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January 2024 by Amber P.
Our family greatly appreciates the love and care Kiddie Academy provides for our son. Allowing anyone to care for your little one has been difficult as a first time mom has been extremely difficult. The staff at kiddie academy has lessen all of my fears. They are patient , loving and kind to my son. His social skills have greatly improved since going there. He's also become more independent. I truly appreciate the staff for being a part of our village ! The Browns !
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December 2023 by Fleny Cherry
We have had a great experience so far with this location. It really makes a difference from our previous daycare experience. I notice the difference in care and communication from Kiddie Academy. They are super clean and my child is super happy.
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November 2023 by Vitaliy K.
Great and safe place to educate kids. Just over 1 year with Kiddie Academy our daughter made a huge progress in studying English, from 0 to fluent speaking level. Classes always clean and there are lots of extra classes and sport activities.
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September 2023 by Carol N.
Our son went to Kiddie Academy of Winter Park for 3 years. He just started at Lake Highland Preparatory for Pre K. Because of all the constant changes of teachers almost monthly and the lack of discipline and teaching respect and kindness to other children in the classroom he is struggling at his new school. For the amount of money we paid for Kiddie Academy it is so disappointing that he was not given the proper preparation for Pre K. The fact that Kiddie Academy could not keep their teachers long term and our son's teachers were constantly changing was not a good scenario for him to learn. Should have pulled him out and found another school. Hind sight is 20/20. Just be aware if you see that your child has frequent changes of teachers and caregivers at Kiddie Academy this will go with them for Pre K 4 and beyond.
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September 2023 by Dre
there were some nice teachers but overall i did not like the way some teachers would speak to the children. i witnessed some instances while picking up my child where teachers where being very rough mouthed and overly stern with children.
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September 2023 by Michelle A.
Ms. Samara and team have been great. We've been going there for a year and a half now. The staff has always been helpful and my kiddo and is learning loans.
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August 2023 by Elvis M.
Great School and the teachers are amazing, both of my girl have been going here for a long time and they will stay there until they grow out.
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July 2023 by Helen cristina Ramada
A daycare that cares about the safety and development of our children. Well-prepared staff who are always willing to understand individual needs, and who always seek to evolve.
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June 2023 by Teresa Cervantes
My son was at KA of WP from 18-27 months old. Over that time he had a handful of wonderful teachers and teacher assistants. Administration is serious about providing quality care. Every concern I ever had was addressed no matter big or small. Yes there were some staff shortages at times but I do believe administration worked hard to provide as much consistency as possible. When it comes to group childcare for infants and toddlers, no where is going to be perfect. But I really felt like my son was cared for even when the conditions were not ideal. He learned so much and also had a ton of social growth. I would definitely recommend KA of WP under the current administration!
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April 2023 by Brittany L.
I regret sending my baby here. It was the only place in Orlando we could get her in at 7 months old after being on many waitlists since before she was born. Now I know why they always had openings. We were here for two months and despite bringing concerns to the teacher and management, we saw no improvement in effort or response. I often cried dropping her off and picking her up because I hated sending her here. She was miserable most days I picked her up because she was so overtired and hungry. It was really ruining our nights at home because she would cry in the car, struggle to take a nap when she got home, then go down for a super early bedtime. Our biggest complaint was that our child did not receive much care or interaction beyond the minimum. Your child will survive here but don't expect much else. She was struggling and did not receive any extra comfort to help her adjust. Lots and lots of crying from what I saw. My baby had sad sleepy red eyes almost every day at pickup. I saw a lot of things despite the staff knowing they are on camera. I would pop on the app to check on my baby but found myself checking more and more as she was coming home so unhappy. In the end, we were checking it frequently because some staff were lying to us about how often they were offering naps and how they were treating her. For us, lack of naps and the lack of compassionate care regarding this issue was what forced us to leave. The very final straw was when we saw our baby on camera crying for over an hour in her crib and she was just left there. We called and they claimed she was napping when we could see her crying. They only took her out of the crib because we called. We had been in touch with the directors all week and while claiming such things were unacceptable, they never followed up with us unless we contacted them. When we removed our child they barely apologized or tried to make it right. Unacceptable.She was getting one nap on average at the very end of her day there (3/4pm) when she needed 2-3 naps while at daycare. A 7-9 