Primrose School at Golf Village

Excellent care. My son is so happy there, and he is learning so much! They have many extracurricular activities for the families as well!
5 10 years ago (17-06-2016)

My experience with Primrose of Golf Village was as both a parent and teacher, and I would not recommend this school to neither prospective parents nor educators. Primrose Schools sell themselves as excellent providers of early education, but, as a Montessori teacher, I can say with full confidence that this could not be further from the truth. Although children are given group lessons in art, reading, writing, math, and science, its methods are not effective in teaching children or instilling a love for learning. These lessons are given in ten minute rotations of three- eight children at each table, at best two teachers between the three tables. This means that the teacher has approximately a minute and a half to work with each child while still managing a large class. The fault is not of the teachers however; this is the schedule set by corporate that every class must follow. Furthermore, as a franchise, the teacher must follow the Primrose curriculum and is unable to alter lessons based on the students' ability or interest. This extends beyond even just the lessons- each classroom carries the same franchise approved toys to entertain the children the other six hours a day. If a child attends Primrose as a young toddler through Pre-K they will be provided with the same basic toys every day for four years. Perhaps it seems like a silly point to make but it was one of the most disheartening aspects of my work- the kiddos were just bored out of their minds with bristle blocks and legos- and there is nothing that even the owner herself can do to change that as materials that are not "Primrose chosen" are strictly not allowed. It is also fraudulant that this particular school advertises to parents that their children receive lessons in Spanish, music, and art enrichment; none of which were taught in my time with the school for various reasons- typically not enough materials or no instructor. My biggest concern with this school is how administrators handle referring children to be assessed for learning deficiencies and how quick they are to self diagnose young children. I was approached by management to have my four year old assessed after two days of him attending that did not go very well. I was open to the idea and am an advocate of helping families find the special help their child might need; however, it was my opinion that his behavior had more to do with the structure and environment. For reasons listed previously, I did not keep my son enrolled in the school but he was assessed through his pediatrician with no concerns. There were two other instances in my class alone of management convincing families of their child's need for an assessment, and even after a specialist observed the children to not have issues the administrators objected, stating that the children knew they were being watched therefore they weren't "psychos" during the visit. To speak as an employee- much of the cost of lesson planning is outsourced to the teachers while it is absolutely necessary to carefully calculate what your paychecks should be. At the time of me leaving the school there was an investigation open with the Department of Labor in which the owner ended up having to compensate many employees for previous hours worked. And while this may not be applicable information for prospective parents, consider the detrimental effect of nickel and diming your child's care. Yes, Primrose School of Golf Village is an attractive educational daycare, but this is a classic case of one quarter for the product three quarters for the wrap.
1 11 years ago (22-03-2016)