Hidden Valley Preschool

My child just finished her first year at Hidden Valley Preschool and we couldn't be happier with the results! My daughter looks forward to going to school every day and can not wait for the next school year to start. The teachers and owner go above and beyond for the children and we love the neighborhood. Hidden Valley has an amazing track record, having been at full capacity for past seven years. I do believe there is generally a waiting list for enrollment, so you may need to plan a year or two in advance if interested. Some of my favorite curriculum aspects of this school are how active the children are, constantly getting to explore and play outside as well as having a weekly music guest and special events such as the Duluth Zoo Mobile. This isn't the kind of place that is just going to pop a movie in for your kids. There aren't even televisions in the classrooms (kids get enough of that at home). We also love that multiple times per day via a private facebook group for the families, we are updated with live look in photos of what the kids are up to! We love Hidden Valley and couldn't imagine sending our child anywhere else.

Phenomenal preschool. Both of my boys attended and we could not have been happier. Loving and attentive teachers, clean and bright environment, flexible drop and off and pick up times, lots of outdoor play, focus on safety and respect, and a true development of the love of learning. My kids developed life long friendships and were more than ready for kindergarten. Five stars is an understatement:)

Our first daughter attend HVP for two years and we all loved it. She would get mad when I would be done with work early or pick her up early on a day off, and she loved being the first one there when that happened occasionally! They were very accommodating with my changing work schedule, with our food intolerances, and with supporting our daughter when she adjusted to my husband's military deployments. Communication is great, and the subs (not used often in our case) were more than qualified as well. The space is great-well thought out, clean, new toys brought in, themes for the week, accessible computer tech time, and there is even an indoor gym place. I love that they go outside twice a day, and not only focus on academics but also social, emotional, behavioral and character development with the kids. My daughter was an only child for years and learned to problem solve with other kids very well here. Our 2nd child will start next Fall at 33 months, and I am so very thankful for this age cutoff so that I can have her in such reliable care where she can learn and play!

Our daughter is thriving at this school and the teachers are amazing. The activities they plan, communication, and care are top notch. Couldn't be happier.

My 4 year old son attended Hidden Valley Preschool from September 2016 through the end of May 2017. We found out about the school through a mom at the park shortly after moving to town from out of state. I will use a simple pro/con schedule with a summation at the end to help other parents choose if this school is right for their family. Pros: The classroom and school is clean, nicely appointed, and full of natural light. The curriculum changes every week which is very exciting for the children. Fresh toys and activities keep things interesting. There are many outdoor toys and activities for the children and a variety of hardtop and yard activities they enjoy. The families and children are very nice with many repeat families and continuity of students. Cons: This is a business that targets working families. You are required to pay for a full time slot for your child, Monday through Friday from 7:30-5:30. Proceed with caution if you have limited flexibility with your job, as this preschool will be closed for breaks corresponding with the Duluth Public Schools, which does mean two weeks midwinter at Christmas. Expect morning-of notifications throughout the year that school will be closed for snow, ice, power outages, or lack of staffing. Staffing: There are two part time teachers with the director on-call for backup. Be advised that most of the time there is only one adult present and 10+ children. If any crisis or disruption occurs, which with small children is expected, the sole teacher can quickly become overwhelmed. At this point, they will "hail Mary" the parent and director to immediately remove the child for the day, including for developmentally normal misbehavior's which do not include bodily harm to other students. ex. In our case, this amounted to phone calls to leave work and immediately remove our son for his threats to stand on the lunch table three times during the spring. With only 7 days of PTO for the calendar year, you can imagine this was highly inconvenient. Communication can be spotty. The director is always available to be reached by phone or email, but when behavior problems occur, there is very little follow through to troubleshoot in person with parents and all teachers present a new plan for behavior management. Overall assessment: Is this daycare terrible? No, far from it. But it is a home based daycare that is charging the going rate for established centers, but does not provide the accountability and reliability of a center. My neurotypical 4 year old was discussed like he was an out of control maniac. Our contract was terminated without fanfare 1 week before the end of the school year for his "unmanageable behavior." It seems poor business form to terminate a contract one week before the end of the year, so the termination was most likely in retaliation for a private facebook status I posted expressing my frustration with the frequently unreliable care, in which I never mentioned or alluded to the name of the business. The pettiness of uninviting a 4 year old from the end of year preschool graduation party one week prior is the cherry on top of a relationship which has been souring ever since the preschool staff caught wind we would not be re-enrolling and instead starting our son in kindergarten. Some families seem to love this school, but I am glad to see our sons time there in the rear view mirror.