CHILDRENS CENTER/BURKE GILMAN GARDENS

My second of two kiddos has just graduated from TCC and this is a post I am so sad to write because it means our time at TCC is over but I’m also grateful to share my family’s amazing experience. We have had 4 incredible years at TCC and I truly feel so fortunate for the care, compassion, love, and education that TCC has afforded my children. I really appreciated that there was a good balance between educational time and creative play time. The teachers are very attentive and the kids (and parents) are quite attached to their favorite teachers. There are teachers that have been at TCC for decades and then also a regular flow of student interns that help to ensure there is a low teacher:student ratio. I’ve appreciated that the older, PreK classroom weaves in education on practical life skills such as brushing their teeth which they do every day after lunch! My kids grew up here, thrived, and were completely ready for kindergarten when the time came. There are so many things that I believe set TCC apart from all other day cares. The older classrooms go on regular walking field trips around NE Seattle to local parks and places like Met Market. They take bus field trips to local libraries and other parks and even had a trip to U Village to tour the Hello Robin shop recently. The PreK class takes an annual bus field trip to watch a Seattle Sounders game downtown. There is a weekly soccer class through Happy Feet through the summer for each class in addition to biweekly music and dance classes with teachers from the community. The hot lunches have been a favorite for my kids and are delivered fresh daily by a meal service-type company and there are multiple snack times every day. TCC also is quite savvy at seeking out free community resources that the kids benefit from. The school gets free monthly activity kits for the kids to take home and they recently secured a grant to expand the building and add another classroom in addition to other enhancements to the building. Construction just started this summer! Also, they are right next door to the new Pathways Park and get that entire park as an additional playground that they use daily throughout the year. I do want to respond with my own perspective regarding one Google review that cited concerns with improper infection prevention measures for communicable diseases. I have quite the opposite opinion on the school’s preventative measures. The school is very communicative with families when they are informed of a child/staff member that has a communicable disease. They email to inform everyone, they include the WA Department of Health recommendations on how the illness should be handled in childcare settings with regards to staying home if you are ill (and they enforce those recommendations), and they include DOH info sheets on the illness so all families can be informed and aware of what to look for with their own kids. Communicable diseases are inevitable in group childcare settings and I believe TCC handles these situations thoughtfully and with rigor to decrease potential exposure risks based on DOH guidance. I am so grateful for the positive and kind atmosphere that TCC has afforded my kids. They are a gem of a childcare center for the city of Seattle.