Starkids Academy

We LOVE Starkids!!! Our little guy has been there since he was 3 months old (he’s 9 months now). He loves it there and they love him (along with the other children that attend, of course!). We have never had any issues at all. At least one of the owners is onsite at all times that the center is open. We get a daily «All About My Day», which lets us know exactly when and what he ate, what he learned about, and anything else that we need to know about. Its a wonderful place to learn and grow and we couldn’t be more happy that we chose Starkids to keep our little guy!

I gave Starkids Academy an average review. My son began attending Starkids at 7weeks old. During the first 2 weeks, I visited with the center everyday on my lunch to moniter my son and the care given (they do not have cameras to watch from work or home and said they do not plan on investing in them). These visits apparently made the owners uncomfortable, as they soon told me that I could not be in the infant room, due to hazards. So, I politely «monitered» my son through square windows outside the infant room. One day, I also advised that I would be spending the afternoon with my son at the center to moniter the way that they were feeding him (he has reflux and needs to sit up 30min after feedings). I was suspicious that these instructions were not being followed because they only have 1 caregiver to 4 infants. The state requirement is 1 to 5, but this center initially told me that they have others workers that help out. The owner told me that I could NOT spend the entire afternoon with my son. I insisted that I do, because it doesn’t make sense to tell a parent that they can not moniter their child. So, if you are a parent who wants to «pop up» and visit your child often, please keep this in mind. I had to moniter my son through small glass windows, in a narrow hallway, while the caregivers walked barefoot on the same carpet that they told me that I’m not allowed to walk on. (They do not wear foot covers). My next problem with the center is how they handle admin issues. Starkids require their payment on the Friday before the next week begins. There have been two times in which I did not pay on the Friday (both times were paid Monday morning before my son was dropped off). The first time, Starkids credit/​debit machine was not working and I refused to go get that amount of cash on a Friday evening. They agreed that it was ok to pay them on Monday. The second time, my son had a doctor’s appt on Friday and he did not attend. We do not live close to Starkids and thought it would be ok to pay on Monday. Well, on that Monday, I was hit with a late payment. Very fair. However, that evening, I looked in their policy manual, in which a.) it says nothing about a specific amount and b.) it says a late payment will be assessed on Tuesday at noon. This tells me that they just pulled this amount and rule from who knows where. The next morning, I showed the owners the verbage in the manual and they again, made up something about that pertains to when a «daily fee» would be assessed. I gave the center the late fee and teminated my son’s enrollment the same day. Please know that its not about the $ 20 late fee. It was about being professional and not hitting someone with «hidden» fees that aren’t posted ANYWHERE, not even on their fee schedule. I hope after my incident, they post this information and state to parents clearly WHAT AND WHEN late fees are assessed. I will say that I don’t believe my son was abused or neglected in any way at the center. However, this is a new facility and I believe that it should be more moderized, as I’ve seen with other centers. Footcovers, cameras, debit/​credit card reliability, etc. My son is now in a wonderful center, where I am welcomed anyday, anytime, AND they have cameras in which I can watch him from work. A bit more expensive, but I don’t put a price on my child.
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