La Petite Academy

If there were six stars, I’d give six. We couldn’t be happier with La Petite. We compared A LOT of preschools when we needed to enroll our then-​3-​year-​old, and this one stood head and shoulders above the others. All the staff welcome you when you walk in, and seem truly happy to be there. One teacher has been there 19 years!
The first thing we noticed is that the children were all happy, calm and well attended to. Other places we checked had toys (and kids) flying through the air and an atmosphere of general mayhem. There is a decorum at La Petite that is not the least bit stifling, but basically, pleasant and appropriate. Kids are simply required to respect themselves, each other, and their teachers.
Our little girl is now in their private Kindergarten (for very slightly more $$ than we were already paying for just 3 days a week preschool last year). She is thriving under Mr. Lawrence and the 6-​to-​1 student ratio. We know she’ll be very well prepared for first grade next year. He has coaxed the best from her, and most importantly he is doing a great job of instilling a love of learning that will last her a lifetime.
Lastly, let me mention the Director, Ms. Susie, who has just been honored with the building being dedicated to her for all her years of service. A review below slammed her interpersonal skills, but I take gross exception to such an assessment. She is not the least bit rude; however, she is direct, professional and businesslike. Basically, she’s «the principal» of the school, and she does an outstanding job of administering its needs. When you see her interact with children and staff, you can tell she cares deeply, and she truly «gets it.»
Please, stop looking at other child care providers. This is the place to take your children if you want them to be safe, loved, nurtured, and encouraged to become the best little people they can be. When our girl goes to «regular» school next year, we will miss all the people at La Petite, but we will NEVER forget them or stop being grateful for all they have offered. We hold them in the highest esteem!

My 6 year old son has been going to La Petite for almost 3 years and my Wife and I could not be happier. We elected to keep him in the Kinger program last year and it was the best decision we have ever made. Now my son is in 1^st Grade at a very reputable elementary school in Oceanside and he is doing AMAZING. He is reading full books and is a wiz in math according to his 1^st Grade teacher. All of this would not have been possible if it were not for the the EXCELLENT Staff at La Petite. Ms. Suzy and her staff are a breath of fresh air every day walking into this awesome facility. I would recommend this facility to any family who wants their child to develop as a toddler going into elementary school in a safe, clean and extremely positive enviornment.

THIS IS AN UPDATE from previous 2 STAR review: I called corporte with my concern and they were VERY accommodating. Janet was a pleasure to speak with and treated me with the utmost respect. Their corporate office has great customer service. Because of this I will be looking at their sister school Child Time. Thank you for helping me with my concern regarding the Director at La Petite.
Previous Review of 2 Stars:
The site is very nice, clean, and organized. However, the Director that works there is not a nice person. She has very poor customer service skills. When I came in to view the facility it was a red flag when she was very authoritative with a child that was already crying. She was saying“Mind your P’s and Q’s” as the poor child was extremely upset, I just wanted to say show some compassion. I was willing to look past this and was ready to sign up for the facility until our final conversation. First, I explained as a commuting parent it was very hard to bring my child in for a tour and she did not care all she said was“That’s Policy” so there is no give with anything. Again I was willing to look past that as I was thinking how to get out of work early one day to manage this. Then she said but it doesn’t matter because I am pretty sure someone is going to take the last spot, as if I was not good enough for their facility. The last straw was when I had gotten the pricing wrong but instead of using any sort of customer service skills she challenged me saying” I will pull the calls I know our reps would not say that” she was EXTREMELY RUDE about it. There is a politer way to go about it maybe to the effect of, «Oh no I will definitely check into that and I am sorry if that was the case but these are the prices we do have to use.» I mean just something to show that I would actually want to talk with this lady every day. At this point I realized that even though I really enjoyed the facility the Director is just absolutely HORRIBLE to work with. If they got a different director that had customer service skills in any way shape and/​or form I would put my child in this school but until then because of her rude and snobby approach to things I will keep looking for a better fit.

I wrote a review a month ago, but the Unilocal filter nabbed it and so it doesn’t show up. Last time I gave it 5 stars and I still believe in that, but apparently the Unilocal filter doesn’t like 5 stars. But again, it really is 5 stars!
So for the record ( Unilocal) and you all out there, I have a child that is at La Petite Academy full time (Monday through Friday) and he loves it! He talks about his care givers all the time and really enjoys everything about his day.
The care givers and management staff just really seem to care, it isn’t just a job taking care of the kids, but a passion. Bottom line for me is that I trust these ladies with my child and I have piece of mind when my kid is there! They have excellent security and again, if my 2 year old son could Unilocal,he would tell you that La Petite Academy is awesome!
I hope my review sticks this time, but if not, well at least I tried! Anyway, again, just for the record, I am NOT getting anything in return for this review, I have nothing to gain by doing this review, just trying to pay a compliment where a compliment (I feel) is due.
If you are looking for a great day care place, give this one a try!