Wilson'S Mills Baptist Child Care Center

My Daughter has been going to the Ark for around 8 months and is about to "Graduate" tomorrow. When coming here from Kindercare in Clayton Avery was pretty non verbal, not taking to potty training, and kept to herself. After months in her call with Jessica in the Pink Room, who is absolutely amazing, this has all turned around. She is verbal taking up a storm, is working hard on potty training, and plays with everyone in her class. There have been issues where a friend was a bit bity but that was handled. My daughter started to push, that was handled quickly. All things that happen with toddlers. The staff is friendly and extremely easy to talk to. I would recommend this center any day of the week.

AVOID THIS CHILD CARE CENTER: At 2 PM on June 1, 2021 this happened. My daughter is eight months pregnant and has been high risk for awhile now. Today she had an appointment, came home and rested for a few minutes before preparing her youngest for childcare at Wilson's Mills Baptist Church Child Care (The Ark). She routinely leaves her three year old son at the child care at least one day each week since he enrolled in the exceptional children's program at a public school a few months back. The door malfunctioned as she was leaving with her seven year old son, and she was left inside the building around the corner from the office. The director/manager was present along with two additional staff. They were unaware she was in the building. They proceeded to complain about her late arrival; about my grandson's condition and how she was at fault for his development issues, etc. Basically, discussing what a horrible parent she is and how her son's autism was a direct result of her ability to parent. My daughter was devastated as she stood listening. When she made her presence known, one of the ladies stated, "Sorry not sorry!" to my daughter. She asked for her son and left in tears. My concern as the grandparent is 1) My daughter should not be subjected to abuse of any kind in her condition, and the fact that it came from a child care center, to me is abhorrent. 2) Did this child care take care of my grandson if that's their opinion of his condition? Do they have the knowledge and capacity to adequately care for a child on the autism spectrum? 3) Most churches believe that life begins at conception but evidently this church believes emotionally damaging an eight month pregnant mother is within their doctrine.

We began and The Ark just as Covid was reaching multiple states last year. We had a sudden change to work from home and our previous childcare had to close. I was so pleased when calling around to find the Ark was open and operating as safely as they possibly could with the hours that we needed childcare for. Our one year old at the time seemed to settle in quite nicely and everyone was friendly. Further into the first few months there had some issues to arise with employees leaving and communication did not seem to be transparent. I had voiced my concerns but didn’t really seemed to be acknowledged. As parents it started to make us wonder if we had chosen the right center for our son. Then the new Director Cassy came along and things have completely changed for the better! Upon our meet and greet with the Director we discussed our concerns, and she listened. As soon as she started we could see improvements. She brought on very knowledgeable and caring staff. We know every day what our child eats, what his curriculum was, how he slept, etc;. Cassy even implemented an App in which we can directly connect to our child’s teachers. We get regular updates and news letters! Anytime I have ever had a question, Cassy and the staff have been very punctual about responding. I seriously can’t say enough about the positive changes that have been made in such a short amount of time. Our boy wakes up every morning excited to go to school and see his teachers. He comes home speaking new words or performing new actions that he hasn’t the day before. The last year has been exceptional with Covid in the midst, but I know my child is going to a clean, safe environment every day which really puts my mind at ease. If anyone is on the fence about joining this center because of issues prior to the new directors arrival, it’s a whole new environment and I suggest you look no further. I know if we decide to add to our family this is where we will continue to be.

My son has been at the ark for about 6 months now and neither of us could be happier. He has so much fun and loves his teachers. He is actually excited to "go to school" every morning. I've also notice in this short time how much he has learned compared to the last daycare he was at. We love it!

I can't say enough about this daycare! My child has been at a couple other daycares in Clayton and we had the worst experiences. My child has thrived here and the Director, Cassy Welch, has been wonderful to work with (especially when I explained our previous experiences). The teachers are so caring and loving to all of the children.