heart beat.
At age 2, my son was very lovingly taken care of by Teacher Tina. She is super nice and has a kind heart to listen to all the attention we want our kids to get. Teacher Celi — she brings discipline, order and fun to the 3 year olds. My kid was very slow at doing stuff — but i appreciated Teacher Celi’s attention to our son. Finally at 4 years of Techer Reyna took over the reigns to make our kid ready for kindergarten (although my kid is in TK now due to cut-​off dates). Lastly, Ms. Betty — thanks for the encouragement that you provided to our kid during this year and thank you for listening to our concerns and working with us to make our kid progress through out. A note to parents: talk to Ms. Betty — i mean it – talk to her… she will address your concerns.

I enrolled my son here at the age of 2 and he goes Full Time to his school for about a year and half now.
I have nothing but good things to say. The teachers are qualified, good with children and are kind and affectionate with the kids. I have seen one or two teachers who were not and they didnt last at school and had been replaced quickly.
One the things I love is that the kids watch very little television here. At other places, they watch TV for about 2 hours a day at the least. Here — it is the half hour at the end of day when kids wait to be picked up by the parents.
My son didnt speak for the first 5 months he went here. Not a word. The teachers kept encouraging him and while it was concerning for all of us — they told us that other than speech, he was following instructions normally and able to follow class material. And oh Joy — one fine day he just started speaking. never during that time were the teacher frustrated to work with him. I appreciated that.
I appreciate the mgmt staff. They are strict, but very experienced. And while they can be slightly intimidating initially, over time, I have come to like them and understand that they do what they do based on decades of experience.
My son has thrived here. Learnt good manners, and the class material and program is very good. The lunch program is a good one — the food is diverse and seems to target all core food groups almost daily. Kids get a salad/​vegetable, some fruit, milk, a main protein component and yogurt/​healthy deserts. My son eats the vegetarian lunch, and he likes it.
Secure backyard for playtime and video cams monitoring some premises — its pretty safe.
Another advantage: they are a preschool and daycare center. So they dont close for spring break!!! My workplace doesnt clsoe for that time so I would be forced to take vacation otherwise.
Kids come from all backgrounds — I love that. I want my child to grow up loving the diversity and comfortable with every one in America.
I think the key to remember is that, this is a long term school — not gymboree. Whenever my son had issues, we had to work with them and over time it was sorted out. Things are never perfect anywhere, but here: they have always partnered with us to help us improve and better themselves. This has been the key factor for our good review here.
At this point, I am looking for my child to be happy, be safe, enjoy his day and do some learning at his pace. I am not looking for him to be an astronaut — my focus is for him to become a well rounded, well mannered, happy kid.
So, my two cents: enroll your kid, give it time and I am fairly certain that you will not want to go anywhere else after that.

My daughter has been going to this school for a month now. My wife and I are very happy to see how easily she has adjusted to the new school. She loves going to school and likes her teachers. We haven’t had any complaints so far and we would recommend it to everyone.

My daughter has been going to the pre-​school since one year and we are completely satisfied. They have great teachers who are very understanding and caring.

I have had our kids at a few different daycares in the Foster City area. This is the first place we brought our 2 year old to, and he has been here ever since. I think he was 2, maybe he was almost 3? The location is great, and very convenient for any F.C. resident. The parking lot is spacious and you can usually find parking. The interior is cleaner than the other local place we have tried for our infant that starts with the letter «K». Our child has learned his ABC’s here and many songs. He tells me what he learned every day when I pick him up. The teachers are nice and attentive to the kids needs. The price for this Daycare is far more reasonable than the aforementoned also. There are not too many annoying rules at this place, unlike other places, just the «no pictures» rule you will find almost anywhere. It is sad we cannot capture memories of our childs school and his friends for our lifetime scrapbooks. We plan to keep our son at this place until he is ready for real school, and plan to move our infant here when she is old enough also.

