San Jose Day Nursery

I love this school and was sad to have to leave. I moved to Gilroy and could no longer afford the commute. For the short time my 5 year old and 3 year old attended San Jose Day Nursery, they learned so much. My son became potty trained right away (I know he should have been potty trained but I just did not know how to start). My daughter graduated from pre-​k to Kinder with a beautiful ceremony held by the school. They both sincerely loved their teachers and that is why I was so sad to have to leave. My son loved to give hugs and kisses and my daughter adored Ms. Carrie.
I am considerably picky about where I place my children so after putting my children through many many (15 – 20) different Home day care/​preschool/​child care centers– This was the best one!!! Two home daycares were good– the rest were… you cannot believe… I recommend this school 100% to anyone.

Great school! Love almost all the teachers. They are very good with my daughter. They are extremely kind and caring. My daughter loves it here. She always ask to come to school. She is very advanced and I believe it has to do a great deal with the schools curriculum.
Awesome hours 7am-​6pm

I enrolled my daughter here because her last school had closed and was one of the schools recommended to us. It was her second week that I decided to un-​enroll her due to a lack of professionalism by the teacher. Like all kids when starting a new school they will cry and be sad. This was the case with my daughter she was super sad and crying a lot cause it was a big change for her having to start a new school. The teacher in charge of her room was not comforting and made a comment that her ears were hurting because of my daughter crying so much. Comments like this should never be said about a child especially if you are the teacher that is your job to comfort and be there for children who are new to the school. My daughter is only 1 year and ½. I immediately addressed the issue to the director, and said they were going to have an all staff meeting regarding the issue. Later that day once the issue was addressed to that particular teacher more issues occurred. When I picked her up that day the form that indicates when diaper changes occur was marked with the last diaper change being at 12:45 pm, and I picked her up at 5:20 pm, and when I asked the teachers that were there they said they think there was another change, but probably forgot to mark it on the paper. Also when I picked up my daughter her face was red around the eyes like she had been crying for awhile and no teacher was comforting her, and immediately when she saw me she started crying and running towards me. After that I did not feel comfortable at all for my daughter to continue receiving care at this center. I hope the director addressed the issue very clear so that it doesn’t happen to another child because no child deserves to be mistreated for crying too much. Luckily I have found another child care center for my daughter and she absolutely loves it and the staff and teachers are great.

After looking at MANY daycare options (in-​home as well as centers) around the SJ area, my husband and I decided on SJDN. I am so happy we did, we absolutely LOVE this place and our daughter does as well!
Pros:
Caring staff who are very attentive to students. (Our daughter is in the infant room and they are ON TOP of everything; pointing out everything from changes in diet to temperament that they observe. It’s so obvious they really care about her.) This meant the WORLD to me when I went back to work and they continue to astound me in their sensitivity and thoughtfulness. I get pictures and texts with updates and they are always open to a quick chat about how my daughter is doing. LOVE these teachers!
Infant care-​preschool.
Pay on sliding scale dependent on family income.
Diverse student body as well as staff that truly reflect the population of the Bay Area.
«Family feel” — every staff member learns the child and family members names. You walk in and are greeted by everyone you come across.
Cute facility. Every room is clean and well cared for. The outdoor play area is adorable with a play structure, sand features and ride on toys.
Children sorted by age.
Co-​op structure: families are expected to do a certain number of volunteer hours. They aren’t a lot, and it makes you feel like you are contributing to your child’s school.
I am sure there are many more pros, but since my daughter is only in the infant room I can’t attest to the pre-​school. I will say as I walk through to her room I see teachers actively engaged with students and kids participating in meaningful play. (I am a teacher, so I tend to scan for things I see as «good teaching»; they are doing them all!)
Flexible staff– we had a few unusual requests with diapering and breastmilk, they’ve worked with us on all of them.
Good communication– not only do they update you at pick up orally, there’s a little slip to let you know how the day went, they send home newsletters and will call/​email/​text as appropriate.
Cons:
It’s downtown so parking is a pain. There’s NOTHING SJDN could do about this, so I don’t really consider it a con for them as much as wish the city would be more understanding of a school zone.
Again, not something they can control, but since it’s downtown, expect a downtown atmosphere on the street. People are often hanging out on the corner/​steps of the building nearby. This isn’t an issue for us, but if you aren’t used to a downtown setting it may initially be off-​putting.

Our 4 year-​old has attended SJDN for two years now and I am very impressed with this childcare center. I agree with the first reviewer as the staff is caring and treat each child as an individual. Their focus on social skills in addition to learning has helped our only child to blossom. The center has a commercial kitchen where the prepare breakfast, hot lunch and healthy snack. The children also plant and tend to a vegetable garden picking their own vegetables to eat. I could write a novel but one last comment: In looking at pricing at other childcare centers, we found this to be extremely competitively priced

My youngest son is in their preschool program here and I am impressed with their staff and their curriculum for their preschoolers. I love how his teachers respect that each child has different temperament and helped my son develop his social skills without pushing beyond his limits. His first teacher was Amber and he absolutely adores her. He now has a new teacher and I’m certain things will remain the same.