Hope Street Friends KinderCare

This is a really great place. We and our children really enjoy spending time at this kindergarten, and the teachers, staff, and administration are all wonderful people. There are additional clubs and cooking classes, which are very interesting for the children. The teachers and administration are very, very courteous and always helpful, and they will answer any questions you may have. It is also great that there is a mobile app. You can always ask a question to a teacher or administration, and they also send us photos of our children every day. This is the best kindergarten we have ever visited.

This place is absolutely fantastic and safe for your child! The teachers and staff make it really special and caring. My daughter was always super excited to visit this place! Thank you!

We absolutely love Hope Street Friends!!! The staff is incredibly kind and engaging, and their curriculum has helped my child's growth significantly within the first couple months. I'm grateful for the safe and educational space that they provide and look forward to many years ahead with my children in their care.

We had our child here for around 3 months, and it was a mostly negative experience. Pros: very long hours (7 AM - 7 PM) were useful in a pinch, Elvia (the former director) was excellent and very responsive. Facilities were generally clean and nice. Big con: teachers were generally uninterested in and/or unsuited for childcare, you would almost never see a teacher voluntarily interacting with a child (the most notable exception being Cindy, who was really sweet but unfortunately not our child's teacher). I get the sense it's difficult to hire enough teachers for the hours / teachers who are willing to commute to the area. Because of almost complete lack of supervision, our child was scratched, bitten, and pinched more in the 3 months we were in KinderCare than in his previous 2 years at his prior daycare. In addition, he picked up some bad habits from the teachers (yelling) and reported being hit when told to pay attention (it's difficult to gauge whether the latter actually occurred, but it's plausible and at least raised suspicions). One of my child's early teachers was dismissed for roughly pulling students by their arms. Many incidents do not go reported because the center intentionally communicates verbally so as not to leave a paper trail. I do not know whether this is implicit KinderCare policy or something local. Running a daycare center is very difficult and Elvia was very responsive to our concerns, but ultimately it was too much for her as well and I believe she's resigned by now. Ultimately I don't recommend this daycare center. No parent likes to leave a negative review about child care, but I feel I would be doing a disservice to other parents to leave only universally glowing reviews up.

Hope Street Friends/KinderCare is an absolute gem. My kid has been in the infant room for several months since post-COVID reopening, and we have had nothing short of a perfect experience. Because we started daycare just as pandemic was waning, we ended up trying two different daycares before settling on Hope Street Friends/Kindercare. I felt that my kid was cared for and safe at all of them, but there are some very clear advantages to Hope Street Friends/Kindercare: - Their management is fantastic. They use an app for all communication, so there's never any doubt about what my kid ate or did---and I don't have to remember to take a photo of a day-sheet before leaving. - I get regular, adorable photos. - Pickup and dropoff is incredibly efficient. Parking is easy. And I am never stuck waiting for my kid, even if I get there at peak times. (At previous daycares I sometimes waited up to 30 minutes---which was grating, when I was busy.) - The hours (7am-7pm) are priceless for working parents. Having to get a kid before a 5pm or 6pm closing time is often very inconvenient on a busy day---and forces you to commute when traffic is at its worst. - Finally, the teachers come across as experienced and loving. They've never seemed flustered; my kid is genuinely happy to see them. It's a great comfort to know he's having the time of his life while I'm in my office. All in all: It's an A+ experience. I am very glad we landed there.