Most parents agree that finding a trusted daycare for their child is one of the more challenging aspects of parenting.
And being in the middle of a global pandemic doesn’t make things easier.
Parents want a place that will love their children, make safety a top priority, and be professional in all instances.
The average annual cost of infant care in a center is almost $9,000 ($8,729), according to Child Care Aware of America — so budget has to play a role, too.
In your research, you might have found a daycare near you called Carrington Academy. So let’s break it down!
Is Carrington Academy daycare worth it? Here’s a full review.
Carrington Academy is known for a warm and loving environment with an incredibly thorough curriculum to match. Parents can get peace of mind with photos and updates throughout the day on the daycare’s app, and can even utilize transportation from nearby schools for before/after school care. You’ll need to check pricing, though, since Carrington Academy doesn’t publish current costs and tuition.
Let’s take a closer look at the curriculum, day-to-day, pros, cons, and more!
What is Carrington Academy?
Carrington Academy is a preschool that is open to children aged six weeks through five years old.
They prioritize and specialize in early childhood development and education.
Carrington is owned by Spring Education group, a chain of over 230 private schools in the United States and internationally.
Carrington Academy, itself, has a handful of locations — mostly in the greater metro Atlanta area.
They also offer online schooling that ranges from young infants all the way through high school.
Carrington Academy Teaching Philosophy Explained
Each school follows the same curriculum, although day-to-day activities can vary depending on the location.
The curriculum Carrington Academy uses is called Links to Learning. You can read more about Links to Learning here.
For babies six weeks to one-year-old, educators focus on the following:
- Language skills. Teachers take the time to sing, speak, read, and “converse” with babies. The educators also introduce and regularly use baby sign language to help develop their communication and fine motor skills.
- Social and Emotional Regulation. Carrington Academy educators constantly look for cues that babies are showing and use these cues to nurture the infants. They also use cues to understand and develop the babies’ self-awareness.
- Mobility and Fine Motor Skills. Hand-selected toys and thoughtfully designed activities are presented to the infants to help build their fine motor skills, mobility, muscles, and hand-eye coordination.
- Spatial Awareness. Teachers play with the infants and experiment with actions and reactions.
For toddlers ages one to two years old, educators focus on the following:
- Language skills. Teachers continue to sing, speak, read, and hold conversations with toddlers to build their communication skills and confidence.
- Social Skills. The children are encouraged to parallel play together while under the close supervision of educators. This allows them to improve on their self-help life skills, socialize, and better understand other infants.
- Coordination. Outside time, active playtime, climbing toys, and activities are consistently given to the toddlers with safe supervision. This allows them to further develop their fine motor skills, coordination, muscles, and balance.
- Mathematics. Educators provide the toddlers with puzzles, unique toys, well-designed activities, books, and games. This allows them to recognize colors, numbers, shapes, and textures.
- Creativity. The toddlers are given lots of enriching activities that allow them to express themselves. They can join in singing songs, dancing, painting, drawing, and stacking blocks.
For young children ages two to three years, educators focus on the following:
- Science. Children are given access to many textures, paces, and speeds.
- Social Studies. The children are taught how to quickly identify staff, fellow students, and members of their families.
- Bilingual and Cultural Education. Children are taught Spanish vocabulary by being exposed to Spanish greetings, and the vocabulary for animals, colors, shapes, basic phrases, numbers, and more.
- Math. Counting, number sets, sorting via colors, shapes, and textures, and reasoning skills are introduced.
- Fine Motor Skills. The children are encouraged to develop their skills by playing catch with the ball, stacking toys, and maneuvering smaller items.
- Creative Self Expression. The kids are provided with toy instruments, art supplies, and the opportunity to pretend-play with staff and students.
- Social Skills. Educators show and provide children with the phrases and tools they need to identify and then verbalize their needs.
For children ages three to four years, educators focus on the following:
- Wellness. Children are encouraged to practice their fine motor skills by playing on playground equipment, putting together puzzles, and using creative toys.
- Cultural Exploration. The children are taught foreign cultures, especially Spanish culture and vocabulary. They learn the words for farm animals, family members, simple phrases, and how to count to ten.
- Self Expression. Children are taught to sing, dance, clap, and move their bodies. They are also taught to fold, cut, and color paper.
- Science. They are given instructions for safe and simple experiments, they learn about the weather, and are taught simple laws of science.
- Digital Introductions. The instructors begin to show children technology, technological vocabulary, and how to properly use a mouse, keyboard, and touch screens.
- Literacy and Language. Children are encouraged to try letter sounds, learn about different story characters, and explore story plots.
- Math. Educators start to teach the children all about number concepts. Children are taught how to classify, identify, compare, contrast, and measure. Measure lines and larger numbers are introduced to them.
For Pre-Kindergarten children ages four to five years, educators focus on the following:
- Language. The children learn phonetics, letter-sound relationships, sight words, and how to make predictions and educated answers using critical thinking skills.
- Math. Kids are introduced to patterns, graphs, problem-solving, and basic math such as addition and subtraction.
