Haller Lake Children's Center

06/13/2007 Posted by lolav

I agree with everyone's review. My child was there 3 yrs ago and I was really happy when I saw that the school had closed. My son went there for 1 year part-time. 2 days a week. The teachers were great but, every time I came to pick him up I had another bill in my cubby. 10 dollars for this fee, 30 dollars for that fee. My favorite was the laundry fee of $30 a year but, what they washed I'm not sure. The final straw came when I added up my son's attended days 7 total that month and then added up the fees plus tuition and it was $1546. I pulled him out that that day. And then the following month I recieved a notice in the mail that I owed $50 for a field trip that took place 2 weeks after he stopped going there. That was a spur of the moment field trip. It's not like we signed up for it before we left. If you decide to go to the new location in Bellevue- I hope you have deep pockets for okay care. Also I recommend that you keep accurate accounting of everything you pay for because the owner is dumb like a fox and will 'accidently' bill 2 to 3 times so she can get extra money.

Pros: we did like 1 teacher at the school

Cons: Corrupt Owner, Money Grubbing, Doesn't care about the kids

03/07/2007 Posted by msmith6756

The owner of this daycare is the ultimate hypocrite. She preaches a lot about personal growth, community, and "children being our world," but is only in the child care business because it means easy money for her, at least as far as her Bellevue daycare is concerned. But she closed the Haller Lake daycare because it wasn't making her the kind of money she was making from her Microsoft clients in Bellevue. She claimed that it would be too expensive to keep Haller Lake open, but what she really meant was there wasn't enough money in it for her. She was charging one of the highest tuition rates in the area, and only paying $2,000 a month in rent. Where was the rest of the money going? It sure wasn't going to the daycare, as I never saw any improvements made or new supplies being bought. In fact, teachers had to beg parents to donate things like batteries and glue, because she refused to purchase anything for them. In the many years that my family spent at this daycare, we saw the owner purchase brand new cars for herself and her daughter, pay a salary for another daughter who did not even work at the daycare, and most recently, purchase a brand new center in Bellevue. All of this, and my child can't even get a bottle of glue for an art project. The only reason we stayed here as long as we did was because of the nurturing and caring teachers. The owner does not even like kids, never remembered their names, or even their genders, in some cases. You would be well advised to keep your family far away from this woman. Go on a tour of her daycare and she'll tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to sign up...but once you do, it's all about getting in your wallet. The other review is right about the Bellevue daycare, too. It's in a strip mall, the playground has a lovely view of 520, and the classrooms are full of mold. Your children deserve better than this, especially for the outrageous rates she charges (you are putting her daughters through college, after all)!

Pros: teachers were very involved with the kids

Cons: no new toys, filthy building, hypocritical owner

03/07/2007 Posted by bbridges

I am a former employee at HLCC and I agree with the two comments before my own. The director there was only about herself and how she could profit off of people. This woman potrayed to be in this business because she deeply cared about children. This is un-true! If this were the case she would have been more involved in the overall well being of the center and not jeopardize these young lives by closing her center early. (Even earlier that she had originally said. First it was June 30th then March 31st then Feb. 28th) The majority of us teachers worked above and beyond our job duties and held that place together while she tended to PKB. I will never forget of staff meeting where she said I quote " The Bellevue center will only benifit Hallerlake!". Help us what? Be out of a job? Not have the boss around? Not allow us to make any purchases anymore? I loved the families and that's why I stayed at HLCC and as far as the boss. Already forgotten!

03/06/2007 Posted by janedoe6

The woman who ran this center literally ran it into the ground. She argued over every detail of the lease and then lost the chance to negotiate with the church who owned the facility. She did not see children, she saw $$$$. Her employees were constantly overworked, underpaid, and told to lie to the parents about what actually happened during the day. Children were ignored, left to amuse themselves and little learning actually went on. Her new center, Planet Kids Bellevue, is located in a strip mall right next to the freeway yet she presumes to market the center as environmentally friendly. There isn't even a strip of grass for the children to play on, just a fenced in play structure next to the freeway. Think that food is really 100% organic? Ask to see the kitchen over at Planet Kids Bellevue.

