Manhattan Academy

My son attended the infant center for 3 partial days: January 4, 5, and 6, 2016. I pulled him out because –among other issues and concerns — I (and my Au Pair, who was with me) witnessed an infant to adult ratio of 7:1, a blatant violation of state licensing regulations. The following happened on my son’s 3^rd day:
When I dropped him off: (1) there was another baby alone and unattended in a high chair for the 20 minutes + that I was there. Shortly after I arrived a staff member took a bottle away from the baby, but immediately walked away. This baby was then alone in the high chair without any bottle, food or attention from staff for the rest of the time I was there getting my son settled. (2) I put my son in a high chair next to the other baby and began feeding my son Cheerios. I needed to get to work, so I asked a staff member to take over feeding my son. She dumped many Cheerios on my son’s tray, but he was not old enough to pace himself and needed to be given no more than a couple at a time. My son began shoving fistfuls of Cheerios into his mouth, and I expressed concern that he might choke. The staff member moved the Cheerios into the cup holder of his tray and walked away! My son continued grabbing fistfuls from the cup holder, so I removed them, putting them back into the container so he wouldn’t choke. (3) I eventually flagged down the infant center director and asked her to take over feeding and pacing my son. While talking to her, I asked her the names of the other staff members. They go by last names, which seems inappropriate for an infant center and makes it very difficult for parents to know who is caring for their baby. I was shocked when the infant center director didn’t even know the name of one of the staff members in the older infant area!
I felt so uncomfortable leaving my son that I returned to pick him up a few hours later at an «off time» for pickup in the early afternoon. When I walked in, there was one adult caring for 7 infants, including my son. I stayed for about 5 minutes gathering up my son’s belongings and the entire time I was there and when I left there was still the one adult caring for the remaining 6 babies. This is a clear violation of state licensing regulations and a breach of Manhattan Academy’s promise of a 3:1 ratio in the infant center. My dealings with the administration after I withdrew my son were mind-​bogglingly frustrating and revealed that the administrators are powerless and the owner is unreasonable.
We were charged $ 3665 for January and February tuition plus other fees, and despite the recommendation of the school’s director for a full refund, the school’s owner refused to refund our February tuition payment even though the school failed to provide the level of care promised, violated state licensing regulations, and our son had been withdrawn 3 weeks prior.
Unfortunately, Unilocal’s character limit prevents me from pasting my correspondence with the school’s director in full. The correspondence is laughable but sad in revealing the impotence of the director and unreasonableness of the owner. I have no confidence in the director’s ability to resolve any of the issues in the infant center or the owner’s willingness to hire the additional staff needed because he’s clearly only concerned with his bottom line and has been getting away with violating the state’s licensing regulations without any repercussions for years.
Indeed, the very 1^st Unilocal reviewer of Manhattan Academy noted back in 2011 that she often witnessed a 6:1 ratio in the infant center. I wish I had put more weight on that review before enrolling my son. Sadly for the babies in the infant center, nothing has changed in the 5 years since that 1^st review.
I’d also like to note: My children have had numerous other caretakers, daycares and preschools, and all have been wonderful and become like an extension of our family. Manhattan Academy was such a shocking, awful exception. I hope this review will help other parents avoid a similar mistake.

We have our 5 year old daughter (who missed the cut off for public school kindergarten) and our 22 month old son who both attend Manhattan Academy. I cannot speak highly enough about this school, the staff and its program. Our daughter started at an in-​home day care at 1.5 yr. When we moved, she was enrolled into Redondo Beach CDC (Child Development Center). We were so concerned bc she did not enjoy school and would cry each morning. It was a chore. When we moved to MB, we enrolled her into MA. Wow, what a difference. She was happy, excited to go to school. She felt like a «big kid» as this school fosters independence. The program works at her pace. She LOVES to read to us at home and looks forward to her homework and spelling tests! Her level of confidence has skyrocketed, not to mention her academic learning. Her teachers are both nurturing yet encourage her to stand on her own two feet. The kids enjoy field trips, fun activities at school (ie. Animal Nature Presentations, Snow Day) as well as enrichment activities (ie. Dance, piano, yoga, swimming). They have science fairs, carnivals, school shows. I can’t emphasize enough how much the kids get to do!
Now on to our son… he started at MA around 17 months in the infant care. We felt so good leaving our «baby» with the staff there. They were so nurturing and sweet. He was growing as a little man and trying new things. He has since graduated into the toddler program as he is now over 1.5 years. This program is designed to build more independence in the child and get him ready for the next level. I wasn’t sure I was ready for this bc, in my eyes, he was still my baby. But, like his sister, he has matured so much. He is in pull ups, is trying to use the toilet without any prompting, eats like a big kid, follows direction. The staff are fantastic at the toddler center and our son now marches into school without a tear.
As a parent, I am grateful that there’s a school like MA. We am so proud of our children and MA makes our life easy (it’s not a battle to get the kids to school)! Plus we love seeing how excited they get when they show off their school work, projects, presentations. MA won’t disappoint.