- Social Education. The children start to learn how to identify, express, verbalize, and regulate their emotions. They are also taught how to control their bodies and act in an appropriate manner.
- Wellness. Children are able to practice throwing and catching, jumping rope, hop-scotch, how to use a hula hoop, and more.
- Creative Self Expression. The educators help students learn to identify pitch, tempo, and patterns in music. They also teach the children how to mold clay, and act out familiar stories in their correct orders.
- Science. The children are taught about different species of animals.
- Culture. The children are taught about traditions, different cultures, and family traditions. They are also taught to identify Spanish-speaking countries on a map and a globe. They also learn the Spanish vocabulary for seasons, the five senses, weather, and seasons.
- Digital. The children are taught how to type their full names on a keyboard, use a mouse, and different forms of technology, as well as the changes in technology in recent history.
Confused about the different levels of schooling? Here’s the difference between daycare vs preschool.
Carrington Academy Day To Day Procedures / A Typical Day at Carrington Academy
Because there are so many different locations, it’s important to contact the specific location you’re interested in your child attending to get a sense of how a typical day will look.
But in general, here are common procedures for kids enrolled at Carrington Academy:
- Children are often exposed to theatre productions, puppet shows, movies, sports, and after-school activities in the multi-purpose room.
- Teachers follow the Links to Learning curriculum outlined above.
- Teachers stay connected with the student, and the child’s parents. They are happy to meet with guardians to discuss the child’s needs, progress, and more.
- Daily and weekly classroom updates are provided. Links 2 Home allows teachers to send daily photos, reports, notes, and more to the parents via the Carrington mobile app and through emails.
- There is transportation provided between certain nearby schools for before and after school programs.
A list of The Top 20 Questions to Ask on Your Daycare Tour is a great reference point in knowing essential questions to ask.
If you read through the list and find a question you would like to ask, make sure to write it down. Our educators are happy to answer any and all questions you may have.
Carrington Academy’s Health and Safety Protocols
Carrington Academy takes COVID-19 very seriously. They have implemented new habits to protect the children, staff, and families of the children and staff.
Protocols do vary location to location, so please call your local Carrington Academy for the most accurate and up to date information.
Here is a direct quote from Carrington Academy for how they handle the COVID-19 pandemic:
“Providing a healthy and safe learning environment for our students is our highest priority. In addition to following our school’s comprehensive health and safety practices, we regularly adjust our operations to meet or exceed the most current guidance from local and state health departments during this time of heightened vigilance related to COVID-19.
Our enhanced health and wellness protocols include:
- Repeated disinfecting/cleaning of “high-touch” surfaces throughout the school day and in the evenings (including desks, doors, public spaces, and bathroom fixtures)
- Frequent and thorough hand-washing by students and staff actively encouraged throughout the school day
- Ensuring all staff and students who are feeling ill stay home until they recover
Finally, guidance regarding wearing facial masks/coverings is evolving, and we will update parents accordingly. Please contact us to learn more.”
Carrington Academy Tuition
Like most other daycare and private schools, you won’t find information about tuition on their website or through parental reviews.
The best way to get a quote is to schedule a virtual visit with a school in your area.
Each branch of Carrington Academy has its own website with information specific to its location.
For comparison, most daycare chains in the area will cost at least $1000+ per month for full-time infant care.
What Real Parents Are Saying About Carrington Academy Schools
Don’t take our word for it.
Here’s what real parents with kids at Carrington Academy have to say about the pros and cons.
Carrington Academy Positive Reviews
“My children love attending Carrington Academy. They participate in fun, educational activities and are learning foundational skills such as confidence and self-reliance.”
“I like the open communication and regular updates at Carrington Academy. I’m always kept in the loop regarding my son’s academic progress.”
These resemble a lot of parental reviews that you can find online.
Again, because there are different locations, it’ll be important to isolate your research to the academy you’re interested in when trying to find information.
Overall, finding a negative review was more challenging than finding a positive one. Most parents seem genuinely pleased with their child’s care well-being at a Carrington Academy School.
Most parents were quick to praise the staff and the loving, warm environment for their children. There are also a lot of positive reviews mentioning communication through the app, which gives parents peace of mind.
Carrington Academy Reviews Negative Reviews
Most of the cons, after researching online, come from teachers that have previously been employed through Carrington Academy.
Most of the complaints stemmed back towards upper management and their response to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Another con that parents listed was the inconsistency of familiar faces in the classrooms for the kids since teachers and staff needed to be shuffled to cover other classrooms.
Turnover and management are common complaints at most of the best daycares, and it really all comes down to each specific location.
Wrapping Up
Carrington Academy has a well-rounded curriculum, good communication, exceptional organizational skills, excellent health and safety protocols, and convenient hours to help parents.
Finding negative reviews from parents is a challenge — almost everyone seems to have only positive things to say!
So if you’re looking for a daycare or pre-K in Georgia, I’d say Carrington Academy is well worth a visit. Check your local daycare for the most up to date pricing, and if you can make the budget work, Carrington Academy should be one of your top choices in the area.
For more reviews, check out:
Hope this helps!