ScuttleBugs

I have had kids at Scuttlebugs (SB) for approx. 3 years, and it USED to be 5 stars. I feel conflicted to write this review, but as a parent, I would want to know these things. SB is trending in the wrong direction. IMO, they need to pony up the dollars to attract some qualified teachers, and actually retain them. Then closely assess the safety issues. That would be a start.
Teachers.
Firstly, the teachers WERE great, but most of those great teachers have left now. I understand that this industry has a high turnover, but when you cannot retain or attract quality teachers, there are bigger issues at play. Teachers were paid more to go elsewhere that also had lower teacher/​child ratios. To chalk this up solely to market conditions is not accurate.
Illness.
I don’t lay sole blame on SB for this since it is also up to the other parents. But my kids constantly got sick due to other sick kids being sent to school. We would not go more than 1 – 2 weeks in my house without someone catching something because there were always sick kids in the classrooms. And for those with young kids, you will appreciate that a cold is not just a cold i. e ear infections. Even worse when you have a newborn in the house. Seeing kids with colored nose discharge was very normal. Kids get sick, I get that. But keep your kids are home. Or SB should send them home, but don’t. Thankfully our health has significantly improved since we have changed schools.
Safety.
I personally observed some very serious things here. A few months ago I found a young child who had been left outside in the play area by himself. There were no teachers in sight (in the halls, nowhere). I saw this sad little face peering at me through the glass door as I walked past, so went out to find out where all the kids/​teachers were. Nope, he had been left outside, by himself, and no-​one noticed he was missing. I took him to the office and they took him to his classroom. I had to follow up 3 times to find out how this had happened. You would think they would have proactively followed up with me, but maybe that was admitting liability? I don’t know. Either way, young new teachers didn’t do a headcount and the boy was left outside. Umm, qualified teachers?!
Another time I was dropping my daughter off in her classroom and I witnessed a dresser falling on top of another girl, pining her to the floor. Luckily the girl was not badly injured although very distressed (cuts and bruises above and below the eye), but I can tell you, I was horrified and very upset by this. I hope that I never see such a thing, ever again. For whatever reason, the furniture was not secured in place, so when the girl went to climb on it, it fell on top of her. I spoke to her mother that afternoon as I was curious what she had been told on her incident report, but the mother did not seem phased. I highly doubt she knew her daughter was screaming, pinned to the floor with furniture on top of her. I stayed in the classroom for a while that morning since I was not about to leave my daughter there when this had just happened. Management came in, removed the furniture, and then went on like nothing happened. They said nothing to me at all. Again, probably a liability issue.
My daughter was playing in the indoor gym one day when I went to pick her up, and I instantly noticed she had a black eye (it was red and swollen). I can understand the teacher didn’t see it happen, but to not even notice after the fact?!
I also once drove my car through human feces that was in the car park (yes, you read that correctly). I parked in it, and then when I went to drive off, it flicked it up the sides of my car, in the wheel arches… everywhere. Took forever to rid the smell from my car and garage. I was told it was likely due to «questionable» individuals in the area. More likely out of a diaper, but at least they reimbursed a car wash.
Cost.
SB implemented a pretty hefty fee hike (10%) about a year ago. We were told by the owner, Sam, this was a decision by the other shareholders (I believe there are 3 shareholders — Sam, her husband, and someone else). A lot of families left after this, but after meeting with Sam, I felt comfortable with the increase since many promises were made about how these funds were going to improve the facility. I voiced that they were now charging more than facilities that had more offerings (language, movement etc), so they needed to up their game to make the increase worthwhile. Unfortunately nothing changed (1 year after the increase).
Day-​to-​day.
Sunscreen, food (which was pretty decent), diapers etc is all provided so that is very convenient. Water was an issue in the summer — kids would be hot and looking for water when I picked them up. My girls always came home with art work and other bits and pieces, so that was really nice. Unfortunately the weekly summary of what they were focusing on wasn’t always sent.
Flexible drop-​off/​pick-​up time was an absolute godsend!

We enrolled our first son when they first opened (when he turned 2). He’s almost 5 and heading to Kindergarten in a couple of weeks. My second has been there for a year. He’s now 3.
My husband is a very difficult person and has very high standards. He looked into so many daycare centers in the San Jose/​Campbell/​Santa Clara area and finally settled on Scuttle Bugs. We love this place! Everyone is great and very friendly. We’ve NEVER had any issues with anyone there. Our boys were moved into the appropriate classes when they were ready. They were NEVER held back or pushed ahead for any reason.
Yes, they’ve had staff changes, but that is very common in the child care industry. But they always have at least 2 care takers per class, so when one leaves, there’s always another staff member that the kids are familiar with. We are ALWAYS informed BEFORE a staff member leaves and ALWAYS introduced to the new staff member either in person and/​or a letter in the child’s folder.
One of our boys had a horrible eating problem that i would have to deliver food to him every day. The teachers took their time to help him and he’s now trying new things. The staff members were also very helpful during potty training.
No one or no place is perfect, but this place is one of the BEST.

