Children's Center of Austin

My kids go to the CCOA and we love it. We have had an outstanding experience there. My wife is always telling people about how awesome the school is, she absolutely loves it. The kids have learned so much from being there and they love to go to school. more

I have four kids and they all go to the CCOA at beecaves. My older two go every day and the younger two go three days a week. I am a stay at home mom and planned on keeping my kids at home until I read an article about socializing your kids before they get to kindergarten. I am so happy I made this decision because now my kids are learning so much more than I could ever teach them alone like spanish, music, art, computer, math, language arts, science and even more. My kids are also kept so happy during the day! The love to go to school, and I am happy to have found a nice place for them! We love the CCOA! more

Our kids love the CCOA! Pros: Teachers, Staff, Curiculum, Facility, Meals more

My kids go here and we couldn't be happier. The director Mrs. Stacey is absolutely wonderful and Ms. Ruth, the curiculum coordinator is great too! My kids are so happy and have learned so much from being there. I have been so impressed since enrolling them there. I would reccommend the CCOA to anyone! more

My twins (3) and my infant all go to the CCOA at beecaves. We absoltely love the director Mrs. Stacey, she is so nice. We have been at the school since the twins were 15 months old and we wouldn't send our kids any place else. We have loved every moment being at the CCOA. The twins are kept so busy during the day and have learned so much and I trust the infant teachers with my son so much because they are so professional and sweet! more

My four kids aged 1-6 y.o attend the CCOA. My oldest goes to the after school program which he loves and it's so convienent for us because he gets picked up in a bus sent by the CCOA from school. My younger kids absolutely love going to school and my husband and I couldn't be more excited with the management, teachers, staff, meals, curiculum and facility. We have been so happy here! more

My kids started at the CCOA since they were 8 months old and we have had a wonderful experience there, especially with the director Mrs. Stacie. She is so wonderful and nice. One of my daughters goes to kindergarten now and her teacher told us that the kids coming from the CCOA (there are four in her class) are by far the most prepared for kindergarten! more

My kids have been at the CCOA for two years and we wouldn't send them anywhere else! They love going to school each morning and love their teachers! They have learned so much more

My children have gone to the CCOA at beecaves for two years and I haven't had any complaints. The staff is caring and loving, the facility is up to date, nice and clean. The management is very attentive and kind. When it comes to sending my kids to the right place, I have to admit, I can be hard to deal with but the CCOA at beecaves has been more than accomidating. I absolutely love it and wouldn't send my children any where else! more

I must admit I am scratching my head after reading some of the previous reviews. Are these people attending the same CCOA-Bee Caves that my kids do? I just don't get it! Both...yes both of my children have attended the CCOA at Bee Caves and I have never experienced anything but a highly capable staff, an amazing curriculum w/ Art, Spanish, and lots of other options. Heck they even taught both my kids to swim!\r \r On the rare occasion where I have had concerns, my needs and issues were addressed in the most professional and caring manner, and were resolved immediately. I have met the owner and find her to be a highly capable person that truly cares about the schools, staff and most importantly the kids. The director and asst. director are both dedicated to ensuring my kids are safe, have fun, and most importantly, are learning. Pros: Staff, Facilities, Curriculum more

Our 4 year old just started his last year at the Children's Center and, as always, we are very happy with his new class and teacher! We have had our children in these schools since 2000 (started at the Jester School shortly after it opened) and have never had any complaints. The facilities are superior to any we have ever visited and the curriculum is fantastic! Our oldest child transitioned into Kindergarten with no problems. \r \r We switched to the Bee Caves school when it opened because it was much closer to our home and it is absolutely beautiful! We have always loved how the children are rotated through daily activities instead of staying in a stagnant room all day. The library, art room and gym are so nice. The place is clean and the staff seems happy to be working there. The director and assistant director are attentive and so friendly!. We feel truly blessed that both our children have been able to attend such a wonderful facility.\r \r I haven't been on City Search in a while and I have to say I am astonished to see some of these negative comments! I guess some people are chronic complainers and are unfortunately the people who take the time to post a comment. This school just doesn't deserve it! more

