Pasadena Day Nursery For Child Development

This daycare is a little gem in Pasadena. Our child has been enrolled in PDN for a little over a year, and has developed tremendously. There are many aspects we like about this daycare: lots of outdoor time and space for exploration, flexible schedules, hot meals, thoughtful and fun events such as children’s art exhibit, yoga and music classes, pajama day, and pizza parties for parents, etc. But most importantly, we appreciate the patience and the hard work of the teachers and the staff. Some teachers are very experienced, while others actively seek continuing education. The teacher’s aide for the 1– and 2-​year old classrooms are consistent and fabulous!
The director of PDN is very energetic, pleasant, and tries to keep parents apprised of what is happening in the school. However, we did witness some turnover of teachers and staff — including the departure of the associate director. As a result, we noticed a decreased level of responsiveness to emails and phone calls. Hopefully the replacement would be able to provide more support to the staff and the parents.

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Thinking that we were about to move, I called around to put my two children on the waitlist for daycare. While everyone else gave me an estimated wait list time of a year or more, Jeannette told me that she would be able to accommodate my children at about the time we were scheduled to move. I thought I had gotten lucky but what I should have thought was why does this place have openings (on relatively short notice) when no one else does.
Every subsequent interaction with Jeannette, a «director» of the school, was like pulling teeth. Every time she told me that she would get me something (i.e., classroom photos, a daily schedule, an estimated tuition bill, etc) to move the enrollment process along, I would wait days or weeks, follow-​up with a couple of phone messages and emails, and then finally would get to the next step only when I was lucky enough to have her answer the the phone. Inevitably, she would apologize and relay one excuse or another. This went on for two or three MONTHS, until I got her on the phone one day and she apologized for «a misunderstanding». She would only be able to accommodate one of my children. «A MISUNDERSTANDING». After chasing her around for months, leaving phone messages, and sending emails, there had been a misunderstanding. She gave away a spot and she blamed it on «a misunderstanding». Typing this, even now, I have a hard time believing that someone who is qualified to run a childcare center would blame her incompetence, unprofessionalism, and/​or greed on «a misunderstanding».

PDN has been a great fit for my family. I have had my daughter there since she was 20 months old, and now she is 3 years 8 months. My daughter had some medical issues and we had to withdraw from the school for several months — the director and teachers were very supportive of transitioning my daughter in and out at this time. The staff and administration is kind and flexible. I love that you can pick whichever days you want to go, and can mix and match morning, afternoons, and full-​day if needed (rather than AM only M/​W/​F).
The learning facility has a lot of outdoor play space for the kids, which is really really nice. They plant in a garden and do field trips on tuesdays (for older kids) that are very close to the school. The low student-​to-​teacher ratio first attracted us to the school and still is a great selling point. There are meals provided and snacks given throughout the day, which takes the pressure off having to pack meals.
I really like the message of «acceptance of others and inclusion» that seems to be conveyed through story time every morning. I’ve noticed the books on the shelf include one of a child learning english for the first time in pre-​school, «It’s Ok to be different», «sometimes princesses don’t wear pink», the story of a boy who wears an eyepatch to strengthen his eye, etc. The school is teaching acceptance of all kinds of people, which I like. The community I live in is heavily one race. We chose PDN in pasadena as there is a very healthy mix of several different races in the student body, more representative of the world we live in. In each classroom there have been many caucasian kids, as well as east indian kids, chinese kids, hispanic kids, and mixed race kids.
Under the new administration, I have witnessed tremendous strides with de-​cluttering the school and increased organization. It is also evident that there is a renewed focus on TEACHING during the «play-​based learning.» It seems like the administration is striving to keep the «teaching» in the «play-​based learning style» to the forefront during the morning portion of the day.
Good school, loving teachers, good ratios, flexibility!

We enrolled both our children when we moved here from the Midwest. We found the center to be a lot like the one that we left – a center that feels like a home.
The teachers are warm and communicate well. They’ve made my kids feel welcome an they do a great job when drop-​off is difficult.
I like that they have a music program an yoga each week. They also take trips to the library and farmers market (both of which are basically across the street).
All in all, we’re happy we found this place. I’d definitely recommend it to other families.

