Our infant daughter has been attending the SIDC for a few months now and we have only great things to say about it. She's always happy to see her teachers in the morning, and we love that kids in the infant room get a lot of attention thanks to the low student-teacher ratio (3:1, better than most daycares we toured). The kids are going on field trips very often, including a weekly trip to the Central Library for story time. Lastly, we really like that it's a non-profit and that our tuition goes to fund the education of our daughter, not to enrich shareholders. read more

SIDC is a truly special place. We toured many daycares for our 2-year-old son, and each tour left me feeling very unsure about our decision to graduate from a nanny-share setup -- until I visited SIDC. I walked in the door and immediately felt a sense of warmth, community, and love. Many of the teachers have been there for decades, and all of them are deeply dedicated to the growth and happiness of the kids in their care. This isn't just a way to make ends meet. It's their passion. In addition, extended hours and limited closures are great for working parents, and the center has a large courtyard playground where older kids can run around, build blocks, ride bikes, do "water play" on hot summer summer days, etc. With just one class per age group, the center is small enough that everyone knows my son's name and greets him warmly as he goes about his day. I highly recommend! read more

My son has been happily attending SIDC for three years. He loves his teachers and friends there. Here are a few key factors to choose SIDC: - size: with just one classroom for each age group and lower than state imposed number of children in each one, you can be sure that the kids get due attention - teachers, high retention: my son only changed teachers only when he moved to the next classroom - nonprofit: run by dedicated staff and a board formed by parents! Community feel - logistics: situated in downtown but away from the noise and crowd of it. Extremely easy access to/from highway, very close to stops of major bus lines, or you can enjoy riding on separated bike lanes through 2nd and 4th aves. - High Scope curriculum: just google it if that's unfamiliar :) - COVID response: They closed in the early pandemic shutdowns, but were up and running with safety measures shortly thereafter. It's a lifesaver while working remotely. read more

Both my kids have attended the center since they were babies. They're excited each morning to see their friends and teachers for a new day of learning and adventure! The center has a great community feel, and the teachers' dedication and passion really shines through! Additionally, a wonderful High Scope curriculum has been incorporated across the different classrooms. read more

My now 5-year-old son and 2 year-old daughter have each been enrolled at SIDC since they were six months and three months old, respectively. We are extremely grateful for and satisfied with the care and early childhood education they are receiving at SIDC. There are so many important criteria in selecting a daycare and preschool for your child. Here are some of the highlights from my perspective that make SIDC stand out: - Long-tenured staff and teachers, who truly understand early childhood development and nurture the children at a developmentally appropriate level. - A stimulating and safe educational environment. My kids leap into the activities the teachers have set up for them each day when I drop them off. They are so stimulated and excited to get involved. - Teachers who have gently nudged us parents when we didn't realize it was time to switch to an open cup from a sippy cup, for example. They also taught us key sign language we could use with our baby, and lots of encouraging positive discipline, such as using the phrase "all done" instead of saying "no" all the time. I have learned so much from these wonderful teachers. They are my go-to people when I have any questions about what is developmentally appropriate and how to tackle any behavioral challenges that crop up. - Very convenient features are an added bonus for SIDC families. All meals and snacks are provided for the kids, which means no packing lunches for us! We are also able to use the parking garage of the Plymouth Church free for quick drop-offs and pickups. - Opportunities are provided for downtown field trips, music, Spanish, and physical education enrichment programs within the school day. - SIDC places an emphasis on spending time outdoors every day, rain or shine. They have a great protected playground/courtyard where they kids can ride tricycles, scooters, and play ball sports or play on a climber. - Other kids that I am happy my kids have become friends with. The community of parents is great, too. I could go on and on. The waiting list is very long for infant enrollment, as a result of SIDC's wonderful word-of-mouth reputation. If you are looking to enroll an older toddler or preschool-age child, you should definitely inquire, as vacancies pop up from time to time. read more

