Happy Campers Preschool

Happy Campers is a great school. I just had a wonderful tour today at the 510 Center. I am a new mother trying to line up childcare for my son when he hits four months. The director, Audra, spent thirty minutes with me answering my questions and showing me around. She was very patient and let me talk through my nervousness. I got to see the teachers in action in the rooms. They were sitting on the ground playing with the children. This was great to see. Audra was very informative and walked me through what to expect and all of the options and accommodations the teachers and I could try if problems arise. Over all I was very happy with the facility and staff. They were warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable. I will definitely be bringing my son when hes ready!

Beware! Owner may ask you to go somewhere else if there is something she does't know how to deal with.

My 18 mo old daughter attended daycare for 3 months, in the time she was there they gave us 7 accident reports of which 3 were other kids bitting or hitting, others her falling and one a teacher hurting her hand with the door. At first Audra kept saying it was normal although it was never normal to us, I expressed my concerns to her and she basically said we needed to analyze if maybe that was not the right environment for our daughter or get used to it, instead of doing something to fix the problem. After the last accident report (this week) she finaly said it was not normal and she did not know what to do and that the situation was putting too much pressure on her and her teachers.

My daughter wasn't doing anything to cause the accidents, it's not like she was messing with the other kids or running around wild, in the contraty, she kept saying my daughter like being close to the teachers, so to us the whole problem was lack of supervision and Audra never accepted she had a problem with that, she just kept saying is normal in that age group and once again she said maybe we should go to a place where they have smaller groups.

So we did, we left. When I went to pick up my daughter's things Audra wasn't there so I asked for her to call me because I thought the right thing to do was for me to tell her personally. She called and I told her and all she said was good luck, no a "I'm sorry to see you leaving, or sorry it didn't work out" or anything at all to let me know she cared but she did not care, actually, she sounded relieved.

I would never EVER even think about taking my daughter there again or recommending the place to anyone else. With her attitude Audra made me realized all she cares about is money and not the well-being of the kids, she did not care about my daughter being hurt all the time otherwise she would have done something to fix it and she definitely didn't care about us leaving since she had plenty of customers so why worry about one kid leaving?

I understand there are accidents, but so many in just a few months all that tells you is the teachers are not doing their job, and I actually don't blame the teachers, I blame the owner who is not putting anything in place to prevent or minimize. Every other place I checked they have all told me the same thing, so many accidents is not normal and is the teacher's responsibility to do something to prevent it. I even called social services and they told me the same thing. On the other hand, I know no one will take care of my daughter as good as me but I want a place where I know she is not just another number in the file bringing revenue, I want a place where I know they genuinely care for my daughter and really do it for love and not just for the money. That is not what I found with Audra.

If I were you I would think twice before I decide to take my children there, or be prepared to anything and not complain or she'll ask you to reconsider and go somewhere else.