It irks me so much to see such terribly low ratings on a wonderful place with super loving staff that are dear to me and my son. I am only speaking on my experience starting Jan 2019 and forward. I enrolled my son in WC KinderCare's toddler class when he was 1.5 yrs old after touring and shopping around Montessori schools, churches, home daycare. My son has severe eczema from food allergies so I was super picky about cleanliness, attentiveness, space, milestones development, pleasant staff, and just wanted the best for my kid and peace of mind for me. This facility met all I was looking for. The director Margie was really nice and answered all my questions, followed up, I had a tour and free trial first day.
Teacher/kid ratio: for toddler class was 1 teacher to 4 kids (others were 1:6 or 8) and they were sticklers about keeping 1:4 at all times because it's one of many corporate KInderCare standards and there are routine checks from district, I later learned. I remember one teacher had to call the director to stand in before she went in the adjacent connecting room for 20 sec to get me a form that I asked for.
Cleanliness: the facility always smells nice, unlike others. Restrooms, floors, carpets are to my surprise always clean. I see the teachers clean during the day and evening and the floors/carpets get sanitized weekly. I like their diaper changing areas, they use a roll of disposable sheet and gloves per kid, next to a sink, with soap and hand sanitizer, there's tissue boxes everywhere and I do see teachers wiping little noses. My son inevitably gets runny nose and the teachers would even wet the tissue so he never came home with a sore nose. The little things matter. Diapers get changed at least every 2 hrs and they get logged daily on the KinderCare App, which I love!
Communication: I get pictures and daily updates about what he had for lunch, how long he napped, activities, and teachers would tell me how his day went at pickup. I get a phone call if he had a boo-boo or possible food sensitivity, it gets written up, goes into his file. End of class year, he got a report card and parent-teacher conference. So I love the open communication aspect, which was lacking from relative-home-care.
Price: It's reasonable, not the cheapest and not overpriced. Margie is super helpful, kind, and was able to work out a 10% discount from my company. They serve healthy food. I used to bring in his food and milk bc of his allergies but not anymore since Miss Yolanda modifies his meals. This location has a cook that makes fresh breakfast and lunch daily and provides 2-3 rounds of snacks. Nut-free facility. They are all very aware and attentive to his allergies.
Loving Teachers and Staff: Save the best for last. I wrote a novel already but I can't say enough good things about the staff. Miss Kristi, Yvonne, Magaly, Anais, Taylor, Mita, Leiann, Alice, Margie, Susie, Kim, Michael, Miranda, Tim, Paulina are all super loving to the kids, respectful and Montessori style teaching. They have a huge responsibility and I'm so relieved everyone including the cook is very passionate. Most important is my son is safe, loved, and is thriving here. It shows and as anal I am, I trust my son in their hands. It took him 2 months of crying at drop off at the beginning but after I hand him off 1-10 min, he carries on the day and I hear about it later. I know everyone by first name and my son would miss and mention their names on the weekends. It's not easy to get him to go home nowadays, he likes to stay longer.
This facility with this loving team is grossly underrated on Yelp and I think many other parents feel the same but may be too busy like me, to write all this. I almost didn't consider this place because of the bad reviews but luckily I took a chance. So I hope this perspective helps. read more