This is my rave review for the Child Development Center (CDC) at the Pomona Fairplex. My wife and I started with our son there from 6 months old to 1 1/2 years old, and then we moved him closer and had a difficult odyssey with two other daycares and having him home during parts of the pandemic. We raced back with him and his new little sister at the tail end of the pandemic 2 years later--we couldn't wait to get back to this place! We now must leave again for a closer neighborhood Kindergarten, as we have commuted to the CDC all these years from LA. Everyone in our area thought we were crazy for doing that daily commute but they didn't quite know what we had in the CDC that made it worth it.
Why have we loved the CDC and were desperate to get back? 3 reasons: 1) a strong Culture of institutional excellence and professionalism, and a sense of safety 2) a great Price and 3) a sane Sick Policy
(1) CULTURE
The CDC has institutional excellence and professionalism. Anytime you can find a daycare/child center near a college or university with a Child Development Studies Program you're going to have better Teachers with more training, professionalism, and vision for their vocation of teaching kids, caring for them, and rearing them up. The CDC has a strong association or perhaps partnership with the University of La Verne's Child Development Program. Let me demonstrate the professionalism and excellence we saw:
I remember during our first Tour we asked how they approach discipline, and the Teacher Tour Guide shared their guiding theories of discipline for that age group based on Thomas Brazelton's work, and then their actual practice in the classroom when your child or someone else's misbehaves...we were impressed with this answer, knowledge, and approach. In contrast, we toured a daycare spot in Pasadena that was twice as expensive as the CDC and when we asked them their approach to discipline the answer was: "Um, we do time outs..." Okay, I do time outs at home too, but this is your profession, and have you thought a little more about how to approach these situations and how to train up a child?
Communication on scheduling, our children's classroom supplies and needs, classroom infections when they arise, and holiday events have always been on point. Communication has been excellent--they use all of the latest Apps to keep the parents updated throughout the day.
The CDC is actually in a great location at the Fairplex, and so classes will take occasional tours of the nearby museums on the Fairplex campus, and go on excursions to the LA Fair every year that is held there at the Fairplex! A prime and beneficial location!
As I mentioned in the beginning, we left the CDC at one point to be closer to home and ease our commute but we ended up regretting that decision, as the two other daycares we used did not have institutional excellence and professionalism, but were poor communicators, had bickering staff, an unclear and unreasonable sick policy, and even overly angry Teachers.
The CDC always felt safe for my kids, with a very secure campus, securely staffed entrances and exits, walls, and fun, excellent, safe playgrounds.
The next thing I'll affirm the CDC for is its (2) PRICE.
The CDC was cheaper than the daycare we had our two kids at in Pasadena, and it's more economical than any equivalent spot in quality in LA because it is outside the city of LA, it's in Pomona and LA County but not LA city proper...and everything is more expensive in LA.
The third and final aspect of the CDC I need to praise is its (3) sane SICK POLICY.
The CDC are pro-working parents, as they have a sane sick policy.
They stayed open during the COVID pandemic, they never closed, which says something and which was quite rare as many other daycares closed!! And they were following Center for Disease Control policies throughout of course, using evidence-based approaches to protecting the children but also supporting families by staying open and never closing. We had our 2nd daycare close during the pandemic and never even reopen, but the CDC never even closed! They just adapted and adjusted to the pandemic nimbly, which demonstrates institutional excellence!
A clear and generous Sick Policy is crucial for working parents as kids will get sick a lot...daycares are little disease factories, there is no way around that, but the CDC will reasonably take kids back in when they're no longer infectious or contagious even if there are some lingering symptoms--we've had other daycares where all symptoms need to be entirely gone before return, and so good luck having your kids in daycare for half of the month during those flu seasons! They will call and send your kid home when needed for the rest of the class' health, but they take them back as soon as possible which isn't true for all daycares!
For these 3 reasons I needed to write a glowing and truthful review to honor and affirm the Child Development Center at Fairplex. read more