I am extremely happy with Carlton Academy. My 6 month old is currently attending and has been for the past two months. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable in child development and have set up a caring and loving environment for children and families. My sons first teacher was Ms. Catherine in the young infant room and we could not have loved her more. She would shower him in kisses every morning when we got there and every day before he left. The I side of the school is equally as awesome as the staff. It is bright and colorful and filled with wonderful toys, activities, books, and learning centers. And how about the outside area! There is fun pirate themed play equipment in the older child area and then two other age appropriate outside areas for the little ones. My older son has also spent some time there when his elementary school is out and he too has loved his time there. They have age appropriate and fun activities for 5 and 6 year olds. I would definitely recommend this school to any of my friends and family. read more

Carlton Academy Day School - From the front where the best loading and unloading spots are. - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - Tampa, Florida

My two sons have been at Carlton Academy for over two years. My 5-year old VPK student complained he was being "hit" and I made a complaint to Hillsborough County Department of Child & Family Services. The investigator substantiated the allegations but the School Director has not moved the teacher out of the classroom or fired her. There is zero supervision, accountability, or technology to keep an eye on these so-called child care providers. DO NOT send your children here for their own safety. read more

Our daughter has been attending since she was 3 months old (now 5 months). We've had nothing but good experiences there and we love Miss Maria in the infant room. You can tell she loves those babies as if they were her own. Everyday they give you a one-page summary of your child's day - when/how much she ate, when she napped, when her diaper was changed, etc. Often times Miss Maria will create some sort of adorable craft with your child. Makes for nice little pieces for your fridge or office. They also have a camera in the infant room, which is nice for when you want to check in. They also offer Parent's Night Out, where child care is offered after hours until 10pm so parents can enjoy a nice dinner. read more

Not sure why there are negative reviews. I've been very happy with the staff and the facility in which my kids attend. The kids are always happy and they have learned so much. I love the fact they have catered lunches and inside gymnasium so the kids can play indoors when it's just to hot out or rains. They also offer tennis and dance lessons if you decide to sign your kids up. read more

I love this daycare!! Awesome location, and they have top-of-the-line everything; video cameras so all the parents can check in on the kids.. And everything is new there! Not a grungy daycare like a lot of that I've seen. I also love how the owners actually spend time there, shows that they really care about the business, the children, and parents. Highly recommend this place!!! read more

My 5 yr old son had an accident and rather than call us for clean clothes, they kept him in a long shirt with NO pants or underwear on the entire day! He was humiliated and at the very least is a huge sanitation issue. Also, my monthly bill is to be split in half each month into two payments. Somehow, these payments are NEVER the same due to miscellaneous fees. It's hard to predict what amount I'll ever be charged. I've attempted to speak to accounting directly over the years but have been refused. All conversations go through a very incompetent management. Most importantly to prospective parents? They have a history of giving tuition discounts for 5 star reviews so you cannot trust what you read before making such an important decision. read more

Seven months later we are still thrilled with Carlton's teaching staff, classrooms and front office support. Every day my son comes home knowing a new word, Book, or expression. He is always excited to go to school and sometimes doesn't want to leave! It's a wonderful feeling to be able to drop your kid off knowing that he's going to enjoy himself for the entire day. With regards to some of the posts concerning the financial commitment that it takes to send your children here please know that you were getting what you pay for. These are not money hungry people, and deserve to be compensated for the care they provide. Our two sons have been coming here for about a month and my wife and I are extremely impressed. My youngest son is in the 6 to 12 month class and his teacher is amazing. He's always excited to see her and she's always excited to see him. We also like that we can watch him on their camera system. Are older boy is in the 2 to 3 year old class. He took some time to adjust but his teachers were very patient with him and gave him extra attention to assist in getting him comfortable. Both kids are changed many times a day and the staff and teachers and front office included all seem to know and care about the kids. read more

Dirty and unkept. Weird smell. Teachers are ok for the most part but not great. However, management is HORRIBLE and unfit to run a daycare: rude and passive aggressive. Monica and Heather are the main reason we finally decided to go somewhere else. Much better options in the area, and for less money. My kids didn't last long here. Moved them to another daycare as soon as open spots were available. Cannot recommended Carlton Academy even if it's the last daycare in Tampa. Your kids deserve better. read more

