Home › Forums › West Seattle Schools › reviews for "The Cottage School" at Gatewood elementary
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February 22, 2012 at 5:57 pm #602256
roguedeluxMemberHi there WSB community, I’d love to get a recent review of “The Cottage School” at Gatewood Elementary. Please, only reviews from folks who have had experiences in the last 2 years. Thanks in advance!
February 22, 2012 at 7:42 pm #748573
BonnieParticipantI haven’t been there but do have 2 friends who have 3 kids who go there. I can direct them to look at the blog. (they seem to be happy)
February 23, 2012 at 9:14 pm #748574
kgdlgParticipantwe have friends that sent their kiddo there and she loved it. however, she came from a small family-run daycare and the transition to a larger, and much louder environment was a shift. not necessarily bad, just different. it was a plus that it is connected to gatewood so she just continued on to kindergarten there.
February 23, 2012 at 11:41 pm #748575
lohohoMemberI sent my oldest there from age 3 to 5. the Cottage was a great place. We loved it. My son is now seven so it could have changed, but we really like the community and teachers there.
February 24, 2012 at 5:02 pm #748576
kayoParticipantWe did not personally go there, but I know a number of people including teachers who have sent kids through the program and loved it. It is a great preschool.
February 25, 2012 at 4:44 am #748577
monkeyParticipantOur son has been there for the past two years. It and it’s people are absolutely awesome! The director and teachers are very loving and fun….the perfect combo for a learning environment for a preschooler. I feel very lucky that he has had the opportunity to grow there and will be very sad to see him leave.
February 26, 2012 at 2:47 am #748578
OliverMemberNot every place is a good fit for all children. I know some people have really liked it, but my son had a very bad experience there when he started kindergarten at GW in Fall 2010. Although he had been in a large daycare and preschool since he was an infant with no problems, he was coming home crying and with stomach aches every day. It was too chaotic for his personality, particularly with k-5 mixed together. Older kids literally ran over him and my son was a frequent unwilling participant in dodgeball activities. His first writing piece for kindergarten was all about big kids jumping on him and throwing balls at him, while he cried and the teachers laughed. The pictures he drew made me cry. We also had some serious concerns about a lack of supervision for the younger school age kids. We pulled him out and found a smaller, more structured before and after school program.
That said, we shared our concerns with the director, she acknowledged they were legitmate and was committed to making some changes. I have heard specific changes were made in response, but it was too late for my son because he has very negative feelings about Cottage. That said, we have friends with more free-spirited children there and they are happy with it.
So, my advice is to make an assessment based on your child’s personality. You know your child best and what environment they will thrive in.
February 29, 2012 at 9:43 pm #748579
DavidMezaMemberMy son has been going to Cottage since the summer before his kindergarten year. My son is adopted had been recently adopted and was shy and withdrawn. Didn’t really know how to make friends and felt lost. Cottage was instrumental in helping me transition my son into a more routine and stable environment. The director, teachers and staff helped me work with my son in integrating him into a new environment. What is important to remember is that children don’t always behave the same way at home as they do at school when parents are not around. I maintained a consistent dialog with the staff at cottage that had primary contact with my son. Working as a team with them, my son flourished in the environment and had learned many important skills such as knowing how to behave and respond in hectic school situations and being able to explain or express a concern to me or the caregivers. The cottage folks were always available to me and its been a good experience. My son is now in his third year at cottage and he seems to really like it. I get scoldings from him sometimes if he thinks I’ve picked him up too early.
March 3, 2012 at 11:04 pm #748580
anobesParticipantOur daughter goes to The Cottage School and she’s doing very well in the environment created by the director, teachers and staff. We get a lot of good feedback almost daily and they’ve been incredibly accommodating. Overall, we’re really happy with our choice of preschool.
March 19, 2012 at 10:24 pm #748581
JasperbluParticipantMy daughter attended the Cottage School briefly (a few months in the spring/summer of 2009). It wasn’t a great fit for us, and we soon moved on to Fauntleroy Children’s Center and EuropaKids (both of which my daughter really loved; and so did I).
I think you just have to be really assertive about making sure it’s a good fit for your child, and if not, be willing (and ready) to make a change if need be. Open and frequent communication with staff and the Director are key, no matter where you end up.
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