Waiting List

In spite of our splendidly rural location, the South Whidbey Children’s Center is a bustling, high-quality childcare center, ranked among the top ten percent of preschools in the country.

An important part of that distinction is our low teacher-student ratios. As a result of our desire to give your child and your family the best possible early learning experience, we can only accept a set number of children at a time.

The first step is to email us at waitlist@swchildrenscenter.com to add your child to the list and schedule a tour.

Waiting List Policies and Procedures

Prior to being placed on the waiting list, we asked families to schedule a tour and make sure that the Children’s Center is a good fit for your family.  As of March 2022, we are not offering tours. We hope to begin touring prospective families again by the fall of 2022. Please contact us to add your child to the waitlist.

Each classroom has a maximum capacity limit, and when we are at capacity we begin a waiting list for that classroom.  It is possible to have a waiting list in only one classroom or in all four.

Classroom Capacity numbers:

Because we accommodate a variety of schedules, potentially we could be full on Mondays and Wednesdays but have spots open on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  As your child ages, we automatically move them up into the appropriate classroom on the list.  Typically we have the most movement in the fall as our oldest children go off to Kindergarten and that opens up spaces to move children up into the next classroom.  If we have spaces open up at other times we may move children mid-year.

When a space opens up, we begin calling the families, in the order that they were added on the list. Please make sure we have your current phone number or email address. We give priority to siblings of currently enrolled children.  When we call, we may have an open schedule and you can choose any days you want or we may have a limited schedule available, based on the other children’s schedules that are already in the classroom.  If we are offering you a limited schedule we encourage families to take it.  It may be easier to change your schedule down the road than wait for the perfect schedule to appear. Being on the wait list does not automatically guarantee you a spot when your child turns 12 months old.  Enrollment always depends on availability and capacity.

If you are offered a spot and would like to hold it you will be charged 50% of tuition for the 1st month of holding, then switch to charging 100% of tuition. The maximum time length of holding your child’s spot is for 3 months. During summer, if you want to take the summer off, families will be charged 50% tuition for June, July, and August months.

Once we have agreed on the classroom and schedule we will have you fill out registration paperwork.  We need completed registration paperwork and immunization records to enroll at the Center.  Then we will set up some “transition days.”  We require two transition days for each child; however some children need more than two days. Some children need 4 to 6 transition days. Transition days are designed to help your child feel comfortable at the Center with their new teachers and other children. Transition days typically last for about an hour, where you and your child/ren visit the Center.   During this time, you sit in the classroom or outside with your child.  It is a good time to ask a lot of questions and get a sense of the daily routine.  On your second or last visit, you will leave your child for 15 minutes and then come back.  Remember to say good bye.  Setting up a consistent good-bye routine eases anxiety for your child.

To learn more about the South Whidbey Children’s Center please reach out at waitlist@swchildrenscenter.com or (360) 221-4499.