Reviews of Children Of America Wilmington (Kindergarten)

Yennifer Becerra

My nephew has been coming to this daycare for almost 3 months, I pick him up a few times throughout the week. All the staff is very kind and attentive when I come by to drop off/pick up. So glad my nephew is in great care!

Quron Simmons

My son has been coming to COA for about 3 months and it was very scary for my girlfriend and I being new parents but everyone at the daycare has been great. Any time our son doesn’t feel good we are called promptly and we appreciate that and all the good care!

Jerry Taylor

My son has been going to this school (as he call it) for about 6 months now and his developmental skills interpersonal skills and language has really expanded. Thank you to Ms. Shern (sorry if I spelled it wrong) she has really stayed on him and worked with the kids one on one to make sure they understand.

Taquana Thomas

I worked for about 2hrs in 3 of her class rooms for what she called an hiring orientation she told me call back to see if i was hired. Once i called back several times she didnt even hire me she said she was still holding up interviews .... I would never try to be employed with her again that was very confusing and unlike any other child care experience for a position i had unbelievable

Alex Grant

HOME OF THE POTTY MASTER! MY CHILD LOVES THIS PLACE This is my second child that has attended COA and his experience has been amazing! What strikes me is that he talks about his teachers even when he's home, even the teachers who he doesn't have anymore. He specifically talks about Ms. Adrienne, Ms. Trina, Ms. Melissa, Ms. Candy, and Ms. Bonnie ALL THE TIME! The care he gets at this location is exceptional + there is a Potty Master there (she's a LEGEND)!!! Ms. Bonnie has had our son using the potty consistently since he's been in her class, he even wakes in the morning with a dry pull-up, which is amazing! I truly commend the staff and Mrs. Clara Orlando for being a positive part of our child's development and providing a caring environment through every one of his classes thus far. Thank you.

Nikki M.

This location is the WORST. I transferred my child from the Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia location and I loved that place. I came in expecting to get (at minimum) a similar experience. I was very wrong. My child was here for 3 months and I had to get her out of there. Although they claim to have similar curriculums at all COA's. I can tell you, they do not. The class was nowhere near up to par with the class my daughter had been in at the Philadelphia location. My child is advanced and was at a 3rd grade reading level at the age of 4 and I understand that most children would not be on that level. But Philadelphia fostered that. Most of the kids in her old class were reading and writing and were learning Spanish. This Wilmington location had her in a class where she was doing remedial work. She was not writing at all. In conjunction with the sub-par education, in the 3 months I was there, billing errors occurred countless times. Out of the 12 weeks, I can only count on one hand the number of weeks where the billing was actually correct. I had to watch my bills like a hawk. Ms. Clara was the worst. She took forever to get issues corrected, had errors on who was responsible for my account, and did not get my front door code working for weeks. She had sarcastic comments that had nothing to do with her getting things fixed. Maybe if she focused on her work more, she could have gotten things done. The co-director, I cannot remember her name, she had her issues as well. There was one point when she gave me information and a few days later I brought it up to her and she snapped back with "who told you that?" I said, "you did." She responded with a simple "oh." The school was suspended from the Delaware Stars program for failure to comply and had some issues that were reported by the Delaware Stars program regarding how they handled the children (leaving a child alone) and they said nothing. They still had the Delaware Stars program sign in the lobby. They weren't in the program anymore! I had to get my child out of there ASAP after reading the Delaware Stars reports. To top things off, on my child's last day, a staff member had the nerve to tell me they question my child as to why she was leaving. She was honest and told them she was not getting a good education. But who questions a child about stuff like that????!!! I could go on and on. I'll just end it with GOOD RIDDENS.