I decided to enroll my daughter at Carlton Academy for VPK against my better judgement after reading some concerning Yelp reviews. One of my main concerns was the manner in which staff replied to negative reviews. Most replies looked like childish arguments rather than seasoned professional responses. Because most of the negative feedback involved administration and ownership, I thought the teachers and overall experience might outweigh the issues I read about. Unfortunately, after enrolling my daughter and being told her spot was reserved and "We'll see you at open house!", I got an email several weeks later to let me know there was too high of a demand for full time and that no part time VPK was being offered. Put more honestly, they wanted me to pay $150 a week to bring her in two hours earlier. I emailed to inquire why I "reserved" a spot for it to then be revoked. I was told it wasn't revoked but that it was just not offered anymore. This obviously money-driven and poorly communicated decision was unprofessional and almost caused my daughter to miss the chance for a spot in time for the school year. I am happy to now have her enrolled at Primrose of South Tampa. The atmosphere was much nicer and the staff was clearly more organized and well-communicated than at Carton. I'm disappointed that my suspicions were correct but glad to have dodged a bullet before she began attending. read more

I pulled my sons from this school after numerous bad experiences. Although some of the teachers are great, the management isn't. The place is very poorly run. The location is perfect if you work downtown like I do, but who cares about location when you're constantly worrying about your child's welfare? My little ones are now at another school in South Tampa and I'm amazed by the differences. I wouldn't recommend Carlton Academy to anyone. read more

UPDATE AS OF MAY 2013: It has been a while since we left this school due to an out of state move, and I have to make new customers aware that things have changed at this school and not for the better. I have received numerous complaints from parents and teachers of this school regarding the management of Carlton Academy. Due to these complaints by trusted resources, I felt it was necessary to update my review based on the current state of affairs. I can no longer endorse this school. I would recommend strongly that parents in the market look to other providers. I personally witnessed issues myself, but at the time, chose to forgive. No more. GO ELSEWHERE! read more

Bad management. Bad teachers. Took my child out after only one week. Owners like to sue so beware--- Worst choice I ever made putting my child here. read more

I'm so sorry to say but this institution is very unprofessional. I have witnessed countless amounts of awful treatment especially to their staff. I've seen management be extremely rude to the staff, as well as physical altercations and the management is still present there. I do not understand how this business is still afloat but as a warning to other parents, enroll your kids somewhere else. This is not the place for them and I'm very sorry. I will not name names but I assure you the managers there are not qualified. read more

My daughter has been going here since 6 weeks old and is now 2.5yrs old. She's learned so much and we are fairly happy with Carlton. Couple incidents which staff are very open to fixing. My son just started in the infant room which I love! Infant room is one of the best in Tampa, in my opinion and they have a camera for parents. The toddler rooms are usually good but depends on the teacher although it seems like the turnover has stopped and the teachers that are left are the good ones. Only beef is I wish they were a little cleaner in the toddler rooms and the ratio was less but I guess that is an issue with all daycares. read more

As this is my daughter's last month with Carlton (we moved and the location is now a major inconvenience for us), I wanted to take the time to write them the good review they deserve. This is an honest account of our experience and is not being written for any sort of financial bonus or to do anyone any favors. Selecting your child's daycare is a tough decision and can be very scary. I first brought my daughter here when she was three months old and she is now in one of the toddler classes at 16 months old. The worst experience I had with this school was that the month prior to her start date, I decided to check their state licensing report, again, and found they had a code 3 violation (May 2016 report I believe) due to a background check not being up to date for an employee. Of course I completely flipped out and wrote the school a scathing email. Someone contacted me immediately and was very apologetic and took the time to explain to me in detail what had happened (one of their oldest employees did not get renewal paperwork in on time) and assured me I need not worry about the staff. But since her enrollment we have had nothing but good experiences. The facility is secure, always spotless and safe. They have cameras so you can check in on your babies (in the infant room, and older infant room), and the staff love taking photos and will post them on Facebook for you to see. The women who work there are caring, professional and friendly. The administrative staff is great with communication and prompt in responding to your needs. Her teachers have always provided me with detailed reports of how she did, what she ate or didn't and anything else going on I should know about. Just recently I realized at home an effort they are making with my daughter (that I didn't know about until she did it) to be "nice", because she hit me and when I told her to be nice, she smiled and started petting me very gently. It was pretty funny, but I am glad they are teaching her that. Whenever I call or email about my daughter, despite there being a large number of kids here, they always know who she is and the interaction is always very personal. Even staff that has not directly cared for my daughter say hi to her by name when we walk through the facility. I know a handful of people who have also sent or send their children here and no one has reported a bad experience. The most I can say is a couple people I know moved their children out as they got a little older because they didn't feel the educational component was strong enough for what they wanted. In summary I would recommend Carlton for at least as far as my daughter has gone with the school. The people who work here are hard working, loving and can be trusted with your child, so I feel like they deserve credit for that. Also people looking for a daycare should know the good experiences in addition to the bad. read more

