Valley Child Care & Learning Center

I definitely do not recommend this daycare.
(For one, they tried to offer $ 5 off of tuition if you left a good review on Unilocal.Just a forewarning.)
I know that every child is different and one could have a great experience at one place and another child could have a completely opposite experience.
In my experience there, the staff was very unprofessional. Every time I would pick up my child, the girls at the front desk would be cursing/​gossiping about the other employees/​talking about children. The daycare in the afternoon always smelled like feces.
His teacher at the time, Mrs. Shawnee would act so unenthused as soon as my little guy came into the class. No wonder he acted out and screamed and fought going every single day. When my little guy went through a biting phase– the director herself told me to bite him back. Great leader and advice.
He’s now at a different school. where he is excited to go every day and is excelling and much happier without any issues.

I should have listened to my gut when thinking «What’s the catch?» on why it is so cheap to send your child here. Now I know why. My 1 year old daughter went there three times and each time she got sick, thus I got sick. I know kids get sick at daycare, but that seemed kind of weird. She looked miserable every time we came to pick her up, always crying (and she is normally a very happy, easy going child, never scared of babysitters etc). At the final drop off, she was screaming once we handed her over. At the final pick up, she was just being totally ignored while crying as we walked in. Worst part of all, she was 12months old and still took two naps, like most kids her age, and they would NOT allow her to take two naps in the 1 year old room. Talk about sleep deprivation making a child crabby!
I know for a fact they break the law and go WAY over ratio. It was a zoo in there every time we came. AZ laws in general are bad enough with it being a 1:6 teacher/​child ratio, where as most other states are 1:4 ratio.
The way this company bills is horrible as well. I used my «free» coupon one day and they never took the money off and still charged me. I also dropped her off one day and unexpectedly was able to have her home that day, thus she was only at daycare one hour. They said they would just charge me the hourly rate of $ 10. NOPE, still charged me the entire day. I have been asking for my money back on THREE different occasions and still have not received it in THREE months, hence what prompted me to write this review. They also sneak in a «music» fee if you child just so happens to come on a Monday, you get charged the whole month for it even if not there.
Also, when picking up her belongings, they failed to give me back all of her correct wipes/​powder etc even though they had her name on them, but I just wanted to get the heck out — which is super easy because they do NOT lock their doors! I have come in plenty of times to see that no one is strictly watching that door. EVERY single daycare I have ever toured or been too, (even worked at one), has a access code entrance.
Finally, sorry to say but the assistant director Erika needs an attitude adjustment. It was not necessary to be rude to a new mom learning their sign in process for the first time. Their sign in process is quite extensive. I have had my child at one other daycare in WI using the same computer sign in which was easy, This daycare made you sign in the computer 2 ways then sign the book. A little confusing is you ask me.
Overall, DO NOT GO HERE! This is the first negative review I have ever written for anything. That’s how disappointed I am.

If I could give negative stars I would. The 2 year old room is basically a free for all and they failed to notify me about my son being bit or him pulling out another girl’s hair out until I started asking questions. After questioning them they basically told me that I cannot correct my son’s behavior and these are just the kind of things that toddlers do. Not to mention my son was getting sick all the time. Now that I have moved him to a new place his behavior is no longer violent, he’s no longer sick, and he’s actually learning new things.

One of the worst daycares. This daycare is a business that is solely there to make profit. They do not car about the kids. They just care about the money. My son got hurt there. I did not even get a call or an apology when I picked him up. I wish I would have called the police. Share this! Prevent your child from getting hurt.

Absolutely wonderful! My daughter has never been happier to go to preschool. The staff is great, the teachers are wonderful. She always has little projects to bring home, and I’m really happy with my overall experience so far. I feel comfortable with the layout of the school, and I know my daughter’s safe.

Great place for your kids. Our son loves his teachers and the environment feel very safe and secure. He has learned a lot and always surprises us with new great things.

Disclaimers and qualifiers first. Every child is different and every family is different in their educational needs and priorities and every child learns differently. One school may be the perfect place for one child and not ideal for another. So our experience has been pretty widespread.
Lets start with safety. You can always find state inspections on the state website for licensed child-​care facilities. These inspections will tell you a lot of useless things but will also provide light on some useful things such as if there is a valid fire safety plan and are all of the teacher background checked and fingerprinted. Keep in mind that every facility will have a few citations. This is how the state makes money. The other safety feature I liked about this school is that there is only one entrance/​exit door and that is through the front. So the likelihood of a run-​away child is nearly impossible.