If you've ever joined a waitlist and then heard nothing for eight months, you're not alone. Westside preschool waitlists are confusing, a little stressful, and rarely explained.
So we asked someone who runs one. Kristin Chamberlain opened Footsteps Child Care in 2019 and now runs two campuses: Playa Vista, which has a long waitlist, and Mid-City, which is brand new and enrolling now. That makes Footsteps a useful case study in how this whole system works from both sides.
Kristin Chamberlain, Founder
Here's what she told us:
The cheat sheet
Join while pregnant. Waiting until maternity leave ends is usually too late for infant care.
Expect to wait: about 12 to 15 months for infants, about 8 months for toddlers and preschoolers (at Footsteps Playa Vista right now).
Join 2 or 3 lists, not many more.
Got the email? You have 24 hours to say you're interested. That's not a commitment yet.
Not ready? Deferring keeps your place on the list.
Red flag: a big non-refundable deposit just to sit on a list.
Start earlier than feels reasonable
Pregnancy. That's when Kristin says to get on the list if you want infant care on the Westside.
Families who wait until the end of maternity leave are usually too late to get a spot when they need it. She says starting too late is the most common mistake parents make.
What the waitlist looks like at the Footsteps Playa Vista right now:
Infants: about 12 to 15 months
Toddlers and preschoolers: about 8 months
Why infant waitlists are the longest
Playa Vista is currently Footsteps' only campus with an infant program, and it is small by design and by license.
Infant rooms are small by design and by license. That's why the infant waitlist is the longest.
Toddler and preschool rooms are larger, and many of those spots go to children already enrolled as they move up from the younger groups.
A visit from the animals. Most older-room spots go to kids moving up from the younger groups.
About three-quarters of Playa Vista spots over a year go to families from the waitlist. Siblings take only one or two. Because most older-room spots fill from within, the outside waitlist matters most at the infant level.
How the waitlist actually moves
It's mostly first come, first served. When a spot opens, the school also considers the ages of the children already in that group, so age can affect who is offered the spot.
Siblings and returning families get priority when a spot opens.
Your place in line: Footsteps doesn’t share waitlist numbers because they can be misleading and stressful. Lists often move faster than they appear to, because many families ahead of you defer or decline when offered a spot.
What happens when a spot opens?
You receive an email saying a space is becoming available. You have 24 hours to say whether you are interested. That 24-hour window is less tight than it sounds.
At that stage, the school is only asking whether you want to be in the conversation, not whether you're signing. They need a quick yes or no because there's a family behind you. If you are interested, you get an in-person tour and the full details, then decide.
If the timing doesn't work, you don't lose your place. Deferring keeps you on the list, and they have seen families pass on a spot and take one a few months later.
What it costs
Every school does this differently, but here's how Footsteps handles it:
Waitlist fee: $110
To secure a spot: the enrollment fee plus the first month's tuition as a deposit. Both are non-refundable.
Holding a spot early: common. If a space will open in a few months, many families take it now for the certainty.
Notice when leaving: 30 days
What tuition pays for: Kristin says it's almost entirely about people. "Your two-year-old is attaching to a specific person. Keeping that person is expensive." The rest funds the program itself: classroom materials, organic lunches, and the events and celebrations that run all year.
The process
Why waits are longer than before
Kristin has watched the whole arc since 2019. The squeeze is real, and she says it's mostly a supply problem. Programs closed during the pandemic and many never came back.
"Fewer rooms and fewer teachers." That's what's really behind the longer lists, per Kristin.
Home-based providers left the field, and staffing got much harder. You can have the space and the license, and still not be able to open a room if you can't find and pay a qualified teacher. "What families feel is a longer list but what's actually behind it is fewer rooms and fewer teachers." Kristin says.
What parents can do
Join two or three waitlists, not many more. Timelines shift, and a quote from January may not match your situation by September. A few lists keep one change from disrupting your whole plan.
Watch for red flags: a large non-refundable deposit just to sit on a list (an application fee is normal, but more than that isn't), or a school that won't explain how its list works.
Look closest to home. When Footsteps opened Mid-City, only a couple of families moved over from the Playa Vista list. Most families enroll at the campus nearest them.
Expect a two-way fit. Footsteps tours every family before enrolling and pays attention to whether the family is a good fit for its community.
Tour before you commit. Footsteps wants to know you're a good fit, and you should want to know too.
Openings at Mid-City
Footsteps' Mid-City campus is actively enrolling and has openings now. As Kristin puts it, "an unusual thing to be able to say on the westside!"
Tours:
Hosted every Saturday, with other times usually available
Book about a week ahead
Mid-City tours are in person, right away
Playa Vista families start with a virtual tour, then get an in-person one once a space is opening up for them
Join the waitlist: https://footsteps.la/admissions#interest-form
• Want to reach local parents? Advertise →
• A writer or community voice? Contribute →
• Hosting something fun? Submit your event →
• Forwarded this email? Subscribe here →
