military or civilian daycare near Fort Shafter? (Honolulu, Schofield Barracks: daycares, school)

[mia835]

Hello, my husband will be PCSing to Fort Shafter around August. I am hoping to get a civilian job at Tripler or Schofield Barracks, ideally Tripler to minimze commuting. We are not sure where we will live yet, but we would probably stay as close to the Fort Shafter area as possible. Our daughter will be 1.5 years old when we move. We are living overseas right now, so it is hard to call and get information. From what I've heard, there is usually a long wait list to get into the CDC at Fort Shafter if you are not dual military. I want to start doing some preliminary research into daycares that are highly recommended. Any suggestions for daycare that wouldn't be too far from Fort Shafter? Thanks!

[Balad1]

Stick with one on a military installation if you can. Also don't overlook Joint Base Hickam/Pearl which is not far from Shafter and Tripler.

[eksotia]

Originally Posted by mia835

Hello, my husband will be PCSing to Fort Shafter around August. I am hoping to get a civilian job at Tripler or Schofield Barracks, ideally Tripler to minimze commuting. We are not sure where we will live yet, but we would probably stay as close to the Fort Shafter area as possible. Our daughter will be 1.5 years old when we move. We are living overseas right now, so it is hard to call and get information. From what I've heard, there is usually a long wait list to get into the CDC at Fort Shafter if you are not dual military. I want to start doing some preliminary research into daycares that are highly recommended. Any suggestions for daycare that wouldn't be too far from Fort Shafter? Thanks!

there is one at Schofield too if you happen to work there anyway. It's not as difficult to get in like Shafter. I only send my toddler twice a week to Ft Shafter, and it's not THAT hard to get a spot if you call 2 weeks in advance even for hourly. I personally don't like the one at Schofield because of the red dirt, just don't send your kid with white shoes or clothes. Shafter is so much cleaner, the outdoor play area is covered with rubber.

I like Rainbow school downtown Honolulu and we heard good things about it from my neighbors, unfortunately they don't offer part time care or else I'd rather send my son there than CDC.

[mia835]

Thank you for the advice! I was under the impression that it took months on the wait list to get into the Fort Shafter CDC, so I am glad to hear that is probably wrong. The Rainbow school looks good, but the location would be difficult b/c of the traffic. I remember there was a backup of traffic going into Honolulu on the freeway right after the Tripler exit when I used to leave at 4:30pm. That's the reason we want to live as close to Shafter as possible! I used to go grocery shopping at the Hickam commissary after work and from I remember, there wasn't traffic back up, so the CDC there might be a good possibility too. Thanks!

[eksotia]

ah ok, that's also why I'd prefer Rainbow because of the location close to home. We live downtown Honolulu and picking up my son on Ft. Shafter is a already pain at 3pm, let alone between 4-6p.