HeadsUp! Child Development Center

10 plus years ago, both of my children went here, one from age 3 through kindergarten and the other from 18 mos. through kindergarten. Danielle was head teacher of the 2 year old room at that time and she is now director.
I screened through tons of day care centers and below are reasons why we went with Headsup!
There was a head teacher for each room and they each have a four year degree.
2^nd language
Computer time
Low student to teacher ratios
Live music with dancing. It sounds like Thomas is still there!
Large yard with play structures.
Modified Montessori where children get to pick something to work with.
They let the child grow, such as teaching them to pour juice into a cup at age three.
A note came home every day on what each child did.
Secured front door.
Pretty clean considering around 100 kids in that facility.
Special events for Mother’s Day and graduation.
Both of my kids are now working on their degrees at different campuses of University of California.

My daughter started attending HeadsUp! in the Infant/​Toddler room when she was 4 months old. Three and a half years later, my son started in the I/​T room with 3 of the same teachers as my daughter had while my daughter was in the Preschool room. The quality of the teaching staff is amazing from the I/​T room up through Preschool/​Kindergarten. You can tell that the cost of tuition goes towards retaining the top quality staff and providing programs such as Spanish, Mandarin, and Music time with teacher Thomas that would be considered «extras» at other facilities. When my children were infants, I would go to HeadsUp! at lunch to nurse them. The I/​T teachers were proactive in calling me to let me know if the baby was sleeping/​ready to nurse or if I called first, they were always happy to hear from me and never seem inconvenienced. Since I went to nurse my babies once a day until they turned 1 yr old, I spent a lot of time at the center. I saw how all the children were well-​cared for, safe, and happy. Liza’s daily notes often described an experience or behavior of my children in a delightful, detailed manner that made me feel like I was getting special glimpses into my children’s days. In the Two Year Old room, Angie and Aurora were always loving and fun and they did a great job potty-​training my daughter in less than a week. In Preschool, Tarcito, Anna, and Victoria were loving and full of energy. They made learning fun and my daughter learned to read Kindergarten level material when she was just 4. Danielle and Veronica kept the center running smoothly and professionally. It is a small center compared to some others and all the teachers and staff knew all the kids and families by name. It felt like a family there and after 5 years, we were very sad and tearful when it was time to move on to another school. Even after a year, my daughter still talks about the teachers she loved and the friends she made there. My children thrived at HeadsUp! P. S. Take a look at the reviews that Unilocal lists as «not currently recommended». They are all 4 and 5 star reviews that for some unknown reason Unilocal’s algorithms decided to list as not recommended. I knew 5 of the reviewers and they are legitimate HeadsUp! families!

Our son attended HeadsUp from when he was 4 months old until 3 years old as we recently moved out of the Bay Area. From the moment we toured the center until the last tearful farewell, the HeadsUp staff were more like extended family than childcare providers!
The director, Danielle, is professional and way on top of things. Some of the other reviewers felt like the center is business like — well yeah it is but from our perspective in a good way. We always got a call when our son had a mishap — even when it wasn’t very serious (for example: «He fell but he’s not crying and is already back playing. We put ice on his bruise.»). We got a call every. single. time. something happened and that kind of oversight helped my wife and I worry less about the time he spent away from us. Seriously, it relieved a lot of stress to know he was in good hands. The center is pricey, but in our experience, it was worth every penny.
The Infant-​Toddler and Two’s room staff are amazing! Our son has developed a love of books and learning. We appreciate the Montessori methodology and in our experience it definitely helped our son. He was also able to get some Spanish and Chinese immersion learning as well as his favorite Friday morning music time with Teacher Thomas. From what we heard from other parents, the preschool staff are great as well — and there is a terrific bilingual program that we signed up for before we moved.
We’ll always remember how HeadsUp helped us through many first time milestones and challenges of being a parent like the hitting phase, the biting phase and everyone’s favorite: the potty phase. Yes biting is something all kids deal with — ours included — but we felt the school was doing their best to manage it.
We certainly miss HeadsUp and we’ll always be thankful that our son spent his early years in such a caring and supportive family environment.

We came from outside the country, no English at all, after 8 months our 5.5 year old and 4 year old started reading writing (and speaking of course).
Both of them enjoyed their activities at HeadsUp, that during pickup time I had hard time taking them home, they wanted me to stay till the last activity is done! Share it with me, show me the art work, and do the last circle time.
The Montessori style is the best at these ages.
I can not avoid mentioning Teacher Tarcito he is amazing, works on children’s qualities, enhance the good ones, try to change the bad ones!
Not cheep, yet highly recommended.

We had our so in Headsup from about 18m to 4yo. We chose it as it was close to our work and we wanted a school with bilingual chinese English.
The good — most of the teachers we very caring about what they did and man were also good teachers. Even from 18m they were exposing our son to great learning not just keeping him safe. The bilingual program is run by a great teacher who really cares for her class.
The bad — for all the good they do run. Bit too much like a business
The ugly — the school is let down by poor discipline which can be problematic with the wide age range classes. Also when such matters are raised they simply don’t want to address them but tend to cover them up.
Despite the problems we were sad when we moved on.

Our son began attending HeadsUp at 18 months and has had a wonderful time in both the infant/​toddler and twos rooms. The teachers and staff are loving and caring, the facilities very nice, and the curriculum excellent. By his late twos, our son was counting in three languages (English, Spanish, and Mandarin), producing wonderful art projects for us, and knew the name of every planet in the solar system! All while building bonds with other children his age, learning important social interactions in a safe environment, and just plain having fun.

If there is a 0 star, I would have given it.
This is one of the most expensive day cares out there. True some of the teachers are nice, others have eyes on the back of their head. They care more about profits and money than kids. In one months I enrolled my kid, my kid was bit by some other kid multiple times! On the back, on the each hand, on the face!!!
Yet teachers, all the way up to director swept things under the rug again and again.
If you want to pay over $ 1500/​month to have your children coming home with biting marks, go ahead and send your kid there.

Both of my children, have been in Headsup from less than 6 months old, and are still at Headsup today (in the 2s room and Preschool respectively).
The low turnover of teachers is nice. Liza and Betty have been in the baby room continuously since before our son started in 2008. It is lovely for young children to keep the connection with the people who changed their diapers all the way through to Kindergarten age!
Ideal for dual career parents — the small number of holidays has really helped us since we are both from overseas and don’t have family who can help out.
The teachers are well qualified, and caring, and we have found it a healthy environment for our children as well as a good learning environment, with specialist Spanish, Mandarin and music tuition for all children.
The school admin has always been upfront with us regarding fees. Yes, there are cheaper places, but I couldn’t find one that provided the comprehensive service that Headsup offers. In addition, the school is welcoming to all children and their families, regardless of nationality, religion or any other characteristic. Just like the Bay Area, which is why we live here, right?
So 4 stars (since it is expensive), 5 for all other aspects.

We paid $ 200 for the «application fee» which was fully refundable if cancelled before a spot becomes available. We told the Director Danielle Ewing about our trip plans to China in the Spring time. We applied in early fall. No spots in the Bilingual program were available until now 2 weeks before my sons trip to China. The Director would not let me cancel even though we told her about our plans and she knew my son would be going to China. She would not let me switch the deposit to my younger son either so he could apply after we got back from China in 3 months. We wasted $ 200. I rate this school unsatisfactory for Business Ethics and Business Ethics Only! They use this fee for extra profit. They did not put an automatic cancellation date on the application form. This is a warning for those applying– write in a automatic cancellation date or think twice about applying for a school that charges $ 200 for a simple 1 page «application fee». I am very disappointed in their business behavior. I feel like I got ripped off.