Cyc Dorothy Gautreaux

Honestly, Dorothy Gautreaux is okay, but it definitely feels like your typical city center. I'm glad they passed their City of Chicago audit recently—that gives me some peace of mind that they're meeting the basic health and safety codes—but the building itself feels pretty dated. It’s a bit of a struggle with the typical daycare germs; I feel like my little one is coming home with a runny nose every other week, and I wish they were a bit more aggressive with the sanitizing in the common areas. The staff is nice, but I think they're spread pretty thin, so sometimes I worry if they're catching the start of a fever or if a kid really should've been sent home earlier. It's affordable and local for us in Riverdale, but it's pretty 'no-frills' when it comes to the wellness side of things.

My little one has been at Dorothy Gautreaux for a few months now and honestly, I'm pretty happy with how they handle the germ factor. You know how daycare can be a total petri dish, but the classrooms here actually look and smell clean when I drop him off. They’re super strict about the 'stay home if you have a fever' rule, which can be a pain when you're trying to get to work, but it definitely helps keep the flu from sweeping through every single kid. The staff is really good about calling right away if something seems off, and I like that they focus on keeping the kids active instead of just sitting around all day.