Our kiddo recently started at Bright Star, and the difference we've seen in just a few short weeks has been incredible. At the previous center, things were a bit of a struggle, so we were hopeful but cautious about making a change. Bright Star has exceeded every expectation. Our child has truly blossomed since starting here. They are more talkative, clearly feels supported, and comes home happy and excited about the day. It's obvious that the teachers and staff have taken the time to welcome and embrace our child as an individual. What stands out most is how caring and empathetic the entire team is. Communication with parents is clearly a priority, and the staff actively work with families to address concerns and support each child's needs. That kind of partnership makes a huge difference. We're so grateful to have found Bright Star. Our child absolutely loves being there and is thriving. read more

My husband I are so lucky to have found this place! We moved from California and didn't really know anything and picked it because it was close to where we found a house, but it turned out to be a lifesaver. Bright Star Kids Academy is really awesome and very flexible with dropping off and picking up your kids. The caring staff and their commitment to education have made it an excellent choice for our 3 kids. Not only do they create a nurturing environment, but the staff also demonstrates exceptional expertise in fostering our kids' development. The meals provided are not only nutritious but also delicious, ensuring our kids well-being. I am especially grateful for the outstanding care provided by Jenn and Kenzie, the school Directors. Super funny people, very dedicated, and literally puts the kids first. It's exactly what we were hoping for and again just got lucky coming across it. While we're done having kids, if we were to expand our family, Bright Star Kids Academy would undoubtedly be our first choice! Highly recommend! read more

what they dont tell you before you come in is that they dont change diapers. Dont waste your time on a tour at this place. Staff seemed panickey and anxious. zero stars read more

I would be remiss to not provide other parents with our experience at Bright Star. I enrolled him here because of all the positive reviews. I have never been so appalled with a day care. Almost every time I dropped-off my child, McKenzie and Jen were slouched on the couch, pre-occupied on their cell phones. My son was diagnosed with disability shortly after enrolling him and required a biweekly appointment with the earliest start of 9am-10am in addition to all other appointments. They told me that I can't drop my child off until after 230pm after nap time. This policy is isolated only to this day care. Every other day care we checked-out after this day care does not have such a preposterous policy and have adequate plan on reintegration after the child's appointment! In the 3 months we were there, they required us to accommodate to their policies: early closing schedule, drop-off times, weather requirements, closure due to power outages, staffing shortages. I paid full-time, full price, automatic withdrawal. My son's disability did not impact or required extra effort on their end. However, he required biweekly appointments and other appointments beyond his disability that required routine appt because we are trying to figure out the right regimen for him (e.g., asthma and allergy, dermatology, &c). Bright Star gave us a terrible time with this and threatened us with a letter of potential dis-enrollment if we do not drop him off by 9am or at 230pm. So basically, on days my son had appointments, Bright Star required us to miss the whole day at the expense of our jobs, while they sit on their couches preoccupied on their cell phones! One time, they gave me a hard time because I dropped my son off during lunch time and basically argued that my son will not be able to adjust...but she stated that he will adjust just fine after 230pm! To make matters worse, when I told them that my son was protected under Title 3 of the American Disability Act (ADA), instead of just agreeing to accommodate in accordance with the law, Jen's immediate response with my ADA letter still on her hand, was that they do not have to "necessarily" accommodate if it is considered too much of a disruption in their daily routine. I requested to speak to a district/regional manager, but she was not willing to entertain this. Fortunately, we ended up pulling my son out because of my work requiring travel abroad. When my husband turned in the letter, Jen couldn't hide her snide satisfaction! My only wish was that I took my son out sooner. I never realized how much he was impacted by the lack of genuine regard this day care imposed on him. My son is a completely different person afterwards. We are very happy with his current pre-school. He is happier and looks forward to going. The current local pre-school he is in is bigger than Bright Star but manages to be more inclusive. The management is very engaged with the children and greets the children as they go in to the day care (not sitting on their phones like Jen and McKenzie). When my son got sick prior to Halloween, they asked "Do you think he will make it back before Halloween? We want everyone to be here and can postpone the celebration until everyone is here." This is how every day care should be--genuine regards for your child. If they can't manage this kind of care, they are taking more than they can handle because it's all about the $$. Take your child somewhere else! Your child's happiness, growth, and development IS worth it. read more

