Action Day Primary Plus – Phelan

We just registered here. Our child is yet to be born ;) so will update the review once the baby starts going there. All I can say is I loved meeting Ms. Melissa in the office and Ms. Soo and Sophy in the infant room. It’s mostly because how comfortable we felt with them that we registered here. We toured at least 20 day care centers including the other Action day centers. The people here made us very comfortable, answered our questions patiently (its nerve wrecking to think of leaving your baby with someone else) and seems like they were taking really good care of the infants. Also, the infant room was very clean and looked safe for the infants to crawl.
The facilities are nice and they seem to cater to any special needs if you don’t want to use their diaper wipes etc.
The two things that I would change are 1. They wipe the diaper changing station with bleach and then put the baby on that. I wish they put the disposable paper before they place the kid. Child’s body should not be in touch with a table wiped with bleach. But they promised they will put a disposable paper for our baby if we provided it. I am happy to provide that. 2. Their playgrounds aren’t the soft grounds. Even city of Santa clara public play areas are now the soft grounds with that rubbery material and no mulch since little kids eat everything they get their hands on. I am hoping they will change that by the time our baby is ready to walk ;)
However, nothing surpasses loving teachers and a safe environment where they will take care of your baby. I am hoping our baby loves it as much as we do !! We are looking forward to sending our baby to Action day at Phelan campus.

It has been more than a year that my kids have been here. My review still stays the same.
We are leaving the school as we are moving out of the area but I would recommend this school to anyone.
As always the teachers and front office staff has always listened to my questions/​concerns and helped me in every possible way to make my kids tenure here happy. Best wishes to everyone at Action Day Phelan; we will miss you!

On a positive note, this ADPP location is probably the best I’ve visited. And the center director, Jacqueline, is very warm and genuine and helpful. I hate to write a poor review, especially since I have friends that send their kids here and they love it. But wanted to note the differences I saw here versus at Bright Horizons.
I looked into this campus for my infant but was deterred by the tuition. It’s pretty comparable to Bright Horizons, so if you are comparing to them then it’s pretty even. We ended up sending our son to a home daycare, which was about ²⁄₃ of the cost for either facility.
My company has back-​up daycare serviced mainly by Bright Horizons, but gives you an option to select ADPP. I chose the Phelan location for my preschool son’s spring break, since it had such good reviews from my two friends. Day 1 and 2 he seemed fine. I did notice that when I dropped off, sometimes the kids were not in their designated rooms and combined with other classrooms or were outside playing. When I picked up, I noticed he was almost always in a corner playing by himself, while the rest were in circle time. I thought this was weird, since my son is never that anti-​social. The pickup process was also confusing, as they moved them to a different room but left his belongings in the same room. And when I asked the teachers questions about his day (i.e.: did he sleep), they didn’t seem to have answers. It was never clear to me who exactly was watching him during the day since the teachers were different from drop off, to in-​classroom, to pickup. Anyway, but day 4 — he was asking us not to go back there. Day 5 he screamed for us not to leave him there. When I asked him why he didn’t like the school, he mentioned someone kicked him, and then alluded to not liking the teachers.
I thought it might have had something to do with adjusting to a new environment, etc, so waited to post this review until we sent him to Bright Horizons Los Gatos for his summer break from preschool. Our experience with him at Bright Horizons was absolutely the opposite of his experience at ADPP. The day before going back to his standard preschool, he begged for us to let him go back to Bright Horizons! He talks about how much he likes the teachers and his new friends.
Anyway, wanted to share our experience. Will probably stick to BH from now on for any backup care we need.

Action Day Phelan Campus is a wonderful place.
My daughter attends the Jr. K program and she just loves it.
The teachers and staff are extremely friendly and run the school in a calm and efficient manner. Drop offs and pick ups are always extremely fluid and easy. Everyone is always very nice and happy to see us in the morning!
They offer dance and other activities and having my daughter join a couple of these programs has really enabled her to make new friends and be a part of the little Action Day community.
I really love this school and would highly recommend it to anyone considering it for their pre-​K child or children.

