La Petite Academy

Le Petite is a terrible place, not only for the children who are «enrolled» there, but for persons seeking a career in childcare/​early childhood education.
La Petite claims to be a preschool, but in reality it is nothing but a glorified day care. There is no actual education that goes on, and the management is great at hiding this from customers. Teachers are instructed to treat the children as customers, not students. There is little to no training provided, and when serving multiple special needs children, teachers are told to simply «keep them safe» rather than being told how to teach to their needs. Learning play materials are minimal at best and offer no challenge. Teachers are given next to no training on the Learning Care Curriculum, and children are given no real challenges or direction in the classroom. Teachers are not expected to be qualified to teach EEC, just anyone off the street will do. Teachers speak to children in the most hateful ways and some are racist, transphobic, and misogynistic.
Meals are not balanced, no matter how much the management claims that they are trying to serve children nutritous meals. When a vegetarian child was enrolled she was served primarily dairy as a replacement for proteins, which any vegetarian can tell you is terrible.
In addition to this, staff are expected to be on call (even though there is no on call specification in the hiring information/​job description) and the company is guilty of wage theft. Teachers are expected to remain onsite and available during their lunch break and expected to work off the clock during their lunches if needed. Employee insurance is a joke and there is no relief staff present. If one person calls in sick the whole place shuts down.
I would hazard that if you want your children to actually receive an education, La Petite is not the place to send them. It is a DAYCARE not a PRESCHOOL. If you want a daycare, fine. But don’t trust these jokers to prepare your children for kindergarten.

I have a 7 yr old who attends before and after school as well a 6 month old in the infant room… WE LOVE LA PETITE. The staff is super amazing and Heidi the director is beyond amazing. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a place for your kids to be cared for. It is always clean and tidy, teachers are calm and cheerful and super loving to all the kids!

I toured this daycare when I was in the process of moving to Champaign. Heidi, the director, does a fantastic job of explaining the day-​to-​day activities along with answering any questions/​concerns parents have. Meghan, the assistant director, also does a fantastic job and is a warm smiling face to see everyday. I enrolled my 1 year old daughter that day (start date was later). I love how there are windows into the classrooms that parents may «peek-​in» on their child. My child is now in the toddler room and in the process of moving up into the early preschool room! I did apply and accept a position to be a lead teacher in the infant room. I absolutely love the facility as a parent and an employee.