Our son has been attending Scuttlebugs for over a year now. We have had the best experience and feel so fortunate he is enrolled here. He started in the twos class and is now in junior preschool. The teachers genuinely care about the students. His current teacher, Ms. Valena has been so good with our son and he loves her so much. The director Stephanie and founder Sam have always been very friendly and responsive to our concerns.
They are also very accommodating to food allergies and the cook Joanna has been great to work with to make sure our son follows a gluten free diet. The food offered is so healthy and nutritious with ethnic meals and lots of fruit and vegetables. 100 times better than other facilities we toured, where goldfish crackers and juice were the main snack foods.
There are also lots of planned activities through the year, carnivals, book fairs, pot luck dinners, parents night out, and informative sessions for parents. The curriculum is play based and Reggio inspired and they practice positive discipline. The kids get plenty of time to play outside each day, lots of sensory and art play, reading and circle time.
I also feel that my son is very safe, a keycard is needed to enter the lobby and the classrooms. The play yard has opaque high walls so the kids are not visible from the outside. The facility is just a couple of years old, inside it is very bright and clean and the toys and facility are in great condition.

Scuttlebugs blows their competition out of the water. I don’t even know where to start. I first came to Scuttlebugs a year ago, exasperated and desperate. During the last few months of my pregnancy with my second child, my 2.5 year old son had a trial run at no less than one in home au pair, two home daycares and two facility day cares. At each one the experience was the same: the staff had neither the time nor patience to deal with the severe separation anxiety he was suffering, having stayed at home with me up until then. He went in screaming, refused to eat anything, came out screaming, and often didn’t manage to make it through the day before I was called to pick him up. My daughter was born, and we still hadn’t found a solution and life was getting very difficult. When I first came to Scuttles, Stephanie and Sam were very understanding of my struggle and offered to bend their rules a bit and let my son try out the program without obligations. Meaning, if it didn’t work out, no harm done and a prorated refund would be allowed. Next, they gave me questionnaires to fill out which I think were integral in setting up his (insanely awesome) teacher Mrs V to help him cope. So I signed up, we rocked in, and here is what I experienced:
On day one, midday, my phone rang and I thought surely it was Scuttlebugs asking me to pick him up because of his crying. I answer the phone and it’s Mrs V, and she says everything’s great, he’s napping now, he ate all his lunch, and detailed the activities he had done so far. I think I was in a mild shock and stupor. At the end of the day, I picked up my (tear-​free!) son, and I’ll never forget what he said: «mommy I like school, can I go back to school tomorrow?» …Look, I have no idea what kind of black magic this is, but my son has not shown a single negative reaction — instead, he looks forward to going to school and is constantly jabbering about his days. Also, I’d like to mention the outstanding work his teachers have done with his speech issues. My son’s speech was mostly indecipherable. He was supposed to enroll in speech therapy, but his teachers memorized my little «translation cheat sheet» and learned «his language». They then worked with him so that «his language» turned into something more like «the English language». He’s also learned all his pre-​k requirements very early on. I’m quite happy with their balance of play and academics. He comes home singing new songs every week, and we get preschool email updates detailing all the different themes and activities they’ve been exploring.
Fast forward 8 months, a job lands in my lap, and I need to find a daycare solution last minute for my daughter. I did a trial run in the infant room at Scuttles and loved it. The room is bright, full of light, organized, clean, and has lots of developmental and explorational stations.

A couple things I’d like to note:
* When I first looked at their prices, I thought they were on the higher end. Then I toured more facilities, and realized, many places charge just as much, and also nickel and dime you for things that Scuttles includes as a package deal. Diapers, wipes, sunscreen, meals, snacks, etc — other places were either «supply your own» or «we’re going to charge you extra for it». If I’m going to spend the same amount of money, either up front with the facility or on the back end bringing stuff from home, I’d rather pay up front and not have to worry/​hassle with preparing meals and throwing supplies into the car. It’s more seamless this way.
* There are many things about the place that are intangible and in my opinion, very important. Things like bright white walls that are free of clutter, big open windows that send light bouncing in all directions, professional grade architecture leading to sweeping hallways and well designed spaces. I think clutter free, bright spaces lead to higher serotonin levels in kids, resulting in happier moods in the short term and positive, optimistic personalities in the long term.
* They are excellent with documentation and record keeping, and diligent with hands washing and sun screen application. Infants through Jr. Preschool get daily reports and I have found these very helpful in sorting out their pooping /​napping /​developmental statuses.
* Day time potty training has been a breeze for us and I credit their train-​at-​your-​own-​pace system. There’s no rush to push kids off of diapers.
* Events! They have a spring and fall festival, movie nights, silent auctions, photo days and all sorts of stuff in between.
* They are nut free — my son is deathly allergic to cashews and pistachios so my mind is at ease when he is at Scuttles.
* You are able to ask their staff about babysitting — they have a waiver their staff signs. This has been super helpful for date nights.