We have been very impressed with SIDC. We currently have a 4 year old daughter and 2 year old son at the center. Both are attending full time though they started out as part timers. Our initial reasons for choosing SIDC were part-time offerings, teacher tenure, and the best ratios we saw. Using these three criteria SIDC was the clear leader. We have been happy with our choice and impressed by aspects of the center that we didn't even think through. The educational curriculum is well thought out and has challenged our advanced Daughter at every level. It's so strong we are concerned with finding a Kindergarden that isn't a complete repeat of what she has already learned. The kids have a ton of fun. There are field trips to downtown locations. They play outside rain or sun twice a day. They have messy sensory tables that you are glad they use at school instead of your house. My kids are usually so excited to see what is going on in the morning that they barely wave goodbye to me. The central downtown location has been great because I get to spend my commute time with my children. It's also meant that traffic jam has never made me late for a pickup because I can always just walk to the center. My advice is if you want to come in with a baby or 1 year old make sure to enroll far in advance. If you are looking for a great preschool or pre/k program call the center and see about availability as sometimes slots do open. read more

I love SIDC! We currently have a 4 year old and a 2 year old enrolled, and they have both attended since they were 2 months old. When we were researching daycares, we toured a ton of facilities between Green Lake and downtown. What really stood out about SIDC was the warm, loving, personal atmosphere that you walk into every morning. It's not a glossy corporate feel like Bright Horizons, it feels more like dropping your kids off at your aunt's daycare, where the teachers have worked there for like 15 years. I've seen the center go through a lot of change - a new director, Washington State Early Achievers certification, lots of technology upgrades, and extensive teacher training that is aligning the center with the very latest research-backed early education methods. All of these have been for the better. The great teachers there have taught my kids well-adjusted social skills, potty-trained them, and helped them learn to love learning. I couldn't ask for more. :-) SIDC is a not-for-profit daycare, so all of the funds go toward offering the teachers better benefits, compensation, and training than other daycares offer. This is probably why the teachers here have such long tenure and good training. They like working there and it shows in their loving care for the kids. read more

The caregivers at SIDC are fantastic. They care about my infant daughter and provide her with loving attention. All the adults there know my daughter, but two of the caregivers are dedicated to her. Erin and JJ sing to my daughter, play with her, teach her how to eat solid food, and every day when I pick her up they give me a full report of how the day went including what she ate and when she slept. Pickup and dropoff are easy. There is courtesy parking in the lot below the building and each family gets a security code for the door. I highly recommend SIDC and suggest you arrange a tour well ahead of time so you can get a head start on the wait list if they fit all your criteria. read more

Our daughter has attended SIDC since she was an infant. There are a lot of things that make SIDC great (small classes, location is really convenient for anyone working downtown, etc.) but the staff and sense of community are what we love most. The teachers are some of the kindest and most loving people we've ever met, and our daughter has thrived under their care. read more

We have been part of SIDC (Seattle Infant Development Center) community for almost 3 years and we have been very happy about it. SIDC is a non-profit organization run by a dedicated administrative team and parents. It has great teachers and their average teacher turn out time is over 10 years. They have excellent teacher to student ratios; they keep it lower than what the state dictates. This was true before Covid-19 and it is even lower now, because of Covid-19. They also managed the Covid-19 situation really well and they take all the precautions that is possible. I cannot recommend it enough. I am really happy about how my son has been learning, while he is having a lot of fun too. read more

We toured SIDC when I was 6 months pregnant with my (now 3.5 year old) daughter and it was our first choice for childcare. While not as fancy as other places, we felt instantly welcomed and like the staff and community there were invested our family. We knew that we wanted to a center downtown with easy access to work and toured/waitlisted for three facilities and were thrilled that there was a part-time opening at SIDC that synched with our schedules. Our daughter has attended since she was 3 months and is now in preschool. And our infant son will start 3 days a week in fall 2015. Reasons we selected and recommended SIDC: - Part-time availability - Teacher tenure, training/backgrounds and curriculum - Location - I was able to visit and nurse my baby whenever I wanted, the teachers worked to coordinate her feedings with my schedule Now that we have become part of the SIDC family there are so many more reasons, most of all the teachers. We love that our daughter (and soon our son) is loved and taught by such a talented, nurturing group of diverse people. Our daughter is articulate, disciplined and cares about other people. She has thrived at SIDC and we look forward to our son doing the same. A note about cost - for us, childcare is a significant part of our budget, not something that we take lightly. SIDC is something we've had to figure out how to afford. It is well worth the investment and we highly recommend it to other families. read more

