I wanted to write a review for awhile, but waited a little bit of time so I could sit down and sort…read morethrough all of my thoughts. We had enrolled with Kiddie Academy before they were even open for business; one of the directors liked to joke that my son was their first kid. It was a brand new facility that was within the neighborhood so we were excited to attend. KA fully opened in September 2017, and although there were some growing pains, it was a well-run daycare that was very responsive to parent feedback. My son had just turned 1 when he first attended KA.
We've had amazing teachers - Theresa, Yolanda, Sam, Brandi, Katherine, to name a few. Some of them no longer work there for one reason or another. Turnover is VERY high here. I always thought it was peculiar when seeing their ads for teachers and assistant teachers that their requirements for early education were so low, but since we've always had great teachers up until this year, I never questioned it.
I don't want to go into our personal history with this place, and all the detailed ridiculousness that went on in the past few months, but I do want to note that if your child tests boundaries or doesn't do well with passive teachers, this is not the place for you. Earlier this year my son went through a phase of rebellion and testing boundaries, and spiraled out of control because the teacher he had was too passive and a pushover. I would get a call everyday from the newly minted and extremely real-world-inexperienced director, telling me "I don't know what to do."
You are a daycare facility, your job is to KNOW WHAT TO DO. Your job is to give your teachers, and yourself, the tools to learn classroom management for young children. There was none of this. One of the other directors even asked me to talk to my pediatrician and to see a therapist. A THERAPIST FOR A THREE YEAR OLD!!!! AND WE ACTUALLY WENT!!! Against my better judgement as his mom, we went, because we thought there might be some anger issues he had to work out. But there were none. He was acting like a normal 3 year old, testing his boundaries, to see how far he could push. The therapist even suggested possible abuse or bullying from other classmates/teachers, but we got none of that out of him. Finally, as a last resort and after almost a whole month of this behavior, they switched him to a different classroom with a more stern teacher. He did well and the calls stopped.
After a few weeks, COVID shutdown occurred but did not shut KA down. There was a huge decrease in the number of teachers and kids in the classrooms. Throughout March, April, May, June, July.... We attended. We supported them.
In August, as more kids and teachers returned, there were yet again changes to my son's classroom environment which resulted in his bad behavior resurfacing and at this time, I was fed up with the young, inexperienced director. I couldn't stand her almost daily calls asking me to pick him up because she "didn't know what to do anymore." I was ready to move my son out of this facility. After a week of her calling me to complain about his bad behavior I gave her a piece of my mind.
We have been enrolled in a structured, Catholic pre-k program since school started and he is thriving and flourishing. The teacher has 30+ years of experience.
I wish I could turn back time and take him out back in January when this all started. When kids behave poorly, it is the environment and the adults around him that need to change.
I hated having to write this review in this manner as I have always been supportive of this facility even when other neighborhood moms complained about them. I was always on KA's side; I understand how small businesses worked and how much money, blood, sweat they must have poured into this business. But I can no longer do that with a clear conscience after my personal experiences and I can no longer recommend them as I have for the past couple of years.