CommentPage 3 of 4
I am a former manager for Kindercare Learning Centers (also known as Knowledge Learning Corp) and am very upset with the way they run their company.Kindercare is very involved in the March of Dimes and I commend them highly for that but....starting last year Kindercare stopped offering Teacher Appreciation Week. Their reason for this is, Teacher Appreciation Week falls on the same week that KinderCare starts pushing for donations for March of Dimes.
The company does not want the parents to spend money on the teachers, instead donate the money to March of Dimes. Let me make this very clear, March of Dimes has NOTHING to do with Kindercare stopping Teacher Appreciation week! I am a HUGE supporter of March of Dimes but this is way out of line.
Teachers should be rewarded (even if it is just a card and a nice "Thank You") for their hard work and dedication to the children.
After my insisting that this be changed and going against company policy and promoting Teacher Appreciation week, I was "let go" from the company. Kindercare's only concern is money, not the children.
Quote this article on your site | Views: 5297Kindercare Complaints
 Comments (34) |  |
| 21. Written by conflicted, on 17-09-2008 00:02 If I had another job lined up I would Quit right now and encourage the employees to start a union. So we can all get paid what we deserve. What we they do if we went on strike. It is hard to find people who want to work for such crappy pay that are good. Parents would have to find some where else and quick and they would be out a lot of money. |
| 22. Written by Pissed Off, on 16-09-2008 16:36 I am an Assistant Director at KinderCare in California. Never in my life have I ever been so micromanaged and threatened in my life. KinderCare is all about the money in every way. They expect so much with little appreciation. I work under a great director who has been there 12 years and is at her wits end because every day she is pressured to cut her payroll. They expect us to cut payroll even if it leaves us out of ratio. And yet they have us raise the prices of everything and expect us to shove KLA down our parents throat. I don't know about you but most parents are trying not to lose their homes not pay hundred bucks on Phonics, which should be taught in the classroom any ways. Most of our families are on subsidized care and can barely afford their 15.00 co pay. Kindercare shows very little simpathy and if they don't have the money we have to suspend care immediatly. now tell me how that makes for good business. For these reasons I am looking for a new job. They don't pay me enough for the crap that they expect. |
| 23. Written by Iteach, on 11-09-2008 16:15 Everything you all have said is correct regarding Kindercare or as I prefer to refer to it as Kindercult. I am a previous employee in Illinois. I have never had a job where the director was so emotionally abusive to her employees and was still able to turn it around on them to make them feel as if we were the ones who were in the wrong. I cried daily on my lunch breaks, leaving work, and sometimes in the classroom. I am not an emotional person but I would make myself physically sick with anxiety driving to work worrying about what I would do wrong this time to endure the wrath of that wicked witch. The only time in my life that I have ever taken depression medication was when she was my director. I will NEVER take my children to a Kindercare center and you better believe I am very vocal about my experiences there. I'm sure not every Kindercare center is like that and I'm sure those few (yeah right) are giving the majority a bad name but this is my experience. |
| 24. Written by Concerned Mother, on 25-07-2008 13:16 I currently have a child who attends the Kindercare located in Utah. The beginning was fine and everyone seemed to be very welcoming of my child. Slowly but surely throughout the months their services have severly declined. My child has been extremely upset about going to school, he cries at bedtime knowing that he has to go to school in the morning, i have spoke with the assistant director about any changes or if there is anything going on that i'm unaware of, she looked at me like i was crazy and nothing was going on. I had a little chat with my child and had made it very clear that he does not like his teacher because she is not nice and neither are some of his class mates that he associates with. He has got to the point where when i try to drop him off he refuses to leave my side or even let go of me to leave. he does not want the teachers or anyone to touch him except for me. I'm really scared and concerned of what is going on. It has come also very apparent that all they do care about is getting their money and not about anything else, there has been a couple times where i have been ONE day late on a weekly payment and they haver refused to take my child in because i was one day behind. I'am extremely upset! I will be pulling my child out and filing with the BBB and complaints with anyone i can. This is horrible business and no way to treat anyone with children none the less!!! |