Our son has been attending this school for over a year now. We started him off one day a week, and now he’s going three days a week and LOVING it! All of his teachers (Miss Maria, Miss Ruthie, Mrs. Sarah & more) have shown such immense interest and care in him, and it shows. He comes home every day having learned something new, and it’s just a joy to watch him grow with the staff at Phelan’s help.
The school directors (Miss Wendy and Miss Jacqueline) have been very kind to us with our busy, hectic schedules. They are always willing to help us out when needed, and are understanding about the little hiccups that life throws at you. I couldn’t hope for more kind people running my child’s school.
I love how every staff member speaks to the children. There is no yelling, and everyone is referred to as «friends». Honestly, I work right next to another preschool/​day care facility, and I can hear the «drill sergeant» (as I like to call her) constantly reprimanding the children. Discipline is good, but this woman is going a little overboard. I never hear kindness in her voice. That’s why I love the people at Phelan. They most certainly discipline and command a class, but in such a kind and understanding way. It’s just wonderful to drop your kid off at school and feel COMFORTABLE. I didn’t think it was possible, but with ADPP Phelan, it most certainly is.
AND, they have the most amazing lunch program! Good, wholeseome and healthy meals that I know my son loves. Sometimes I’m tempted to come back during the day and eat the hot lunches from Michelle’s Luncheon! My son USUALLY eats every bite, which I can’t say the same for at home. :)
All in all, I wouldn’t want him going to any other school. I highly recommend ADPP Phelan to any parent wanting a safe place where they can really feel comfortable sending their child/​children. Thanks to all the staff at Phelan for making our crazy lives a little easier!!!

My son transferred here from the Allen location which was VERY hard to leave but with a long commute I needed him as my carpool buddy! I looked at pruneridge location but it was just too small for us so when I toured Phelan… The moment I walked in I LOVED it! The front office directors are AMAZING. Ms Jacqueline and Mrs. Wendy were so genuine. Not trying to sell me but just went thru the motion of describing how this center runs things. My son had some adjusting to do but has made a smooth transition. He loves his teachers, Ms. Maria is so kind and patient, Ms Ruthie cracks him up and since he has been moved up to the «big boy room» he loves his new teacher Ms. Sara! Can’t wait to see how much more he will learn! My two year old talks so much and sings so many songs, the alphabet and I attribute this all to Action Day, they actually teach and explore concepts with your children. No TV’s here! All hands on learning!

My both kids are attending this school for about 3 years now, and I couldn’t be happier. The staff is amazing from the front office to the teachers and the assistants.
A great professional team, very helpful. I drive everyday from north east Santa Clara to south San Jose (Saratoga) and it’s worth it. I feel very confident with a peace of mind leaving my kids there. They have a very convenient parking, I have a big concern about the parking because Safety is a big issue with the kids, especially when they get out of school, I think you agree with me on that point. my kids are very excited when I pick them up and even though they are tired they run all over the place, so having a big closed parking keeps my child safe.
If you are looking for a school that have a very flexible hours, this is the best place, you can drop your kid whenever you want from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. The office has a code by the entrance so safety wise, I can rate this school 6 stars.
The hot lunch is my favorite part, so everyday they have a very healthy meal to serve for the kids, and the best is that you have the option to choose either hot lunch or you pack a lunch box for your kids, and on those days when you are tired and you don’t want to prepare it for your kids, don’t worry Michelle luncheon will take care of it.
Most of the teachers are Moms, so you don’t feel like you are dropping your kids with just employees at a private school but you feel like you are leaving them with their second mom, and that’s true I call my kids teachers their second mom, in fact my older son calls me from time to time with his teacher’s name.
Now let’s talk a little bit about potty training, My second son just turn 3 recently, and since he was 2 I tried to get him out of diapers, and guess who helped me with that, his teacher at Action day, she does the most job for me, teaching him how to get his clothes up and down, how to wipe, I mean everything. As I said above, the team is awesome and with a lot of
fact I referred 3 of my friends and they are very grateful that I make them know this place, and their kids are eager to go to school everyday.
I left the best for the end, usually when we talk about private schools we never know or meet the owner, sometimes it’s just name on the official paper. But this is not what happen at Action Day, the owner is at the head of the Administration, and I met her so many times, and she is awesome, very humble, down to earth, she makes you feel like you are part of her Big Family, yes that’s the truth, and I feel that way.
Action Day is my second big family her in the US.
Thanks Action day for everything.

