Our kids have been to Birch Tree (BTA) over the past 4 years. We've had an amazing experience, and…read morerecently realized how exceptional it is compared to other daycares. We took for granted the high quality care and high standards set by the management and staff. We took a short break and moved our youngest to another daycare for a month just to be closer to our house (national chain daycare in Kenmore), and it was literally night and day. The other daycare was subpar in quality and extremely short staffed, even though the tuition was comparable. We decided to move them back to Birch Tree, and drive the extra miles. What we love about Birch Tree is the management, warm and caring teachers who give lots of hugs, home cooked food, facilities, quality education, classroom camera and Bright Wheel App. Despite the locations expansion, BTA still feels locally owned and the owner Natalie and head of schools Jessica are very much involved in all of their schools. You will still see them in-person floating around the different locations. They generally know all student's names, and the local staff are always friendly and greating parents. They hold their staff to high standards and also expect the same of parents. Kids are well behaved, they wear inside vs outside shoes. Food is better than my home cooked meals, classrooms are modern with high ceilings and large windows, and all teachers have open communication with parents via the instant messaging feature. The admin staff is also on top of communication, and they have an abundance of teachers and admin staff. They also offer weekly PE, music, and Spanish classes which are all included in the price. They also offer parents night-out occasionally, and host events and weekly summer field trips for pre-k. You can do 3, 4, or 5 days a week. Speaking with staff, they enjoy working there and say that there's opportunity for them to grow and take on different roles within the school or office. Other parents we've met have moved from other daycares to go to BTA and seem very happy with BTA. They have well prepared our oldest for kindergarten and we are so thankful. None of these things we observed with the national chain daycare.

Wonderful place for kids to learn and thrive! Truly appreciate the work they put in and my child is…read moregrowing and learning a great deal as he prepares for kindergarten and elementary school!

My baby started at 4 months old in the infant classroom and as a first time mother I was so nervous…read moreabout leaving my baby at daycare. But the teachers were so loving and took such great care of him. Now when I leave him at daycare, he's so happy with the teachers, he doesn't even notice when I leave sometimes. I love the daily reports and photos. He's moving up to the toddler classroom and the staff have been very good with letting us know about transitions. There's plenty of parking at the front, live camera feed so I don't miss him during work hours, very responsive to emails, and if there's any issue they call me straight away. Thank you teachers!

Our family was with Kiddie Academy Bothell for years, and our daughter truly grew up there as part…read moreof the community. Unfortunately, over the past few months, we experienced several concerning issues that caused her distress and ultimately led us to make the very difficult decision to move her to a new school. We noticed a decline in care and communication beginning earlier this year around summertime. One of our daughter's teachers made comments such as "She doesn't like me," which felt inappropriate and insensitive given her age and emotional development. On multiple occasions, we witnessed emotional responses dismissed instead of acknowledged by teachers, for example, telling children not to cry or using a toy remote to "change" their mood instead of helping them process their feelings. There were also moments of unnecessarily harsh discipline. During one pickup, my daughter ran happily toward me and was immediately scolded by a teacher in front of the class. The tone felt punitive and unkind for a 3-year-old. We also had ongoing hygiene concerns. Our daughter frequently came home uncomfortable from sitting in soiled diapers, and even after being potty trained, she wasn't always properly cleaned. This led to severe irritation and discomfort, something that is avoidable in a childcare setting. When we brought these concerns to staff, the responses were heard, but later on the issues would arise again. We later learned that other families had also withdrawn for similar reasons, citing concerns about the disorganized environment, absence of structure, and insufficiently defined teaching curriculum, all of which created emotional stress and overwhelm for the students. To make matters worse, Kiddie Academy refused to refund our $1,000 deposit for the fall term, even though our daughter began the new school year and met their own enrollment criteria before we made the decision to withdraw her due to these ongoing issues. We've since moved our daughter to Birch Tree, and the difference has been night and day. The staff there are attentive, communicative, and genuinely caring. Questions and concerns are addressed immediately, and their follow-through is clear and consistent. They also provide a developmentally appropriate, well-structured curriculum with systems in place that foster a calm environment and significantly reduce the behavioral challenges many families had previously experienced at Kiddie Academy Bothell. For the first time in a long time our daughter is truly thriving. She is happy, supported, and excited to go to school every day. We're deeply disappointed by how things ended at Kiddie Academy Bothell. What was once a positive experience declined into something that felt indifferent and disorganized, and the lack of care ultimately cost them the trust of our family.

We were SO EXCITED to find this school! Infant massage, yoga, a great campus, delicious meals from…read morea chef... the list went on and on. Things aren't always what they seem though. Our child was there just a bit over a year and had 13 different teachers. One left during her shift and never came back, many others assured us they would be sticking around but then dropped like flies. The entire school seems to be a revolving door of staff which is never a good sign. Promises kept changing as they upped the number of kids in the rooms but continued to brag about how fantastic their ratios were. Sure they added teachers to the rooms but then teachers kept quitting and were complaining about not having proper breaks and staffing. There were ongoing requests to donate money and supplies to the classrooms - maybe it would have made sense to just increase the tuition by 10 or 20 bucks a month- I'm happy not to have to deal with this at our new daycare. Our journey ended when it became apparent that the children weren't being properly supervised and due to a safety issue we had to make a complaint to childcare licensing. The director then decided to send out updates about our complaint in emails and in Facebook posts where other staff and parents were allowed to mock the situation. Very unprofessional especially considering that the state department of licensing was in the process of citing them for lack of appropriate supervision. Licensing also helped deal with the issue of the staff not having kids regularly wash their hands (like when they came in from outside to eat meals). I feel for some of the teachers who were good but couldn't stick around. The idea behind this school is great and it would be awesome if well executed and managed.

