LAC's response to COVID-19 has been phenomenal. We understand the risks we take by sending our child to school right now but this place upholds its health and safety protocols going beyond regulations and guidelines, and has full clearance and support from Department of Health. Our two year old's growth, education and development is important to us and we applaud his teachers!!! They are so great with keeping us updated with pictures and videos and send home lots of arts and crafts. LAC really enriches our child's life.

The LAC place is beautiful, energetic and full of life. I found the teachers welcoming and very professional. The place itself is very clean and spotless. It is very international and I love that about this place that kids can get in touch with different race and colors. The neighborhood is awesome and it is close to beautiful park. Overall this is a gem to this neighborhood for our little kids.

I'm not normally someone that writes reviews but I wanted to write something nice about LAC. The teachers and staff are what makes this place shine - enthusiastic, attentive, and incredibly caring. It is a warm, happy, well-run environment for kids to learn and have fun. Their focus on nurturing holistic, well rounded kids is evident in their activities and they are incredibly up to date with the latest in educational tools. Super happy with LAC and I highly recommend it to all parents.

Our daughter attended LAC from the time she was one year old (January 2017) until she was 3.5 years old (March 2020). Over the past 2+ years, we have been happy. The teachers are the real reason we kept our daughter at LAC. They are loving, attentive and fun. Our daughter loves them. I actually was asked to write a positive review of this daycare a while back and I was happy to do so.

However, I am so saddened by how our relationship with this school and the administration has ended. On March 22, LAC closed due to COVID-19. Given the circumstances, they pivoted to twice daily (sometimes three times daily) forty five min sessions of stories, songs, yoga, etc. On March 29, they offered a discounted rate of $1400 per month, reduced from original $2100 per month tuition to continue with this arrangement. We declined to continue, as 1.5-3 hours of virtual sessions (which we had to facilitate with our three year old) were no longer the 6.5 hours of full-time care we had been paying for, and had been promised in our contract. Of course, we did not hold this against the daycare; we understand they are doing their best but this new arrangement was not the original promised arrangement nor did it make sense for us to pay $1400 per month for 1.5-3 hours per day of zoom sessions.

Now, where I am so disappointed is that on top of paying $2100 per month for childcare at LAC, we had paid a security deposit of $2100 to secure our daughter's spot in the daycare, which is to be paid back upon the end of the contract. LAC refuses to refund us our security deposit. We have tried to resolve this with LAC - multiple emails and phone calls, including an email to the CEO on May 18 (with no response), explaining the situation. We have made it clear that we do not want to put them into a financial crunch and we are willing to wait on payment for several months. LAC, however, has made it clear that they do not intend to return the deposit. We consider ourselves to be super easy going parents and have not once complained about little things but not responding or returning our deposit that was to be refunded feels really wrong and dishonest. And I strongly feel other parents should be warned about this experience, especially during a time when families, like ours are not in a position to be losing a few thousand dollars.

If I could give a negative star rating I would. LAC is one of the worst early childhood centers in Manhattan. The Administrator and Education Director lack a true understanding of how to educate young learners. The curriculum does not support young learning activities and is nothing more than Pinterest in the classroom. For the cost of tuition at LAC, I would expect the learning experiences to be more of a higher quality. Communication is horrible to the parents from administration. There is a lack of professionalism throughout all of LAC. I had my son at LAC for several months before withdrawing him from the school. I literally ran from LAC as fast as I could. If I could offer any advice DO NOT enroll your child at this school. Save yourself some time and look elsewhere. LAC IS HORRIBLE!

The teachers are caring, sweet, and energetic. But the administration is abysmal.

My son attended LAC part-time for 9 months starting when he was 4 months old. During that time, we discovered that he has a life-threatening allergy to sesame. Based on one incident involving another kid's hummus and subsequent anaphylaxis, I asked the Director to make the school hummus-free; he said no and told me it was about enrollment. They had enrollment issues and were concerned about potentially adding a barrier to enrollment. Seriously?

When I called the Founder and CEO to plead with him, he THREATENED TO EXPEL MY SON OVER HIS ALLERGY AND HUNG UP ON ME IN THE SAME CALL. It was completely unprofessional, shocking, and potentially illegal. It is also completely different from the responses I've gotten from many other daycares since about banning hummus.

You may not have to deal with allergies; you may think that since your child won't have to really deal with the administration much, this review is irrelevant. But these are the people who make the rules, and from my vantage point, the Director and CEO create quite a toxic environment for the teachers and therefore, the students.