Our little guy has been going to ADPP/​Phelan for over two years now. Seeing the smile on his face when we drop him off or pick him up, tells me, it was the right decision in choosing ADPP/​Phelan. The staff in the office is wonderful and accommodating to our every requests. The staff/​teachers are amazing with our son. He looks forward to going to «school» and all the extra classes they offer, Cooking Class, Fairytale Class and Tumbling Class to name a few. We look forward to the stages ahead and ADPP.

My grandson started at ADPP-​Phelan when he was 6 months old ~ he’s now 6 YEARS old. He graduated this year from the Jr. K program at Phelan and is continuing with the ADPP family as a kindergartner at the Amber location.
His little brother started attending ADPP-​Phelan at the age of 2 months and is now a happy 1 yr old toddler there!
As a grandmother, I cannot say enough about the Phelan location ~ they are kind, compassionate, loving, professional educators & caregivers and I’m so glad that we’ll have more years there with my second grandson. I think our family is very blessed to have come across ADPP-​Phelan ~ entrusting my grandchildren’s care to them was one of the best choices my daughter and her husband have made!

I couldn’t be happier with our choice to have our son go to ADPP-​Phelan. He’s been there since April of this year and absolutely loves it. He nearly jumps out of my arms when we arrive in the morning and he realizes where he is! This is largely due to the teachers. They are so kind and so loving with the children.
Yes, the children get sick, but I’d much rather have my son exposed to slight colds while he is young than to get major sicknesses later on because he wasn’t exposed at an early age.
Doesn’t hurt that it is just a few blocks from our house either!

Our son started attending school when he turned 2 and has been going there for the past 1.5 years. We love everything about this school. The teachers are very loving and caring. My son had Ms. Maria and Ms. Ruthie for 2’s program and now with Ms. Sarah for preschool and they all rock. They ensured that the kids stay happy and safe while caring for them. They helped my son with potty training and we’ve been seeing a good progress on his speech and social behaviour. He used to be very shy when he joined and now he feels as if it is his second home. He has made quite a few friends and loves going to school. They have a lot of activities, games and nice big play structures to keep the kids entertained. They hear us and take actions if we have some special concerns. The directors Jacqueline and Wendy are very friendly and they address any issue/​concern right away. They both know all the kids’ names and most kids stop by and talk to them daily while passing by the office. I’d highly recommend this school to anyone who is looking for a warm and friendly caring place for their kids.

I LOVE Action Day. This is the second location my children have attended. The other location was really good also, but this one tops the charts!
Here’s why: All the staff (literally) are warm, caring and personable. I have made a personal connection with every person I have come into contact with at this location and I am not talking about just the teachers and staff. The parents here are wonderful engaging group of people. No one is every too busy, or in too big of a rush to say hello or help you out. I have never seen anyone pass the «buck» so to speak simply because what was asked of them was not their «job». Needless, to say my daughter absolutely loves this place. She loves her teachers, the office staff including the director! When we drive into the parking lot she scretches with excitment every day. I am not exaggerating. If you don’t believe me just go take a tour! Also, it is conveniently located right off 280… can it get better?

My son (20 months) has been going to Action Day since he was 6 months old. We have had a very good experience with Action Day. The directors and teachers are all very receptive and work with us when there are concerns. The teachers are very caring and loving. Emails or phone calls are returned quickly! We do cloth diapers and tend toward many natural and organic foods and medicinal remedies. They have worked with us doing cloth diapers with no issues. As a teacher, I also appreciate that we can take the summer off with just a small deposit to hold my son’s spot. We are very happy with the care our son receives while attending Action Day.

My daughter and son both attended action day. The staff is great and so welcoming I feel so safe leaving my children here. I recommend this center to anyone looking for a safe and very welcoming center!

Love this school! My two youngest kids have been going here for a little over a year and they have learned so much! My daughter has really blossomed into a great student who continues to amaze me and my son keeps surprises me with new things. They even had a program for when my oldest was out of school for the summer! The staff is always welcoming so I wouldn’t send my kids anywhere else but here!