I've contemplated writing this since my kids stopped going here a few months ago but decided to post so that other people don't have the same experience. Both of my kids (5 &3) went here for a little less than a year, as I was a healthcare worker and needed somewhere who opened early and had longer hours available for childcare. It was nice how they had cameras so you could see what was happening in real time. My older kid liked it here and learned a lot! Her kindergarten teacher has been really happy with how she knew her name and letters going Into kinder. However, the bad review is because my nonverbal autistic 3 year old had a continuously bad experience here. She would come home extremely thirsty after having no wet diapers many days. They would put her in a high chair while all of the other kids played in the evening. When I questioned them and asked why she is the only kid being isolated from the other kids, they said she kept making a mess and it was too hard to clean up after her. She was 2 at the time! What do they expect a 2 year old to do? Sit there and do nothing? I was not paying a lot of money for her to be separated from everyone else. I even walked in a few times to see my daughter in a high chair at the front desk and an employee playing videos on the computer for her. I was livid. She started displaying a lot of difficult behaviors while going here. Lots of screaming, biting, constantly taking off shoes ALL of which has completely stopped since she stopped going here. She is now THRIVING after finding a new place who is properly suited to take care of children with special needs. There was one time when my daughter came home so cranky and I couldn't calm her down so I decided to give her a bath to see if that would relax her and as I got her undressed there was a rubber band wrapped around her upper arm which looked like it had been there for hours. (She is nonverbal so she couldn't tell me what was wrong but she kept pointing to her arm). When talking on the phone to one of the managers about this, the only response was: "well the teacher who filled in the classroom that day has been here a long time, so........" How is this acceptable?! There is a lot of turnover here and new employees don't even introduce themselves to parents which is really weird to me because parents should know at minimum the names of who is with their child all day. Paying almost $2000 a month for my kids to go here is more than infuriating when all of these things are happening. Oh also, you're expected to still pay for holidays when they are closed. If you have a child with special needs do not take them here. I heard multiple teachers talking disrespectful to children whenever they were challenged which is really disappointing to hear when you're dropping your kids off and your kids don't want you to leave. (A teacher even told my 5 year old "why are you crying?! Stop acting like your little sister!") Do better or don't work with kids period. read more

Bright Star Kids Academy - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - Bothell, Washington

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Our experience at the Mill Creek Bright Star Kids Academy was awful. When we enrolled our child, they failed to tell us about the change of the primary caretaker that was going to occur 2 weeks after our child started. It was a rough start, as it is for most toddlers, but right when our child was getting used to the primary caretaker, a new gal was assigned to his room. We were given only a few days notice. Thus the adjustment cycle started again. Several members of my family watched over the video monitor service they provide. In the 4 weeks our child attended, we observed only one instance of circle time that lasted for 10 min. Our child never took home art work the entire time he attended. The provider rarely engaged with the children at all, with the exception of changing diapers and meal time. During outdoor play, all the caretakers would gather near the building chit-chatting, again never engaging with the children. Several times while our child was upset, they sat him at the snack/lunch table to "calm him down", therefore isolating him from the children and caretaker. They always faced him away from the camera so we could not see if he was actually calming down or still visible upset. During naptime they BLAST music the entire time so they are free to chit-chat and move through the classrooms. Several experts would agree, this is not an effective environment for napping. While our child attended, the caretaker/child ratio was 1:5. I can't imagine what it would be if they had the state limit of 1:7. We recommend you do not enroll your child there. read more

We love Bright Star and have had our kids enrolled since 2012. The staff is always friendly and accommodating, the facility is clean and orderly, there are planned activities for different age groups, and - most importantly - my kids love going there. One of the most compelling features for me was the webcam app. I can login any time of day and see that my kids are being taken care of and loved on. I highly recommend Bright Star on 164th. read more