My daughter has been in Foster City Preschool for over a year now. The school offers great learning experience for kids: tons of crafting activities, kids’ song singing, reading, writing, dancing, etc. School environment is clean and organized. Tuition includes lunch and snacks.
The school has a lot of activities and celebrations to keep kids busy and fun. Besides academic learning, school also offers field trips, pony rides, dancing classes, etc. My daughter learned history stories, world cultural festivals and daily life skills from school. She is very happy in her class. Big thanks to Teacher M.
We learned that this school has been around for over 40 years, and the director has been with the school for long time. We love the director. She is extremely nice and considerate. She provides helpful advices everytime we have questions. And she always try her best to work with parents if any issue comes up.

I am very pleased with the school, teachers and environment. The teachers are kind, understanding and have a strong desire to see each child succeed and will work with each parent to ensure their childs needs are met. .
Almost every day my son comes home with some type of art project and tells me all about how much fun he’s having at the school. Several times we were even amazed on how much he’s developing and honing skills like communication and fine motor skills.
My wife and I are very pleased with the school and would recommend them highly for your family.

My son started here when he’s 2 years old and it was really a great experience for him. The teachers here are patient, friendly, and knowledgeable. They offer different activities during the whole year — trip to the park, soccer, dancing, picnic, and even picture with ponies. My son is having fun everyday and he’s very happy at this place.

We started our daughter in this preschool in May 2014 at age 2 ½. Before sending her here, she was schooled at home under grandma’s care and was very, very shy. For this reason, my husband and I were very particular about choosing a facility that would suit her needs.
We didn’t read any reviews but when we did, we noted the fact that there are only three. This facility currently appears to have more than 20 kids enrolled. Is no news good news? I had to ask a couple of parents in my daughter’s class how long they’ve been attending and what their impression has been. They seemed pretty satisfied…
Upon enrollment, I was asked to sit in with my daughter twice for 15 – 20 minutes before her real start date. I observed that the teachers sat the kids at a table for project time, learning letters, and spelling. I was mildly impressed with how one girl, smaller than my daughter, and another little boy was tracing the alphabets and writing their names and spelling aloud. They’re two years of age!
«B» is for banana, and that is the letter made out of construction paper with miniature glued on cut-​outs of nine yellow bananas (for the ‘number of the day’) that my daughter took home with her. ‘They do learn’, is what I remember thinking, and that it wasn’t just a daycare or a preschool for the older kids.
That was my first impression. I read about the school’s mission, their values, and their goals which can be found on their website, but it wasn’t until a couple of months of attendance when I soon realized that they fall nothing short of their claims. Another important criteria for me is that they assist parents in their effort to potty-​train. Granted, you pay extra for that, but many preschools and Montessori’s require your child to be potty-​trained to enroll.
They also provide extensive reading material about the school’s policies and rules. Strict, I don’t mind because I can sincerely say that they balance that with nurture, care, and respect. They have structure and a routine. They provide age appropriate programs and a curriculum. They provide playtime, learning, singing and dancing, outdoor play, nap-​time, meals, and snacks. If that isn’t enough, they also offer extra-​curricular activities such as ballet and soccer, field trips, and countless other things. Around Mother’s Day, they hosted a Tea Time Party. The kids in each classroom performed for their parents, presented us with a token gift and card, and allotted time for socialization afterwards over juice, pretzels, and popcorn. I am most impressed that they have a monthly calendar of their activities, themed projects for each day of the week and one for their meals. She takes her projects home each day along with a daily report. They maintain a communications board and a monthly newsletter, and the director has sat down and met with us to give us a report during our daughter’s adjustment period.
My daughter went through the expected and usual crying during the first few weeks of going through separation anxiety. Now, we no longer struggle to get ready each morning. In fact, sometimes she is even excited to go to school! Of course she has her moments when she would rather sleep in and just stay home with grandma, but everyday when my husband or I pick her up, she always has a smile on her face! (So do the other kids.) She makes a point to say goodbye to all of her teachers and friends. Occasionally, I hear her singing the songs she has learned when she is at home!
I’ve also noticed her strong influence whether its from other kids or from the various teachers, but judging from my daughter’s overall demeanor has been enough to keep us satisfied. Moreover, their overall consistency with organization, structure, communication, and professionalism is all the more reason to continue with her enrollment and to highly recommend this place to anyone.
I am thankful to my daughter’s teachers and to all the staff for their hard work and for their commitment to delivering high standards.
UPDATED 3÷7÷16, Daughter is now 4 years old:
I am changing my 4-​star review to 5 stars! For the record, my initial review was only 4 stars because I feel that there is always room for improvement. I’m changing it to 5 stars because I am very grateful to the school and for the program that really enriched her learning and her growth! I cannot reiterate that enough. I think we all understand that there is no such thing as perfect, but the fact that this school is always open to our concerns and actually takes action to constantly improve their system has given me great comfort and satisfaction.
My daughter will be leaving to attend TK in our district this August. She’lI be sad to leave, but I am excited to see how she copes and transitions. Good news is that I have a 2 year son who will enroll here soon.
Oh, I am told that not only is she no longer «shy» but tends to be ‘influential’. Hope that’s a good thing =)

