Kiddie Academy of Charlotte-Blakeney

Disregard all the reviews that are complaining at the director, she's not working with this academy anymore. The management that currently is here is wonderful. My daughter is been attending this school for the last half of the year and we are extremely happy. This place hire real teachers, licensed, that have proper education and experience. The teacher that we have is extremely talented and devoted, we love her. She constantly brings new lessons, shares her curriculum and plans. My daughter has eczema and dietary restrictions so I bring my own food. My daughter had never been exposed to anything else they watch it closely and very carefully. The school is clean, fresh and modern, uses secure video cameras so you can always see what's going on with your kid. Kids go outside twice a day and spend a lot of time on the playground. Playground is really nice too, not just to show but a real playground where kids really have what to do. Couldn't be happier!

TLDR: Do NOT send your child here, especially if they have allergies! Many awful teachers, complacent and rude administration.Our experience at Kiddie Academy has been nothing short of a nightmare. My son has allergies, which was not any trouble to manage at our prior facility and is not any issue at his current facility. KA gave him foods he was allergic to on multiple occasions. On at least two of these occasions, Trisha (accurately portrayed in a few of these other negative reviews) tried to mom-shame me for how I handled the incidents instead of focusing on how egregiously they messed up. After the 4th allergen exposure (that I know of, it was confirmed he regularly was given a salad dressing that contained an allergen though), I reported them to the state. They were supposed to come up with a better communication plan from the kitchen to the teachers about what my child couldn't eat. A few weeks later I found out from my son's new teacher that she had "no idea" what he is allergic to, and that the way she finds out he can't have something is from his prior room's teacher yelling across the hall "don't give that to him!" when the kitchen brings something he's not allowed to have. Absolutely terrifying. You might ask why I didn't just send his food myself. Two of his exposures were when I sent his food! I watched his teachers withhold his food, giving him about 5 minutes to eat at the end of lunch, and blatantly ignore his stealing food off the other babies' plates (he was about a year old for this). At one point they gave him a special treat that was brought in by another kid without clearing it with me first. When I raised concerns about their behavior, he came home the next day with feces encrusted on his tiny little rear-end. Not even a dirty diaper, they just intentionally did not wipe him well and left it. On that note, he came home another time with feces up his back and through his onesie, no explanation given. I hope none of his classmates got pink eye from that one. The teachers in his first room were constantly on their phones, never engaging with the babies. I never saw so much as a book being read to them; they were left on their own to play with no interaction from a caring adult. My baby had very dry skin/eczema and I'd sent in lotion to be used when needed. His teacher quite happily told me that they never put it on him unless I specifically call to ask. It's almost like she was overjoyed at her own stupidity. This is a child who's face was often bleeding it was so in need of lotion, but I guess you can't see that when you're on your phone all day.Overall the administration wants to keep parents out of the building as much as possible. They continue cov1d-era policies where you must drop off and pick up at the front entrance unless you have a reason to go back and talk to your child's teacher. As a result, there is absolutely no sense of community (also they briefly lost a child from this policy, as noted in the state incident reports, yet they continue to cling to their process). I've talked to many other parents that don't even know all of their younger child's teachers' names and wouldn't be able to recognize them on the street. Many teachers are blatantly rude and disrespectful to parents when you do talk to them, and the administration's response is "they're a little gruff". What's tolerated is encouraged - if you cared about the interaction between parents and teachers you wouldn't allow your teachers to act like that. It's unfortunate that the majority of the younger rooms are such an abomination because there are some teachers that are GEMS in the older classes. We had a great experience with my oldest son, who was only there a year before entering kindergarten. However it was so strongly outweighed by the horrors of my baby's experience that I could never recommend this place, not even to my worst enemy.

By FAR the BEST school for infants, toddler and children! There are not enough words to describe how happy my kids are and seeing their faces when we pick them and drop them off is so telling! They are excited everyday we drop them off. When we pick them up they are happy and engaged in activities. My kids have been to a few other schools/daycares in the area and can't even come close to Kiddie Academy of Blakeney. The teachers, the admin and the owner are all amazing and great people! They TRULY love what they do and its not about a paycheck. The owner is simply a truly nice man and takes excellent care of his school. The directors are beyond kind and personable and real people! Our kids teachers are the BEST as well. I can't thank them all enough for giving us the best feeling dropping our kids off there daily! It's nice to be able to breath again when leaving my kids each day. I would recommend to anyone looking for A+ top notch care and learning for their children! Jo-Lyn K.