month old should not be awake for 7+ hours at a time. If she did not nap whenever they randomly put her down, they would not try again until the end of the day. They had a lot of excuses regarding my child like saying she was a difficult napper, having hard time adjusting, they can't force her to nap, etc. Even if it were true, they did very little to help her while in their care. They are childcare providers and I find it hard to believe my baby was the first they had ever seen struggle to nap in this daycare. The lights are on and there is loud music all day in the room.I understand that there are many babies here but it does not mean my child or any other should be neglected. If they cannot handle that many then they should not accept so many. I would gladly pay more for better care but this place is not it. The biggest issue here is probably the staff turnover/coverage and the number of babies they oversee across two infant rooms. We were in room A which can take up to 12 children. The teacher in charge of the room ran it seemingly well but had to juggle a lot of babies ranging from maybe 8 weeks old to a one year old in the same room with only two additional staff when full. I know this is the required minimum ratio of 1 to 4 but it seemed like a lot to handle. If the main teacher was not there yet, on break, or on vacation the kids got lesser care. To finish it off, the daycare tried to process a refund for us and instead charged us 3 times. So they owed us 4 weeks worth of refund then and we had to go in person to collect a check. Originally we bought into her having a hard time "adjusting" but it went on the whole time she was here. Now it seems like she was trying to tell us that she hated it there. She really was so unhappy then and is back to her happy self now. We found a new daycare that doesn't look like much but our baby is so much happier. She (and I) do not cry for drop off or pickup. She is napping and playing with other babies. It is completely different for her
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February 2023 by Marina Youssef
It’s the best daycare ever, very caring and treat kids with loveGreat staff, great management, excellent communication with parentsLove this place
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January 2023 by Bansal P.
We have been with the academy since October 2022 and were promised a lot of things during the tour, we have had issues with the care they provide since day 1. We have been bringing them up with the management.During the tour we were told every class has one LEAD teacher (who is educated and certified) and one assistant or a floater. Since joining in Oct last year our daughter has not had one consistent LEAD teacher. Ms. Cece was supposed to be her teacher (we chose her class since she was potty training the students). For the first 3 weeks after joining Ms. Cece had some background check issues and she was not allowed in the class. There was not one consistent teacher in the class and this has continued till today - Jan 2023.Due to short staff, the 2 toddler classes were always being merged which I was always against since it is very difficult to provide proper and efficient care for 20+ students especially at the 2 - 3 years age. Every time the classes merged (which was more that 2 days a week) there would be issues with the care provided to my child and it would set her back with potty training. One day when I picked her up, she was so upset and all wet. She had urinated and wet her pants, socks and shoes and was standing in a corner. The teachers had no clue about it since the classes had merged and it was not easy to care for all.We have a doctor's note stating not to provide any meat to our child. Just her first day in, she was given Turkey sandwich. I blame the management for not informing the floaters and not having a system in place for this. What if my daughter had a medical condition and was allergic.We have had issues with meal times and they have not improved. My daughter was served soup on a plate, her food was always delayed at least 10 mins when it used to go to the kitchen. There are times when the floater has just given her the thermos to eat from!We follow a schedule for my daughter's for nap and sleep time and I had to keep calling the office to wake her up by 2pm because there was never a stable teacher.Everyday the food listed on the report is incorrect. I see turkey, chicken, meat etcWhen my daughter was in diapers, her size was 3. She has come home wearing size 5 diapers. When she was potty trained, she once came home wearing someone else's underwear. Now imagine if you had to share a worn underwear with your colleague? Would you? This is when I has called the Maryland office. There have been times when I picked her up and her diaper was completely soiled with urine and feces and I would have to request for her diaper change or change it myself.There are times her water bottle was not given to her and she goes without drinking water all day or most of the day.My daughter has been potty trained since November. We have had 2 trips since then and she had no accidents. Every time there is a new floater / assistant she ends up getting accidents and that is because they cannot manage the class on their own and are unable to take children on consistent potty breaks. This week on Monday she had a poop accident and the teacher did not clean her properly that caused rashes and itching.We leave our children in the academy's care and hope our children are cared for, treated respectfully (as you and I as adults would like to be treated) and are safe.We have tried to be patient with all the staffing issues but we don't see any progress from the management's side. I had a meeting with the Regional manager today and according to her I am the only parent that has faced these issues.And if you are reading this and are a parent at the academy please feel free to contact me.Please don't bother taking your childeren there.We pulled out our daughter.
