The Cole Academy - Downtown Honolulu

Please be very careful about enrolling your child here. I was so excited when my child was able to get a spot at Cole. I overlooked a lot of things that bothered me for years because of that. I told myself I was too sensitive when the teacher in the infant class told me that my child was far behind developmentally and needed to be much farther along. I was point-blank asked if I was not doing enough at home to help further her along. (Now that I have a second child I see that what my first child lacked in gross motor skills at an early age she more than made up for in communication skills.) I told myself that maybe the teacher in the toddler class was right when, after a week of my daughter being bitten daily by another kid, I was asked if anything in our home life had changed to cause my daughter to want to get bitten. (Blaming the victim starts early, I guess).I told myself it was just another parent overreacting on the day that a father saw his daughter screaming from being cold. She had doused herself in water from the bathroom and was soaking wet and shivering when he stopped by. The sight he saw prompted him to have a very loud argument with the teachers in front of me and my kid. I really wish they had moved him away from the main classroom to have their discussion. From that day on for the next 6 months she was terrified of any new male she came across.But then she broke her toe and my vision finally shifted. At first, I only knew my side of the story. The side where I came to school to pick up my daughter and she was standing alone screaming. Now, I'll be the first to admit that she's a little dramatic. So I shrugged and grabbed her hand to lead her away. She crippled over in pain and clearly couldn't put any pressure on her foot. That's when I started to panic. I picked her up and raced her to the car where I took off her shoes to see what the problem was.The problem was her foot had been shoved into the shoe to the point where her baby toe had been folded at a 90-degree angle and broken. The toe was pinched right where it connects with the rest of the foot, cutting off circulation and turning blue. I was terrified she would lose the toe. After rushing her to a doctor and finding out her toe was in fact broken, we spent weeks splinting it until it was healed. We spoke to the school to find out their side of the story. At that point, there was a 70% chance that I would pull her out of the school after slowly looking at other daycare options. There was also a 30% chance that we would stay. It all depended on what the school told us.The school said they would view camera footage (I didn't know there were cameras!) and let us know what happened. They got back to us several days later. They said that her toe hadn't been broken. They said there was no sign of anyone coming near her prior to her crying. They said the reason she had been crying was that a father had come to pick up his kid and they cited the aforementioned male stranger anxiety. (That anxiety had finally gone away 3-months before her toe was broken, by the way.)Yes, despite the fact that we had medical proof that her toe was in fact broken and that I had seen that the cause of the broken toe was her toe being caught on something on a shoe that had been put on at the school by someone other than her parents, Cole opted to completely deny the fact that her toe was broken. That was their only response to our inquiry.At least they let us pull our daughter out of daycare the same day they came back with their "findings" (despite their rule of 30-day notice). They even paid us back for her last month of lunch that we had prepaid. Maybe they are just really generous to upset parents. I think it's more likely that they knew they had broken her toe and just wanted to hush us up and get us out of there.

Exemplary organization run professionally and with great attention to details. A safe, nurturing, and Aloha filled atmosphere with state of the art educational facilities and technology. Any child would be blessed to be a student here!!! All campuses are amazing!!! Can't go wrong with Cole Academy!!! They Live Aloha!

Our daughter is now 1 year old! Today!! And she's been at the Cole Academy for 9 months now. Wanted to updated my review and say that Cole Academy has been awesome. Miss Qiara and Miss Aida are so wonderful with our daughter, they truly are a big part of our daughter's life and I'm so thankful for them. Infant Room A is where it's at baby!! We are so happy with it that we just got a tattoo on our daughter back that says "INFANT ROOM A FOREVAH" as a reminder for the rest of her life. (I kid I kid)The director Miss Cassandra and associate director Miss Sara are also great. All the staff we encounter know our daughter's name and say hi to her whenever they see her. The days that Cole Academy are closed (which isn't often) line up with our company holidays so we almost never have to take off work either. We are very happy with Cole academy and I think it's an excellent value.

We love the cole academy downtown! As a pediatric surgeon, I am so paranoid about all the ways my 1.5 year old can hurt herself. Add to that anxiety the whole covid pandemic, and I was struggling to let anyone besides Grandma watch my precious baby. However, my husband and I have crazy working schedules (he's also a surgeon), so we needed to find a place to send our daughter during the day. We were delighted to find the Cole Academy and we are so pleased with the care and love that they give to the kids. We have seen our daughter benefit immensely from her time at school (talking more, learning to clean up her toys, learning to follow rules, etc).We get daily reports on her activities, meals, naps, and diaper changes. These really help the helicopter mom in me to feel better about spending time away from her. As a bonus, they take tons of pictures of the kids and are always sending home great art projects!

I don't know where to begin without getting quite emotional as I write this, but Cole Academy downtown became a huge part of our daily lives and has been a resilient support system for us this past couple of years. With all the uncertainty of Covid-19 the school has gone above and beyond in making us feel at ease. When my daughter joined Cole she was only 2 and was not fully potty trained but within just two months she became quite independent. Thanks to Ms. Alicia. As she moved on to Pre-K her teacher Ms. Mele and everyone are very nurturing to the children. I honestly felt a good sense of security for my child when I walk in their doors. As my daughter move on to kindergarten, I know it's not going to be easy so if you are a parent searching for a daycare or Pre-K, look no further. Cole not only has given us a sense of security but they had a profound interest of my child's overall well being. She left being extremely smart, respectful and confident in all aspects of her toddlerhood. Thank you Cole Academy for giving us this amazing journey!

