TUTOR TIME LEARNING CTR

My son came to Tutor Time mid-year, having left his previous center due to their dereliction of duty and unprofessional staff.  Tutor Time was run by Celena (not there anymore) and Mel (still there), both wonderful, friendly and helpful.  My wife and I explained the situation to them, and Celena waived the enrollment fee, which was a big help.  My son has food allergies, and Tutor Time is fully able to handle those needs, as well as being certified to administer medications, including epi-pens, so that was great. And they even let us bring in our own snacks and lunches for him (something most places will NOT do) because of the severity of his allergies.  Our son took to Tutor Time quickly, made a couple of friends even (he had not done so at his old place) and while their program was not as "academic" as I would have liked (not many pre-Ks are) it was pretty good for him socially and he did do some skill-building.  The staff/student ratio seemed pretty good, and a number of the teachers seemed quite nice.  There was one who was a bit stand-offish (I thought) and one who sort of rubbed me the wrong way (ironically, she was the one my son got on best with!) but overall, it seemed like a good crew.
A major downside -- they are VERY pricey (we chose them because they were so close, and they would accommodate our son's special dietary needs and meds) and they, we discovered too late, DO NOT contract with DSS for reduced-cost child care for lower-income families in the way that some other centers do.  I did not understand the intricacies and the terminology of the system going in, and by the time I learned how it really worked, I realized that if I had found another place, I could have paid perhaps $80-90 less PER WEEK.  Still, Celena knew were were on some hard times, and she tried to help us out in what ways she could.  It was a nice friendly place.  Celena left in May of 2012, and the new boss, Amy, was also very nice, but a little more "businesslike," and a touch less familiar than Celena.  A difference in style really, as she proved to be competent, friendly, and patient (although she was definitely good for 2 or 3 "friendly" phone calls if I was ever a day or two late with a payment... sheesh!)  I would recommend Tutor Time to anyone in the immediate local area, who can afford it.
I picked "no" to the "use them again" question because a.) I have no more children that young, so it's kind of N/A; and b.) knowing what I know now about the cost, I would try to save a little bit of money if we ever did have another little one anyway... $211 a week is a LOT of money  :-)