Hoover Children’s Centers

Okay, I’ll have to admit that I had some difficulty getting a tour to see Hoover (as did a previous reviewer). At the time (as I later learned), they only had 4 teachers so if a teacher called out sick, the director steps in as a back up. As someone who works far away from home, it was indeed annoying to have to call the day of to see if I would be able to come in and check it out. Luckily I had a friend whose two children attended the school and raved about it, so I got on the waitlist even before having a formal tour. (Nowadays, the school has a floater in addition to the director and 4 teachers, so it should be much easier to get a tour.) I’m so glad I did because a spot opened up right when his other preschool announced they were closing up shop, and I was desperately trying to find a new home for him. I had checked out at least 30 other preschools (seriously) but nothing came close to what Hoover offered.
What I love about Hoover:
— Class size: there are 4 classes, 12 kids max per class, with 48 kids total in the school. Some kids only go certain days or do half days, so it never feels too crowded in the facility. This was perfect for us, as my son was coming from a very small speech therapy based preschool where he was one of five students with 2 – 3 teachers. He did so well with that one-​on-​one interaction that I was nervous that he would flounder in a larger school environment. I had tried putting him in a small in-​home preschool (with 10 kids) and he got frustrated with the lack of space and activities. Hoover is great because they are larger than an in home facility, but smaller than a typical center preschool. Your kid is not going to get lost amongst a sea of kids on the playground. The one-​room layout means they will get plenty of engagement from all 4 teachers, not just the one assigned to your class.
— Hours: they are open from 7 – 6, a godsend for working parents. There are very, very few places that are open this long, which I find kind of crazy in an area where there is so much commuting for work. (I work an hour away from home, so with a typical 8 – 5 work schedule, I’m still looking at hitting the road before 7.) You can choose from a 4 or 5 day a week schedule, and a 7 – 3 schedule or a 7 – 6 schedule. Lots of flexibility. Oh! And the holidays! They have the least amount of days off that I’ve seen from any other school. Most schools take off two entire weeks in the winter, or a full week in November, and a multitude of staff days throughout the year — not here. I should actually say «poor staff» but really I think «yay me» because that means not having to scramble for alternate care when I still have to work!
— Cost: honestly, full time childcare is ridonkulously expensive. Their rates are lower than comparable preschools in the area, and you get more for what you pay at other schools.
— The teachers: they are all good. They will genuinely adore your child, even if he’s a mischievous snot like mine. Great open door policy. Good communication; you’ll get emails of their weekly schedule which is nice (yay for being green).
— The curriculum/​structure: they rotate the kids from different areas of the classroom to do lots of play based learning activities. A good amount of outdoor play, which was important for me. Their playground isn’t huge nor does it have any greenery (being on an office lot) but it is plenty big enough for the number of kids out there, and they make good use of it (e.g., in the summer they have «swim days» where they bring out kiddie pools for fun!). Your kiddo will come home with TONS of art projects for you to throw awa– I mean, post up on your mantel.
— Cons: having to pay with a check each month. I know it’s petty, but I wish they accepted direct deposit. I’d even pay extra each month to not have to dust off my checkbook and send in this antiquated form of payment. Because it’s 2015, the only people that knows what a check looks like is Hoover and that 80-​year old woman holding you up at the grocery store checkout line.
— Bottom line: my son loves going to school. I love him going to school. And I can’t wait for my younger son to turn 2 so he can join in on the fun!

I’ve had two children attend Hoover. One graduated and one is currently there. We’ve also attended Kindercourt in San Carlos as a comparison.
Hoover is a small preschool in the Provident Bank building across from Hotel Sofitel in Redwood Shores. I appreciate the added security a business office has to offer like promptly locking a majority of the doors by 6:00pm and having security throughout the building. They have good parking and even a café in the building to grab coffee on my way out. Hours are 7am-​6pm, M-​F. You can choose 4 or 5 days a week and full or part day programs.
There are roughly a maximum of 12 kids per group, based on age so a max. of only 48 kids in total. They do age specific activities but also interact with all ages at various points in the day. I liked that class sizes were small compared to Kindercourt where there were maybe 30 kids with 3 teachers per age group. Hoover has one main teacher per age and a floater. They have a large motor area, small motor skill area, outdoor play area and one more area I’m forgetting.
After leaving when my oldest went off to school and later returning with the younger sibling, I forgot how much I liked them. They immediately named my youngest by her nickname (remembering from previous years) and asked how my husband was doing (also calling him by name). They take an interest in your kids as well as your family. We know all 4 – 5 teachers and are even Facebook friends with a few. When two Kindergarten age alumni recognized each other at pick up time and ran to hug each other, their previous teacher ran up to get in on the hug too. Genuine interest all around.
If you are looking for a small, traditional pre-​school type environment where the teachers know your entire family, this is it.