1 star reviews?! Oh, how the times have changed.
Foster City Pre-​School and Day Care Center is one of the best day care centers around. My son has been attending here for 2 years now and will be graduating tomorrow. The have beyond met my expectations of a day care and I strongly feel they deserve this review.
I have never had any issues with the staff who are very friendly and yes, they do acknowledge your existence and greet you when you walk into the door. They provide catered well-​balanced lunches every day for the children as well as snacks throughout the day. Fun activities are scheduled daily for the children to participate in and are all base upon developing your child’s mind and motor skills. The staff understands that each child is different and may require a different pace/​style of learning. For example, my son was not getting a good grip on his pencil as opposed to other classmates. They had him use a fat crayon until his hand was strong enough to grip the thinner pencils used. Now, my boy is writing and drawing like a champ, a father couldn’t be more proud.
There are parent-​teacher conferences to update you on your child’s progress which includes a long list of things that your child can and cannot do, yet.
The one thing that impressed me the most was the school’s curriculum. It allowed my child to express himself and his interest, but at the same time taught him all necessary skills and subjects to prepare him for kindergarten. The school covers all subjects a regular kindergarten class would, but again, at the child’s pace. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that my child will not be ready for kindergarten. My son can/​knows:
Write his name
Write all letters and numbers
Count to 100
Recite the alphabet
Add and subtract numbers within 1 – 20 (possibly more)
Read short words
Understand the context of the words he reads and learns
Days of the week
Months
Shapes
Objects
and the list goes on…
If there are any incidents/​accidents with your child and they are urgent, you will get a phone call, if not urgent, they will provide you with a written report of the document at the end of the day in your child’s folder. I trusted the staff for 2 years and it was easy. Everything that should be done at a day care/​pre-​school is being done here.
So… like I said…“Foster City Pre-​School and Day Care Center is one of the best day care centers around.“
5 Stars for a great two years!
Thank you teacher Bettie & staff!!! Y’ALL ROCK!

