school program staff

early childhood teacher

operations lead

childcare provider

office administrator

Summit Kids

The senior supervisors and Human Resources manager of the company, Summit Kids, have no credibility. I was given a false promise of being able to transfer to another location, if I would continue working until the end of the school term, because I would then have seniority to be able to transfer to another campus; however, I discovered before the new school year, this promise was not true, because I was not re-hired. It took me over 30 minutes to get to work, which was very stressful for me, and then 45 minute to return home! What also angered me, was when I  requested 2 days off, so that I would be able to go to a retreat, but then I was told by the supervisor of my campus that I was denied the time off, because I was needed too much as a driver.
There was a four hour staff meeting that was required for all the Summit employees. Then, after looking at my pay cheque, I realized it was unpaid, and by being unpaid, it is against the employment standards regulations. Seventy employees who attended were also unpaid. So, multiply the wages of these unpaid employees by four hours. The employer saved a substantial amount of money by not paying us! Also, there was a revolving door of employees.  During my 8 months of employment, 5 employees had quit. 
During a surprise audit by the government, one room that the children used as a reading room had to be closed, because the company did have the proper inspection. Another issue, was that I had to find my own place to rest during my one hour lunch break, such as resting underneath the stairs, because there was no staff room where we could some rest. I was also asked to use my own vehicle to give my campus lead and some employees a ride to the school during a rain storm, instead of using the company vehicle. For some reason we were not allowed to use it. This was done during my own time. Luckily the school was only a few blocks away and I did it as a favor to my campus lead because she was nice, and respected me, because I reduced her work load, when I took some children to school, and re-typed the bus schedule instead of her.
Summit Kids has a ridiculous policy of the drivers needing to keep their eyes open, even when the bus is parked when a driver is waiting for the children. My logic is that it is better to be well rested and attentive when driving, than to be tired and inattentive. The Company seemed to be more interested in keeping its image more than the safety of the children. Other companies I worked for did not care if driver had their eyes closed while waiting for the children to embark onto the bus. Another policy that Summit Kids broke, was that for several months, the company did not have a required Child Care Supervisor to monitor the children in the morning. Instead, there were only Child Care Assistants, and this issue was corrected, only after the government did a surprise audit on this Summit campus.

What a breath of fresh air it is to find this website and to read the other employment experiences people have had at Summit Kids!

Honestly, it was one of THE worst employment experiences of my life and I have had many different employment experiences and that is saying something given I have worked with children in both educational (now a teacher!) and out of school care settings coming up on 8 years.

The culture here is totally abysmal. You can feel the negative energy when you walk in the door. The rooms are set up purely for 'show'. There are strict 'rules' about how you are allowed to set up activities and engage with children, which is clearly set up by someone who is not educated in the field and by individuals who have never actually worked with children. There is absolutely no thought or care given to ideas, perspectives or suggestions offered by team leaders while the 'managers' sit on their phone during program time.

The upper management is non-existent--they will never be there to get to know you on a personal level--the orientation reminded me of a pyramid scheme--just money hungry bosses who are very good at acting like they care about the field of childcare.

 If you move or re-arrange something in one of their 'decorated' spaces (for children) you are given a verbal warning. The art activities are pre-set and you are monitored to ensure they are shown correctly and stay within the guidelines (don't even think about using a different colour paint...OH! and don't even think about giving them sharpie markers if you want to keep your job because that is against the rules).

Children's work and voice is non-existent in their so called 'spaces'--they are just about appearance, profit and not at all about learning and applying theories and perspectives about the field of childcare. 

They hire managers that don't care about children and claim to be lead by 'research' when they couldn't be further form it. They are more interested in sabotaging one another through workplace competition and rudeness and finding like-minded individuals who also fit into their negative, gossipy and rule-bound cult culture. 

In closing: Please, PLEASE, Please stay away from this organization if you are a caring, thoughtful and educated individual who is interested in fostering engagement and relationships with children and their families as I promise you--you will not fit in and will wish you had never even applied.

I understand that everyone has a different perspective, and not everyone is the right fit for a specific child care company. From my perspective, I don’t think the happy people are submitting reviews here.

Summit Kids is unique. I have personally had two positive experiences as a Campus Lead at Summit Kids. I actually left for a few years to pursue other teaching jobs, and returned, craving the structure and the energy that a position at Summit Kids can provide.

The standards might be higher than at other child care places that I have worked, but the opportunities to learn and grow are endless. I feel that the professional development opportunities were outstanding at Summit Kids, and so was the support that I received from the management.

I was able, and encouraged, to think outside the box, and I felt that my creativity was encouraged and nourished at SummitKids. The relationship between staff and the families is a special one, and the expectations to have high quality programming resulted in happy children and happy families. There were many structures in place that were helpful to ensure that nothing was forgotten. Teamwork was embraced and encouraged, and opportunities to meet with other leaders happened weekly.

I would certainly recommend working at Summit Kids if you’re a creative person who is interested in continuous improvement. I haven’t had other jobs that I would want to return to, but I have no regrets that I returned to Summit Kids, and although my career path has gone in a new direction, I credit my development at Summit Kids for that.

It’s a place that meets you where you’re at, and brings out the best in you, if you’re up for the challenge of sharpening your skills to be the best you can be. ;)



I will give them this, most of the kids are actually alright and you can have fun with them if you have the right mindset. Most of the other staff are also very friendly and are good with the kids. My issue is that the position I applied for was "driver," I was hired as a "driver," but then told to get the child development paper "just in case you want to become a child group leader in the future." On my first day I was being introduced as a driver and a child group leader. I understand its a daycare/after school care facility but had I know the position was essentially childcare with some driving I would never have even applied. I was not the only one they did this to. There were others who were forced into one thing that was the polar opposite of what they applied for. 

