COCA — Center of Creative Arts — Attraction in University City

Other than the nonprofits that are outright embezzling and defrauding people, the worst kind is the organization that takes from the community to enrich itself through entirely legal means. I have lived behind COCA for five years and their multi-million dollar facilities expansion and renovation used heavy construction equipment that completely ruined the alley behind COCA—an alley shared by many many residents including faculty and staff from WashU and non-uni folks. Initially they admitted responsibility and got the two equipment-created potholes in the cement filled with tar. Needless to say the tar filling lasted about 6 months. The structural damage to the concrete wasn’t just the two portholes but cracks you can see leading from kingsland avenue right to COCA’s back door. Since the “bandaid solution” failed, they started to deny any responsibility and suggested I deal with the UCity govt. I am beyond disgusted by their irresponsible, selfish, and decidedly Anti-community stance. You do not trash public spaces to enrich your private organization, and they should have hired their contractors to fix the decimated concrete alley that continues to disintegrate. COCA’s shameless, uncaring, arrogant attitude towards the community in which they are embedded is also obvious in how they periodically use the neighboring apartments trash bins to get rid of bulk items that they should be donating, recycling, or at the very least, disposing of in the responsible way. The hypocrisy of purporting to serve the community, while simultaneously trashing it with abandon is beyond despicable. These ongoing behaviors belie callous and self-superior leadership for whom “community” is just a marketing word to get more donations so they can build taller private buildings, and trash public spaces in...

The institution only cares for money and not the well-being of the children. If I could give them zero starts I would. They approved for a 6 years old child to take classes and summer camps with kids 8 to 10 years old just to please the request and schedule of the father disregarding the concerns from the mother (divorce parents). They are disregarding their own policies since they list age ranges for the classes and all possible social implications for a child that will be the only 6 years old (kindergarten) with a class full of 8 to 10 years old kids (4th and 5th) during whole days. They don't even are able to give an argument of need for this exception due to child's skills. There are answers were and I quote "The final decision rest with the registering ($$$) parent'. 'For camp approval we don't always consult instructors first'. 'I personally have not seen (Child's name) art". "We think the...

This review only applies to preschool summer camps, which I do not recommend. The classrooms were small and consistently unclean (or even picked up), large groups of young kids with minimally engaged staff, the activities and crafts were underwhelming. We signed up for 2 summer camps, after a bad experience with the first camp, we tried to unenroll. Since we missed the cut off for refund, I went ahead and tried one day of second camp. It was more of the same, our child, who separates easily and doesn’t usually have anxiety, lasted 20 minutes before I was called because he told staff his body and stomach hurt. I was glad he did, because I didn’t have a good feeling dropping him off either! We won’t try them...