| 25. Written by Anthony, on 24-07-2008 12:22 I am a kindercare employee who is one of very few male teachers out here in California. I work with the Schoolage kids the majority of times, but I will help out in any of the classrooms if needed. Just recently, I was told to take a few days off while they investigate a certain matter that was brought up to their attention. I am very well liked by the parents and seem to have no problems with them. If there was a problem, they would speak to me about it. Under new management, I guess they are trying to change things around. Communication with the corporate office has been terrible and have yet to get a call back explaining the investigation. As of today, I am still waiting to get back to work, going on 8 days and counting. Thinking a filing a formal complaint against Kindercare since they are simply trying to single me out since I am a male teacher. I totally agree that Kindercare is for the money and they do not appreciate how hard the teacher works in order to make the classroom successful. We do all the work, we deserve the same type of respect. Personally, I do not think teachers get paid enough for all the services they do. Kindercare is a huge childcare facility, raking in all that money, the least they could do is pay teachers much more than what they offer right now. |
| 26. Written by Former employee, on 23-07-2008 20:16 I would never send my kid to a center a Kinder'don't'care again. He was yelled at, made to take 3 hour naps and the teachers didn't communicate with me about important issues. Their policies made me sick to my stomach because they are all about the money, not the best interst of children. |
| 27. Written by KinderCare Parent, on 12-06-2008 16:38 Written by tiffany, on 30-04-2008 21:57 i agree kindercare is all about the money i am pulling my daughter out due to the teachers they have hired that do not have patience for children(infants) and seem to get frustrated with the kids. am considering filing a complaint. Tiffany, is this center in Maryland? I am about to sue the Kindercare for similar issues. Young teachers are yelling at the infants and toddlers like crazy. |
| 28. Written by still there, on 23-05-2008 00:48 Ok, yes, KinderCare is all about the money...if you want to work someplace that isn't, go work for minimum wage at at private school or non-profit. You might want to save your change for supplies as they often don't have the budget to purchase supplies on a regular basis. . I've been there, done that. On the flip side, our industry is in a crisis right now. we are a landing platform for fresh out of high school or college students that move on quickly, never investing or becoming part of a center family. (If you are a center staff member you know what I mean). Our wages industry wide are deplorable! However,I can put on my business hat and I know the overhead for running a center is out of this world. It is not a lucrative business for center staff and director burnout is crazy. They have so much to juggle. I have worked in this industry for 19 years and I still don't make a "living wage" My biggest perk is a childcare discount and now that my baby is moving on to elementary school I am exploring different options. I LOVE my job. I adore these little people I get to teach everyday, I love mentoring new teachers and easing new parents into this new world of childcare. I am an Assistant director, but I need to think about what is next. It hurts my heart and i think it is time to start recognizing these people that give day in and day out to our children. KinderCare is what it is... ever center has its own problems and strenghts.....but hopefully we are all there for the right reasons. |
| 29. Written by Current Employee, on 20-05-2008 21:48 My center director is outstanding. She has always, with the full support of our families, celebrated Teacher Appreciation week. The biggest problem is Knowledge Learning Copr. As teachers your lucky if your are paid 10.00 pr hour. However the price you pay for insurance cuts your pay in half.That is a coprorate problem.They are all about the money, but it is a business and all businesses are about making money. Thats life! Our center is always within ratio. We do merge our rooms at the end of the night, but our teachers are never left out of ratio. We as a team of professionals we work very hard to make our KinderCare the best. Kindercares that were recently bought out by klc seem to run slightly different the the original Kindercares.Or at least I know we do. |
| 30. Written by kindercare employee, on 10-05-2008 01:07 I have worked at a KinderCare for 3 years now. We recently went through a managment change. Our new managers barely acknowledged Teacher Appreciation week, and did not encourage parents to do anything for us. Like the first post said, it's not about the gifts... we just want our hard work to be recognized. |
 |
| Comments on KinderCare all about the money! | |
Consumer Forum is another great place to discuss consumer concerns NOT RELATED to this article. |