Five Star Learning Center INC

5 stars for the teachers and attendants, who are all pretty amazing and truly care for the children there. 0 stars for the owner Lori Oldham, who only meets bare minimum DCFS ratios. I get they only have to meet a certain student/teacher ratio legally, but ethically they should increase it when there are multiple children with serious behavioral issues/autism. There was about a 2-3 month stretch where my son was bitten, pushed, or had a toy thrown at him every week when they were training new people. If Lori hired some additional staff as a buffer to account for these periods, where she's still receiving my $300/wk, perhaps my son wouldn't have been hurt so frequently. It's great up until about 2-3 yrs old. They do a great job with infant and early toddler care. Find some other place with more structure after that. Our son is at Goddard now. Very pricey, but very worth it.

We have had a fantastic experience with five star. Our daughter enjoyed her time there. Every week they were doing new and stimulating activities. Each time we dropped her off, every teacher greeted her and was excited to see her, knowing her by name from the very first day even those not teaching in her classroom. The management was always quick to respond and address any concerns/questions we had. We truly have no complaints and will recommend to others

Five Star Learning Centers is a top notch childcare facility. All of my interactions with the staff have been pleasant and welcoming. I love that they always have something fun planned. My daughter is excited to go to "school", learning through play really is great for the children!

My 3 year old attended this daycare and I feel obligated to share our experience with other parents before they choose this place to care for their children. -They have an app but it will not be updated regularly. Diaper changes, correct nap times, meals, etc. are not documented accurately or at all most days. You will receive Zero pictures, which is not a huge deal but this was not what was communicated during our tour so do not be fooled. —NUMEROUS times when we picked up, my child has had dried feces in his diaper causing a diaper rash. We have brought this to either the teachers, assistant director, and directors attention every time. No change. We have asked for camera footage to be checked but only the director has access to this and she is not always on site to check the cameras. It is a normal practice to have the children stand/bend over when wiping and changing their diaper (not in the bathroom, in the middle of the room) I have heard other parents complaining about the same type of issues, as well as potty training regression once starting at this facility. -Drop off is always extremely hectic, children screaming and running around with no shoes, clothes, and some days we are not even acknowledged by staff. Multiple times there have been 20+ children in one room (over the legal maximum group number) During one instance, I dropped my child off and he was not checked into the app for over 30 minutes. I had to call multiple times and once the assistant director answered, they did not even know my child was at the facility based on the app and had to walk to the room to ensure he was there. If your child has any emotional reaction when you leave, do not choose this daycare. I have witnessed children bawling when their parents leave and teachers completely ignoring them, or briefly consoling the child when the parent is in the room and then immediately leaving the crying child alone once the parent is out of sight. -No curriculum or daily activities will be shared with the parents. You will not know anything that your child is working on or learning about. No crafts, no lesson plans shared, nothing. When I inquired about their curriculum, the director says the 3 year olds “learn through play”, which is completely understandable at a young age, but we have witnessed extreme regression in the child’s skills since leaving our prior daycare, despite none of our at home teaching practices changing. If you are fine with your child participating in independent play all day long, then this place would be great for you. For reference, our prior daycare shared a monthly lesson “focus”(learning about nature, animals, colors, etc.) and shared different activities they did with the children, so I do not believe the lack of communication from Five Star is normal. Overall, we were completely unsatisfied with our time here and the response we received from management when our issues were brought to their attention. I truly fear for the children’s’ physical and emotional safety while at this facility.

My child is finishing up her last month at five star. She's about to start kindergarten. She has been going since she was a toddler and we absolutely love them and all the teachers My daughter Absolutely loves going to daycare/school on the days She don’t go She ask if she can go back! She has learned so much from being there! We are sad that it’s time to leave but they have Prepared her for kindergarten! She has never had a bad thing to say about anyone! We appreciate everyone so much! Thank you five star learning center for being so kind and caring to my child and me!