All Nations Learning Center

Needs training and accommodating culture on any developmental delays. Director gives impression they just did not want to deal with kiddos that are a little behind developmentally. Wanted me to jump through hoops to prove my child could be in center because my child was almost 3 and not potty trained yet. Gave me excuse about the 3 yr old room doesn’t have a changing station. Really… you can’t walk a child to another room to change them, especially since you move them room to room depending on staff availability. No other centers I called seemed to have a problem with any developmental delays and were more than accommodating. I also called to meet with director and was told to come in so she can see my child interact with other kids. I raced over there and the director was rude and told me she could not meet since she was being audited by the state and when I told her I called ahead of time, she wanted to know who I spoke to. She turned to the assistant director, who then proceeded to lie to the director and myself that I never called. Very uncomfortable situation which made me feel not a place if the leaders lie to the parents and the director. Parking is horrible as well. Employees smoke in the front where the kiddos can see and there really is no security, I have walked in numerous times where there was no staff at the front (since they were out smoking) and walked right back to where I needed to go

So there are a lot of contributing factors that go into making a great school or daycare. Good lesson plans, nice aesthetic feel, parent participation, structured daily activities, the list goes on and on. But you know, the most important thing in any school is the staff! I have had the most wonderful experience with the teachers and caregivers at All Nations, along with all the other things that enable me to give this school 5 stars!
We are recent Colorado transplants from the Bay Area, and I have been a stay at home mommy for the last 2 years with our 4 year old son, and our 19 month old daughter. When it was time to go back to work, I was concerned. We’re far from our family and support network, and needed the availability of an actual school vs. in-​home care. I started looking around, and was disappointed and discouraged with what I was finding. Some schools were quite affordable, but when I went inside, I saw why! One smelled like babypowder perfume and was dark and dingy. Another had the kids watching TV. Yet another had staff with accents so thick that I had a hard time understanding them, let alone my daughter who’s just learning to speak. On the other end of the spectrum were schools that I couldn’t begin to afford. One school that looked all right wanted $ 300 a week for my daughter and $ 225 for my son! Why even work if almost everything I earn would go to childcare?!!
Then I stumbled across All Nations while I was on a walk with the kids. I just dropped in unannounced and asked Kathy, the director if I could take a peek. She was very friendly and accommmodating. She took us on a mini tour of the preschool room and the toddler room. She explained that they watch infants through school age kiddos, and have afterschool and summer programs, too. There were pictures of kids and staff having fun on the walls, and art projects were displayed everywhere. The classes looked organized, and the kids looked engaged and interested. The teachers were on the floor with the kids and speaking to them on their level. Everyone looked well kept and happy. Kathy gave me some info on the school, including the month’s lesson plan. It was well thought out, mixing the curriculum with seasonal themes and holiday activities. Then I saw the price sheet. Totally reasonable! In fact, it compared pricewise with some of the icky schools I had seen. «What’s the catch?» I was thinking as I left. On the way out my kids had a fit at the idea that we might be leaving without them getting to play on the wonderful playstructure in the yard. Kathy said the kids were welcome to play for a minute or two, and so we did. While I was sitting outside with them, another mother walked by with her 2 year old son, and asked if we were here observing. When I confirmed that we were, she proceded to give me the most glowing reccommendation for All Nations! She said that she and her 2 kids love it there, and when she stopped working, she kept her kids enrolled part time because they so enjoyed it. She commented on the awesome staff, the adorable crafts they came home with, and the songs they kept learning. I was impressed.
So I enrolled my kids and had them start a couple of weeks before I was to start my new job. I knew that they were going to be exposed to a whole new strain of Colorado cooties that they had no immunities to yet, and wanted them to get sick while I was still home to care for them. Two weeks rolled by and no germs in sight. My son did have a hard time adjusting to me leaving him in the mornings, and would cry as I left. The staff was always gentle and patient with him, hugging him and reminding him that Mommy would always come back to get him. My daughter took to school like a fish to water, and would say, «Yay! I love school!» as we were heading there in the mornings. As my son made friends, it got easier for him, and after the end of the day he would say, «That was fun!» Every day when I picked the kids up, the toddler teacher Desiree would hand me a sheet of paper with a report of what and how my daughter did that day. What she ate, when she napped, how many diaper changes she had, what she played with. It really helped me see what her day consisted of, being that she can’t exactly tell me yet.
Long story short, once I started work, my kids got sick one after another. I missed 2 ½ days out of 9, and was going to have to miss the 10^th, too. As I was picking up my sick girl, at my wits end, about to go interview strangers on CARE​.COM to watch my babies, Kathy stopped me. She said her daughter (who works at All Nations sometimes) would come home with me and watch my daughter so I could go back to work that day. Then she gave another employee the next day off and asked her if she would sit for us instead. I was stunned. Then I started to cry with gratitude and relief. It was actually Kathy’s birthday that day, but she was the one who gave me the greatest gift ever. I cannot say enough about my experience here