My 2 year old son has been attending Bright Star Kids Academy for well over a year now. At 1st i was hesitant to leave him alone with anyone, due to seeing terrible images on news and talk shows about what some day care providers actually do behind closed doors. So the fact that there is a running web cam service here... HUGE PLUS! It placed my mind at ease, and provides other out of state relatives a peek at my little one. When i pick up my son, the staff is very friendly on most days. And they consistently provide me with a daily activities sheet that tracks his meals, diaper change amounts, and potty attempts. also they note any additional activities performed that day such as painting, counting, learning colors, etc... I dont have any comparisons to give since this is the only day care we have utilized, but the experience has been such a positive one that i dont feel the need to poke around for anywhere else. he is learning and growing. He is eating healthy meals. taking good naps. and learning social interaction which is critical for youngens. I am satisfied with my experience with Bright Star and have refereed others as well. read more

Bright Star is by far the best daycare I have ever seen! My daughter loved it there! The staff is so outgoing and friendly always there with a smile on their face and happy to answer any questions. I love that the teachers were always happy to tell me about my child's day:) she absolutely loved her class, they truly are amazing with teaching and interacting with the kids. They don't just watch the kids like some day cares do. They also have an amazing camera service so that during the day you can log in on your computer to check on your child's classroom, as a parent that is priceless! I highly recommend bright star mill creek and all of the staff...teachers and front desk staff alike!!! read more

We absolute LOVE Bright Star! I currently have a child in the Pre-K and the "Ones" class. Every teacher and staff member I have interacted with has been professional, kind, and thoughtful. It's clear they truly care about the kids, and are working there because they are passionate about quality childcare (not just because they need a job). My son has some developmental delays and they have been more than accommodating to help meet his needs, and are great at communicating with us if he's struggling with something. Thank you to BSKA for providing my kids with a great place to learn and grow, and for providing their dad and I with peace of mind! read more

Ms Almie and Ms Josielyn are the best. They greet the kids as soon as we walk in the door and make the kids feel very welcome, so drop off is easier than other daycares. The rooms have lots of toys and activities, the teachers use positive coaching with the kids, they have lots of outside time, and pick up happy kids in the afternoon! I love that I can check the cams during my break. Highly recommended. read more

Do not send your kids here. The teachers are not there for the kids and it is obvious. They are more interested in coffee talk than they are teaching and guiding the kids. Rarely do you even see them holding the young ones. A good daycare has teachers with a passion for kiddos. These teachers ignore the kids are are very unprofessional. There are 1 or 2 decent ones, but the rest seem like they just graduated from a 12 step program, if you know what I mean. There are better options in the area. This place needs a major overhaul, starting with the director on down. Maybe the owner needs to show up once in a while. I only saw her once the whole time I was there. This is a bad sign and any good daycare would have owner presence. read more

Bright Star offers great services like the video option, parent nights out, festivals, and other special events. The hours also work for our schedule. There are a couple of things I wish they would improve, though. When they take individual photographs of children for their bulletin boards they should be sure to include all children. I look for my child every time I pick up and still have not found a photo there while others get regularly updated. Also, I wish the people who answer the phones were a little friendlier. While they are certainly cordial, I wish they were more personable rather than always sounding like they are in a hurry to get off the phone. An excited hello every once in a while would be nice to hear as a customer. read more

My child has been attending Bright Star in Mill Creek for almost 2 years now. In that time I have watched her grow and develop tremendously. She comes home telling me about all sorts of things she learned in school. She sings several songs which have taught her things like colors, animals, days of the week etc. She amazed me the other day when she counted to six in Spanish! She just turned three so I was not expecting to hear that. I asked her teacher about it and come to find out they are counting in both English and Spanish. Her teachers are so sweet and helpful. They always tell me how she was that day, what they worked on and keep me updated with events taking place at the daycare. When we go to leave, my daughter has been crying because she doesn't want to leave the daycare. It feels so good to drop her off in the morning knowing she's in a safe place, treated with love, and she's happy. Every time I enter and exit the daycare, all of the staff greets me with smiles and asks how I am doing. The facility is clean, organized and always decorated for the seasons and events taking place. Bright Star is an amazing establishment and we are so lucky to be able to attend! read more