At Kiddie Academy of Charlotte-Blakeney, the focus on providing high-quality care and education is evident in the dedication of the educators. The collaborative approach between parents and staff enhances the learning experience. I highly recommend this academy and would give it 10 stars if possible..

I am more than proud to recommend Kiddie Academy! KA was our first and only child care provider and we would never think of going anywhere else. They take an active role in socialization, education and motor skill development and care for the WHOLE child. This is not just play time, although there is a lot of fun activities!, Kiddie Academy builds you child as if they are part of the family. Interaction with other children, mental, emotional and physical education and exercise. KA provides healthy meals and snacks and is a very clean and organized facility. Most importantly, I feel that my child is safe within the walls of Kiddie Academy Blakeney. As my son grew, I knew that he would have to leave KA at some point but that did not come without hesitation. As a parent I also felt completely supported and the communication in regards to my child's day, their development and activities (photos too!) made me happy as I left my child for the work day. If I had questions, KA always has answers and even suggestions on what to work on and activities at home to support my son's intellectual growth. They even provide progress reports like schools!I cannot say enough wonderful things about KA and my experience. THEY ARE AMAZING.

I have two boys who are 8 and 4. My older son spent one year in KA for preschool. My younger one spent all 3 years here from 2 to 5 and he is graduating this summer (of 2016). I want to give a complete review to this day care, before we leave. What I cared most is whether the teachers love my kids. I am 100% satisfied with KA. The classroom teacher surely cares about my son. How do I know? My sons came home saying: "Honey Bun, you....." or "You know you can do better...." I believe he learned these words from his teachers because my family speaks Chinese. Apparently the teachers use sweet languages to warm and encourage him. Another thing I am happy about is: most of the teachers (from different classrooms) know my son and they give 'Hi' and hugs to him. I believe they do the same to other kids too. We are deeply impressed by all the four classroom teachers my son has experienced: Ms. Yowanda, Stephanie, Debbie, and Boston. My older son transferred from another day care to KA. I can see the sharp comparison in teachers' attitudes. The other day care claims they are academically advanced (The director corrected me calling them as a "day care". She said they are a "school"). But what I felt was they were quite cold and the atmosphere was sort of nervous. As to academy, to be honest, my younger son learned more in KA than my older son did in the other day care, at same ages. My younger son is doing 2-digit addition, quite some English words, and lots of Mandarin, and some Spanish. I personally did not teach him much.I also like the way the director (Ms.Trisha) works. She is very quick in response. Other teachers at the door are very responsible and available when the director is not in office. Sorry I have to think about the other day care, where parents are not supposed to access the director's office freely.About environment of KA - I am very satisfied. Classrooms are bright, clean and new-looking. Toys are up to date and very educational. Outside play sets are new; yards are covered with either artificial or natural grasses. Do not think for granted that all day cares have these. The other daycare has a bigger backyard yet not quite covered with grass. When I did a tour in KA to switch my older son to here, I was immediately impressed by the classrooms and toys. About food - I like the fact that they use real bowls, plates, cups, and spoons. Again - do not laugh at me - I saw my older son at the other day care once bit off and swallowed a small piece of white disposable fork, because they uses cheap disposable utensils. I also like the fact that KA keeps kids in the classroom for meals, not running in turns of classes, to a sort of 'cafeteria', which is actually a bigger hallway, and is cold in winter.Lastly, there is a minor thing I like very much. KA does not ask for small donations all the time. They only encourage parents to donate for parties or special activities, which is reasonable. Sorry to mention the other day care again - they asked for lots of things frequently: books, markers, papers....... Although those were not big items but there were quite some running errands for parents. I think I picked the right day care for my boys.

I truly feel that the teacher, director and staff have my children's best interest at heart. I feel there is great communication about my childrens future. The facility is top notch and the education is beyond what I could've dreamed my child would be learning. They look forward to school every day!

Three of my children have attended Kiddie Academy Blakeney. The teachers love my children and they were prepared for Junior Kindergarten at Charlotte Christian School when they left Kiddie Academy.

The staff goes above and beyond to provide excellent care and instruction.

Excellent learning academy as well as a nurturing environment for our 4 year daughter. We have been there for 3 years now and would never consider another provider for her care. She loves it so much there and we could not be happier. She has learns so much and thrives on the curriculum. Highly recommend this school!! The web cams in the rooms are an added plus as well.