Whiz Kids at Pelican Child Care and Early Learning Center / Bobbie Noonan's

I have to be honest this was the best school around with the best people at the top all the way down to the teachers. They recently sold the daycare and let go of the amazing directors and teachers of this place. I was fortunate to get a spot at a new school but man did I think this was my son’s forever school. There is zero communications now with the new directors and the staff was never formally introduced to the parents they went about changing everything in this place the wrong way and my advice is to stay away from this place the director they have now will just yes you to death and then when I said I was leaving the school suddenly she wanted to talk and fix things no thank you. Be smart and do your homework on the new staff and director and owners.

I’ve patiently waited for the day to leave an honest review until my kid was officially out of VPK. I will start with - we are so lucky his teacher never changed - she was part of the original staff and thank GOD she was retained. 1 of 3 retained original employees. It WAS amazing until it was bought out and ruined by corporate greed. We were told in September (a month after VPK began) Bobbie Noonan was sold and would become Whiz Kids, BUT NO CHANGES WOULD BE MADE. Fast forward to Jan 1 and it was downhill immediately. Rampant changes mid school year with policies that were a pillar of choosing the school to begin with and zero transparency of what was to come, every week staff being let go unexpectedly who had been there for 2+ decades, less focus on what’s best for the kids now (unless you’re a favorite of the admin staff), and the new director is cold as ice. Look elsewhere, it’s not worth the risk. Very little is left here of the old BN, and as great as my kids school year was with his specific teacher, the school as a whole is a no for me.

So I can only speak on the vpk and summer camp part, but I did enjoy having my son enrolled here. He started right when the switch happened from Bobbie Noonan to Whiz Kidz. I was initially nervous since a lot of changes can greatly cause issues but I feel like a lot of the changes were good. I like the procare app that they use where you can get updates from the school and easily email them with questions and get a quick response. It saves from getting a ton of paper each week. They sometimes send pictures of what fun activities they are doing that day. I also think the security improved a lot. If you go into the building to pick up your child, you have to go to the desk, use fingerprints before you can grab your child which then prints a paper that you bring to the teacher so you can pick up your child. Prior when it was Bobbie Noonan, while the door was locked and only access though a code I felt like I could just walk in and grab my child, while nice and easy, it doesn't seem as secure as it is now. Mrs Laura is one of the vpk teachers and is so wonderful and a huge asset to the school. My son loves her and still talks about her. She comforted him on his first day of summer camp and is just so patient. I like that she sends an agenda each week of what they are going to learn and what to practice with your child at home. At the end of the year he made an ABC book and a book containing pictures and what he worked on throughout the year, such as writing his name, letters and cutting paper. It showed from how he started to the end of the year and it was amazing to see what progress he made. I loved it so much. I don't have too many complaints as we had the same teacher the whole year. One thing they can improve on is more orginazation. This year with summer camp there was no plan of what they were doing each week so I felt like I had to keep calling to ask questions about payment, and what I needed to bring vs if they just sent an email with that information. Otherwise I am very happy with the school. I had no issues with the director and I always see her at the desk and she answers my questions kindly. I'm happy that my son had such a first good experience with school and being better prepared for kindergarten.

I have had all my 4 children go to this school, and thankfully my 5-year-old is out now (kicked out actually) because of new policy they have when it comes to split households and not working with parents. This WAS the only school I would ever recommend, but after Noonan was bought out by this out-of-town corporate company that has no interest in teaching, only babysitting your child and trying you to apply for government assistance so they could get money. It went from a family-run, caring place that opened their doors and allowed you to see them fully to a government-run, scan-your-fingerprint, and don't-walk-past-the-entryway kind of place with a cold feeling to it (probably from the director, Tawna). PLEASE DO NOT ENROLL HERE, YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!!!

Absolutely horrible place now overcrowded with kids and understaffed Director of school is mean and won't talk unless there's a problem Was a good place till bought out by corporate company that instituted government programs to get money and have no real regards for children This is not a school and not associated with noonan