My son has been at Carlton Academy for a couple years. Over that time there has been several small issues, but nothing that would prompt me to write a review or condemn the school to a one star rating. Things like very high turnover rate, poorly trained low paid staff or cleanliness. You see most of those issues in most other day schools and Carlton is no different. However a few months back I was home and getting my son ready for a bath. As I took off his shirt I discovered that my sons entire left side was bruised like he was in a street fight. Keep in mind he is 4 years old. When I asked him what happened he tells me that there are kids that are torturing him. I asked him if he told the teachers, he tells me that they ignore him and tell him he's lying. The next day I go into the school and inform the school of the situation. I even showed them pictures of the bruises on his body. At first they seemed really concerned and tell me that they are going to look into right away. The next day they call me in for a meeting and when I sit down I'm expecting to hear the outcome and what they are going to do about it. Instead I hear that they interrogated my 4 year old son and say they think he is just being a problem child. They also tell me that they "uncovered" some questionable things that my son said. They told me he was talking about death. On a side note, I asked my son about the death comment later and he said he was talking about the video game he was playing and they made him die in the game by talking to him. I sat in this meeting in shock wondering what this all had to do with the bruises on my son. The next day after the meeting I was dropping off my son in his classroom, and one of the teachers starts giving me an attitude. I left and just laughed it off. Later that day his grandmother picks him up from school and the same teacher who neglected my son (and gave me an attitude) was now giving an attitude to his 70 year old grandmother. I went to the management and explained to them what was now going on and never heard from them. Needless to say we decided it was best to move to a new school. This opened up a whole new host of issues. Based on the schools policy, you must give one months notice in writing. Which seemed a bit long, but I still wanted to follow their policy. We gave notice in writing and that same day the owners wife calls me. She's clearly angry on the phone and very confrontational, but indirectly. Then a week and a half later I get an email from the owner Michael. He says there's a problem with my letter format and need to submit a new letter and the clock starts over and we supposedly owe more money. Clearly that was a feeble attempt to extort extra money, but we still complied since my son was there still and I didn't want to create any further issues for him. Finally it was the last week and my son had only three days left. That morning I get another email from Michael saying that I had an outstanding balance of $17 and if it wasn't paid today that my son will be kicked out and they will purse further action. Funny thing about this was that I paid in advance and had a bill showing I was paid in full. So I leave work and drop off the money. I send Michael a reply email letting him know that I paid the $17 asking him to not threaten my son and family with termination so the last three days just would go smooth. Well that prompted Micheal to threaten me with a slander law suit and tell me we were terminated effective now. So needless to say that I would not recommend this school to anyone. I've read other positive reviews which seem to be written by their management. But if you are looking for a school to abuse you and your child, well Carlton may be the place for you. Also they don't really follow a curriculum. They will tell you they do, but really they just let the kids play all day. My son was in their VPK class and now is behind in his new VPK class. read more

Low end teachers, and no curriculum. When discussing any concerns with Monica, she was very rude and acted like she knew better than the parents. read more

Carlton Academy is a great day care center. Live video feed, friendly staff, clean and a great location.

It was our first day of school yesterday and the entire staff made it a great experience! The registration process was simple, the security is awesome- the staff knows their parents and students by name. The school is clean and the "amenities" (aka playground) is amazing. Our son had an awesome first day and it made me feel relieved that he has a safe, fun, educational place to be when I can't be with him during the week! read more

This school is one that everyone needs to avoid. The management is out of touch with the issues that are recurrent as they choose NOT to correct. My daughter had been with Carlton since 8 months of age and things have gotten progressive worse. We removed our daughter about a month ago due to high turnover and a lack of response from management regarding this issue. The preschool room that she was in had over 5 teachers in 6 months. The team never alerted families of changes (new staff) unless you mentioned to them and then the emails magically appeared! The cameras that were upgraded were no better than the systems installed previously.....and yet we were charged a technology fee! The children are not exposed to technology at all.....one computer....REALLY? This school's foundation is based on lies and deceit which is really sad sense they deal with our children......STAY AWAY! read more

Teachers are good and the care of the children isn't in question, but the ownership and administration are unprofessional and their regulations (while 'posted') are questionable. Unless you don't have any options, look elsewhere. read more

The facility is nice, and Sammy who serves in a junior management role seems to care, but other than that, there is not much to like about this school. There is not a curriculum to speak of, there is little to no control over the classrooms, the "teachers" more often than not can be found sitting or standing and watching the kids versus interacting with them and trying to create a learning environment. There were many, many times when my child's classroom smelled like poop because they did not regularly throw away poopy diapers. I don't know how the teachers could stand it. Our pediatrician also pulled her child from the school due to problems at the school that she declined to share bc the owner, Michael, threatened to sue her if she said negative things about the school to her patients. I realize finding a daycare with availability can be tough and a high quality daycare can be expensive, but I would choose most other daycare options over this one. read more