C Care Preschool, Arlington

We started our daughter at C Care just as she had turned 1, which is a hard age for a baby to start daycare. Owner Inoka and the teachers at C Care did such a good job helping her transition; nurturing her and sitting with her as she was getting used to the new environment. She quickly started loving her new school and gets excited to go every day now. Facilities are very clean and organized and they change the babies/toddlers clothes midday to make sure they stay nice and clean. Highly recommend C Care!

We began our journey with C-care right before the pandemic. We had heard great things and were impressed with how clean, structured, and instructional they were. As a household that works as leaders in education, we very much appreciated their approach to learning. We also appreciated the safety measures they put in place throughout the pandemic. As we began to settle into C-care, we quickly started to see the areas other parents had expressed concerns. There was staff turnover without any communication of who was leading the classrooms. There was a lack of communication around eating habits, diaper changes, and shifts in cost, among other things. In one case, our daughter had some bad reactions and we simply asked for lists of food, soaps/detergents, or perfumes that could be contributing to the problem. We were immediately met with a defensive coordinator - Ms. Inoka - who was initially resistant to helping us identify the problem and insisted it wasn’t due to her school. As our son became older, we began to learn about behaviors he was exhibiting that weren’t being communicated to us. The program coordinators were obviously growing frustrated so we asked for communication so we could provide support - since they had no behavioral system within the school to positively support behaviors. It was obvious that while they were very focused and prideful about academics, they lacked the patience and understanding to foster and grow students socially and emotionally. What was more concerning was our son reporting that he was being isolated from other students. He said he had to sit by himself during certain activities for multiple days at a time - this was also confirmed by the director. He also reported on different occasions that his teachers (even naming the directors) would pull/flick his ear when he wasn’t behaving. We know he’s a kid and might not always report things accurately so we tried to approach the director and were again brushed off and our concern minimized. Later, our son reported that a teacher would threaten the boys with having the police called on them if they didn’t behave. They are 3 and 4-year-olds. We know that over the past few years things have been hard on everyone so we have tried to show patience and gain a better understanding of things, but these types of behaviors directed toward kids for any reason are unacceptable. What makes it even worse is that rather than hearing our concerns and working with us to address the problems, they became defensive and hostile each time. These events on top of other concerns like - putting our 2-year-old in sleep a sleep sack until she was past the labeled size, making comments that the gifts we gave for holidays or teacher appreciation weren’t impactful and they’d rather have desks, to unsolicited medical advice around procedures or medicine application - even sometimes going against our doctor's recommendations - started to make us feel regretful in our decision to send our kids to C-care. Recently, we asked about the masking policy as they are still requiring everyone to mask. I had asked for clarity on what they are using to make the decision and conveyed we understood it is theirs to make. They continued to assure us they were looking at data to see when it could drop. After continuing to not get clarity, and with the reasoning based around illnesses that were unrelated to covid, I again asked (a month later) as we wanted to explore other options if the policy wasn’t going to change. I worried that this approach to preventing any illness as opposed to covid safety was unnecessary and hindering the development of my kids. And we were not looking for a universal no masking policy, but for the ability for our kids to unmask. It was at this point they sent us a notification that they were terminating our contract due to a parental dispute. Yet another example of how they become defensive and punitive in their response to reasonable questioning around the clarity of a policy. We always tried to be patient and understanding, but this last situation helped us conclude we were happy to walk away. It was another example of how they don’t care to hear from the parents or better understand the impacts of their practices on the students. We didn’t even take them up on the offer to finish out the month and instead pulled them immediately as we feared the care for our children would be impacted based on their response. C-care has clean classrooms that seem organized, but as a business, they have ongoing staffing concerns, are not transparent in their practices, lack consistent communication, and seem generally overwhelmed in their move from an in-home practice to a larger center. I do believe they are good people at their core, but the way they are currently operating is not ideal for their staff, students, or families.

We feel extremely lucky to be part of this community. Ms. Inoka has been taking care of our five year old and teaching him a Kindergarten curriculum so he doesn’t fall behind during COVID school closings. He loves to learn with her! She has a great mix of play and learning tools at her home, and it is clear she is experienced and knowledgeable in child development.

