Greentree At the Esplanade

I agree with the other reviews here. The program itself and the teachers are worth mentioning. My son went here for about 8 months and except for the temp teacher who came in on the day his regular teacher was off; I have nothing but great things to say. Ms. Heather and Ms. Linda in Wee Willows are remarkable and treat the children very well. They accomplish activities with the children that I wouldnt dream of doing with ease.
So why did I give this place only 3 stars? Two words: Management and Price. It is outrageously expensive. The only place more expensive in my zealous drive to find suitable daycare was the Bright Horizons at Oakbrook Terrace.
The management is not very friendly. The front desk was alright to me but the minute I mentioned that I would be taking a 4 week vacation and would like to hold my son’s spot; they just turned rude and nasty. They told me that I would have to cough up a whole month’s tuition to save my child’s spot. When i refused to budge, they told me i would have to unenroll him and have him on the waitlist. I was willing to do that and accordingly submitted a written letter a month in advance of my trip. A few days later, one of the front desk staff stopped me on my way out and asked me what i was going to do. I told her that there was no way that I would pay a whole month’s tuition when my child wasnt going to be there. She said fine… we have a lot of other families on the waitlist and he wont be getting a spot.
I was completely taken aback with the nastiness and rudeness. I really like the teachers very much but in this economy, I cannot pay a whole month’s tuition for my son to just save his spot. I have enrolled him at another similar (and much less expensive) daycare closer to where i live.
Some observations:
–The part-​time teachers dont care about the children. My son came home with scratch marks on his bum once (at 7 months of age). On complaining all i got was the standard — his nails have grown and he must have scratched himself (through the diaper? I dont think so)
— As someone else pointed out, the front door is not monitored and the staff are not in the office most of the day
— The center director is absent and in my 8 months here, i have seen her a total of 2 times
— I used to go during lunch hour to nurse my con when he was younger. The older children would be playing in the parking lot which I do not think is very safe to do even with 1 – 2 teachers supervising them
— The food quality is strictly okay. I brought a lot of homemade meals for my son to have

I love Bright Horizons! Teachers are very dedicated to their students and always make time for conferences with parents. Work is challenging — lots of writing practice starting in pre-​school. The program is expensive but worth the price.