The high number of families with two working parents has made the need for child care a common requirement. Although children are always welcome at MSRI for a tour of Mom or Dad's workplace, or a brief supervised visit, the building is just not set up to safely accommodate young children. Recently we have found that extended visits bring up two important issues, the most critical being child safety, with the second concern being noise disruptive to other working scholars. We ask that you keep this in mind throughout the year but especially at the beginning of your stay when it may take some time to find appropriate arrangements.

Following is some information that may be useful in helping you get started with your search for a child care center or pre-school in Berkeley.

There is a website called the Berkeley Parents Network, which features a wealth of information that is valuable to parents living in or visiting the Berkeley area. They also host several useful mailing lists.

The programs that you will see operating on site at many public schools are state funded and designed to provide before and after school services for low-income families. Acceptance is based on income eligibility and there is usually a (very) long waiting list.

U. C. Berkeley operates several child care programs for infants and pre-school children but priority is given to career faculty and staff. Visiting scholars may apply for the few open spaces that usually remain by contacting the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center, 2425 Atherton , #6070, Berkeley, CA 94720, telephone (510) 642-7031.

Bananas Child Care Information and Referral Service, 5232 Claremont Ave., Oakland, CA 94618, telephone (510) 658-0381, is a referral source for information on openings at both licensed family day care homes and day care centers. This non-profit agency also provides many child related services and publications.

There is a free monthly newspaper called "Parent's Press" available at most markets, newsstands, and children’s stores. It contains information on private schools, after-school programs, daycare, classes and recreational activities for children. Private babysitters often advertise openings on the bulletin board at University Village, U.C. Berkeley's married student housing is located at 1125 8th St. in Albany (about 3 miles northwest of campus).

The deadline for applications for Fall entrance to some day care centers is January 31, a long time before arrival. Childcare expenses have also been extraordinarily high in this area for the past few years.

Finally, please be aware that many centers and pre-schools have long waiting lists and therefore we recommend that you begin making inquiries well in advance. A partial list of local nursery schools and daycare centers follows. It is provided only as a convenience to help you get started, not as an endorsement. Some of the listings are taken from an out of print annotated publication, others were recommended by previous MSRI visitors and local friends.

INFANT AND CHILDCARE INFORMATION *
Child Care Information and Referral Service Bananas
5232 Claremont Ave.
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 658-0381

Telephone Referral Hours:
Mon-Thurs 10-4, Fri. 10-1,
Tues. evenings 7-9
Walk in referral service:
Mon-Fri 9:30-4:30

Infant Care

According to "Bananas", there are comparatively few infant care centers because most infant care locally is in the form of licensed family day care homes. Although it is a good idea to contact the centers well in advance, because they often have waiting lists, most of the licensed family day care homes won't know about vacancies until 1-2 months in advance. Bananas has an extensive list of these homes and it might be a good idea to wait until your address is determined before making a decision. They have four centers listed. Graduate Theological Union Childcare Center 3 months to 3 years
2138 Cedar St.
Berkeley, CA
(510) 549-3989

Model School Learning Center 5 months to 5 years
2330 Prince St.
Berkeley, CA
(510) 549-2711

St. John's Infant Care Center 6 months to 33 months
2727 College Ave.
Berkeley, CA
(510) 549-9342

Woolly Mammoth Childcare 18 months to 4 years
2314 Bancroft Way (near U.C. Campus)
Berkeley, CA
(510) 548-4779

*A partial list of daycare centers and nursery school is provided as a convenience to help get started in your search for childcare which best meets your family’s needs. It is not intended as an endorsement of any particular place or program.

The following listings were excerpted from A Narrative Guide to Nursery Schools in Alameda County, or were recommended by previous visitors to MSRI or UCB.

Bancroft Cooperative Nursery School 2-3/4 years to Kindergarten

& Kindergarten Max. 24 children

2398 Bancroft Way (at Dana)

Berkeley, CA 94704

(510) 849-3652

Berkeley Hill Nursery School 2-1/2 to 5 years

1161 Sterling Ave.

Berkeley, CA 94708

(510) 849-1216

Berkeley Montessori Elementary & Pre-School 3-15 years (2 sites)

1581 LeRoy Ave. 2030 Francisco St.

Berkeley, CA 94708 Berkeley, CA 94709

(elem. & middle) (510) 843-9374 (preschool & kindergarten)

Berkwood Hedge School Kindergarten - 5th Grade

1809 Bancroft Way

Berkeley, CA 94703

(510) 843-5724

Cedar Creek Montessori Day Care 2-1/2 years to Kindergarten

1600 Sacramento Max. 16 in each class

Berkeley, CA 94702

(510) 525-1377

Dandelion Cooperative Nursery School 2 years 9 months to 5 years

941 The Alameda

Berkeley, CA 94707

(510) 526-1735

Duck’s Nest 2 to 5 years

1411 4th St.

Berkeley, CA

(510) 527-2331

Ecole Bilingue 3-1/2 years and up

East Bay French-American School

1009 Heinz Avenue

Berkeley, CA 94710

(510) 549-3867

Gay Austin Nursery School 2 to 5 years

1611 Hopkins St. Max. 10 2-yr.-olds

Berkeley, CA 94707 Max. 14 3-yr.-olds

(510) 526-2815 Max. 16 4- & 5-yr.-olds

Kensington Nursery School

52 Arlington Avenue

Kensington, CA 94708

(510) 524-7963

Montessori Family Schools 2 to 12 years

All Souls Episcopal Church Max. 21 3- to 6-yr.-olds

2220 Cedar Street Max. 12 2-yr.-olds

Berkeley, CA 94709 Max. 24 in each class

(510) 848-2322 of 7- to 12-yr.-olds

Montessori School of Kensington 2 to 6 years

52 Arlington Ave.

Kensington, CA 94708

(510) 527-1278

Mustard Seed 2 to 5 years

1640 Hopkins St.

Berkeley, CA 94707

(510) 527-6627

New School of Berkeley 2-1/5 to 6 years

1606 Bonita St.

Berkeley, CA 94709

(510)548-9165

St. Mark's Episcopal Church

1850 Scenic Way

Berkeley, CA 94709

(510) 848-2322

Step One Nursery School 2 to 6 years

499 Spruce Street Max. 18 2-yr.-olds

Berkeley, CA 94708 Max. 21 in each nursery

(510) 527-9021 or kindergarten class