All three of my kids go/​have gone to Scuttlebugs and we love it! I didn’t send my oldest to daycare until he was 3.5 (big mistake) and my second child until he was 2. I was so impressed with this place that I decided against a babysitter for my third child and sent her to Scuttlebugs when she was only 8 weeks old. I am ashamed to say that they taught my middle child to use the potty and my baby to eat at a table and nap in a crib (previously, she had only liked a swing). She absolutely loves it! Her eyes light up when she sees the staff and they genuinely love her as well. It is a very social environment, and kind of small so all the kids and the parents get to know each other. The teachers are great. It is a pretty relaxed environment so if you are wanting your children to come out knowing sign language, how to read and write, math, etc., you are looking at the wrong place. But there is plenty of time for all that so if you want your kids to be in a more fun and creative learning environment (they let my baby do finger paint – I won’t even let her do that in the house!) then welcome. I used to work full time and work on call now (one day a week). I still have worked out financially how to send my kids here 3 days a week because it really is a great environment. A response to those who complained about high staff turn over: that had been going on when the center was newer, which is to be expected. Now things have settled in and my kids have had the same main teachers for over a year. There are assistant helpers which do change but your child will always have teachers they know with them in the classroom as well. Your child will never be with a totally new person (s) alone. That’s just not true. Go to other daycares for an entire day and you will see that there is a lot of turnover with assistants/​helpers who watch your kids alone during naptime or when the main teachers are on break or lunch. And for the reviewer who stated that her 2 year old was sent to the pre-​K class, my oldest and my middle child have been in the pre-​K class consecutively since the school’s opening in 2011. I have never seen a two year old in the class! It is true that they move children up not based on age but evaluation of maturity and readiness (which I think is kind of neat), but they always ask you. There is a girl in the pre-​K class right now who is 3.5 and I couldn’t believe it! She acts like and is the size of a 5 year old! Her potential would not have been met in a younger class. Like I said, they ask you. I even said that we should hold off on my son’s move up and the were cool with that. Don’t believe the reviews of some strangers (especially when there are only 4!) Remember, critics are easier to come by. I am a fan and have been since 2011, and I only now wrote a review. And I only did this after feeling that I needed to come to the center’s rightful defense!

A newer facility, but not great child care. Some things one simply has to learn on their own. However, if you want to save yourself stress about your child, time, and concern; the following is just some of mine and my husband’s experiences:
*HIGH staff turn-​over. Staff schedules are inconsistent. Be prepared to pick up your child with a new staff member in the room without you knowing who they are; we experienced this on several occasions. SB has often used outside staffing agencies w/​o notifying parents. Not a single staff member, nor current family, couldn’t honestly, disagree. At least once every other month the white board in the entrance would greet a new staff member.
*Staff (keep in mind this is their career choice) have appeared, quite often, annoyed needing to tend to crying children in the infant room. Staff feeds them and changes their diaper, but I have 25+ daily reports w/​inconsistencies of feeding, diapering & napping. The rooms are often messy with objects waiting to be a tripping hazard. The chairs in the infant room, where children eat, have had thick amounts of food residue from lack of daily cleaning. Check them out!
*Due to an open wall floor plan, noise and cries echo between 3 separate rooms. The toddler’s room, as it’s in the center of the infant rm & bathroom & the 2’s rm (which is separated by a curtain), hears it all. Thus, while children are resting or sleeping, noise interrupts this crucial time.
*Most staff has dressed unprofessionally (although some are sincerely nice people, bra straps on display isn’t necessary for child care).
*My child had been bitten several times & the lack of concern from ANY of the staff was unacceptable, for my family. This is my child that was being hurt in their care. I wish I could turn back the hands of time. I watched a video of another occasion, when my son had a head injury; he was clearly kicked off the couch from 1of 2 other children jumping on the couch. My son was sitting appropriately on the couch & I was told by staff that he fell off and a staff member saw it. If a staff member was doing their job, then the they could have re-​directed the other 2 children to sit safely on the couch, as jumping is unacceptable.
*Until recently, SB didn’t have bleach on site because the cook, Joanna, claimed to have an allergy to bleach. And she’s in the kitchen preparing food for the children. I bought 4 gals. of bleach and cleaned an amazingly large portion of the center on my hands and knees after my son, and approx. 13 (?) other children, parents and staff, were struck with a strain of hand, foot, mouth disease. SB used peroxide to be more environmentally friendly.
Once we put in our 30 day to leave, the director, Stephanie, emailed me and offered us to leave early. I declined. But when we went to pick up our son, she and Sam, founder of SB, had a reimbursement check for us. Without notice, we had no choice but to have to miss work until we found other care.
Carefully research any facility prior to signing you’re child up for care.
Know what is important for your parental and child care expectations.
No degree, amount of education or professional experience, could fill the lack of knowledge of what it’s like to have to leave your 6 wk old, 3 mo. old, 9 mo. old or 2-​year old in the care of someone who doesn’t.