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October 2022 by S A.
DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE. For reference, when we first started attending, the teachers were amazing and caring, and the Director was great. However, it has gone downhill very quickly. Here's why:1. High teacher turnover - this, for me, is the best indicator of the health of a daycare. Teachers who are happy are, in turn, happy when caring for our children, right? In the beginning, the teachers were amazing and seemed happy. Now, it's another story. Some are from temp agencies, and sometimes I walk in and not know who is watching my kids bc they're either rotating from another class or brand new. No notes or heads up there will be a new teacher either. Unacceptable. There are *some* wonderful and caring teachers, but not many OR not many trained/supported in the way they should be. 2. Absolute lack of communication - one evening, I received an email that the first Director will no longer be employed with KA (Kiddie Academy). Poof, gone. No explanation, no discussion. I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Fast forward, 2 years later - we have the 2nd director and she's OK. Again, one evening we receive a message that the Director and KA have "parted ways." Poof, gone - that's it.3. Everything is last minute! The events, plans, parties, other events are told to the parents a day/a few days before the event. For example, it's "spirit week" and I get the email on the day it starts?! My husband and I work, so it's hard!4. Questionable Curriculum - In the AM, I spot-check the cameras and I can't remember the last time I saw them in circle time. It's probably bc of the turnover, so it doesn't seem like there's consistency. The kids just roam around and play with the toys or spend time outside on the playground. I don't mind the playing, but learning the basics is important. We are looking to move him ASAP. Hope this review helps.
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May 2022 by SS S.
If you want your child to be treated with love, don't go here.They have several people who assist the teachers that have very low qualifications to be there.They don't need the same qualifications as teachers.The bar is low.They yell at the kids instead of finding another method to handle situations. Bottom line they don't have enough qualified people to take care of so many children. Inquire about the discipline policy because yelling and aggression is a common practice. The random people that come to help the actual teachers are so frequent. Poorly organized facility. Teacher turn over rate high.My expectations for an education based day care was not met. The tadpole app used has a standard daily plan of what your child has done but it not actually followed through. Fake curriculum. You are paying for an over glorified day care and over paying for the idea they are education based. For several months as the administration finally changed during pure chaos, no structure of clases, and teacher turn overs. I saw the daily report plans in the tadpole app not being followed and can see the the default plans not even edited. They throw blocks on the table for hours and say its applying thinking about logic to solve problems.The first day of my child ever attending daycare an assistant slammed her back pack on a table yelling at her to clean up. They didn't fire him. They switched her to a new class. Later several months he was promoted to her teacher. We switched classes again. Finally ended in a good class with a liked teacher that finally stayed long enough. While the teacher was out on break, a random assistant was watching the kids. She was yelling and visibly frustrated with handling children. She grabbed my child's arm and yanked her across the class. We left instantly. Administration is very accepting of whatever help they can get because COVID has been very difficult on teachers and that is understandable but the low qualifications are that the expense of your children.
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January 2022 by Eliane Florez Sanzone
I paid the enrollment fee back in july/2021 and since then I was told my son's spot was reserved for sure to start this January/2022. What a terrible surprise I had when I called this morning, before dropping him off the school, to be sure of what I'd need to take to school with him, and I was told his spot wasn't available ! That he was still on the waiting list ! Last year I called Kiddie Academy of Winter Park multiple times to be sure everything was ok for him to start this month, and all the times I was told yes.But new employee, new rules, parents' problem !The previous director/manager/employee told some families a couple things that the new manager is figuring out just now, and not honoring what was agreed.I'd never trust kiddie Academy of Winter Park anymore, glad my son is not going to a place that every employee changes, washes their hands for the problems and dump into parents lap !!!What a terrible way to deal with clients !