So many preschools take the approach «get Kindergarten ready» and by this they mistakenly remove a lot of the emotional/​nurturing component of teaching and caring for our little guys. The nurturing part seems to be the most important part for the staff at Hoover Children’s Centers in Redwood Shores. Funny thing is that because their so good at this, my child is able to focus on learning and retaining while having fun — which means she is completely ready for Kindergarten. We moved into the Bay Area earlier this year and they have surpassed every expectation I had and have been instrumental in helping my daughter transition to our new life.

I have had both my children attending Hoover and I truly am thankful for such a great school. Both kids were more than prepared for kindergarten. I appreciate Hoover’s activities and curriculum in a rotation format. The children are always occupied and challenged with different tasks. They were excited to go to school every day and loved every teacher they had.
I especially like the class format where 1 teacher is entirely responsible for her class. What frustrated me the most when I pulled my older one from attending another chain preschool nearby was due to the low published child ratio on the surface, but the teacher turnover is so great that even regular teachers cannot keep up with the substitute teachers’ names and nobody could tell me how my child was, even after I am told of an incident by my child. Here the teacher is very busy because each of them is a head teacher for their own class. Only a part time floater relieves them for breaks.
I understand the frustration from another reviewer that the director sounds just so over busy. I had to follow up a few times with her before enrollment too but I really wanted my children to get in. =p Genevra is the most hands-​on director I have ever seen. She knows, teaches and plays with every child, can substitute as teacher (when one calls in sick) on any given day. She is down to earth and you can tell she truly enjoys her role.
Hoover is not a large scale preschool, having only a capacity of 45 students. The small size works out great for my children. It doesn’t feel as much of an institution and the children receive a lot of attention, with the 4 teachers knowing every child. And all 4 of them are fantastic.

I have had my kids here since 2007. I can’t imagine them being taken care of better than they are at this preschool. It’s amazing how much they are nurtured and grow at this school. When my oldest moved on to Kindergarten, I felt he was VERY prepared for kindergarten. The kids here are not just taught their curriculum, fed and potty trained here. The teachers truly care about them and work so hard to make sure they learn manners, good behavior and most of all, HAVE FUN! I owe this school so much for taking perfect care of my kids while I am working all day. If you are looking for some where safe, that will give your kids a strong preschool education, welcome home. :)

This school will not allow prospective parents to pre-​schedule a tour. Instead, you are required to call the day you would like to tour to see if they have enough teachers on hand so the director can give you a tour. This policy makes it very difficult for parents to arrange child care for other children so they can actually tour the facility.
Further, I called the afternoon prior to the day I wanted to come in. I spoke with
Genevra Lee-​Christensen, who is the Director, and was told that I could come in the next day as long as all the teachers showed up for work that day. I was instructed to call at 9am the following morning, which I did. I spoke with Genevra again and she informed me that I could not tour that day because the whole school had a holiday practice which had been scheduled for days. At this point, I noted that she had mis-​informed me the previous evening regarding the likelihood of getting a tour that day, that she should have told me I could not come in at all that day. I asked again if I could schedule a tour, as arranging for child care is challenging and having to pay for child care that I then don’t need is frustrating. At this point, she got very snappy with me and said that she would never pre-​schedule any tours. I asked if she might make an exception, as this situation was quite frustrating, and she said «I apologize» in a very snappy, bite-​my-​head-​off tone of voice and then hung up on me!
So, a few concerns:
1. What kind of transient teacher population do they have that they can’t schedule a tour ahead of time in case one of the teachers is out?
2. If the director is this defensive and snappy about a mistake she made on the phone, how is she treating the children in her care? What happens when they make mistakes? Or what happens when she makes a mistake with the children, does she snap at them?
Look, I know people have bad days, but she showed a severe lack of leadership in terms of how she handled her interactions with me even though I gave her several chances to say «My bad, how can I work with you to make this tour happen?» Clearly, she doesn’t want to work with anyone and I don’t get the sense that enrolling your child there changes that dynamic!

Oh ya, parking is ample and you won’t have to worry about foolios that don’t know how to back up their minivan!