I should also add a few things I've observed as a regular parent:
They don't take the babies outside in any weather, and it seems the older ages get taken out very inconsistently.
The school seems to be chaotic when even one teacher is out sick. The rooms move, the daily sheet is not filled out properly, my son has a completely different teacher, etc.
There are many schools that aim to foster more of oa community with occasional events or activities with the parents, but these are nonexistent.
There was a new baby in my son's class who wasn't adjusting well to daycare, and I observed them letting him cry for about 10-15 minutes several times. He was just sitting there on the mat, crying for quite a long time.
When it comes to building curriculum for babies, I don't think they do enough storytime.

I would also add that at least 2 of the positive reviews on here are the son and daughter-in-law of the Director. And consider whether you would leave a bad review of someone that was taking care of your child.

My son has been at LAC for 4 months now, and I have a strong desire to tell the world about how wonderful this place is. Early childcare can be such tiring work, but this team always makes it look like there's nothing else they'd rather be doing. At the beginning when my kid had a hard time with separation, LAC's director immediately devised a personalized plan to help him adjust. I am so grateful to all of his teachers for their patience, warmth, attention to detail, and good humor. They are heroes to my son and me. Thank you, LAC!

Our first child was born in November 2017, and it was very important for us to find the best possible care. We visited a dozen daycares downtown Manhattan. We have been with LAC for the past 9 months (we started when our son was 5 months old) and we are VERY happy with our choice. The caregivers are very loving, and we really feel that our child gets individual care and attention. It's such a nice feeling to know that our child is in such good hands while we are at work.

LAC Early Childhood Center is great, we searched and visited many daycares in the area before deciding to go with LAC. After our first interview and seeing how our 2year old interacted with teachers we knew this was it. We were very fortunate to have LAC Early Childhood Center open its doors at the very time we were searching for a safe, caring, and enriching environment for my son. Since making our decision to be a part of the LAC Early Childhood Center community, we couldn't be happier. We love how caring everybody is at LAC, administration and teachers checks in when our son stayed home and gives detailed information about our son's days. And as a plus we love the cute pictures teachers sent to us. Every staff member is truly dedicated to the work and they strive to know each individual child and their family. Whether it is a day filled with singing, dancing, painting, sorting or just comforting your little one, LAC Early Childhood Center has helped my son feel safe, cared for and happy.

Our family has been very pleased with LAC. We have been sending our daughter for half days for almost a year now. At first, she was very hesitant about daycare but now she cries and doesn't want to leave when we come to pick her up. We've started adding a few full time days into our rotation now. She is learning so much and we absolutely love her teachers. They seem to be very gentle and loving with her and she is constantly bringing home new arts projects (she's so proud of them). We feel so good during the day having her at LAC with such a caring staff. And we've met some really great families as well.

This day care had such great potential. The Administration is not very knowledgeable on early child care and seems to be only in the moment with no long term goals for the school. Information provided during the school tour is NOT what the school delivers. What seemed to be a warm and welcoming school environment is now very cold and dismal. There are no parent-student activities or festive parties. Parents are not welcomed to be on the school facility. The teachers look stressed all the time and sometimes are short with the children. While waiting to pick up my child I heard a teacher yelling at another child to sit down. Makes you question what happens during the entire day. The Educational Director does not come across as being sincere or genuine when it comes to the children. It almost seems like a show for the parents at pick up times. As a parent, you want the best for your child, I feel like there are options out there for child care, LAC Early Childcare is not the best. After reading this and you ARE still considering this place, here are some questions to take with you when you interview the school.
Do they take all the children outside?
What are the credentials for the staff? Are the Teacher Assistants being kept current with continuing education and in-services?
How will you know your child is partaking in the special curriculum they SAY is being offered?
How do the teachers calm down a crying child?

I enrolled my son to LEC Center in their new location near Washington Square Park. We were lucky enough to be one of the first kids enrolled at the center. Everything is brand new, from the rooms, murals, toys and beds. My son is 6 months and they bring in musical teachers one day, art instructors another day, they always have different programs for the kids and make every accommodation to accompasny my and my wife's busy schedules. The teacher, Trish and Maria are sweethearts and constantly send my wife and I video of our son. Highly reccomend this place

Our son is enrolled in LAC and I cannot say enough great things about the facility and staff. At only six months old they had him finger painting and learning his ABCs and colors. He is always excited to go and it is clear that the staff loves having him there. What a great addition to the neighborhood!

My daughter has been in LAC since September 2015 and we have loved every second at this school. The staff is really amazing and you can see how much they love the kids and how much kids love them back. This gives our family great peace of mind since we know our daughter is safe and loved every day. Learning is fun and their classes are nicely structured and coherent through the entire week. LAC has also been great at helping her to build amazing life skills, and for us this is what really matters at this age. We are have been really lucky to be part of this community.