Another issue was the hours. Six hour work day, part time, no benefits. Except the six hours was split up. Two hours in the morning, four in the afternoon. Essentially, a ten or eleven hour day but only being paid for six. 

There are much better places to go if you want to develop skills in childcare. Managers do the best with the resources they're given in terms of equipment and toys they can buy for you to use with the kids, but those resources are extremely limited. Lots of stuff gets broken or goes missing and simply doesn't get replaced. 

I could go on and on about this place but I'll just say this: this place will destroy your mental health. Look elsewhere.

Where do I even start here. The owners are so out of touch with the industry they only started the con-pany years ago as a means to an end. They don't care about the kids as it's all for show and rules being broken all the time.

The mentality of the companies owners are so toxic it bleeds into the culture of the rest of the organization where they don't tell each the head office anything to avoid conflict, even if it means dangers to children.

The mentorship and guidance are a joke at best and the Most of thr management ensemble is only there to collect a pay cheque and put up/tolerate the owners trivial methods of engaging employees or lack of training.

Probably one of the lowest paid in childcare and one of the most unethical when it comes to running a business.

If you want to have a career. Avoid this place.
if you want to find a part time job. Avoid this place.

I cant go into all the crazy details of my horrible 7 months here but do pay attention and speak up because all of the other senior staff are too scared to say anything to the owners/management on how they really feel.

Do not work here! They do not pay the full amount they owe you when you start it is essentially a glorified daycare you will burn out. The pay is very little for all the work you must do! If you cater to children at snack time, and lunchtime you will get sick as well. you will also wash and disinfect toys. I literally had a breakdown working at this place. The work schedule is wonky you will get the 9-6 option, or the 7-10 then the 2-6 which is a split shift. In a regular educational setting, they usually have you working from 7-3:30. Going forward avoid such places because the employees don't matter. The other locations I worked at were disorganized, and the staff was under a lot of pressure, furthermore, the children were micromanaged. You would be obligated to go to other locations without any compensation. They will start you at 17-19 dollars depending on your ECE level. this company is a huge red flag if enough constructive complaints come in they may change the structure of the company. Always verify a company review.  

I feel like over the last few years, the quality has gone WAY down. When I first joined Summit Kids, I felt supported, was given excellent resources & professional development opportunities. But somewhere along the line..everything changed. 

Operations Management had no power to make any changes or do anything to help the program supervisors. This was due, in my opinion to the extreme instability of the CEO and her decision making ability.  First one thing, than another.....change after random, non-sensical change. No clear direction for the company's path...taking off on holidays ..leaving everyone wondering what they were supposed to do and giving NO CLEAR LEADERSHIP to operations management who are left to answer all the questions of the supervisors..and having no answers. 

The only reason I stayed so long was my dedication to my program, kids &staff. And I never recieved ANY recognition of my hard work and dedication. I eventually burned out and left because I just couldn't take it anymore. 

Also....a t-shirt is NOT a reward for years of dedication and hard work...and they were UGLY to..

Yes the hours are long and the pay isn't amazing but that is childcare.

Summit Kids in my experience has provided some of the best pay within the industry and frequently supports their team members where they can. Management recognizes when people are doing amazing work and provides them with feedback on how they can improve and help within the company.

There is frequent encouragement from team members to provide opportunities to meet up and learn about each other despite the wide spread of the company. There are frequent training opportunities and chances to see amazing speakers within the industry to help bolster knowledge and skills.  

Hardest part of the job is the long hours and low pay but that is childcare.

Best part of the job is the kids, shortly followed by feeling as if you are part of a family and being able to interact openly with so many individuals in the industry at different levels.

I lasted as long as I did in this job thanks to the lovely people I had on site with me, but if it had been up to management, I would have been out of there nearly right away. the parents always complained about the high turn over rate in the location, and honestly, it was easy to see why people did not want to stay. management is disorganized, most of the people have absolutely NO previous childcare experience, and have no idea what they're doing, we were often short staffed, got written up for trying to take time off for medical appointments/procedures (I once got written up for needing to go to the doctor due to my liver failing, and even though I gave them 3 weeks notice, they said I wasn't allowed the time off) and the pay was not worth it at all for the amount of work we had to do, and the lack of support we received. we would go weeks at a time without receiving proper materials, emergency kit supplies, and emergency snack supplies. would never work here again. 

The best part of the job is most certainly the awesome groups of kids you get to work with, along with the freedom to great programming that you feel is impactful.

The hardest part of the job is that management is still figuring itself out and changing frequently.

Summit Kids is a company that has expanded very quickly in a short amount of time. There is an underlying basis for an amazing work atmosphere however the company needs some time for its communication lines and management system to figure out the kinks. The hours are long and the pay isn't amazing but that's what childcare is a lot of hard work for not a lot of pay but in the end you feel rewarded for educating and enhancing children's lives.

Summit Kids does have an amazing team in the management seat with some big hearts however communication issues cause large areas of frustration for many employees.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
School program staff 5 salaries reported	$26.25 per hour
Early childhood teacher 22 salaries reported	$21.52 per hour
Operations lead 4 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Childcare provider 4 salaries reported	$19.57 per hour
Office administrator 4 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour

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