Unfortunately, I cannot recommend La Petite Academy after my daughter's three months at this…read morecenter.
From the beginning, we never truly felt welcomed. It took about three weeks for my daughter to get a name tag on her cubby, and only after I brought it up. There was also a classroom display with pictures of the children, yet my daughter was never added during the entire three months she attended.
I had concerns about supervision and staffing. There were times when I observed what appeared to be more children with one teacher than I understood to be allowed. I also witnessed teachers on their phones and some staff handling children by their arms more roughly than I was comfortable with. Sprout updates didn't always seem accurate, and children sometimes weren't checked into the camera system until hours after drop-off.
Potty training was another frustration. I repeatedly explained that my daughter was successfully potty training at home, yet they continued saying she "wasn't ready" and putting her in diapers. She had ONE accident within her first few days and none afterward. I also asked that she not wear a diaper during nap because she doesn't at home, yet I would sometimes pick her up still wearing a full diaper.
My daughter is an active 3-year-old, and this was her first real school setting. She needed redirection and would sometimes leave her designated area within their open-concept setup. Instead of feeling like they had patience while she adjusted, I felt she was treated like a problem because she wasn't a child who would simply sit down and stay in one area. It eventually reached the point where I was told Ms. Alex was overwhelmed and crying because my 3-year-old kept leaving her designated area.
I was also told by my husband that Ms. Lorene suggested my daughter may have special needs and essentially shouldn't be at their school. When I brought this to Jamie, the director, her immediate response was, "Ms. Lorene is my sweetest teacher, she would never say that." I felt immediately dismissed instead of having my concern taken seriously.
After bringing this up, it felt like even more negative things suddenly started being said about my daughter, followed by comments about how much they "truly cared about her." Unfortunately, I never felt or saw that care reflected in our experience. Rarely did I hear something genuinely positive about my daughter unless it came after something negative.
Jamie was also very unpleasant to communicate with regarding concerns. In my experience, her tone was unwelcoming, and I often felt concerns were brushed off rather than genuinely addressed.
We were paying $480 A WEEK for care. At that price, I expected significantly better supervision, communication, patience, professionalism, and overall care.
If your child is active, has a speech delay, behavioral challenges, needs additional redirection, or this will be their first school setting, I personally would NOT recommend this center. Three-year-olds are still learning how to function in a classroom. They need patience, movement, guidance, and redirection--not to be made to feel like they don't belong because they require more attention.
Ultimately, I became uncomfortable enough that I withdrew my daughter immediately, called corporate and essentially filed a complaint. Every family's experience may be different, but based on ours, this was not the supportive or welcoming environment I expected--especially at $480 a week.
