Hello,

I have just moved to the Kentlands and my son 3 year old son is about to start in the Kentlands Children's Center. Although I did visit the place, and find everything pretty much ok, it would be nice to hear from another parent who has had (or still has) their children there. What do you think? Was it a good experience for your children? What about the teachers and assistants?

Thanks for the input.

--Stella Porto.

-- Stella Porto (sporto@umuc.edu), September 04, 2001

Answers

I had very mixed experience with KCC. I found that the turnover was extremely high and at the time we used it, 5 yrs. ago, teachers were actually let go for asking for a raise. The psychologist Philip, I believe who owns the place seems very manipulative and profit-oriented (I too am a psychologist). However, some of the teachers were just terrific and made it all worthwhile.

My first child was not at a private center like this so I was quite disheartened with the focus on profit. Keep your eye on teacher turnover and make your concerns known to the Director. Good luck.

-- Liz Berney (lgberney@aol.com), September 05, 2001.

We have had a very positive experience over the last several years at the nearby Kindercare Center on Quince Orchard Dr. A number of teachers have been there the entire time that we have had our two sons enrolled.

There were also, unlike the Kentlands Center, flexible enough to accommodate our needs for only three days of child care per week.

-- Bob Mauri (newurban@erols.com), September 05, 2001.

My wife and I very unhappy with our exerience with Kentlands Childrens Center. My son (now 6 yrs. old) began at KCC when he was 2, in 1997. He was there for over a year and was "expelled" supposedly for his behavior (a biting incident). Over the course of that year, there was never an indication from the staff of a pattern of bad behavior. My son was always very happy there, and we thought the classroom staff was good.

Following the biting incident, my wife and I were told that my son could not return to the center "for some time", until the behavior "was resolved". We thought this meant take him home for the weekend, return on Monday as long as there was no more biting. On Monday, my wife was turned away with my son, and told that the owner, Philip Adams, would have to speak with us about when my son could return. After leaving many phone messages--requesting a schedule for his return, requesting an explanation of the situation, even requesting a counseling session with my family and their staff--and getting no response from Mr. Adams, we made other arrangements (at Academy Child Development Center next to Stone Mill Elementary--an EXCELLENT center!).

I wrote a detailed letter (I can send you a copy, if you are interested in reading it) to Mr. Adams requesting a reply, and to this day I have never heard from this man or anyone from KCC regarding the removal of my son. I had heard weeks later that another family was asked to leave shortly after starting their child there because there were too many children and not enough staff. My judgement is that the same was the case for my son (since this incident occurred less than two weeks after he was moved into the next age level class, and they were re-shuffling classroom staff at the time).

All in all, it was a very stressful and disappointing experience. I wish I knew the real story. I would not be as negative if I would just know the truth about the whole incident. My son was always eager to join his friends at KCC in the morning, and was never ready to leave in the afternoon--he was very happy there. But the way the place is run would lead me to recommend you choose another place to care for your child.

-- David Fishback (fishback@fsd.com), September 06, 2001.

We think Kentlands Children's Center is great. Our daughter, who is 4-1/2, has been there since she was 2 (the earliest age at which KCC accepts children). She had been at a daycare in my office building, so it certainly was less convenient to move her to KCC, but we felt the environment would be more conducive to learning, rather than just providing a babysitting service. Although the level of instruction isn't consistent from class to class (we loved the teachers in "Group 2" where our daughter was when she was 3-4 years old), we have been quite pleased. Our son (whose first birthday is today) is already registered at KCC to begin when he turns 2. Indeed, he has been registered since shortly after his birth.

-- Scott Strickler (smsjks@aol.com), February 17, 2003.