My son is 2 ½ years old and has been attending PDN for almost a year. I am extremely pleased with this daycare and highly recommend it.
PDN is a medium-​sized daycare/​preschool with a much smaller «feel». The classrooms are clean and well organized and I particularly like that there is plenty of outdoor play area. They provide home cooked meals and snacks.
The Director, Jeannette, has always been very approachable and available. Gisele, the Assistant Director, has been nothing short of helpful and accommodating. I was particularly impressed with how reassuring Gisele was in helping us with transitioning our son to the 2-​year old classroom (aka Bunnies). The teachers are warm and friendly and seem genuinely interested in the children.
I can go on and about the good points of this facility but my biggest measure of the success of PDN is based on how my son has changed since he’s been there. My son has really come out of his shell and has become more confident and outgoing. He is speech-​delayed but his vocabulary is increasing weekly with words we haven’t taught him. He is learning structure and how to function within a group setting. What makes me the most satisfied with PDN is how happy and exuberant my son is when I pick him up.

My daughter has been attending Pasadena Day Nursery since she was 22 months old. She started in the Butterflies classroom (1 – 2 years old) where the teacher-​student ratio is 1:3, and recently transitioned to the Bunnies classroom (2 – 3 years old) where the ratio is 1:4. Prior to enrolling her at PDN, we visited several child development and day care centers in the area, including the one that’s affiliated with CalTech/​JPL, and felt PDN best suits our needs. Here are the things we like about PDN:
– great outdoor play environment and lots unstructured outdoor play time
–indoor play areas are clean and organized
– teachers and teacher assistants are warm, responsive, but not overbearing; and they try hard to work with parents (e.g., toilet training)
– the two directors Jeannette and Giselle are easy to talk to. Giselle explain things clearly, and is very responsive to email/​phone inquiries.
– hot and nutritious meals included as part of the tuition
– a variety of activities – music, yoga, arts and crafts, field trips to farmers’ market (for older kids).
–developmentally appropriate play-​based curriculum
– flexible schedule (unlike some other schools that require a fixed part-​time schedule: either MWF, or T/​Th).
–tuition rate is reasonable
Other reviewers have commented on the teacher/​staff turnover. One teacher in my daughter’s classroom recently left for her continued education. But it did not seem to have any aversive impact on my daughter or the classroom dynamics. So far, my family is pleased with our experience at PDN. Most importantly, my daughter seems to enjoy her time there. She only goes in the mornings. Once she switches to a full-​time schedule, I may provide another updated review.

Our daughter was at PDN from 10 – 24 months and we could not have been happier. We actually moved west of Pasadena and kept her there for as long as we could handle the commute because we loved it so much. Eventually we had to move her to a school closer to us but we still miss PDN. She was in the Caterpillar classroom first and then moved to the butterfly classroom. My favorite things about PDN are :
— their emphasis on continued education for teachers
— focus on following the child’s developmental trajectory and attunement to individual differences
— balance between allowing autonomy and offering nurturance when child needs it
— seasoned, loving teachers who play with the children rather than just supervising
— daily updates from the teachers on child’s day
— teaching through modeling and explaining
— emphasis on teaching children to identify feelings, verbalize feelings, empathize with others, protect their own space and others’, and to use their words (or sign language)
— clean, organized indoor play spaces
— great outdoor play spaces with toys, bikes, sandboxes, slides, playhouses, and a garden (kids play outside a lot)
— dancing, music class, and art activities
— easily accommodate dietary restrictions (daughter is gluten/​casein free)
— and of course the great teacher-​child ratios
I could definitely go on but those are the main things. Our daughter loved school and always talked about what she did during the day with excitement. I felt so much better knowing our precious girl was being well loved and cared for while her dad and I were working.