I’m not one to write reviews but in this case I feel I have to, and I can only hope that it reaches other parents. My son was at an amazing daycare which he started going to at the age of 2. It was a daycare at my husbands work in Redwood Shores. He was there for one year and when my husband changed jobs, I started looking for a place as perfect as the one he was at. I didn’t know anyone else who had kids at other places so I began to tour as many as I could.
At first I thought this place was ok, clean, organized and the teachers ok. Never really liked the director, she was nice at first but kind of strict. I thought, ok, they’re responsible, serve lunch, nothing really striked me as bad.
Here are the things I experienced during the first month:
–teachers never said hi or acknowledged us in the morning. once I stood there by the door with my son, wondering where he should sit at the table for snacks while no teacher said hi to us or welcomed us.
–on his first day, they took his lovey away at nap time and said it wasn’t allowed. my son was so confused. and I had no idea. he told me in the car when I picked him up.
–saw one of the teachers yelling «eat your food» and then stuffed it on one of they boys mouth. this is when I started to look else where.
–after the first week, one the following Monday. I went to pick my son up and when my son wasn’t in his class, they told me he had moved classes. I asked why no one told me (I mean they saw me everyday). and she said she had left a note in one of the mailboxes. when I asked why they moved him the director said «oh we just didn’t like the way the class looked, had to spread them out».
–I was a little happier in the second class as the teachers were sweet and nice. but they were terrified of the directors. any time I asked them anything they would have to ask the directors. even when I asked if he could sleep with his lovey because it was a new place and he was had switched classes again, all the said was. «yeah we don’t make the rules, just follow them».
–they are required to say good bye to the teachers when I get them to pick him up, even before he runs to me and hugs me. (which my son stopped doing once he started this place). he was scared and intimidated and not happy and I could see it in his face every time I dropped him off or picked him up.
–you’re not allowed to carry them in. they have to walk-​in themselves. at his old daycare he would run in happy and smiling. on this one, I had to pick up because he was sad and didn’t want to go. hes a very outgoing child, never cried on anything, but you could just tell he was sad.
–never saw kids playing. always sitting around in circle time or at the table. toys were always in the same place and position (I think they are just for show).
so I took him out and he’s thriving now at his new place, another daycare in foster city. he’s back to his old, happy, normal self and we both couldn’t be happier. he runs to his class, laughs, play and is learning all sorts of new things. the bad thing about this place is that I even felt uncomfortable and scared, as if I could get in trouble at any time. I have spoken to other parents and teachers and they all feel the same way. the one word that would explain the style of this place is «military». it is not a nurturing, happy place. but a place where there is extreme and over the top order, where even the teachers feel scared of the directors.
I hope other kids don’t have to go here and I hope this message reaches all. there are better places in this area.

My child & I loved the teacher, but the admin staff did not take appropriate steps in 2 situations. 1.) my child threw up and they did not call me they waited for me to get there at normal time (2 hours later) while she slept with vomit in her hair. When I got their to pick her up the staff member tells me that I am «overdoing it on the stranger danger» bc she didn’t want this particular staff member to change her blouse She didn’t even seem concerned about my child’s well being.
2.) another child hit my child on the chest and another grab her rear (both at different times) and I brought this up to the staff’s attention and I never heard anything afterwards, not a single peak about what steps they were going to take nor if they even spoke to the other kid (s) parents. One of the other kids kept on bothering my child until I removed her from this facility. The staffs exact words were «this is what kids do. they don’t know what they grab. they will always touch each other…»

We sent our boys here for a couple years before we moved away from the area, and really liked it. The teachers are very nice and the director always has the kids’ best interests at heart.
We especially loved the teachers in the toddler area, they were very warm and I could tell they cared about my kids. The teachers in the preschool area weren’t as motherly, but I think that was by design, since the kids shouldn’t need so much hand holding by then.
As the other reviewer mentioned, my sons learned a lot while they were here; unfortunately we left the area and our new school doesn’t teach as much, so my younger is a little behind academically, compared to his brother at the same age.
My only complaint is that the teachers didn’t know how to handle my son’s speech issues — which is understandable since they were probably not trained for that. When my son moved over to the preschool side, the teacher initially seemed to be frustrated with him a lot, and complained to the director, who then called us in for a bunch of meetings. After a couple months she got to know him better and was able to understand him more. Eventually I could see that she had come to care about my son. But those couple months were a bit frustrating for us.
However, overall I would definitely recommend this school, just be aware they don’t have training for even minor special needs.

Our family loves this preschool. We’ve sent all our kids here and they love the program. Teachers remember our kids’ names even years later. They also remember siblings and ask how they’re doing in grade school.
Our kids have learned to read at an early age and are ahead of their peers when they started kindergarten. I still believe that the early childhood education helped our kids tremendously and it was in great efforts by the teachers at Foster City Preschool! Highly recommended!