Sheena Nicole

I feel the need to write a review as my child and I have put some time in to Children America...to be exact October 2012 until present at BOTH locations and I have nothing negative to say. I did my research and visited several other daycare facilities and was not even impressed, some did not even make it out of my car let alone the door before I said nope, not gonna happen. Children America was not a hard decision to make upon my visit. From the moment you walk in security system peaked my interest and it was clean and surprisingly quiet, but depends on time of day you drop off or pick up because of the before care and after care for the school-aged children and them transitioning to their school bus, but still quiet enough. I must say lot of improvements have been made as far as the notification system and there now being an app "Tadpoles" to be able to get daily reports and other news and see random photos of my child. I will agree that it is expensive, but think about it, you have someone tending to your child for 8 hours give or take, you want a place that is safe and what better than having a webcam so you can randomly check on your child. It is competitively priced and if I am gonna pay X amount per month, I want to know I am getting the most for my money, I relate it to quality vs. quantity(dollars). They provide nutritional snacks/lunches and do lots of arts and craft learning as well as computer time, group time, outdoor time, etc. To address the other persons comment about 16 kids in a room and only two teachers, that is standard for the older children (potty trained, can talk and say what they want/need). Also, it comes with the territory that kids will push, kick, bite, etc, spread germs, but the very few incidents that have occurred I have been notified immediately and been given a full write-up. As far as some woman yelling and screaming, all the parents talk and the kids too and I have never witnessed or heard any such incidents occurring. If it had occurred, that employee is no longer there. Coming from the city of Philadelphia, I love my city, but this daycare is a awesome compared to many and while it may cost a bit more, you get what you pay for and I feel I am getting all that I can from a daycare and then some. I have a sense of security, reliability and my child loves it. During holiday time they have the kids put on shows/parades, make things for the parents and its rewarding to know that we as parents are included and appreciated. They even have teacher appreciation events as well, cause without them, where would we be. So I disagree with the negative comments as I have put the time in and been at both locations for 3+ years in counting. I highly recommend the facility. The staff is wonderful and caring and all around an awesome bunch of ladies and cannot forget the one gentleman teacher...he is pretty cool too! Mrs. Clara runs a tight ship and while many may underestimate her she has low tolerance for foolishness. She gives it to you straight and I appreciate at that. Sooooo hopefully when searching out daycare for your children, you will consider Children of America, it really is a nice place and will certainly send my future children there. Again this is my personal opinion and based off my own personal experiences...I cannot speak for all, but I think I speak for most.

Ana Gabriela.

We’ve been taking our son there for almost 3 months and we absolutely love it! It’s our first time putting our son in daycare and we are first time parents so we were so afraid and skeptical, but everyone from the director to his teachers always reassured my boyfriend and I that he was in good hands. I was always attentive to the camera which is a great thing they have. My boyfriend and I could monitor everything that our son was doing and when we did see him upset we did call to make sure he was okay & the teachers were always so welcoming to us calling at anytime to check up on him! He has learned SO much in the past 2 months and a half, and is talking a lot more! We are so thankful we can leave our son somewhere safe! Thanks to Miss Candy & Miss Trina for the good care!

Abdelrahman Abdelaziz

DO NOT take your kids there! Teachers hate the place and do not want to be there and they have absolutely no passion for what they are doing! My daughter went there for 1 month and I used to see her on the webcam, 16 kids in one room with two teachers!!! The teachers can't handle or control the kids or the accidents. Biting, pushing, falling, scratching, everything you can think of, and management does not care except about the due fees. It is very expensive for the nothing and the care is not even close to what they are charging!! There is a weird teacher there that screams at crying kids and kids who poop in their pants!! Please BEWARE!!

Russell McBride

Overwhelmingly Positive, A +++ I cannot say enough good things about this place. They have done such an incredible job with our boys. I just don't know what we would've done without them. Our kids have been attending Children of America on Lancaster Ave in Wilmington since they were born. It has been the perfect environment for them. The teachers and other staff treat them well, and partner with us to address all their developmental needs. Our boys can be a tremendous handful, but never has any of the staff voiced so much as a doubt as to COA's willingness or ability to work with them. It is hard enough to go to work each day and leave your kids with someone. Children of America takens away that worry and replaces it with the knowledge that our kids are in a safe, nurturing and educational environment, surrounded by staff who love them. Ms. Bonnie, Ms. Paula are wonderful. Ms Clara simply runs the best child care facility I've ever seen. Thank you Children of America! Russ & Tonya McBride

