Catawba Ridge Child Development Center 1635 20th Avenue Drive Northeast, Hickory, NC 28601

"Alll four of my babies have went to Catawba ridge scence they were newborn ,i wouldn’t change it for the world, they are awesome & like my kids second family , They truly care about each child’s well being , and my kids adore each of them ,I’ve never had to worry or have any concern about my child’s safety ,teachers are alll amazing I truly couldn’t of done it without the them"

"I know its hard to find a daycare with availability, but there's a good reason this one often does. They're constantly understaffed and out of ratio, the administrators and one teacher are really rude, one of my children was injured with a large cut across their face which I was told it was from "falling on a broken bucket," they constantly change teachers/rooms, one teacher let my child leave with a man she had never met without even asking his name or verifying his identity, their security is otherwise poor at best, and several teachers apparently think its appropriate to scream at toddlers. One teacher detailed witnessing a "sweet two year old girl quietly playing with a pompom" until another teacher "got in her face and just screamed at her." My one year old was also screamed at so badly that it distressed an unrelated adult employee and the administrators apparently didn't feel it was necessary to notify me, file any kind of incident report, or reprimand the employee. They were also over $400 more expensive than all the other daycares in the area (and still constantly send home fundraisers for unspecified reasons) and definitely not better quality."

"I attended Catawba Ridge CDC as a child and both of my kids have attended. Ms. Rachel has been there since before I was there & she's great! Between two kids (now ages 5 & 7), I have encountered several teachers over the years. My kids have enjoyed their teachers and we haven't had bad experiences. In response to a previous review, the kids do sometimes move to different classrooms in the afternoons and that is because the main teacher usually comes in for the morning shift (starting at 6 am) and leaves early afternoon. The class at that point may separate and go to different classes with an afternoon teacher, but it is routine and the kids know the afternoon teacher also. Again my experience has been good and the staff works with you on payments, concerns, etc. I would (and have) recommended to others."

"Catawba Ridge Child Development Center is a home away from home for my children. The staff is like a second family to them. There is no better feeling than leaving for work knowing your child is gonna be safe & have fun while learning! I highly recommend them to all!"

"Some may love this place & thats great for them but this is my experience. My 2 year old granddaughter attended this place ONLY 3 days, we saw enough & removed her. So ok, toddlers cry. Separation anxiety is real, we understood there would be tears at first. But it was just a different type of cry. Along with her being soo unhappy, we were appalled at how unprofessional and lack of empathy some front ofc and some teachers had. To start, these people have never seen my face. I came one morning for a surprise visit to check on my grandchild. I was never asked to show ID or give my name. I gave my grandchilds name & i was walked to a class only bcz i said i didnt know where her class was. Otherwise they were ok to go on my own. Mind u, they still dont know who i am!! There were 3 kids crying hysterically with soo much emotion. My grandchild had dried boogers all over her face and her nose was red like she had been crying. As soon as teacher saw me, she ran to clean her nose then. But never did i see her try to comfort those crying kids. She wasn't doing anything but just walking around! Another teacher walks in. Apparently the 1st teacher was just watching that class for a bit? When i asked the 2nd teacher if that was her class, she said yes but not all the kids were hers!! Well, where's teacher #3 then??? Another problem, when my daughter would go to pick her child up, she was never in the correct room. It was always a different room and different teachers. How can a frightened 2 year old feel comfortable when there's no stability. Always different class &/or teachers. In case of emergency, how can all these children be found and accounted for?? Last straw, one afternoon my daughter went to 3 different classroom looking for her daughter. She finally found her in the 4-5 year old classroom. Why is a 2 year old with 4-5 year olds?? Keep in mind.... this was all in only 3 days. We had such a bad feeling about this place now so by the 4th day, she was transferred out to a place she loves. Cried the first few days as to be expected but shortly after happily runs into class & we are happy with new location"