My family moved here from LA a couple months ago. We finally found Scuttlebugs after visiting over 10 daycares in my area. This is truly a lovely place. The environment is clean beautiful and the staff are friendly and caring. The tuition is sort of pricey to me but it covers meals, diapers, and wipes. My husband and I decided to enroll our son here without hesitation.
I was quite worried at the beginning that my son might have trouble getting used to his new daycare. He was never prepared for this ’cause he went to a tiny small home-​based daycare before. Thanks to Ms. Jennifer. With her help my son adapted to the new environment in no time. Now 2 months have passed, he really loves this place and keeps showing me new things he’s learned. I remember one day he came home, told me he built a house that day, and then made me one with his legos right away.
I really appreciate Scuttlebugs for helping my son through the relocation process, and making him so excited about learning and so eager to go to school each day. This place deserves five stars.

Do Not enroll your kids here!!! The staffs are nice to you as long as you hand over the monthly checks, but once you run into a scheduling issue, they take your deposit and hold their contract very stringently with a whole lot of attitude. I returned to work from maternity leave and due to transportation issues, my husband and I decided to pull our child out temporarily. We were late in giving them the full 30 days notice by a few days, and they not only applied our last month’s deposit for the month that he did not attend, they used the delta for the following month that he did not attend and requested for more funds. I emailed to the director, Sheryl, and she never extend the courtesy to respond back via email or phone call. The only time she says hi to me is to remind me that the tuition is due (I forgot my check a day late).
When we enrolled our son, we wanted him to be exposed/​learn socialization amongst kids his age. This was not met because instead of being in the toddler age appropriate room, they pushed him into the preschooler’s (4−5yrs of age) room to combine the handful of enrollments. I sure hope the staffs remember the names of the few kids that did attend! How would they handle having many kids like Montessori/​Challenger schools. He was never potty trained/​receive age appropriate lesson plans even though we were paying for this higher rate. The preschooler’s room had tiny lego/​toy pieces that my two-​year-​old could have put in his mouth and choked. Every time I visited the center, all the kids were individually off on their own to play. I rarely ever saw group lessons/​play/​singing.
It’s unfortunate that ScuttleBugs is a very new establishment that relies heavily on word of mouth, but would be willing to burn bridges. I find it harsh to charge people $ 600/​month as penalty for missing a few days of their 30 days advance notice. They could have gave us credit in services or pro-​rate the five days and refund the rest. Instead, they robbed us of our whole last month’s deposit.

I am a very busy single dad of a 3 year old and I can’t say enough good things about the center. My son has been there full time for the past 4 months. The teachers are warm and caring. All of them know my son and greet him by name. They really have his best interests at heart. In addition, the curriculum is excellent in many ways. The staff and teachers have gone out of their way to give me feedback, provide me with daily reports, and to really help me feel connected even though I spend the day away from him.
I want to respond to Annie P’s experience. It is totally different than my experience. I never had the slightest hesitation in leaving him here. I’m sorry for your first day experience but I strongly feel that it’s an aberration and doesn’t characterize ScuttleBugs as a whole. I am happy to talk about my experience if you want additional information.
ScuttleBugs is a wonderful school where my son has grown, developed and matured since attending full time. This is a quality center! The teachers and management staff are caring, nurturing, and loving. The staff really takes care of the children like family. They care about your child and your family — always wanting to help the parents raise happy and healthy kids. I love ScuttleBugs and recommend it to all our friends looking for great daycare.
If I could award SIX STARS, I would RIGHT AWAY!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.