This daycare/ preschool is amazing. Inoka took care of my son from 6 months until kindergarten. Inoka is a loving and nurturing provider and educator. The center is warm and loving with lots of indoor and outdoor play. I 110% recommend her. My child thrived and learned and I never worried about his care or education. A working mom could not ask for more. I will be sad when we move on to kindergarten in the fall.

If we had not move away, my daughter would be with Inoka till she has to go to Kindergarten. She has been with Inoka since she was 14 months old. She has been very wary of strangers but took to Inoka the first time she met her, so that sealed the deal. Inoka is the most nurturing and loving care giver one could ever ask for. We have no family close by, and Inoka and her family were just the family we never had. They’re always there to help whenever we need and always ready with good advice to give to us first-time parents. A learnt so much and was so advanced for her age, all thanks to Inoka, she stepped in to be the mother to A that I couldn’t be. A adores Inoka, and there was a time she always wanted to ‘go home’ when she was home with us at night. There are always fun and educational activities to do and plenty of outdoor play. The kids are learning good life skills as well. We had a great relationship among the parents of Inoka’s kids and had frequent play dates ‘after school’. I highly recommend Inoka and her experience in nurturing children. I would go back to her if we move back to Arlington... we all love her so much.

We highly recommend Inoka's daycare and I cannot say enough wonderful things about this place. Ever since our son started there, he has loved it there. Inoka and Manju are genuinely passionate, caring and nurturing towards the kids. The kids are always doing fun activities such as science experiments, arts and crafts, singing, baking and spend A LOT of time outside. Our son made so many best friends at Inoka's daycare and two years after he started, Inoka, Manju and their kids feel like family.

We had a very positive experience with C Care. While my daughter Zoe was only able to stay there for a short time, due to us moving out of state, she thrived during the short time she was there. Prior to that she had not been in daycare, and C Care offered the option for her to enroll part-time (3 days per week) which was ideal for us. Without any intervention on my part, Zoe started voluntarily using the potty at home, I think because she was taught the post-lunch potty routine by Inoka. Also, she started coming home singing "ABC," even though she is only 2 years old, and also her drawing skills and vocabulary increased notably during the time she was in care with Inoka. Zoe never cried at drop off, and clearly was very comfortable there.

My husband and I took our son to Inoka starting at four months until 18 months (we moved out of the area when our son was 18 months). We were so impressed with Inoka and her facility because it was obvious to us how much pride she takes in what she does, from arranging indoor and outdoor activities, to teaching the children baby yoga and sign language. We were struck by her level of dedication and intimate knowledge about child development. For example, our son had a speech development issue that Inoka was the first to spot and tell us about. We are grateful to her for her careful attention to our son’s health. In addition, we were very impressed that he never came home with diaper rash or in dirty clothes. He was always clean! Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our son was very happy with Inoka. He smiled when he saw Inoka in the morning and made friends with other little ones and Inoka’s family. My husband and I feel grateful that we had such a safe, secure and loving place for our son to spend each day. I would highly recommend her to friends and family.

My husband and I feel so grateful that we found Inoka and her family to care for our daughter. She begin attending C Care in August of 2014 and we couldn't be happier with the care she is receiving. It is very apparent that Inoka loves all the children as if they were her own. The facility is very clean and the children are so excited to see Inoka in the morning. There are many educational and fun toys and activities for the kids both inside and outside. My daughter comes home every day with art work or projects she is working on and surprises us all the time with the new things she is learning. Inoka really takes in interest in the development of the children and their health. She truly cares about them and that is one of the reasons we wouldn't hesitate to send the baby we are expecting next year to Inoka. We are so lucky that we found her and her family.

After having my three month daughter at daycare for one week I was having second thoughts. I had just returned to work and it seemed like my daughter wasn’t getting the individual care that an infant needs. The facilty she was at was safe and all her diapering and food needs were met, but it didn’t feel right. As a first time mom I thought maybe I was overreacting, but then I found Inoka. As soon as I met her I knew we had found the right place. Her house is so warm and friendly. It was such a homey and family environment; exactly what I wanted for my daughter. Inoka is an experienced and very positive person. Being a mom herself, she genuinely enjoys raising children. She loves to help them learn, explore and grow. She provides the children with a stimulating curriculum which includes music time, physical activity and quite time. Her house is always clean and neat. I consider it such a blessing that we found her. My daughter loves going to daycare and I never worry when she is in Inoka’s care.