Greenforest McCalep Christian Early Learning Center

First, I will start by saying that I write this review based on my experience with early learning centers in other states. This daycare is not in the city of Decatur, where there may be more diversity. It is in the part of Decatur that is closer to Lithonia. For what it’s worth, the lack of diversity was the first issue but I was willing to overlook that if they were able to provide a quality education. My first negative encounter was when they placed my daughter in a classroom with children who had either just turned a year old or would be a year old by August. At that time, she was almost two, potty trained, feeding herself, not using bottles or pacifiers, talking pretty well, and knew most of her colors and alphabet out of sequence. When I asked that she be placed with two year olds, I was told that they needed to assess whether or not she would be able to handle the two year old room because they were quite «advanced» (even though they were still having the two year olds use sippy cups and most of them were not potty trained). I stuck it out until August (she turned two in June). The time in the two year old room started out promising, but I noticed that TV time was increasing and outdoor time was decreasing. When I started at the school I was told there was no TV in the classroom. That was a huge disappointment. Next, I learned that there is no consistent form of discipline. Some parents have told the teachers that they were allowed to discipline however they like, even if that meant physical. I did not like that. The discipline needs to be consistent and uniform. The meals are not very healthy but that can be mitigated by an increase in tuition so I was willing to put up with that. The teachers give the children potato chips, cookies, and candy. I don’t give those things to my child at home and was upset to find she was getting them at school. They also give the children lots of sugary juice instead of milk or water. Again, milk could be afforded with a raise in tuition and water is very inexpensive. The school’s population is not diverse at all. The staff does not seem to be well trained and most of them seem to be retirees from other professions (which may explain why they don’t have the energy to take the children outside to play rather than sit them in front of the television for hours at a time). Although the school offers extra curricular activities such as ballet, gymnastics, karate, and chorus on site, the issues during the core learning hours are too much for me. I am also not sure that she is learning at the pace she was in her old school in Maryland. The standards were extremely high and the staff was highly trained. The teachers here do a lot of yelling and «talking at» instead of talking to and engaging with the children. The tour of the school is very misleading because all the things they say they don’t do (like TV in the classroom) you’ll come to find that they actually do quite regularly). I am currently seeking care at a more diverse, better trained facility and move my daughter as soon as the right opportunity opens up.