My son has been on the waitlist for almost three years now, since he was one month old. Since then I have followed up several times, but there has never been an opening of any sort. This seems unlikely. When I got on the waitlist Serafina made it sound like there would be openings coming up very shortly - and then never got back to me. I consider my $75 SIDC wait list fee pretty much the worst money I have ever spent. On the web site it says they follow up periodically. This is patently false. read more

My son attended SIDC, matriculating out about 12 years ago. The QUALITY of this program has been a blessing in every academic endeavor he has pursued since. I believe the solid foundation and love he was shown there, grew into a love of learning. He has always been ahead of his peers in judgment and maturity, again, I think in part due to their influence, compassion and environment. Great teachers that connect with your kids. I am prompted to write this because I was stopped on the street the other day by one of the teachers that not only recognized me after 11 years (longer from her room), but also remembered my son's name. Hands down the best investment we made in our son's academic future. read more

We have a four year old and almost two year old at the center, both of whom have been enrolled since they were three months. The staff are incredibly warm and kind; they've treated our children like their own. The center has an executive director and a parent-led board who are committed to continuous improvement. For the past three years, staff have been participating in year-long HighScope training to bring alignment to classrooms and further enhance the educational experience of kids. We've been very impressed by the staff and have thoroughly enjoyed our experience. We've become great friends with other families - can't say enough good things! read more

I chose this daycare after a friend of mine recommended it as she has her son there. My son had been in another daycare before a spot opened up at SIDC and I pulled him out for several reasons, mostly communication and professionalism. I am glad I left. SIDC staff are terrific, consistent and my son loves going there. The teachers are amazing, have high tenure, and their expertise shows in the class. The waitlist was lengthy, but the tour I was given by the director blew me away and they were up-front an honest about how many people were ahead of me, which I appreciated. Unlike some other schools, the tour reflected exactly the experience at the center, not just what I wanted to hear. The other office manager was good about giving updates on spots available until I luckily got a space myself. I would highly recommend choosing this daycare. read more

We paid the $80 nonrefundable application fee to get on the waitlist about two years ago. We called and emailed eight times to check our position on the waitlist and no one would ever return our messages. Unless there is an immediate opening, don't waste the money applying. I doubt they even added us to a list. We haven't heard from them since they cashed our check a couple years ago. read more

I cannot say enough nice things about this day care. My son has been at SIDC since he was just under 6 months old, has moved through Infant Room and Small Toddler Room. We have had such an incredible experience there and I feel so good about leaving my son with such wonderful caregivers. SIDC is good about retaining staff so there is longevity and consistency. They truly care about the children and it shows. My son has made meaningful attachments and has received care that is tailored to his developmental age. They don't just babysit or take care, they really go out of their way to encourage, to challenge and support growth and development. The director, Marna, is very visible and invested in what happens at her center. I cannot thank you enough SIDC! read more

I drop my grandkid off here and the staff seem nice but the facility manager needs to be fired. Play ground equipment wrapped in frayed duct tape, large AC units resting on top of rickety boxes, cardboard in the windows instead of screens. It is amazing no one has a closed head injury. read more

SIDC has been a wonderful place for our son. We've been with the Center for over a year now, and our 18-month-old loves it. The teachers are great - many of them have been there for many years, and they seem to understand and appreciate every little person's growth and development. We also were looking for good teacher/child ratios, and SIDC had the best we saw - this was especially important to us in the Infant room. Now that our son is a toddler, he has the opportunity to go on field trips, from going to Pike Place and watching cheese being made to going to the Aquarium. And we love that they have FareStart food, which is healthy and varied and assures that our son tries (and likes) a variety of foods. read more

I echo Maura's comments. SIDC has been a wonderful place for my two children.

Best childcare in downtown Seattle. Teachers are great!