We’ve had a child at Pasadena Day Nursery (PDN) since August 2009 and are very happy with the school. There has been a lot of staff turnover recently, but I attribute that to the changes in leadership over the past several years. Since we’ve been there, there have been four directors. The first one had been there for MANY years and retired. Then two directors came and went in rapid succession before Jeannette was given the permanent position (she was interim director for a bit). Jeannette and Giselle, the assistant director, are wonderful. They work very well together and their skill sets complement each other nicely. Jeannette is intelligent, detail oriented, and dedicated to the continuous improvement of the facilities and equipment at the center. She hires very selectively and all of the new staff members are well-​qualified, experienced, warm, and caring individuals who seem eager to connect and engage with both the children and parents. The facility is also great and was «purpose built» to be a child development center so it has a wonderful layout and nice outdoor spaces. We love PDN and although we have considered other options that are less expensive or closer to home, we will stay with PDN.

My daughter has been with Pasadena Day Nursery since she was 18 months old, and she’s now about to turn three. It’s a been a wonderful experience. I can’t believe how much she has learned, and how much she has learned to get along with others.
The facility is large, with a large amount of outdoor play areas for both infants and pre-​school toddlers. There is hot food and snacks, so you don’t have to worry about that. Every room has its own age range and focus, and activities are geared towards the child’s development age requirements. Some of our daughter’s favorite activities are library field trips, story time, and yoga time.
The teacher/​student ratio is excellent in my opinion, and the teachers care about the kids a lot. There has been some turnover in teachers recently, however.
Our daughter is excited to go everyday, to see her friends and the teachers. We’ve made friends with some of the parents as well, and the experience has been incredibly positive.

I think if PDN returned to the days when Betty Salas and even Cara was in charge it wouldn’t be in the situation it’s in. This awful director they have now is a witch! No leadership or management skills. She threatens teachers to resign when she is the one that needs to resign. Where are the board of directors? Why haven’t they done anything? At the rate PDN is failing don’t plan on it being open much longer.

Pros: Wonderful outdoor space for the children; hot meals included in tuition; flexible scheduling options
Cons: Wow, where do I start? Do I start with the time that one of the administrators followed me out to the parking lot and angrily said that I was the only parent at PDN who complains or do I start with another administrator telling me that the children in the Butterfly room are held too much by the teachers (the children in the Butterfly room are between 1 and 2 years old)?
Or maybe I should begin with this idiom that my daughter and other children learned at PDN, «You get what you get and you don’t give a fit.» I’ll never forget the time when we were invited to a birthday party of a PDN child and when cake was being passed out, the children from PDN began to chant, «you get what you get and you don’t give a fit» when a child complained about the piece of cake that she received.
Wherever I start, it’s not pretty. My family and I are so happy to be leaving this school and starting a new one.
Under the current leadership, there has been large teacher turnover. Now, families are beginning to leave the school as well. One might think that this would signal a problem to the board of directors. Unfortunately, my experience is that the board seems rather protective of the administrators. It seems to me that blame is placed on the teachers or the parents when concerns are voiced. I get the sense that «You get what you get and you don’t give a fit» applies not only to the children, but to the teachers and parents as well.
I would have glowingly recommended PDN during our first year there… however, based upon our experience this past year, I feel compelled to write this review in hopes that parents will look elsewhere…
Please note – for some reason Unilocal has filtered out 5 negative reviews of PDN. These are legitimate reviews and should not have been filtered out. I recommend you read them (look for the filter link at the bottom of the page) for a more balanced view of this school.
Ps. don’t even get me started on their breastfeeding policy introduced to parents earlier this year…

Excellent daycare and pre-​school; serves ages 6 weeks — 4 years. Hot meals provided as part of fees, developmental play-​centered curriculum. Two outdoor play areas with a nice selection of toys and structures. There’s a nice family atmosphere, and an emphasis on parent participation.
My daughter was here from age 3 months until she started kindergarten, and I was very happy with PDN. Though it’s not the least expensive childcare solution in the area, I believe it gives great value for your dollar with low teacher-​child ratios, hot food provided, and convenient hours (7:30 am. — 6:00 pm.).