Innovation Station Child Care Center - Richfield - Richfield, Wisconsin

Michelle H.

My daughter attended Innovation from 3 months old until she was 4.5 years old (except during the summer time). She loved her time at "school" and still talks about her three most recent teachers (Miss Kim, Miss Julie, and Miss Kathy). As a parent, I was happy with our experience and appreciated the daily communication, newsletters, pictures, art projects, etc. Her weekly goals were shared with us and I have no concerns about her being ready for "big kid school" (4k) this Fall.

Jennifer N.

This review is very hard for me to write because I’m trying to think of positives that out weight all of the negative factors. My experience as a former employee was satisfactory. As a result, I felt that I could recommend the center to families; however, I recently realized that this was a major mistake. Listed below are a few examples of a family experiencing childcare for the first time at Innovation Station in Richfield.

The first impression the family and I experienced was unsettling. Their children were sent home after only 3 hours of care on the first day because staff could not get them to settle down. This left a bad taste in my mouth as I am sure it would with any new family in childcare.

Another struggle was communication. When asked about the children’s day, the most common response was “they had a good day” however, later on in the day, an email would be sent saying the opposite from a different staff member. Which is it: a good or bad day? How can families and staff work together to make sure the children are receiving the best care with such conflicting responses?

Another example of a negative experience was at rest time. State mandates children until the age of 5 needs to have 30 minutes for rest time. That rest does not mean the individual must be sleeping; rather, he or she must relax their body on a mat. This became an issue because the children did not “rest” (in their eyes that means sleep). The family and staff tried to work on ways to get them to be quiet during the potion of the day. However, I struggle to picture any three-year-old just laying down or even with a quiet activity not talking for more than 30 minutes. A feeling I gathered was the children being an inconvenience because they did not “rest on their mat”. I understand staff has other things to do such as take a break, clean, and write newsletters, however that does not mean the children are demoted as a priority.

As an educator, I am extremely disheartened and embarrassed to have suggested the center. The center were confident in their abilities to create an inclusive environment for the family but did not attempt to deliver on that promised. It seems like the was additional standards they would hold them to what was not mentioned in their manual. Along with unaccommodating to students that do not fit their mold (ex. sending them home instead of getting to know the child to find solutions). There maybe people that disagree with my review, however, just know that these feelings are not unjustified nor unwarranted.

Kathleen L.