Our 2-year old son has been at the Cole Academy (downtown) for 2 months and we LOVE it! Every single staff member is kind, thoughtful, and helpful.Our son is potty training right now and Ms. Monica and Ms. Darlene has been so helpful. Ms. Sara is incredibly nice and Ms. Cassandra has been so attentive in onboarding us and getting us acclimated to a school environment.We also love the indoor playground, and the artwork on the walls makes the school so inviting. I love walking in and looking at the new art displayed outside of the classrooms. Our son loves school, he comes home everyday and sings the "story" song that Ms. Monica and Ms. Darlene sings when it's story time.Overall, our first 2 months have been great. I was a mess the first week - getting adjusted to him being in school, but I am so happy we enrolled him at Cole. You get what you pay for and I know that when I leave him at school to go to work, he is in a safe, healthy, and educational environment.

We took our daughter to Cole Academy for the first 4 months after my wife ended her maternity leave. We highly enjoyed the convenience of being walking distance from work and visiting during our lunch break. We felt it was well worth the extra money we were paying because they are on the higher side of the spectrum. All the teachers/caregivers were always very nice, as well as Sara and Cassandra. We would likely have kept our daughter there if we did not move because drop offs and pickups became less convenient as part of our new route in and out of work. It added quite a bit more effort once they stopped allowing the storage of strollers there, which was a great help for us because we parked 6 blocks away.

I was very worried about having my daughter attend any type of daycare and had put so much research into all available daycares for us. I was so lucky that there was an available space for her at The Cole Academy. As soon as we walked in I knew this would be a great place for her. It's clean, and several large plastic play areas inside. You have to take off your shoes as you enter which adds to the cleanliness. In the little "wobblers" area everything is neat and tidy. When I met Ms Sara she was so welcoming and had answers for all my numerous questions. My daughters day care teachers especially Ms Qiara was so amazing and you can tell she truely cares for children. I can't express enough how much I appreciate the Cole Academy downtown for taking such good care of my daughter.

We ALL want the best for our children and we want to know that they are in a nurturing and safe environment that fosters growth and development. Honestly, I could have stayed at home with my son, and I did for the first 16 months. However, I wanted him to be socialized and start learning things I could not teach him at home. We chose Cole Academy because my other co-workers have sent their children there and they rave about their curriculum and staff. In the beginning we enrolled him 2 days a week and after 1 month enrolled him full time in the wobblers class. At first I was so hesitant to keep him in school, he cried every day for 3 months. He had a hard time adjusting because prior to this he was pretty much attached to my hip or more so boob! The staff and teachers are so amazing. They have so much patience and are so caring. I knew without a doubt that he was in good hands.Fast forward 6 months, I cannot believe how far my son has come. He is now in Ms. Kimmie's class, which is one of the toddler classes. His class size is very small, which I love!!! He LOVES school now and he adores Ms. Kimmie! She truly is an angel and loves our son like her own!!! Every morning he shouts "Ms. Kimmie, Ms. Kimmie" and points to the door to go to school! It brings tears to my eyes to see how much he loves school, his teachers, and friends!My husband and I are blown away by how much he has learned in such a short period of time. He is not even 2 yet and he has an extensive vocabulary, he can count, say his ABCs, sing all sorts of songs, loves reading, always says please and thank you, he makes associations with things we have never taught him before, the list can go on and on! He even learned sign language from school before he could talk! We are truly impressed! Even his pediatrician was impressed!!! I love that they do arts and crafts every day and have themes for the week. Their curriculum is great but they also encourage play and fun activities to keep the children happy!It's true that a child's mind develops at a rapid rate before the age of 3, and I'm so grateful to Cole Academy for setting a solid foundation for my son's education and future!We love all the teachers that our son had at Cole: Ms. Lupe, Ms. Noe, Ms. Jessica, Ms. Ashley, and Ms. Maureen. They are all amazing!!! Sending our son to Cole Academy was one of the best decisions we made. I highly recommend them!!!Update:We sent my son to a different preschool when he turned 2 because it had a great reputation and he was on the waiting list since he was 6 months old! I was really torn whether or not to take him out of Cole because he loved it there and we loved all the staff. With a heavy heart we pulled him out and started him at the new preschool (which I will not disclose). It was the biggest mistake of our lives!!! After one and a half months at the other preschool he went right back to Cole Academy! You really pay for what you get!!! I will never take him out of Cole again! The staffing ratio is the best in the state, and the teachers love and care for your children like their own! The center director, Casandra is also so sweet and genuine! She always listens to our concerns and makes sure both parents and children are taken care of! My son is absolutely thriving at Cole Academy and I am so grateful!

truly disturbing experience. I think everyone wants to send their child to the cole academy simply because of the name. but do you really want to send you precious child to a dark and filthy hell hole? AND pay $12something to nearly 1,700 a month? you would think that, with the amount of money you put into a school, they would know anything at all about hygiene. those puzzle mats they use for the children's play area was almost black with dirt. the teachers didn't mind me walking into the classrooms with my shoes on where little hands and feet touch when babies crawl around. I don't think they sweep, Swiffer or mop the floors. if they do, its not very often. there is a light smell of urine where ever you go. I just cant believe that they want to make me pay 3400 for the first month (security deposit + first month) to send my baby to that nasty place.NO THANKS!!!!!!!!so much better schools out there for like, a grand less!