Cisco Family Connection

Our «baby» has been going to his daycare since she was 6 months old and she will be turning 2 soon.
I have mainly great feedback on this daycare.
PROS:
+ Clean and safe
+ Big yard, fun playground
+ Many activities: science, art, sport, reading, singing, fairs, shows. Everyday they do something fun! And their educational programs are very good.
+ Teachers are very dedicated and hard working. You can tell they love the kids and their jobs (which is not the case in all daycares!). Our daughter really loves them all too.
+ Food is provided (breakfast, lunch and snacks). You only have to provide formula, jars for your baby and diapers. They seem to provide healthy options: fruits, veggies, organic yogurts, milk etc. (even if also have crackers and goldfishes :))
+ Convenient Hours. Opens at 7:30, until 6PM.
+ They also have bring home dinners every month and for special occasions. Great taste and price (a dinner for 4 is $ 20) and so helpful for the parents especially on Fridays when you are tired and don’t want to cook the dinner :)
+ They learn basic sign language. Which is great if you are in a multilangual family or if your kid start talking a little bit later… They can express basic needs in sign language
+ They have cameras, so you can have a sneakpeak of what your little peanut is doing there :) (video is only accessible for Cisco Employees)
CONS:
— Price :) (it is not subsidised by Cisco — or maybe very little). Up to 2y old, for full time daycare, expect a little less than 1000 /​paycheck. Price decreases as your little one gets older.
— Since it is a big structure, it means more kids which means more microbs which leads to more colds, flus, hand-​foot-​mouth (that’s a nasty one :)) and other «happy kiddo diseases» :)
— They can’t wake up kids, so if your son/​daughter decides to have a 3 or 4 hour nap. they will let him/​her sleep… Which is understandable, but then you may have a hard time at night :)
— Something made me a little sad: how much their teachers are paid. I found their hourly rate on Glassdoor and was rather shocked (around $ 15 /​hour?). I hope they get other perks and bonuses because it is very little for the area and especially for the hard work they do. I was also thinking /​hoping that for the price we pay, teachers were getting an above average salary.
I found that our daughter is very happy there. She loves going there, keeps saying her teachers’s names. She loves all the toys and books there. There was not a single morning where she refused to go to «school». She learned a lot of English (we speak French at home) and the teachers keeps taking notes and asking us if a word means something in French, to make sure she progresses and say «correct» things even in a different language.
It is very cosmopolite. You have kids of all origins: Asians, Europeans, Americans…
If your kid has food allergies, they are extremely careful about it.

I don’t know what we would have done if we didn’t have this place. I put my son in at 2.5 and he’s loved it.

The center is spotlessly clean, very safe and secure facilities, friendly administrative staff. They have lots of fun activities — pot lucks, photo sessions, field trips for older kids, graduation events. They do a great job baby sitting younger age children (up to age 3).
However, their pre-​kindergarten/​kindergarten-​prep program is disappointing. Teachers are poorly trained, especially while handling social skills. Some of the feedback given to 4 year olds include «We should control our bodies», «You are making bad choices», «You are getting easily distracted», «whole body listening». I wonder what that means to ⁴⁄₅ year olds!
They also insist that kids stay still and silent during circle time (in the name of getting them ready for kindergarten) Thankfully, my child is going to a public school where teachers recognize that kids learn at their own pace.
If you have a gifted, strong willed child who needs more stimulation/​depth, this is probably not the place for you.

Cisco Family Connection is an amazing place for children. The name speaks for itself. It is a great environment for many Cisco families. I have had the opportunity to both work here as well as have my child in various programs. My son loved CFC. The teachers are wonderful with the children. The administration and leadership team work hard to support the many needs of the enrolled families. There are many events and enrichment programs for both the children and families to enjoy. I would recommend touring the facility to see it for yourself. High definition streaming video of your child’s classroom is also available.

We live in San Ramon and there was no doubt that we would continue to send my son to Cisco day care. The commute in traffic can be lengthy with all the traffic, but nothing compares to Cisco day care. It’s by far …excellent in all ways. The facility is enormous and the activities are endless. I am so lucky that my child got in after a 10 month waiting list. My first impression of this 20,000 sqft facility was «WOW». It’s safe and you can only get in with a badge, every child has a id number in which parents log in/​out, it’s hooked up to web cams where employees are able to view their child. The facility is very modern, new, CLEAN and the caregivers are excellent. They are nuturing, knowledgable, and have a geniune concern for the kids. Every caregiver is trained in CPR, admin of epinephrine injections for allergies and educated in child development. Children are grouped according to their age to ensure that they are constantly being challenged appropriately. Cisco day care is very organized and always stay on top of latest news or updates that could potential have any impact on the children. They are continously communicating with the parents and try their best to keep the parents happy. Cisco is very big on involving the parents and ensuring that they are happy via surveys, contest, potlucks, events science fairs, photo/​school pic days, water play with large water fountains/​sprays, book fairs, holiday events, mother’s night out, date night, mother’s/father’s day breakfast, Halloween parade the list is endless). The caregivers are constantly stimulating the children with fun and challenging activities: music, gym, crafts, reading, songs, They take the time to listen to each child’s individual needs (lip balm, diapering ointment, lotion, sunscreen, etc…) and request and try their very best to meet them. They have a personal chef that caters to allergies and serves only the freshest, healthiest foods. Every child has a daily activity log that includes nap and diaper changing times, and what they had done that day as well as a daily email that includes the activities, books, pictures, and crafts they worked on. My child has learned so much from Cisco and he loves it. All the children are happy to be there. I cannot say enough about this center, it is by far a «luxury» day care that functions more like a school. We are so happy to have the opportunity to have our child and our baby on the way to attend such an EXCELLENT center and staff.

my daughter has been going here since she was 4 months old. she is now 3 years old. she LOVES it there. The place is clean and organized. The food seems healthy and they really watch for allergies.
They work hard to keep parents happy, children stimulated, and the socialization for the kids is great. My daughter learned so much from them! It seems she learns something new every day!

My baby just recently got into the daycare here. It’s limited to children of Cisco Employees and the waiting list for us when we signed up was 9 to 12 months! Boy, are we happy we got in!
The daycare facility is located very close to the Cisco buildings on Tasman. It’s a wonderful, extremely secure place– each classroom has about 8 – 10 kids and 3 – 4 teachers. Our girl is in one of the infant classrooms. Each kid has his or her own crib and everything is color-​labeled with the child’s picture. Everyone has to take off his/​her shoes before going into the classroom. The facilities are clean and tidy, with so many toys and activities to stimulate their little minds.