We have had three kids at Manhattan Academy starting in 2008. Two of them began in the Toddler program and 18months and the third began in the infant center at 6months. Today they are in 3^rd grade, Upper-​Primary (Kindergarten) and Primary (Pre-​K) programs and we as a family could not be happier!
Our children have developed mentally, emotionally, strategically and physically. They are smart, kind, honest, caring, independent and strong children. I attribute this to their incredible teachers and the curriculum and life lessons they learn from everyday. Not only are they doing well in their academics, the arts, science, athletics all the way through to their field trips and school events are so well put together and thorough, we could not imagine a better school to have our children enrolled at.
We strongly recommend Manhattan Academy as a family. The owner (Mr. Levy) and director (Mrs. Robley) are parents with strong character and a passion and love for the school, students and families. Great people, greats kids, great school!!!

Our family has been extremely fortunate to be part of Manhattan Academy for the past six years. Our two kids have flourished in Manhattan Academy’s incredibly warm and loving environment and we have been amazed by how much they have grown in their confidence and independence during this time.
Manhattan Academy has been a wonderful preschool and Pre-​K experience for our children. Our kids have been nurtured, loved, and very well prepared for Kindergarten. The teachers at Manhattan Academy are top-​notch — Mrs. Woolard, Ms. McIlraith, Ms. Maldonado, Ms. Perkins — they’re all fabulous! Most importantly, the Director, Mrs. Robley, has been an amazing leader of the school. She was recently promoted from Assistant Director and has done a great job continuing the high standards while also making some excellent improvements to the school.
We really appreciate that our kids have received a well-​rounded education. The Montessori Method has allowed our kids to proceed at their own pace and prepared them so well for Kindergarten that they’re at least 1 – 2 years ahead of the curve. We also appreciate that the school offers Spanish, Science/​Outdoor Environment, P.E., keyboarding, music, and art as part of their standard curriculum.
Manhattan Academy is a great option for working parents because they have early morning and extended day care options. Our kids really enjoyed the after school enrichment classes like swimming lessons, chess, and sports camp.
Somehow, while maintaining a nurturing learning space they encourage an academic rigor that we have not found anywhere else in the South Bay. If you want a great place where your child will be challenged as much as he or she can handle (but never more than that), Manhattan Academy is the best place in the area. We love everyone there and think of them as extended family.

I have 3 kids in this school and I love it. My children have been to all of the campuses and we have been really happy there for almost 6 years. They also have a new school administrator, who is really great and open to suggestion.
Come and see why we all love the school!

Look — this is not a bad day care. It’s clean, it seems pretty safe, and some of the teachers are really great. But make no mistake, this is a strictly for-​profit business that cares more about its bottom line than its clientele.
For example, they will kill you with added fees (for nonsense like «earthquake preparedness» — really? — what’s that pay for, exactly?) Then they have tons of days they are closed, but you still pay full freight. (Days off = full tuition, while the teachers are not getting paid, I understand. Lovely.)
After dealing with this stuff (extra fees and tons of closed days) for two years, as a final insult, knowing we would be moving sometime early fall, they told us we had better pay first payment for fall semester anyway, because they had a waiting list. «We need the downpayment or we are giving away your spot.» So we paid. Then, we closed on our new house before the fall semester started, and asked for a refund. They said «No, your payment was non-​refundable.» When I argued that this policy wasn’t legal or kosher, they said «Well we couldn’t fill your spot right away.» WTF? I thought they had a wait list! So basically the owner is a bit of a liar.
But… two stars instead of one because the place is clean, and there are a few great teachers.