Our baby Aiden has been going to this day care since May (when he was 13 months old). He is now 19 months old and he loves it here. As with any day care kids do fall sick on and off but the teachers here are very loving and caring including the front desk staff. They have lots of activities for the kids during the day, they either provide the meal for your child or you can send food and you get to know how much your child ate and how well he was during the day with a report given to you at the end of each day.
We also love the fact that they have a parents night out every month which gives us a chance to go on a date or movie night. It is typically from 6pm to 11pm.
We have loved it here for him and will continue to send him here for as long as we can :-)

My oldest son started here when he was six months old and when I toured the facility, I knew this was the place I trusted while I was at work. He is now 5 and just graduated from their Jr K program. The teachers are wonderful!!! When he was younger, he struggled with potty training, and the school was patient with him and gave us tips to try at home. As he got older, he had a few speech issues, and they worked with us and his speech therapy schedule. He has done so well and he will be continuing his journey at the Amber location for Kindergarten.
We will not be saying goodbye yet, since my youngest (who started at 2 months old) will continue in his brother’s footsteps there.

Not sure why my original post got filtered, but was planning on adding an update anyway. My older son has been part of this school/​daycare continually since Oct 2010 and my younger once since April 2012. So I have had kids in all rooms 1 – 7. They both LOVE it there and my husband and I feel very comfortable with them there.
My favorite parts are:
1) the teachers are extremely caring and this is way more than a job to them. There is almost no turnover of teachers except when they retire or go to a different action day facility (we miss you Ms Simin!). The top reason we have not ever considered moving our kids to another facility/​care situation is because of the amazing teachers. My 3.5 yr old has fun everyday and learns and LOVES his teacher Ms Sarah. (He also loves Ms. Evelyn, Ms. Elva, Ms. Ruthie, Ms. Maria, Ms. Ritu… the list goes on) he has good friends at school that he misses if they are gone. He used to be timid going in there (honestly for the first yr) but now he runs in there like he owns the place. My 18 month old who has been there for 10 months is equally as happy. He loves the toys, all the space to run around and is in love with his teachers Ms Maribel and Ms Elva. All the teachers know my boys and treat them wonderfully.
2) the facility has a lot of space for them, age appropriate toys and games. They are always working to update it and in the last year or so painted it again with really cute characters and just redid the inside of many of the rooms.
3) the front office staff is attentive and caring to my kids too. Angela gave us the original tour back in 2010 and has been with the company for I think 15 yrs. She always ensured my billing was correct and way more importantly she has always been extremely helpful to ensure that the center had the right needs for my children and my family. In the rare event that I had a kid sent home sick (this has happened twice) Angela took care of him and was very supportive and made him comfortable until I could arrive. Wendy was very helpful when my older son was having potty training difficulties and in acting quickly in the rare event that I had a concern. Jacqueline just joined but both my boys seems to really like her already.
Yes– kids get sick at daycare, just like they do at a museum or on an airplane. but I promise it gets better after the first year. We have made friends with other families here and feel we are lucky to have this center so close to our house. We are so happy to have our boys here. Thanks Action Day teachers & staff.

we had our daughter in Phelan schools off of Saratoga from 8 weeks until we moved to NM this last November (she was 13 months then) — this is our only child so we were willing to pay whatever and drive wherever to get her the best possible care — I really believe this place delivered, we had two caretakers that really stood out– Miss Mima and Miss Laura. Every time I came to pick her up she was happy and being held or played with. They gave detailed daily reports on what she ate, her nap schedule, things she enjoyed playing with, foods she liked and disliked, etc. They had music time, art projects, walks around the campus, and went all the way up to preschool so we could have kept her there if we wanted to– it was worth the extra drive, we looked at over ten options and decided the home care was too TV-​centric and the smaller places didn’t have the resources to do the extra and fun things like the annual picnic/​BBQ, picture day, etc. They had a detailed emergency plan for earthquakes and communicated often with us on parent’s night out babysitting events as well as other activities that we might be interested in participating in.
I highly recommend this place and even though it was on the higher end of the scale financially I feel it was well worth our money to know that she was with people all day who genuinely loved her. We had true peace of mind when she was here. Oh yes, the price– $ 1300/​month for 40 hrs/​week

I’m reviewing the day care/​pre-​school part, which we used for about 2 years. I’ve had 5 star experiences and 1 star experiences here, hence the 3 star review.
This location is at the old Phelan Elementary School site, so it’s secluded. They share the campus with MACC Preschool.
This place was great for us because they were very flexible with schedules and because they are open most of the year. My eldest son loved his teacher; she was really interactive and caring. They made potty training a cinch with both boys!
The major downside with this place is that the kids seem to get sick quite often. Also, both boys were bitten and scratched (one of them still sports a scar). The facilities also seem outdated, but they do a good job of making it look nice.