Urban Mamas

so pretty.You are a good teacher. Lucky student!

They suck and are very, very expensive for the amount of time your school aged child spends with them. As my daughter put it, "Vermont Hills is the place nightmares come true".

*Failure is the path to success. It helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way.

I was just wondering what school Kendra's child attends?

We are so happy that campfire came to our school! Vermont Hills was terrible. Brenda Dengo is the owner operator, as far as I can tell there is NO board at all. I have no idea how this is a non-profit, but from what I understand Mrs.Dengo continues to collect her full wages, while cutting programming and snack! The activities are very basic, the snack is terrible, and unhealthy.
When the head teacher at our school left she said it was because "she was sick and tired of the way they treated her, and how the company was run," We had a diferent supervisor at our site every year inspite of promisses that this would not be the case. I do not recomend this program.

I had a very distressing situation happen and am still working to see the end results. I agree with the person that the staff seems to be non-creditial baby sitters who are just winging it with my child's wellbeing. Does being a "grandmother" qualify you for care of 30 kids? there does not seem to be much structure and my daughter goes to Jason Lee where many of the students are not as financially advantaged as some of the other programs.

We are in our third year. Mostly because we are captive at the school. Staff turnover has happened every year. Some have been great and some very lazy. Communication with the main office is incredibly poor. Prices have gone up at beginning of the year and again in Jan and full day care on days we are out. If I had another choice - I'd use it.

Does anyone have any experience or input on the new St. Luke's location?

What experiences/opinions are parents having for the Vermont Hills at Astor school? How is their staff?

I know the Atkinson site that VHFLC operates. Yes, there has been some turn over of staff but the program is really good! I know that some of the staff that were at Atkinson are students themselves and their school schedules changed so they were not able to work the after school hours between 3-6. Several of them are still with Vermont Hills and substitute when they are available. I think we need to remember that most After School staff are part time employees because it usually fits their schedule needs and most, if you talk to them, are going into the field of education.

Since VHFLC is a non-profit does anyone know how or where to get the public records on their financial's? I would really like to see where and how their money is being spent. Thanks

I would say that any of the VHFLC sites that are located at a church or school are way better staffed and more professional because they know that they will be under constant scrutiny by other non VHFLC employees who could report them. As for other separate locations I don't doubt that they get the maybe less qualified or substitute teachers that are being tossed from location to location.

I don't doubt that the staff at the Burlingame site like the children and are competent teachers, though some of the aides seem to be a bit apathetic. The environment, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. There are no walls dividing the classrooms, which often contibutes to a very loud, cluttered, and chaotic classroom environment. Recently, there have been a couple of decisions made by the staff/director that I question, and it makes me wonder if, being that it is a non-profit school and relies on grants/donations, if some of the more affluent parents aren't given a bigger say in how things are run on account of contributions they make...i.e. "Do what I ask, or I'm pulling my kids and financial support..."

Does anyone have any experiences with the Atkinson site that VHFLC runs? What do you think of it? There has been many changes there recently and I was wondering what others thought of it.

Our boys attend the Vermont Hills St. Andrews location and we couldn't be happier. They are in the toddler class and get plenty of love, communication and structure. Turnover happens everywhere and we were sad when one of our favorite teachers left recently. I agree with the post from Marina that you have to get involved.

We look forward to VH for many years to come.

We have been to 3 daycare's in Oregon. Providence WEE CARE, Providence Montessori, a nanny at home and Vermont Hills for 3 years the Burlingame site. While I would say that the place is not fancy I will say that my children are by far cared for better than anywhere else. The staff are consistend, communicate well with us, play well with the children. As with all schools you need to get involved so if you go to the monthly PTC meetings you can discuss concerns and I will tell you that they listen and make changes happen as quickly as they can. They are Not for Profit so much of the money for "extras" comes from grants which they work really hard at getting. We love them. It is not for everyone..I mean just driving by the 1st time I didn't stop b/c the outside was not appealing, but my children are loved, cared for and happy and that is all that matters!!

I think VFLC varies from site to site. I worked for them ages ago, when I was nineteen, and had positions at a couple of different locations plus subbed all over the city. Some sites were well staffed and well organized, while others were, well, not as much. I did find that the before and after school programs that were housed onsite in PPS schools were generally pretty good. The staff was more consistent and the school itself provided good facilities and higher standards. The preschools and daycares varied more, but I found that the larger, more established ones were generally fine. I think, as with any child care facility, you need to do your homework before you enroll. Check the staff turnover. If the head teachers all have a few years at least at the site, then it's probably a good sign. My daughter sometimes attends the onsite daycare at Richmond on in-service days and it's been fine. The teachers are consistent, communicate well with us, and the kids are active all day with projects, games and out on the playground.

Our daughter attend Vermont Hills aftercare at Rieke elementary school. She has the same three teacher every day and they are wonderful. Every day there are planned activities on the tables, gross motor, fine motor activities, and a variety of whole group interaction. We are happy with Vermont Hills.

Vermont Hills is terrible. Their staff are grossly under trained, lazy and ill equipped to care for children. Their administrative staff cannot process payments, invoices or bills correctly. There are lots of other child care organizations that will provide good child care. Worst experience ever!

Interesting. I only visited twice and was not impressed at all. I saw several dangerous things happening. Very young toddlers being given raisins unsupervised and walking around, those same very small toddlers on a HUGE play structure outside meant for older kids and one almost falling off, and a teacher who was physically unable to move quickly (very important when it comes to little ones) which led to a child being bitten. He saw it coming and said, "Oh no." but couldn't get there in time to intervene. Not the place for me.

My son has been attending one of the VHFLC sites since he was about 16 months. He's just five now, and we are NOT looking forward to him "ageing out" of the place. We have been impressed with the level of communication, the dedication and creativity of the staff, and the community involvement.

They have worked with our family to make an unfortunate divorce a little easier for the kid by providing a safe, consistent, and welcoming atmosphere for him. The one thing my ex and I agree on is how lucky we are to have found them.