I'm writing this review after I have had a chance to calm down and stop being angry so that the review does not come across crazy and emotional. But it's hard to do that when I know my kids have been impacted. If you care about your child's well being, this place should definitely not even be considered. It's unsafe, crowded with only two small rooms for all kids and kids are allowed to watch TV here so the teachers can do their own thing. Rosie, the owner and a teacher here, treats this just like a business and not a place where you are going to care for small kids who rely on these adults for everything.
Our kids (5 and 3yo boys) went here for 3 months and almost from the start there were issues. I wanted the kids to have some stability (we've recently had a big move from Chicago to Cali) so we decided to give it some time and hoped things would get better. Rosie is a pathological liar. She lies about everything.
1) When we toured the school, she mentioned all kids eat lunch at the same time as the kindergarteners (12:30 PM) because we were worried about our 3yo not eating lunch properly at 11:30 if he's had breakfast at 9. But then once we joined, it turns out that's not how the schedule is. Small lie I know but a lie nonetheless.
2) She told us there are separate rooms for infants, toddlers and kindergarteners. However, infants sleep in one tiny back room while kindergarteners and toddlers share the same main room. So even though toddlers are napping when the kindergarteners get here from school, they eat lunch in the same room where these toddlers are napping. Also, kindergarteners are forced to "lie down and be quiet" in that same room even though they are well past the age where they should be napping. Rosie also claims that kindergartners only lie down for 15 mins, but my son, who has learned how to read the clock, told us they have to lie down from 1:30-3PM everyday. And if he isn't quiet during this 1.5 hours, he is given time out for an hour. Yes, you read that right, one whole hour!!
3) While I agree that kids should be given time out to discipline them (I do that at home too), one hour time out for a 5 and 3yo is extremely excessive. And to top that, they were given time out outside the house in peak hot weather when it was about 100 outside.
4) She allows the kids to be out playing without shoes in the backyard after it has rained and it's wet outside. Many times my son came home either wearing wet socks or with wet socks in his backpack. This is during winter when they could easily get sick wearing wet socks or walking around barefoot. Her explanation- my 5yo is getting wet in elementary school because they are made to play outside even when it's raining.
5) My kids learned absolutely nothing while they were going here. My 3yo still won't recognize all the letters. This is because the kids are made to watch TV in school. Both toddlers and kindergarteners are sitting and watching TV in school. We inadvertently found out my toddler was watching TV there when one day after coming back from preschool he said he wanted to watch Peppa Pig because he saw it in school. And the next week, we found out our 5yo was watching TV too. When I asked her, she said that never happens. When I pushed back, she said toddlers don't but kindergartners watch during lunch and once we told her we don't want our kids to watch TV, she made our kids sit alone and have lunch. And then another family found out that their toddler was watching TV. So, we know she's lying.
6) There are no regular updates about our kids' progress. When we toured the school, she said she would send me daily texts and pictures. She sent us that 4 or 5 times in 3 months.
7) Rosie told us there are 4 teachers working here but we've seen only 2 teachers here (Rosie included).
I'd like to reiterate that this isn't a place you want to send your kids if you want to save yourself a lot of heartache. I know 2 other families who were planning to leave. Rosie paints a rosy picture when you first meet her but once your kids start here, you'll find out the reality. read more