Laura Parker

Our family has been with COA (Wilmington) for over 7 years total now. When I began the search for a daycare, I had visited several other sites and they did not have what we were looking for. We needed security, dedicated teachers, and to know that our children would be well taken care of. Our search ended when we visited COA. The staff is absolutely amazing! Miss Clara and Miss Adrienne are always available to talk about any concerns we may have and work with us on a resolution. They are sure to greet you in the morning with a happy smile - and wish you a warm goodnight once the day is over. Miss Nikki and Miss Kyla always take the time to tell me about my son's day and what they are working on in the classroom. And when we leave for the day, my son HAS to give Miss Adrienne a big hug and wave goodbye to Mr. Jason. It's not just a place where my son goes during the day, it's more like a family! Thank you for everything! Laura P.

Samantha Jester

As a former employee, I feel it is my duty to warn parents and prospective teachers about this company and the Wilm DE center in particular. At first glance, this center is child focused, with bright colors, fun songs, and loving teachers. However, the center director has skewed priorities and follows the backwards corporate views on child care and education. Most recently, there have been maggots found in the canned food products used by the center. When it was brought to her attention, the center director simply ignored the complaints (a total of 3). The same goes for expired baby food... when it was brought to the directors attention by an infant teacher, the director simply said to use it anyway, ignoring the expiration dates and warnings. Thankfully the teacher refused to use the expired food. Licensing has been called on this center multiple times, not only for the food issues previously mentioned, but also because the director has over enrolled the center and many of the classrooms are left over ratio... a dangerous situation for the students and teachers. Students are shuffled around on a daily basis to make the numbers work, yet this gives no consistency for the students. During the summer months, it is quite common for the air conditioning to break and not be fixed for weeks at a time. The director does not support teachers who are dealing with childrens behavioral concerns and issues, and often replies that she does not have time to deal with them when her assistance is requested. The assistant director frequently has to fix her messes, and does a great job doing so... however this is unfair to her. In terms of corporate, the curriculum that the teachers are given to work with is not always age appropriate and consists of a lot of "fluff" and not substantial learning material. The teachers do what they can to accommodate the corporate requests while teaching the students what they need to be successful. In terms of the teaching staff, we are, as a whole, treated terribly. Raises are rarely given and the benefits are terrible. When calling out due to an emergency, the director feels it is appropriate to belittle and talk down to the teachers, even when they are sick or have another family emergency. Teachers who respectfully resign from their position, like myself, are treated like criminals. Often, when a teacher resigns, they are told not to bother returning and are escorted off the property like they have done something wrong. Additionally, it is important to note that the director allows her grandchildren to go on summer camp field trips, their fees being paid for with the company credit card, even though they are not in the system or accounted for on the roster. This is a liability. As an educator, I highly urge every parent seeking child care to look elsewhere.

Candace Mundy

Do not bring your kids here. The teachers are great, but the director Clara is horrible. Corporate is no better. When you call to complain about things going on they will tell you that they don’t believe you or put the blame back on the parent. Customer service is non existent. Per Joseph Wright in the corporate office, they operate by an exclusionary policy where they will lock you out of the center if your bill is 2 Days late. The bill is due on Monday, and if you owe 1 cent on Wednesday, your code will not open the door. When you put in your code, you will get an entry denied message and the door remains locked. No other daycare center in the state treats their families like this. They are literally turning people away at the door. I have been locked out with a $0 balanceand Clara the director just says she doesn’t have access to the system (even though corporate confirmed that she does have access). Any given morning when you drop off your kids, Clara and her terrible perm will be arguing in the lobby with someone. Either the teachers, the staff, or yelling at the school aged kids waiting for the bus. It’s not a nice environment to leave your children in. My babies love their teachers and are comfortable with them so it’s sad but I will be pulling my kids out as soon as I find another center with openings.

Amira Ali

This day care just looks sketchy.