WEEK AHEAD: Two days until West Seattle Preschool Fair

Another reminder that this year’s West Seattle Preschool Fair (WSB sponsor) is coming up Tuesday night – meet reps from 15 local preschools, all in one place, at one time, 5:30 pm-7 pm January 7th at the Hope School Gym (4100 SW Genesee). Here’s the list of schools planning to participate:

Schools Attending:

ARK Preschool
Bloom Preschool
Cometa Playschool
Community School of West Seattle
Fauntleroy Children’s Center
Giddens School
Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School
Holy Rosary Preschool
Hope Lutheran School
Our Lady of Guadalupe Early Learning Center
South Seattle College Cooperative Preschools
Southwest Early Learning Bilingual Preschool
St. Bernadette Early Learning Center
The Cove School
Westside School

The Preschool Fair is a drop-in event, no RSVP necessary. If you’re driving, a parking lot is directly across Genesee from the gym entrance.

HPE parent January 5, 2025 (6:28 pm)

If you live in Highland Park, consider Highland Park Elementary for preschool! We have 2 preschools now, the Seattle Preschool Program, and a new Developmental Preschool Program. And it is generally a fantastic school, with an amazing staff. Go Mustangs!

Sarah January 6, 2025 (9:24 am)

A few things I’ve learned over the years:

1) Check or ask if they are licensed: https://www.findchildcarewa.org/

2) If they aren’t licensed, ask why.

3) If they are licensed, check WA’s Child Care Check for inspections and complaints. Some preschools/daycares have multiple centers–you can get a feel for their management by checking the reports of the sister daycares, too (for example La Maison Alki and Alki Beach Academy).

4) Ask how many directors they’ve had in the last 5 years. They don’t have to be honest, but it’s an easy metric that can give you a sense of staffing stability.

5) If your child has a food allergy and meals are included in the daycare’s tuition, in WA state you are entitled to reimbursement for the food your child can’t eat and you have to provide due to the allergy. If they provide substitute food, it needs to have a similar nutrition profile. (For example, they can’t swap Fruit Loops for yogurt.)

6) The WA state inspectors are incredibly lax–never trust they’ll catch something. If anything looks shady, don’t hesitate to bring it to their attention to get it on paper.

Good luck!

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