Clayton Early Childhood Center

"A warning for prospective families: $100 waitlist fee and a long waitlist! This is one of the few early childhood centers that charged a waitlist fee. I inquired about the length of the waitlist via email and explained our family's timeline. The response was vague and simply suggested that I "get on the waitlist as soon as possible." As soon as I paid the fee, I got a confirmation email indicating that my child was 50th (!) in the waitlist. When I called, the woman on the phone basically told me I shouldn't plan on getting a spot given my position. As far as I can tell, the only thing that had changed in the week between correspondences was that they had my $100 nonrefundable fee in their pocket. The childhood center could be great - I have many friends who recommend it - but I feel like they pulled a bait and switch. Save your $100 until you get a firm answer on waitlist length and don't be a fool like me."

"Extremely cold and they make decisions based on what is best for themselves, not the children in their care. Several staff we have talked to are deeply unhappy (several are fired), and many families have left"

"I disagree with some of the critical reviews. Daycares in general were put in a very tough position during COVID and risked closing altogether forever if they simply stopped charging tuition for months. As soon as CECC got a PPP loan they dropped tuition down to 10% and simultaneously managed to keep everyone’s jobs. I value that commitment to their staff. Yes, now we are getting fewer hours of care for the same tuition, but that’s because of the extra hours needed for cleaning and to maintain proper health and safety protocols. As of this review (June 2020), no school district in St. Louis, nor any private k-12 school that I know of, has figured out a good way to reopen and when they do they are talking about things like half days. At least cecc is staying open 8 hours a day. Overall I think they have done a good job in an extremely difficult situation."

"Our oldest child attended for 4 years; however, during COVID19 it became rapidly apparent that communication, innovation and flexibility are completely lacking from this place. We were charged tuition for services that we could not utilize. We were provided infrequent and uninformative updates. The Board of Directors never addressed us. My advice to parents, especially those who still have professional jobs, is to find childcare that is willing to work with you and be supportive. This IS NOT the place."