Nesbit Puma Cubs Infant Toddler Preschool

Seemed great at first, but they just strung us along with false hope.
I called Nesbit Puma Cubs (Footsteps Child Care) about daycare for my infant son in February 2014, and we made an appointment to come by for a tour a couple weeks later. On the tour, we seriously liked it, and we filled out the application and wrote a check to reserve our spot right then and there. There weren’t any open spots at the time, but they told us that our son would get in by June or July… ok, fair enough. We could go with our 2^nd-​choice daycare in the meantime.
Fast forward to April 2015 — that’s right, over a *year* later — and we finally get an email update from them, except that it’s just bad news: there are no spots available through Summer and Fall 2015; so our son will definitely be aged-​out of the infant/​toddler room that we signed up for. On principle, I requested our deposit back… of course, they replied that it was non-​refundable.
So I was excited for my son to start here for a number of reasons; close to home and on the way to/​from work, friendly caregivers, reasonable price… but after realizing how little the administration cares, I’m very disappointed in them. If it is so difficult to get in to this daycare, I wish they would have just told us that from the beginning, instead of giving us false hope!
The bottom line: seems to be a great daycare if you can get in … but if you aren’t already in, don’t get your hopes up.

My son was in the two’s room for about four months. Every time I walked in there was a new teacher there and I had no idea who they were. I took him out and he is now at Serendi. I highy recommend Serendipityfor the Preschool and Elemenetary school

It’s unfortunate that Jodi S. did not have a positive experience when she called Puma Cubs. The administrative staff can be a bit swamped, but the teachers love the children and do a wonderful job in preparing them for Kindergarten. My son started at age 2, and we’ve developed amazing friendships with the families and staff at the school. He adjusted easily to Kindergarten and still loves to visit the teachers there whenever we pick up his little sister who is still there (she started at age 4mos). There are many families with younger siblings who also go through Puma Cubs, so there is a wonderful sense of community among the families at the school. It is very common for the kids to want to stay longer and hang out with the teachers and kids at the school, and Parents Night Out is popular for both the parents and the kids who see it as a late night playdate at the school. It always amazes me how the kids at the school can be together all day and still want to spend all night at the school with their friends and teachers. The school is sensitive to the needs of working families, and really encourages parent/​family involvement through the site council, special events, and classroom activities. As a nonprofit organization, Cipriani After School Care (now Footsteps Child Care) also leverages a lot of great grants and programs to provide great programming and opportunities to the children and families at Puma Cubs and its other preschool and child care sites. Puma Cubs has been a great match for our family’s child care needs and most importantly, our kids love it there too.