Kiddie Academy of Ellicott City, Ellicott City | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

My daughter was enrolled at Kiddie Academy from ~20 months until ~3 years old. There are some great things about it and also some things that really need some work/attention.
Pros:
-very loving and committed main teachers- we had really great experiences with several teachers that my daughter had- they were loving and caring and seemed really committed to the kids
-all the main teachers in the school and the admin staff knew my daughter and most knew us even if they hadn’t directly cared for her
-the food was really wonderful and a huge burden off of us as parents
-they arranged some really nice activities for the kids/parents for things like Christmas, Mother’s Day, etc
-nice facility- was generally clean and nicely kept, cute decorations/crafts around
Cons:
-cost is significantly higher now than surrounding centers and the bump in cost happened without much of a heads up
-the activities/curriculum were less creative than I would have liked- they did a TON of worksheets each day in the 2-2.5yo classroom which felt repetitive and a little unnecessary to me
-the main issue we had was a total lack of transparency with parents- examples: they decided to change the opening/closing times of the school with 2 weeks notice to parents and the reasons for doing so were extremely unclear and frankly dishonest at times (they ended up rescinding this decision after parental pushback), admin refused to provide/post names of the helping teachers/aides that were in my daughter’s classroom stating that it was for the privacy of the teachers/aides (in my opinion, that level of privacy is not appropriate when you’re caring for my child- I only asked for first names to go with faces), the sudden increase in cost with very little notice, moving kids to other classes during the day without informing parents and telling teachers not to photograph them during those times
-I’m a Pediatrician and felt that there were a few times that I noted safety concerns that I thought reflected overall poor judgement- examples: whole grapes fed to 2 and 3 year olds, loose tiny magnets in the classrooms with young toddlers, babies propped on boppy pillows or with bottles propped in their mouths

Overall, we loved several of our daughter’s teachers so much that I’m sad to write this review but want to provide honesty to other parents looking at this center and others in the area. At the end of our time there, I unfortunately couldn’t trust the owners/management and that was a deal-breaker for me and my family. I also was bothered by the fact that there were occasional incentives for leaving reviews which I think is why there are so many 5 star reviews personally.

Our son has been at Kiddie Academy for the last 6 months and we have been extremely happy! He loves going in every morning and his teachers, Ms. Linh, Ms. Aryne, Ms. Maddy are all wonderful! They are always kind, patient, upbeat, pleasant, conscientious and caring towards our son and have really helped him grow both academically and socially. They always keep him engaged with fun activities including science, art, dance, yoga programs. The curriculum is great and we have been amazed by how much our son has learned already! They are the best teachers!!!

The atmosphere at the school is excellent – we are always greeted with a smile and warm welcome at pickup and drop off time from everyone at the front – particularly Ms. Malika and Ms. Amanda (plus more)! They always know how our son’s day has been and love if I call in to check on him. They are very responsive to any questions. The school organizes lots of community activities to include the whole family!

We highly recommend Kiddie Academy!!

We have been with Kiddie Academy since last summer. Our child has fairly serious healthcare needs, and we’ve been so impressed with the dedication that the teachers and administrators have shown. From learning our child’s signs of distress to engaging them/making treatment fun, it has been a relief to know they’re in such good hands. Additionally, the teachers have done an amazing job instructing our kiddo (and the other children, who range in developmental abilities) on gross and fine motor skills, reading, counting, writing, and using critical thinking. Ms. Aryne, Ms. Linh, and Ms. Maddy especially go above and beyond every day. Our child always appears so cheerful at pickup. This is why good childcare is crucial: it supports families and communities. We happily recommend KAE.