When I was filling out paperwork to enroll my child, the director was gossiping about another parent with her staff in front of me. I should have known then that something was wrong with this place. I should have also gotten another clue when they were offering free tuition for good yelp reviews.
I had a number of issues with this place. The had my child sleep on a cot with no sheet and no blanket one day- even though he had those items! Everyday I picked him up, he was covered in snot and smelled like mildew. The snacks became all cheerios towards the end of the month when you could tell their money was running low. There were a number of occasions where I found the milk carton sitting out while the teacher was outside- it was warm. The turnover in the toddler room is ridiculous- so my kid never had a consistent care-giver.
But it was the ratio issues that really drove us over the edge. When we enrolled, we were told they aim for a 1:6 ratio. That was RARELY the case. I maybe witnessed that 3 times over the past 2 months. More often than not, it was 1:9 or 1:13 in some cases! How are you supposed to watch 13 toddlers?? Well, you can't. On one occasion, I went to pick up my kid outside on the playground. The teacher had her back to the kids and I walked out as my kid was being pushed down by another kid. She turned around and said "what happened?" Umm..well, if you could pay attention!!
The director was apologetic each time we had an issue- but nothing was ever DONE about this stuff. We finally had enough and unrolled him. On his last day, my husband dropped him off to 1:13 ratio again. And a brand new teacher who had no idea what to do with 13 1 year olds. When I picked him up, they couldn't find his things! I had to rummage through other kid's cubbies to find my kids items. That begs the question: whose diapers was he wearing? Whose diaper cream was being smeared on him? I finally had to leave with no diapers.
The other teachers in the older classrooms seem to be ok. But the toddler room is a disaster.