Both my kids attend RCCC and it is about as special a place as you can get; so much so that I…read morecontinue to schlep my kids there after moving from Cambridge to Brookline. There is a core group of teachers who have been here for 5, 10, 15 years, even, and there is a real effort to build community and do right by every child, every family, and every staff member. Professional development and pedagogy inspired by the Reggio Emilia tradition is a central value; teachers are encouraged and at times sponsored to attend workshops and conferences to stay current and engaged, and they take consensus very seriously even when it comes to teaching -- teachers take cues from the children's interests and shape curriculum accordingly. RCCC invests in its teachers and it absolutely shows.
It's a pretty diverse group of families - lots of other languages flying around. The site has its own spacious playground (with two large play structures and a huge sandbox) so the kids have a safe space to place outdoors, including trikes, ball games, building forts, and gardening. A small "jumping room" for kids to get active even in inclement weather. They make frequent use of the Harvard campus, with whom they are affiliated, so you'll often see RCCC kids playing in the courtyards and grassy spaces around the college dorms. They're right by the Charles, so expect your kid to come back obsessed with Canadian geese for a while. And curriculum is enriched by regular visitors who play music, teach hip-hop, and bring new experiences to the kids (firemen, policemen, farm animals). For the older classrooms, swimming, soccer, and dance are also incorporated, pulling together a really rich and diverse experience.
Boring stuff: it's competitively priced with the bigger corporate daycares, 12 month contracts, enrollment is in the Fall, so kids stay together the whole school year and generally move up together, something that contributes to the community feel and strong relationships. Teacher ratio goes well above Mass regs (e.g. 4 teachers to 7 infants) and teams work real well together. RCCC will take kids from 4 months up through pre-K. Hours are 8:15am to 5:30pm. Small parking lot for pick-up and drop-off...sometimes it does get crowded, but Harvard Sq. real estate is what it is. The one minor frustration is that it's linked to the Harvard system, so whenever Harvard has its holidays on top of the regular Mass. holidays, RCCC is also closed, so you're talking one week in March, two weeks in the summer, and one week in the winter where you're scrambling for alternate care if you have to work. Snacks are provided, but you pack your own (nut-free) lunch for the kids. Progress reports and parent-teacher meetings scheduled 2x a year.
But it all comes back to the amazing teachers. I can't say good enough things about them -- they'll work with you and whatever parenting concerns and phases you're going through at home. The director is a steady presence and is accessible and responsive to parent concerns when they arise. Ultimately, this feels like a community, not a business, and I'm going to be real sad when it comes time to leave.