We had high expectations of this school. The facilities and food program are great, and many of the…read moreteachers are awesome. However, the management was not consistent and had a lot of knee-jerk reactions to situations which affected our child's well being. They were very inconsistent with what they promised versus what was delivered. They claim to be child-led in philosophy, but the decisions made didn't seem to have the children's best interest in mind, rather, what was best for the administration and school seemed to be prioritized. Additionally, they were terrible at dealing with issues that arose with parents. Myself and several other parents I knew at the school were consistently told "well, group care isn't for everyone" or "that's why some people decide to hire a nanny" EVERY SINGLE TIME there was an issue--big or small. This led to fearing we were being told to leave the school. After leaving and seeing how other facilities operate and handle issues with parents, I am very glad we made the decision to leave.

My child has been at this school since preschool. I would say that Lower Elementary is definitely a…read morestrength, as some other reviews have mentioned. However, Upper Elementary was a different experience. In my opinion, it's not worth it. The academic pace feels slow and behind. You might get lucky and end up in a class where the teacher sets higher expectations(I heard from my child there is only one class), but otherwise, it's hard to justify staying that long just for academics. If academic progress isn't your main concern, it could still be fine. Overall, this school may is not the best fit for fast learners. Teachers focus on keeping the class balanced, which often means slowing down advanced students to match the majority's pace.

Due to moves, our daughter has been to two other schools, and WMS has been exceptionally better…read morethan the other. The environment is calm, positive, and incredibly welcoming. The student-to-teacher ratio is wonderful (23 students and three teachers). The school administration and teachers proactively communicate. The lead teacher in Dogwood is an absolute blessing. She has been very attentive to our daughter's anxiety, and our daughter has blossomed in this classroom. The school celebrates many cultural holidays, and our whole family has been enjoying the community events hosted by parent volunteers. The school sends visibly sick children home, as they should (not our experience with previous schools). We are thankful for fewer sick days because of this. Our only feedback would be to increase recess/outdoor time and to add additional greenery to the outdoor areas.

What a positive and nurturing environment, a safe place to set that foundation of learning.read more

Still very happy with this school and both of my kids are now attending. The teachers are wonderful…read moreand director Joy McBride is such a warm hearted & lovely person. The only change I want to make to the program continues to be that I wish they offered a 4 hour option with foreign language and music time.

Highly recommended little me, my girl attended here for a year then we had to move, she loves being…read morehere and I had never worried about her staying there under Jiang Laoshi and Tao Laoshi's care. She learnt so much and always enjoy her time! They are bilingual so they speak both English and mandarin Chinese , highly recommended if you're looking for bilingual schools

The Little Me Chinese Preschool has been a wonderful and nurturing environment for our son, who's…read morebeen there for 10 months. We're grateful for the care Ms. Jiang has given. Our son is asking me to pick him up a little bit later every day so he can spend more time at school. Ms. Jiang does circle time with singing, activities, and art. She gives them nutritious hot breakfast and lunch and plenty of snacks with fruits and veggies. In the evenings she gives us an update on the naps, eating and generally how the day has gone. When there is a need to address, Ms. Jiang is always there to answer questions and give us some guidance. We feel close with the families of the little me Preschool and we feel fortunate to be part of this tight community. We regularly have play dates at the parks or at our house on the weekends and we communicate over message about important issues relating to raising our kids. It's hard to describe how reassuring it is to know how much love and care Ms. Jiang has for our son and the rest of the kids at school. She works incredibly hard to provide a truly wonderful environment and big extended family for our son.

Three of our children have attended Teeter Tots and we love it! The teachers are patient and caring…read morewith the children and make everything interesting and fun while provided a rich learning environment. The school is great at communicating with parents and make our whole family feel welcome.

My "spirited" son transitioned to teeter tots Montessori after being at his preschool for 1.5…read moreyears. I never knew what he was capable of until he had Judy and Linda as teachers. In 4 months with them he learned more than he had in 18 at his previous school! Not only that but he learned how to learn! They are also amazing at working with all ages and dispositions. I cannot wait until my 22 month old can start at teeter tots! I cannot recommend this school enough. Please don't let the lack of a fancy or modern facade deter you from sending your child here. My son is starting kindergarten this fall and I am sad he won't have Judy and Linda but know my youngest will benefit from their experience and wisdom!

I highly recommend UCIC, infant through Elementary programs…read more I have three children who have been growing and flourishing at UCIC (Ages 2, 6, & 8) for several years now. The teachers are amazing and support school staff and summer camp staff provide such caring and concern about the kids and parents. The quality of service and your child's development will exceed your expectations. My kids love it here which is the best feedback a parent can get.

Ucic has become like a second family to us in a city where we have no family in the area. Our three…read morekids are known by name and the staff are accessible, kind, and work hard to create a safe and welcoming environment for the kiddos. We love the ample enrichment opportunities throughout the school day and after school, and we know that the school aims to differentiate and personalize instruction for students, while maintaining high and rigorous standards for all. They truly believe that all students are capable of achieving and demonstrate this in their wide range of supports for students.