La Petite Academy

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any recent experience with La Petite Academy on Michigan Avenue? I am considering putting my toddler on the waitlist there and would love to hear some experiences. I read some negative feedback on DCUM but most of that is pretty old, and there is some evidence on those postings that things have gotten better. I visited and I thought it looked like a clean, great space, but would appreciate thoughts.

[Anonymous]

I really liked it but it is sooooooo expensive. And we have two babies so unfortunately it was a non-starter. Lots of the parents I saw were in scrubs and work right there. So, sorry not too helpful OP but wanted to share that I thought it seemed pretty great when I visited.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP!

[Anonymous]

My kids are far enough apart in age that I've been able to send both there because not at the same time. Expensive compared to some of the nearby alternatives but cost does include diapers and wipes, food for toddlers and up, and their hours and staff are great.

[Anonymous]

What are the costs?

[Anonymous]

$440 a week for an infant. A friend has her baby there and loves it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$440 a week for an infant. A friend has her baby there and loves it.

That's a great price. We paid $520 at Bright Horizons DT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$440 a week for an infant. A friend has her baby there and loves it.

That's a great price. We paid $520 at Bright Horizons DT

Yes, but going rate for centers in that area are closer to $350. Compared to DT, definitely!

[Anonymous]

The DC location has great hours but two locations in MD are very poorly ran. Both Crofton and Bowie are not very clean and some of the staff seem a bit uncaring. I think they try to use the included diapers, etc. as a justification for the increased price. It is not worth it to me.

[Anonymous]

I looked at La Petite in DC but our kids don't go there. I liked all the technology being used there, with the check-in/check-out, being able to log-in to see you child's classroom during the day, text updates throughout the day so no end-of day report, etc. They also said that the child:teacher ratio stays the same as the child gets older, which is why the rate doesn't decrease as child ages. Given all of those things I thought that the rate being what it is made sense, while still being higher than other places in the area. I didn't know about the diapers/wipes being included.

[Anonymous]

We are starting our infant there in a couple weeks. We were on the waitlist and got in. I also think it's reasonably priced compared to the downtown daycares we looked at. We got a good vibe while touring, but I'm also curious to see how it is when we start going there since some of the old reviews are pretty bad. I'll repost with an update after we've been there a few weeks!

[Anonymous]

How long were you on the waitlist?

[Anonymous]

We signed up for the waitlist in the beginning of May, knowing that we would want to start our infant at the end of August/September. We received confirmation that we got in mid-July.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We signed up for the waitlist in the beginning of May, knowing that we would want to start our infant at the end of August/September. We received confirmation that we got in mid-July.

OP and others, please note that that timing is NOT typical! Most people are getting on waitlist for infant spots there while in first half of pregnancy to start when baby will be 3-4 months old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We signed up for the waitlist in the beginning of May, knowing that we would want to start our infant at the end of August/September. We received confirmation that we got in mid-July.

Please share feedback after you start!