My child has been coming to the summer camp and absolutely loves it. The teachers are fabulous. They go on field trips every day and go swimming daily as well. I have been so happy with the facility, administration, and teachers. I will definitely send my child there next summer. Pros: teachers, facility, field trips more

I pulled my children out last December after their instructors quit. Terrible management. HIgh turnover rate of employees. This daycare had some outstanding teachers but the owners and management are terrible. They treat their employees terribly and cannot keep them. These were some educated teachers in college and some had college degrees. I even reported this daycare to the state board because some of the classrooms had too many students to one teacher. Cons: turnover rate, student teacher ratio, extra curricular activities more

My experience with The Children's Center has been a good one. My son has attended two other schools and this by far is the best facility. It has so much to offer. My child does not spend his whole day in his classroom. He goes to library, gym, art, computers, and the playground everday. This is in addition to doing activities in his class. He has had the same teacher for two years - she moved up with his class last year. He has learned so much. I would highly recommend this school. Pros: Great Facility and Staff more

This place has all the stuff to be the best place in Austin... but I have to say - owners and management - not very good!! Can't put it down to anything else. There are some fantastic teachers there, but they are unhappy with their situation and some of the teachers that are there, should clearly not be teachers. They are so desperate to just have 'someone' that they forget to look for qualities. The ones that they manage to get right, they don't treat them right so they all want to leave. \r \r What a shame..... I would have signed up 3 more kids there if they could keep some of the good teachers there. But what should happen is, they should let someone else take over the whole running of the business. Clearly they are not doing it right and that is why so many people have a bad experience going there. \r If they want to change, they are not trying hard enough. They just raised the tuition.... pay your teachers more!!!!!!!!! Look after the people who are making this schools something worth trying to get going!!!!! Its not hard to show appreciation to your staff.\r \r I strongly feel that the situation here will not change until there is a change of owner.... clearly that is where the problem is... and management... send them on a course how to keep your staff happy - so that they stay!!!!! it doesn't take rocket science - appreicate what you have and show it, that is all it takes Pros: Handful of teachers really are good Cons: Management management mangagement management more

NEVER EVER SEND YOUR CHILD TO CCA\r 1 Star Rating: Not Recommended\r \r 12/23/2007 Posted by ssims98\r \r I do not recommend sending your child to The Children's Center of Austin. My infant was only a part of the program two days a week, from Sept to Nov. In that time, management changed three times, and her classroom teacher changed countless times. Promises were made that were never fulfilled. I gave them one to many chances. They jeopardized the education of my child as well as her health and well-being. \r \r Pros: NONE\r \r Cons: There is no curriculum, child is passed from one rocker to the next boppy. Cons: High turn over, handbood not followed, no curriculum, unhappy and unqualified teachers more

I have had my children in full-time daycare for the past 6 years and was sad to leave our old daycare behind when we moved to Austin. CCOA was the closest thing we could find to what my children were used to. However I soon enountered many of the issues that have been noted (primarily teacher turnover) and got my child on waitlists at other shcools. With my prior experience with daycare facilities, I have to disagree with the post regarding the recent director that was let go. I feel it was a good thing and in fact have stopped looking elsewhere while the owners take control of this place and give them an opportunity to get it on the right track. While the previous director was curriculum coordinator I had very poor experiences with her. She was irresponsible (did not follow-up as she said she would), was very unsympathetic and too business-like when concerns were raised regarding my child's schedule and teacher issues. You wondered if she realized we were leaving our most precious possessions in their care. She put a very ""bad taste"" in my mouth regarding this entire facility which was unfortunate. We are all overworked and stressed, but that is no excuse for her to treat the parents in such a poor manner. The teacher turnover issue we encountered late this summer has settled down and we love our child's new teacher. Hopefully you will see more positive posts in the upcoming months as things improve. Pros: facilities Cons: too many additional fees for music, spanish, etc. more

