We've had a child at Greentree for about 3 years. We find the director to be, as described in the 11/9/10 comment, rather rigid. While a nice, polite person, she is a bit of a bureaucrat requiring... More >
We've had a child at Greentree for about 3 years. We find the director to be, as described in the 11/9/10 comment, rather rigid. While a nice, polite person, she is a bit of a bureaucrat requiring certain forms be filled out for requests rather than allowing the same information or request to be made by email, for example. Rather odd for someone whose salary is being paid by you, the parents.
Greentree is more expensive than many other day cares that provide comparable services, although they claim otherwise. In addition they have a "volunteer" requirement of 20 hours of time, or $10 for every hour you fail to complete. It's ludicrous to call this "volunteer" and should be considered in deciding where to place your child. While the pricing is comparable to a care center across the street, that center seems to provide many more services such as diapers and spanish classes.
Communication does seem to vary by room. A couple teachers are outstanding, most are acceptable. There has only been one teacher we thought was awful both at communicating and in how she treated the children. Fortunately she left.
We were happy with our time in the baby and toddler rooms but very, very disappointed with the preschool room. For a long time the focus there seemed to be on learning to pick up toys or you wouldn't get a snack, rather than on a curriculum. But teachers do change so it's hard to say how the experience would be in the future. I also think my child was pushed into the preschool room before she was ready because they needed room in the younger classes for other kids. The transition was very difficult partly because she had to leave behind her friends as they stayed in toddler for several more months and also because she was much less mature than the other kids in preschool.
Overall the center provides good, safe care - at times excellent with enrichment, at other times just ok. Because of the price as compared to other centers, we won't be putting our second child there.
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I have more than three years experience with Green Tree and have generally been pleased. The young toddler, older toddler, and preschool teachers are excellent. I really feel like my older child... More >
I have more than three years experience with Green Tree and have generally been pleased. The young toddler, older toddler, and preschool teachers are excellent. I really feel like my older child thrived under them, blossoming in creativity, expressiveness, and problem solving. The pre-K teachers seem great, too.
All the classrooms go outside fairly regularly (weather permitting) for enriching field trips or just to run around. The on-site outdoor area is fun, safe, and enclosed. The cook does a great job of turning nutritious food into something kids will eat. The director and assistant director generally run a tight ship, although downtown professional types will be surprised by their rather disorganized communication with parents.
The infant room is the weak link in this otherwise excellent school. Two of the four teachers that primarily work in the room, including the lead teacher, have sub-par communication skills and not very accomodating. I think they treat the babies just fine, but their attitude toward the parents is off-putting. That said, there is one teacher in the baby room who is amazing: very communicative, thoughtful, and understanding. Some parents don’t seem to have any problems with the infant room, so it may also depend on your personality.
Green Tree tuition is expensive, although on par with other high-quality down town providers. There is very low turn-over among the staff. They are NAEYC accredited.
All in all I highly recommend Green Tree, especially if you’re child is a waddler or older.
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Stay away from the infant room at Greentree. The lead, who oversees the care of infants as well as leads other teachers in caring for infants, has no real concern for the health of the infants. For... More >
Stay away from the infant room at Greentree. The lead, who oversees the care of infants as well as leads other teachers in caring for infants, has no real concern for the health of the infants. For example, she and the other teachers (except one who has a personal ethic related to infants) place infants on their backs on the floor when giving them bottles. This of course makes the infants prone to inner-ear infections. When I asked the lead to please hold my grandchild at an angle when feeding her a bottle, or make sure that she is elevated somewhat if she is not able to hold her, she got upset and told me if I want that kind of special care I would have to get a note from a doctor, and when I went to the director she agreed. So we (my daughter and I) had to get a note. We also called the nurse who inspects Greentree, and she did mention to the director that the infants should be elevated when fed a bottle, yet the infants are still given bottles when lying flat on the floor. I have actually seen infants' heads leaning off a thick mat when being fed, which is even more problematic.
Also, the teachers often do not clean the changing mat of the changing table, yet they themselves wear protective gloves to make sure they don't get any bacterial infection or other illness.
Also, I have often observed infants’ limbs hanging out through the slats on the cribs during nap time. The obliviousness of the workers, in my opinion, is directly related to the guidance from the lead and the director who do not see any of this as a problem.
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Located in the heart of downtown Seattle, Green Tree provides first-class childcare for working parents. I chose to put my son here because the school provides so many learning experiences for them:... More >
Located in the heart of downtown Seattle, Green Tree provides first-class childcare for working parents. I chose to put my son here because the school provides so many learning experiences for them: field trips to a variety of places in the downtown area, music classes at Soundbridge, and art classes. Their menu is totally vegetarian and the teachers are fabulous. While Green Tree is a bit on the expensive side, it is totally worth it!
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