Pros: Can't think of any, no

Cons: corrupt owner, untrained staff

03/03/2007 Posted by seattleparent123

Everything was great at this daycare, UNTIL the owner opened up a new center in Bellevue. Then everything went downhill. The owner/director was NEVER on location, and never responded to phone calls or emails. She had the staff running the center for her, and they did the best they could under the circumstances. However, they seemed extremely unhappy and there was a very high turnover rate that started around the time the "Planet Kids Bellevue" opened up. The center started to suffer horribly--I can't recall any new items ever being purchased for my child's class, despite a fundraiser that promised brand new books for all classrooms. I don't recall ever seeing ANY new books, other than the ones the parents donated. Worst of all was when the center began having issues with their lease, and a big "for lease" sign was posted outside of the center. All of us families were told not to worry and that everything would be fine. We were made to attend a mandatory meeting, where the owner told everyone that she would be renewing the lease and that all was well. Then, a few weeks later, she sent out an email saying the center was closing, and that everyone needed to leave by March. She promised refunds and prorated tuition to the families, but still has not sent refund checks out. So families were not only out of childcare, they were also out of hundreds of dollars. Even after announcing the closing, the owner still could not be bothered with showing up at the center, or answering phone calls or emails. The people who had been running the center for her quit shortly after--I think they were fed up, too. One of the worst parts of the whole ordeal was the owner coming in and taking all of the toys, materials, etc. out of the classrooms and things off the walls, etc. while our children were STILL THERE, and taking everything to her Bellevue center. My child definitely suffered and there was a huge change in his behavior the last few weeks. The owner cares about one thing only- $$!

Pros: great teachers

Cons: money hungry director who completely misled clients

02/26/2007 Posted by smmo

When we toured this daycare in the summer of ‘06 we asked about a "for lease" sign posted out front and were told that the lease was being negotiated but that all would be well. Our child began in September; the facility was adequate and the teachers were great. At a parent meeting in late December (the first and only time I have ever seen the owner) we were told that there was a verbal agreement in place for a new lease. Two weeks after the meeting, in mid-January, the parents were informed by email that the center was closing at the end of February, giving the families of 80 children less than 2 months to make new arrangements. The owner of Planet Kids Seattle (a.k.a. Haller Lake Children's Center) had opened a second center in Bellevue - Planet Kids Bellevue - last year and I believe decided that keeping the Seattle location open was more trouble than it was worth financially. Which is her right, as a business owner, but she should have been honest with her clients. They were giving tours to prospective parents right up until the announcement of the closure. Caveat emptor.

Pros: teachers were wonderful

Cons: unethical owner

12/20/2006 Posted by colin_hayes

I wasn't so impressed with these folks. First of all, if you're thinking of having them watch your children, have them confirm whether any deposit that you make is or is not refundable. We paid them a $200 deposit to hold a space for our child, and later found out that we could not send our child there. We asked for our deposit back, and they told us that they would not be able to refund our deposit. Perhaps that is reasonable, but nothing we signed or were told or were given ever mentioned that deposits were not refundable. I found it very bothersome that numerous letters to their management and even a letter sent via registered mail to their owner, based out of their facility in Bellevue, regarding our deposit, were never returned. Can't really recommend this place at all, just based on their management's lack of response.

Pros: Good ambience, children looked happy and bright, clean facility

Cons: Management just came across as not straight forward, didn't return calls, letters etc.

07/24/2006 Posted by sarah_maitland

I'm the assistant director of Haller Lake Children's Center, now Planet Kids Seattle. The family who posted the previous review was not expelled from our center, and is still a part of our community. We only disenroll children in the most extreme circumstances (persistent and severe behavior problems that cannot be resolved, even after we have exhausted all other resources, including consulting with our Public Health nurse, psychiatrist, etc.) I have worked here for seven years, and during that time I can only remember a handful of disenrollments, all due to very extreme circumstances. When our families have questions, concerns, or problems, we do all we can to hear them, work with them, and ultimately attempt to resolve them. A family at our center would never be disenrolled due to voicing questions or concerns about our program. We deeply value the input and feedback of our families, and are always open to working with them and doing all we can to accommodate them.

07/07/2006 Posted by imnoetic

We enjoyed 10 mos of bliss at this daycare and then my daughter transitioned into a new class. We were experiencing many problems with the transition including both of her teachers leaving (as well as some office staff) and I voiced my concerns. She was in the middle of potty training and I was concerned that all the turn over would upset that. We were expelled. Great daycare if you don't have any concerns, otherwise put on your kid gloves and take your chances.

Pros: Excellent upstairs teachers, fieldtrips

Cons: Turn over in downstairs teachers, reaction to concerns