I am shocked at how the owner has handled all the issues at this location. We have been with the school since last May and have seen ""the good"", ""the BAD"" and ""the UGLY"" with very small amounts of good. During the first week of the new school year the Director walked out or was fired no one really knows the truth. The classrooms had more students than stated in the handbook and many did not have teachers. It took more than a week for a note regarding the Director situation to be put out. They left the recently hired Curriculum Coordinator to run the school without any support staff. She did her best but one person can not run a school in this state. From the start we have questions and concerns that the Curriculum Coordinator put at ease and was very helpful. Things did appear to be on the up and up when they announced a new front office team that included a promotion of the Curriculum Coordinator and her replacement with impressive experience. Then yesterday after only a few weeks with the new Director running the school, I hear the gossip in the halls that they have let go yet another Director in 3 months. Myself like other parents thought she would be the one that could and would turn the school around. When I questioned this move I was given a half hearted answer that she was not the right fit at this time. I am a business owner I do not think that this owner has a clue as to what is the right fit. I watched this woman break her back for this school and bring back some control to a sinking ship. At this point I am currently looking for care elsewhere for my girls and suggest that other families do the same. The owner can not be trusted to follow good business ethics. I have never seen a school ran as poorly as this one. I would not recommend this location to anyone. I feel as if I have wasted my money by sending my children there. Pros: Great location Cons: Lacks ethics more

My experience at The Children's Center has been quite the opposite. I am so tired of these unrealistic and over-privledged parents complaining about the school with little or no knowledge of what it really takes to operate a facility of that size and magnitude.\r \r Sure, the school is going through a transition right now ... that is no secret. That tells me they are clearly aware of the issues and are addressing them. What more could a parent ask for (other than for it to happen yesterday :) )? This is not a corporately owned facility, nor is it run by a board of directors. It is managed and run with the efforts of the teachers and administrators. The amount of time and patience these individuals are spending to repair the reputation and program reassures me that my children are well cared for. \r \r The parents who take the time to post such negative ratings are also the parents who love to complain but never offer to assist the staff or the facility to improve the morale. Instead let's kick them while they are down. I'll take the time to complain, but I can't be late for my tennis lesson. I would venture to guess that a quick glance in the Sunday Classifieds would show other area preschools advertising for staff too. These issues are common in childcare, at least you can speak to a real person who cares about your child at The Children's Center. Keep your children at home and stop labeling this facility. Pros: Facility Cons: Traffic on Bee Caves more

The Children's Center auf Austin is located on Bee Caves Road and looking at the facility and the surrounding areas one would expect an excellent daycare center. The opposite is true as this facility is one of the worst managed daycares in Austin. Our son had four different teachers in one year. The turn-over rate at this facility is incredible. Teachers stay on average 3-4 months. The management hires teachers on and expects them without any direction or training to run their classes and curriculum. On many occasions and especially on Monday morning teachers were not in their classrooms, however management staff wasn't there either to coordinate where students should go. Many many times classes were over size limit and the lack of management and coordination burdening the teachers in the classes was overwhelming. We had two teachers that just left the facility from one day to the next and the management staff had no idea if they would return. We felt that the lack of supervision and changing teachers were a threat to our child's development and looked for other options. Parents looking at this facility should find out how long the teachers have been there and ask for a money back guarantee if they have more than three different teachers in one year. The owners of this facility should really take a hard look at what child care really means and determine if they want to be in this business. Taking care of our children is an important task which shouldn't be taken lightly. It starts with hiring the best staff possible from top to bottom. As parents we don't always know what is going on in our child's day especially if they are less than two years of age. From what we have experienced here and seen first hand, I would not recommend this facility to any family. Pros: location Cons: poor management, lack of supervision, high turn-over, safety risk more