We enrolled our baby here last year. When we toured this facility, Mrs Flo, the director at the…read moretime, was so welcoming and pleasant. She was easy to talk to, accommodating and helpful. We toured other places around the area but as soon as we met Ms Arlene in the infant room, we instantly had that feeling that our child would be in good hands. We just felt something special about her. So with the combination of Mrs Flo running the facility and Ms Arlene as his caregiver, we immediately enrolled our son.
Of course the first week was rough for our son because it was a new place with new faces, but Ms Arlene always made him feel loved and attended to him when she could. Soon after, he stopped crying because Ms Arlene automatically gave him affection. She was just absolutely comforting and nurturing to our son throughout our whole experience!
The reason I am giving 2 stars is only because of her and Mrs Flo. Otherwise, I would give this place a lower rating.
The rest of the staff here lack empathy, professionalism, and compassion. I am unsure if they are maybe racist because I saw them treat other children better than they did with my son and our family.
Most, if not all the time, when we would drop off and pick up our son, the staff would not acknowledge him or us. Sometimes they would look at us and frown then just look away. (keep in mind, this is NOT about Ms Arlene or Mrs Flo- they were always respectful and acknowledged us). At times that they do acknowledge us, they seem annoyed to see us. We have never done anything to them that would make them treat us that way. In fact, on our son's first day, we brought the teachers gift bags with snacks and treats.
As this went on, we did not let it get to us because we gave them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they're busy, or overwhelmed with caring for all the kids, or maybe they were going through something in their personal lives, maybe they don't mean to come off as rude, etc.
But one day we had had enough,my son was in the middle of transitioning rooms so they bring him to the toddler room in the afternoon.
When I looked through the window of the room, I didn't see him right away. So I went back to his usual room. The teacher there told me he was in the toddler room and I said I didn't see him. She sounded so annoyed that I even went in there. So I went back to the toddler room. Again, through the window I didn't see him. I entered the room and behind the changing table/area behind a wall, I saw him crying. He looked like he was crying for a while. Eyes were puffy, nose was all snotty and his cheeks were wet. Mind you, I checked the room through the window when I got there, walked to the other room, walked back to his room and still didn't see him. How long was my son standing there crying? And no one attended to him or comforted him.
There were 3 teachers in that room. One teacher was busy at a table with kids. Another was standing by this table just observing. And the third teacher was near my son but just sitting on the floor watching 2 other kids. She was not playing with them, she was just watching them.
And when I came in saw him crying,NOT ONE person acknowledged me. No one said a word to me on why he was crying, how long he was crying or even tried to explain anything on what occurred before. They all just ignored a crying baby and mother.
They did not care he was crying nor did they care to explain to me what happened or cared that I found him alone, unattended to, crying and no one comforting him,
I spoke to the director when I walked out of the door (not Mrs Flo anymore) and asked how to withdraw my son's enrollment. after that incident, we never went back. We continued to pay for our tuition for 2 weeks to follow their withdrawal policy but our son never came back. We left all his belongings there and never looked back.
The day after, the director called me and after reviewing the video, they did recognize that there were more than enough teachers that could've attended to him. The teacher called me to apologize as well. But after all of what had happened we could not go back.
Although this happened several months ago and I am barely writing a review now, I wanted to ensure others were aware of people's experiences. I didn't want to write a review because I would feel bad for the facility but if you have other places to consider, do yourself a favor and do that. It is not the franchise Kiddie Academy, it is just this location we have issues with.
We now have enrolled our son to a different location and O M G, we absolutely love it. Each and every staff greet you as soon as you walk in the front door with kindness and respect. You are never ignored and our son loves it there.
I wanted to share awareness because OMG the difference in how we are treated is CRAZY!
