La Petite Academy

AWFUL AND DISGUSTING. The teachers are rude, there is no kind of structure, there is a measly playground, kids run around like animals, sleep on floors, it’s so horrible. The teachers don’t help with wiping the little kids butts after they use the bathroom, it is so beyond unsanitary kids are ALWAYS sick. Every time I walk in there there are passed out sick kids on the nasty cots, snotty noses, coughing, sneezing. If you love your child, don’t send them here. The school isn’t even listed on BBB. Pathetic.

When looking for a new care center for our grandkids, this was one of the places that we went to. We did not enroll them here.
One glance around told us that we could do a LOT better.
The mats were all filthy. The kids were messy and some of them just looked downright miserable. Many of them were playing outside BAREFOOT which is not a good thing in Florida, as that is a great way to contract roundworm, especially when there are so many stray cats around who leave their droppings behind.
The facility itself, from the outside, does look clean and nice, but it is very deceptive.
The teachers and staff there seemed a little… disconnected? They looked like they were bored, for lack of better word and we did not see a lot of interaction between the staff and the children. We got there during nap time for the little ones and were a bit disconcerted at the fact that we were able to walk the entire facility without an escort. These people don’t know me… and the fact that I was permitted to walk around all these children without a teacher concerned me. The children were not clean despite the fact that it was after lunch and had been put down for naps. Many of them were in food stained clothing. Places I took my own children to for childcare when they were little always made sure the kids were cleaned up from lunch before putting them down for naps. Most of their feet were PITCH BLACK from playing without their shoes on.
Since this was an appointment, I decided to stop back in there again during a time where I was unexpected. As a previous reviewer stated, I was told to go on back (which again, bothered me as I am not a parent or grandparent with a child enrolled there. Why would you instruct me to just go in? I’m a stranger!) When I first got to the doorway of the classroom, the teacher was on her cellphone. Once she saw me, she shut off her phone, acted like she didn’t see me at all and started doting on the kids. You could tell it was an incredibly phony act. They boast a «secure lobby», but I didn’t see that.
We looked at their website first before going and the videos of their «virtual tour» are a standard video used by the entire chain of LPA schools. It is not this particular center, so don’t be fooled by that. There is only ONE photo on the website of a child that might be one of their students. It is also my understanding that there is a large turnover rate in staff. I was told this by one of the parents. Apparently, they get new teachers quite often. This is a big red flag to me that the management there is not necessarily stable and that trickles down to the care of the children.
The only reason I am not giving it ONE star is because the facility itself was VERY nice. The problem lies with the staff, not the facility itself which is wide open, spacious and heavily laden with tons of toys and educational materials (none which I saw being utilized). The other thing I saw that I was okay with was that they do keep the older children separated from the littler ones, which is important in a day care facility. Another plus is that they do provide transportation for school age children to and from their facility to local elementary schools which is a very convenient thing for many parents who have to leave for work before the school bus comes and get home well after the school bus drops off.
They are open from 6:15 am until 6:30 pm so the hours are convenient for working parents.
They are also INCREDIBLY expensive and while I have no problem paying upwards of $ 1200 a month for both kids (lunch not included), I did not feel comfortable there. A parent or grandparent should always go on their intuition about a day care center and if you are getting «red flag» moments, its time to move along and find a different facility.
Overall, the place was just not for us, especially coming from a home care environment where the kids were very nurtured.
Ultimately, you have to judge for yourself. It’s a very personal decision.