Old Cutler Academy Learning Center

I live in the Cutler Bay area and looked extensively for daycares for about a month to place my 1 year old who I’ve been taking care of at home. Just like every other mom this is a difficult process because a daycare has to fulfill so many requirements in order for you to be comfortable leaving your child there for 8 hours or so. Old Cutler Academy seemed like a great choice with their «eco-​friendly» environment, their establishment since 1993, they are apple accredited, gold seal etc. The daycare seems to be a good choice for anyone in the area with a toddler. I waited one month till they had available space for my son. I had a program (known as CDS from the early learning coalition) that paid for the tuition for 6 months and the cost to me was suppose to be zero. After enrolling him I was told that I would have to pay $ 20 weekly because they are a private school which every other daycare I visited was going to waive based on my circumstances. I figured it was worth the $ 20 a week to leave my son in a learning center where he would be getting great care and be also developing through a curriculum. So I made the sacrifice. Uniforms are also required and each set costs $ 25 each, another sacrifice but it was worth it. He started at OCLAC in June 2015. I would bring him in the mornings to eat breakfast and pick up in the afternoons. One afternoon I picked him up and after 4:30 all the remaining children stay in one same classroom with a teacher or High school student that works there after they get out of school. My son was handed to me soiled. After noticing and putting him in the car, I called the school to complain and was told it would not happen again. The week after every time I changed his diaper after picking him up he had a rash. I spoke to the director Mercy and brought the issue to her attention that my toddler was not to be changed on a schedule or after returning from playground playtime that he needed to be changed when he pooped. She assured it would not happen again as she had instructed the teachers to pay close attention. The school also sent out an email requesting bug spray for the children that was going to be applied for playing outside and avoid mosquito bites. I brought a bottle the next day and labeled it with my son’s name. A week later I asked if the bug spray was being applied and was told I never gave them a bottle for my son. After searching for it, it magically appeared the next day. It had been two weeks and not once did they use it on my child. Director assured me she would correct the issue. I started taking him less hours and would stay to observe his teacher Ms. Carlyn to see what my son was doing during the day. She would sit on her phone while the children played, did not engage them at all ever. More robotic than anything else. Once she saw me walk in she would stop and pretend she was actually paying attention to the toddlers. In the playground she sat in a corner. I started noticing the floor in the 1 year old classroom was dirty and all the toys full of filth like they haven’t ever been cleaned since they were purchased in 1993. All the toddlers in the 1 year old class had a runny nose week after week. My son wouldn’t stop being sick. This I attribute to their lack of cleanliness. I also observed another teacher from another class also on his phone at all times while the children ran a muck in the classroom. I finally requested a change of daycare form and got my son out of there. Needless to say this place is a nightmare and shouldn’t even be operational. STAY AWAY if you want your child in a clean environment where the teacher actually engages them to learn and is not changing their diapers on a schedule, oh and if you don’t want a Continously sick child. It’s a business they don’t care, all they want to do is collect your money and pretend to be something they’re obviously not. If I could have given zero stars I would have. I wanted to shed some light on this factory called a learning center so that no one will ever have to experience what myself and my son went through.

My 3 year old has been going here for a couple months now and I gotta say I am
Thrilled with this school. I was a stay at home mom for 2 years and didn’t want to let go. But they made the transition extremely easy and painless. The director would even step aside and calm
Me down when I would leave there crying lol. Leaving my son was not easy but I know he’s in great hands.
The entire staff is amazing. All the teachers have a degree in early childhood education or Are working towards it. It’s the first school to go green here in Miami. They teach the kids to recycle and their meals Are catered to them and its all healthy foods which is amazing!
If you are looking for a home away from home your child while your at work defiantly check them out!