Hope Street Friends KinderCare - Los Angeles, California

Sam R.

We absolutely love Hope Street Friends!!! The staff is incredibly kind and engaging, and their curriculum has helped my child's growth significantly within the first couple months. I'm grateful for the safe and educational space that they provide and look forward to many years ahead with my children in their care.

Kateryna H.

This place is absolutely fantastic and safe for your child! The teachers and staff make it really special and caring. My daughter was always super excited to visit this place! Thank you!

Jon C.

We had our child here for around 3 months, and it was a mostly negative experience.

Pros: very long hours (7 AM - 7 PM) were useful in a pinch, Elvia (the former director) was excellent and very responsive. Facilities were generally clean and nice.

Big con: teachers were generally uninterested in and/or unsuited for childcare, you would almost never see a teacher voluntarily interacting with a child (the most notable exception being Cindy, who was really sweet but unfortunately not our child's teacher). I get the sense it's difficult to hire enough teachers for the hours / teachers who are willing to commute to the area. Because of almost complete lack of supervision, our child was scratched, bitten, and pinched more in the 3 months we were in KinderCare than in his previous 2 years at his prior daycare. In addition, he picked up some bad habits from the teachers (yelling) and reported being hit when told to pay attention (it's difficult to gauge whether the latter actually occurred, but it's plausible and at least raised suspicions). One of my child's early teachers was dismissed for roughly pulling students by their arms. Many incidents do not go reported because the center intentionally communicates verbally so as not to leave a paper trail. I do not know whether this is implicit KinderCare policy or something local.

Running a daycare center is very difficult and Elvia was very responsive to our concerns, but ultimately it was too much for her as well and I believe she's resigned by now.

Ultimately I don't recommend this daycare center. No parent likes to leave a negative review about child care, but I feel I would be doing a disservice to other parents to leave only universally glowing reviews up.

David G.

Hope Street Friends/KinderCare is an absolute gem. My kid has been in the infant room for several months since post-COVID reopening, and we have had nothing short of a perfect experience.

Because we started daycare just as pandemic was waning, we ended up trying two different daycares before settling on Hope Street Friends/Kindercare. I felt that my kid was cared for and safe at all of them, but there are some very clear advantages to Hope Street Friends/Kindercare:

- Their management is fantastic. They use an app for all communication, so there's never any doubt about what my kid ate or did---and I don't have to remember to take a photo of a day-sheet before leaving.

- I get regular, adorable photos.

- Pickup and dropoff is incredibly efficient. Parking is easy. And I am never stuck waiting for my kid, even if I get there at peak times. (At previous daycares I sometimes waited up to 30 minutes---which was grating, when I was busy.)

- The hours (7am-7pm) are priceless for working parents. Having to get a kid before a 5pm or 6pm closing time is often very inconvenient on a busy day---and forces you to commute when traffic is at its worst.

- Finally, the teachers come across as experienced and loving. They've never seemed flustered; my kid is genuinely happy to see them. It's a great comfort to know he's having the time of his life while I'm in my office.

All in all: It's an A+ experience. I am very glad we landed there.

Matthew D.

My children have been enrolled for the past 5 years, since each of them were 5 months old. HSF is fantastic. The kids have thrived in a caring and challenging environment. We shopped around when our kids were entering preschool, and we found that the preschool program at HSF was equal to or stronger than the preschools that are frequently mentioned as the best in the city. Our son has now graduated to Kindergarten and was more than prepared. If anything, he was ready for first grade already!

Steve B.

Remarkable center with lovely teachers. My women love attending and have heard a lot in their own time. I could not be happier with our experience.

Madeleine H.

Amazing center with wonderful teachers. My girls love attending and have learned so much in their time there. Couldn't be happier with our experience.

Dalila R.

A wonderful place to work and send your child to learn.