We enrolled our son at the infant center when he turned 1 (about 10 months ago). I was initially skeptical about it, since we had some bad experiences with care givers. However, this place amazed me! They care for all their children like they were their own. The kiddos get so much love, cuddles and kisses that my son would even wave «bye bye» to me when I left… Their infant center director «Ms. Wroten» is the best! She is so sweet to all the kids that she literally has a fan following among the babies… Not only her, each and everyone of the teachers is amazing. I don’t know what some of the reviews are complaining about in terms of subs, etc. They really don’t have THAT many subs. I waited to write this review for 10 months to really see if that turned out to be true at any given point in the year, but nope! In all fairness, they do occasionally have a sub, when someone is sick or on a vacation, but don’t we all deserve a day off?
I can’t say enough good things about their director as well! Mrs. Robley is a passionate individual, who is truly proud of what she does. She is always very responsive and has a smile on her face when she sees you. It never ceases to amaze me how she always remembers the kids names and what school they are what’s next and everything! I feel like she must carry a little computer in her back pocket, hidden from the world that does face recognition and tells her the background on each kid, the moment she sees the parents. :) I am always impressed by how much attuned she is to the school!
And most importantly, my son, who was born very premature, learns a ton of new things at school. Every day he comes home and he has something new up his sleeve. One day it’s circle, square, diamonds; the next day it is nose, mouth, eyes… You get the idea!
I LOVE this school and truly appreciate the integrity and ethics that I have seen in the staff.

I’ve been with manhattan academy for a year now I think the school is great but I think the lunches are over priced. My daughter has learned so much from this school she is doing really well in kindergarten and is well ahead.

We had our daughter at the infant center from the time she was 14 weeks old until she was 18 months old. We loved it. The teachers are very caring and somehow seem to make every child feel like a favorite. We really noticed the efforts they made in teaching (as opposed to only caring for) our daughter when she hit 12 months old. From there each week or so she’d come home with a new «trick» learned at the infant center (where her nose is, recognition of kid songs, etc.). As she neared 18 months they transitioned her to sleeping on a cot and to managed to help her give up her pacifier without a fight. She also started eating at a kid sized table instead of a high chair. Can’t say enough good things about our experience there. We just had a baby 2 weeks ago so our daughter is home with me & the new baby now but we plan to send her back to MA for pre-​school.

I enrolled my daughter in the infant school the 3^rd month it was open. We were super excited as this place tic’ dall our boxes for a daycare. It was super clean, new, the teachers seemed loving and wonderful, the ratio was 3:1, and they provided diapers and wipes! Unfortunately, things turned sour quickly. They advertised a 3:1 ratio which was never executed to. Often times I would come pick up my child and see 5 or 6 infants to 1 teacher. 1 teacher in particular was horrible. She would glare at me, be evasive when asked questions, ignore me when I walked in, and generally look very unhappy to be working there. I oftened wondered how she was with my child when I was not there. Luckily she has been let go since. I must admit though, there are some lovely teachers there. 1 in particular who my daughter loves. However, there is high turnover with the teachers. During the summer months the infant director left on vacation for 3 months. Teachers were often gone and unknown subs were there to take care of my baby.
My daughter consistently came home with diaper rashes. It got to the point, I started providing my own diapers and wipes, and told them to change her 100 times a day to ensure she would not suffer a rash. I feared they were not changing her frequently because they were rationing their supply of diapers. Even so, no doubt would she come home weekly with a diaper rash. I’d tend to her over the weekend, and send her to school Monday’s with a beautiful tush and sure enough come Tuesday she would be in fits with a terrible diaper rash.
The responsiveness from the school director was appalling. She rarely returned my calls when I had an issue with the infant school. Always promised to but never did.
The accountant on staff, surely couldn’t be an accountant. Not once did I receive a bill or receipt that was correct. i had to call about corrections that needed to be made constantly.
I could go on and on about the infant school at Manhattan Academy. The only good thing about the school was its proximity to my work. I thought the extra money I was paying ‚$ 1500/​month, would ensure great care. Wrong! I would not recommend this daycare to any moms who want their baby in good hands.