We had our son at Hidden Valley for three years, and I never once had any negative experiences or dissatisfaction with the quality of care for my child. In fact, at one point when we considered sending our son to a Montessori School (i.e. Many Rivers) as a possible different option for schooling, they were more than willing to write letters of recommendations on his behalf in support him going, even though they didn't necessarily want him to not be there with them. Long story short with that...we were not impressed with the well to do Montessori program in comparison to what Hidden Valley was already offering him and more. As a psychologist, I feel they handled behavioral issues with children as best as one could expect and yes, if there ever was an issue with a child's concerning behavior, they did what they had to do to help make sure other children (and teachers) were safe from inappropriate behavior. This will happen at any school or daycare. One of the more impressive things that they did that most parents don't realize is a super important thing to do, is to "catch them being good." This means, reinforce "good" behavior. So every day, it was a fun challenge for my son to see how many stickers he could get by picking up, or offering a friend a hand, or calming himself down in a difficult situation. Kudos for that! And yes, if public schools closed, so did they. Other schools or daycares in the area do the same. There is legitimate reasons why daycares or small schools do this (e.g., like SAFETY and not having the teachers or parents have to drive their children through dangerous weather). And its our responsibility as parents to know that you may have to stay home due to unforeseen circumstances, like weather or sickness. But they did the best they could to not have this be an issue, by extending the school an extra week to make up for missed days (i.e., without the extra cost), or they would have amazing substitute teachers come in for the day. In addition, they also brought in a music teacher every week for lessons, and would invite the Zoomobile or Firefighters to come and visit the children every year. There were themes every week that my son never got bored with and was always excited for! The teachers are kind and compassionate and want to see these kids succeed in all domains of development They even thoughtfully did amazing things for the kids over holidays, like hand-paint little figurines to look like each one of them or gift them their favorite book as a going away present. Needless to say, my son is now entering kindergarten able to write, read level one/two books, do addition, subtraction and multiplication. And even more importantly...be respectful to his friends and help others. I have no regrets sending my son there and would highly recommend this school to anyone. read more

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. FYI: A fellow parent tipped me off that reviewers who posted the end of June 2017 were offered compensation in exchange for their positive reviews. read more

What can I say after 2 years?! Our son *loved* every second of every day here! He'd ask to be the first to arrive and the last to pick up (although often didn't wake up for the former). The teachers, miss katie and miss tara were incredible loving and thoughtful people that he just adored and inspired him to want to be a preschool teacher as his (current) life ambition. With them as role models, I can see why. Our next kiddo is going to start this fall as soon as he hits the 33 mos age cut off and I could not be happier. We are so so lucky to have this school literally around the corner, but knowing it as we do now, we would drive across town for them! What else- the play outside weather dependent, added an extra day to the end of the year due to unforeseen closures (both teachers sick (or at home with own sick kids) and subs x several unavailable!)- I would have volunteered to watch the kids if I hadn't been working. Our kiddo has made some of his best buddies here and we have made great friends. There's nothing to not like about HVP. Honestly. I'm more than willing to answer any questions or concerns! I highly recommend this preschool to anyone who wants their child to have a full day of fun/" & education (kindergarten readiness- our son is already reading!) in a stimulating environment with wonderful teachers and a receptive owner to suggestions. I know that they loved my child and cared about his well-being, could not have asked for anything more! Oh FYI- yelp isn't used by many locals in Duluth. You can scroll to see more reviews in the "not recommended" area- I know these parents and their reviews are legit! And no, I've never been "compensated" for my review, nor have others. It's a great preschool and the only "compensation" I get is knowing that my kids are in excellent hands. read more

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 it is located. 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. read more

This is an amazing preschool! The teachers and director are wonderful! My child had a great experience and never wanted to leave at the end of the day. The teachers are so good with the kids, very kind and loving. They are also always there to help with anything that comes up. They always followed up on everything with great communication! We loved that they are a school based center with emphasis on kindergarten readiness. We also love the smaller class size, making it easier to have more one on one time with the kids. The school itself is very clean and organized! Overall, I would highly recommend this preschool!! read more