Childtime of Ellicott City

"Our experience at Childtime was a rollercoaster of emotions. We enrolled our son there for nearly two years, but sadly, we had to withdraw him during the first few weeks of pre-K. First and foremost, I want to express my appreciation for the wonderful teachers we encountered at that school. They were exceptionally dedicated and caring toward their students. However, their hard work and compassion couldn't compensate for the lack of effective leadership and management. To say that the school was poorly run would be an understatement. We received warnings from multiple parents who had also removed their children from the school due to high teacher turnover and poor communication. Despite these concerns, we initially chose to stay because of the relationships we had built with the teachers and the friendships our son had formed. The breaking point came when the school's Director was disrespectful to my wife. When my wife confronted her in her office, the Director chose to play the victim, raised her voice, and even asked her to leave the office in front of our son. We reported this incident to the district manager, and, honestly, it took every ounce of self-control not to contact the Better Business Bureau and the Maryland Board of Education at that point. We had sincerely hoped for a positive first experience with a school, and I deeply wish our son could have left under better circumstances. Fortunately, our son has found an excellent school now, and even reconnected with some of his old friends who had also noticed the warning signs and left a year ago. I share this experience with a heavy heart, but it is a warning to parents: be diligent in your research and ask the right questions when choosing a school for your child. *replaying to your response* We contacted customer service and spoke with your regional manager, who assured us that they would conduct an investigation. However, to our knowledge, there has been no follow-up or communication from your end. Both teachers and parents have expressed concerns about the school's management. It appears that there haven't been noticeable efforts to address these issues or provide support to parents. While we understand that you have numerous clients, it's essential to remember that these are our children, and we believe the situation could have been handled with more care and attention."

"My daughter started here almost a yr ago; never been to school before, but the staff here made her transition so easy. She’s learned so much since being enrolled, and she’s only getting smarter. Aside from all the fun learning activities and lovable staff, the facility itself is one of the cleanest in the area. They even feed the babies (2meals & 1snack), which is a perk a lot of these other pre-schools in the county don’t provide. I’m so glad we chose this place to start my daughter’s school experience. 10/10 definitely recommended!!"

"DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!! NOT SAFE!!! Would give zero stars if I could. My daughter was assaulted by her teacher, which her mom was actually able to see (fortunately)on camera through the app that they provide to let one see what their child is up to during the day. Her mother (my wife) immediately reached out to the director to report what happened. She was told that follow up to us regarding next steps would be done later that day, to which there was none. Also the daycare did not pickup our calls back to the center that afternoon (which never happened before this incident). After some back and forth, her mother and I finally confronted the director via telephone the next day. She assured us that it would definitely be a safe environment to bring our daughter back to daycare the following day so she can see and play with her friends. My wife (with extreme trepidation) showed faith in the school by returning our daughter to daycare the next morning (thinking that the teacher would at least be suspended/relocated during investigation, and my assurances to her that the director would not put our daughter in harms way), only to walk in on the teacher that assaulted my child, openly discussing the incident with another co-worker. I thank God it was my wife (her mother) that took our daughter to the center that day, as I would not have been able to control my anger when confronting the teacher to see why she felt justified to put her hands on our daughter. My wife removed our daughter immediately from the school, and after repeat phone calls and emails, my wife and I was finally able to have a conversation with the director and her supervisor (via tele-conference, during which they informed us that the investigation had concluded the day prior, without informing us, that the teacher was ALLOWED TO STAY IN THE CENTER. The worst part about this is that our daughter (who misses her friends dearly)has attended this place since she was an infant (her previous center closed due to COVID). We felt like our daughter was truly loved and safe, only for it to end abruptly with the feeling that we were led on this entire time. Who knows how long she’s been abused, thankfully my wife was able to catch it that day. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Hoping that this doesn’t happen to no one else."

"This place has serious problems. High turnover, complete absence of communication, an attitude of blaming children for needing extra support. Developmentally inappropriate activities. Skewed teacher to child ratios. It cannot provide a stable nurturing environment. Multiple times we overheard staff fighting with each other or snapping at our kids. Management doesn’t address these issues and instead makes empty promises. Sure, there are some wonderful teachers here. But not all of them, and it’s not worth playing Russian roulette with your child’s well-being and happiness. My son went in here excited and enthusiastic about school and left with serious panic attacks due to the neglect. Kids shouldn’t have to tell you when they need things. Attentive teachers would pick up on that. Classroom management is near non existent. Kids spend entirely too much time in front of a screen."

"My baby started at the infants' room 6 weeks ago. I was nervous as a first-time mom, but everything has gone well so far. Communication with the school management and the teachers is the key reason for my positive review. Bethanie (director) has always been responsive to our requests and concerns, the school updates my son's activities in their app throughout the day. Ms. Quinia and Ms. Shauna are great teachers, and I can see the smile on my son every day when I drop him off. I will update this review later when our experience is long enough to provide more insights."