Crème de la Crème Learning Center of Maple Grove

The only positive I can share is that there are some really amazing teachers and aides that truly care about their job and the children they take care of. It was because of these people that we stuck around for as long as we did. Otherwise our time at CDLC was mostly disappointing and not worth the rates/prices they are charging. They charge about 30-40% higher than average licensed childcare centers in MN for their toddler programs without offering anything to justify that price. In the ~18 months there, we saw 2 rate increases as well. I've included some specifics below, but the tl;dr is if you're considering this daycare for a toddler or infant, be very cautious about what they sell you. They like to think of themselves as going "beyond daycare" but in reality they hardly offer the bare minimum. High turnover, lack of training, unsafe ratios, inconsistent processes and policies are all things to consider when looking at CDLC. /// - Teachers themselves are wonderful people, but would often lack experience or credentialing. Most of the toddler/infant teachers their do not have any formal child care education. According to staff I've spoken with, they rarely offer training and don't offer any support for getting additional education outside of CDLC. - Turnover was high as well, including an odd and mishandled exodus from executive leadership (several people leaving to go to a different care center). They are slow to replace staff as well. There were often times I would drop off or pick up my child from a complete stranger due to someone calling in sick and another staff member from another classroom helping. Things happen and someone needs to cover, but it'd be nice to know if a teacher was going to be out and even nicer to know who's watching my child then. Even something as simple as name tags are no where to be found. - Staff/Child ratios were never consistent. There were clearly times they would have an aide in the room and use that to go to a higher ratio. This is clearly a common practice for CDLC as there are several investigations related to aides/ratios on the MN DHS license look up. - Nothing special/unique about their curriculum/learning program. At one time they were relying on "Frogstreet" but they've abandoned it for some time now. Things like sign language, Spanish, arts, STEM were rare. Our child came home with a total of 8 different colorings/paintings over the course of 18 months. So that should give you an idea of how often they're engaging in "arts" or anything else. - It was difficult to know anything about our child's day, despite using an app for logging. Often times we would have to ask if he had meals or diaper changes that day because nothing was logged. The excuse was because of the app/technology itself, but when the app was replaced, the reporting didn't improve. - Inconsistent processes surrounding incidents/concerns about the child. There were several times our child would come home with bumps, bruises, bites, etc... and no explanation or record of what happened. Other times, we would get a phone call about the incident. Other times, an email or in-app message. To clarify, I know a toddler will find a way to get bruised or scraped. The issue isn't the scrapes themselves, it's that the staff has zero idea what happened and has no process of prevention. One time our child was bitten on the hand and it broke skin. There was no communication about this until we checked out. When asked "what hand was he bitten on?" the staff member shrugged and said she wasn't sure. Our child was bitten several times after that as well.
Mar 24th, 2024

Sep 19th, 2023

As a former employee, I highly recommend considering all other options. There's only 2 people in management who are helpful at all and actually care. The rest of management runs around like high-school kids gossiping. Some of the stuff I've heard them say about parents is not okay. Employees are treated like they are simply a number and nothing more. Not many of them are happy because of this. I've witnessed teachers screaming at kids, and nothing has been done about it. Children's needs are not met when it comes to nutrition and entertainment. If I had kids, this is the last place I would be sending my children. The negative reviews on this place are also super accurate. There's a lot more that could be said about Crme and none of it would be good. Overall, the thing they care about most is the money families are handing over when their kids are not always properly cared for, and there are reasons as to why they always have room for more kids.
Mar 4th, 2024

RUN do not walk away from this place. It's awful!!! I'm pretty sure the accountant doesn't exist because you can never speak to her. They charge you incorrectly majority of the time and don't take good care of kids. The director will not respond to emails or concerns you have, I wasn't given access to the center which the supposed "accountant" was the only person who could give me a code..., my kid was yelled at, her inhaler was taken away because we were refused paperwork multiple times, the food is disgusting- canned and processed foods only. All together the worst experience we have have ever had with childcare. Our kid hasn't attended in over a month & they just charged us over 800... $400/wk for a toddler 3 days/week... toddlers don't even get to use their facilities... what a joke. There's a reason there are always openings here. BEWARE.
Sep 18th, 2023

I had my daughter at this daycare for about a year. Everything was great and the teachers were great. Their reporting system is absolutely horrible. About two weeks ago our daughter fell out of her chair and hit her head. When I picked her up she started throwing up which lead to an ER visit. We were told 3 different stories from the daycare of the incident. Because of these different stories and the mysterious scrape on her head (told us it was her nail, doctor said it was not since it was too straight). The doctor told us to get a CT scan and to file a CPS again the daycare is something showed up. Thankfully it was clear!! But because of so many different stories we got, not even reviewing the video until the following Monday at 9:00 am (the fall happens at 11:45ish on the Friday before) we took our daughter out immediately. I would not recommend this school.
Jun 21st, 2023