We disenrolled my son after only two months at Lightbridge Academy Westfield. Honestly, we would…read morehave done it sooner if it weren't for their 45-day policy, and we regret not pushing to pull him out ASAP. The number of issues we had in such a short time was horrendous. My son was in the mobile infant room. First, at the open house, there was no communication about the children's daily schedule, and the overall presentation was unprofessional. The teachers read off a paper and gave us no instructions on drop-off/pick-up routines. Almost daily, my son's lunch dishes were scattered throughout his bags, lost, or we took home another child's materials. We packed lunch and snacks daily. However, my son was continuously fed snacks from the school without my permission, and when I would bring it up I was assured they were not. But at pick up, they would tell me he enjoyed the school snack today. The staff in the room was unprofessional. They were using the iPad for personal searches, the pictures they sent home were blurry or did not always include our child, and they were not warm and friendly to us. The app was never accurate, and we were rarely updated on the amount of food he was eating. If this was brought up, we were told the app was down. But then magically fixed moments later. The communication between the teachers was awful. Their tone towards us and our son was rude, condescending, and it often felt like they did not like him. Because of these attitudes, we did not report the small issues for fear of retaliation against our son. Unfortunately, these are only the small issues, but towards the end, there were issues of neglect. In my son's last week at Lightbridge, he was sent home twice with a diaper that was clearly not changed in a long time. Each time it was about 4 hours in between. They would change him, give him lunch, put him down for a nap, and wait an hour or so after he woke up to change him again. On his last day, he had such a bad rash that he was struggling to walk. Not a single teacher in the room noticed. It is hard to tell if they don't care or are disorganized. However, changing a baby after a nap is common sense. When we called to complain (for the sake of other children), Olive gave us a run-of-the-mill response with no remorse. We highly recommend that you do not send your child here.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the Lightbridge Academy in Westfield, NJ. The…read moreteachers and administration have been so pleasant to work with and so welcoming. The safe and clean environment is a perfect setting for our daughter to learn and to thrive and there are constant activities throughout the day to keep her stimulated and active. Additionally, they have tons of varying activities that center around a weekly theme to really hone in on the subject and help children understand the dynamics. For us, Lightbridge Academy was the perfect choice for our child.

Few years after leaving heritage I still think about how bad I feel for not listening to my sons…read morecues. And what different feedback I get from my sons teachers after we left. They never believe the challenges and behaviors he showed there and for a kid who had a hard time with speech, I now know these behaviors were his distress call. Poor buddy. So thankful for all those teachers around him after heritage who saw/see how bright and kind he is and who enjoy him. Also I've seen bad reviews before on this over the years, including the one I placed while there. They somehow disappear.

This is the worst run school I've ever sent a child too and I would absolutely not do it again. The…read moremanagement is horrific and everytime I pick my child up between 4:30 and 5:30 the kids are lined up outside their room just sitting against the wall waiting for their parents. I highly recommend never sending your children here.

I sent my two daughters to this school. They were in pre-school 2 and 3. The first thing that…read moremade me feel something was wrong was the abnormally high teacher turnover (7 different teachers in less than a year). Granted this was during COVID but none of the other schools had such a high turnover. It was also messy, disorganized and their communication was horrible. I think could have lived with all that. However, my 3 year old came home with a black eye one day. She told me that "Ms Yin Li kicked her in the face with her foot because she was angry that she would not fall asleep during nap time". When I called the school the next day to ask what happened, the principal, owner and other staff, tried to give me 100 theories as to what could have happened to her (she must have bumped herself against the cot, she probably hit herself against the bench because kids fight for the red bench, it happened outside of school, etc) instead of focusing on what my child was saying. I tried to have the school press charges against Yin Li, but she had already also resigned and they told me it was "too late" (maybe 5 weeks had passed since the incident) so I decided to file a complaint with the state (which came back inconclusive but at least I reported and recorded the incident). Please don't send your kids to this place, there are other much better schools in the area. I met up with one of the parents a few weeks ago and about 80% of the kids moved on to other schools as well. My name is May Hou, and everything in this message is true.

My son has been going to the Livingston location now for two years, and he definitely loves it. We…read moreare in PreK-3 now, he loves the teachers and his new friends. The teachers are extremely nurturing and attentive to the children. I have nothing but great things to say to others when people ask me about that school. We will definitely keep him in this school till he is ready for public.

Overall my son only attended maybe 4 months because I felt he could receive a better education…read moreexperience in a more supportive environment. (kindercare Clark is a much better fit) The building itself was kept clean and in order. I did however find the classrooms to be small and restrictive for two reasons: age of busy little students and class size number. The classes seem to have about 10-12 students in a very small room all day. Some may think it's intimate I viewed it as suffocating. While I did find some teachers to be nice, I found many to be fake nice. Smile at you but scream at the kids. Mind you the children are 3-5 years old. I believe they use times excessively for this age group, they use write ups excessively for this age group, they do not provide enough activities, and I felt they were always treating black boys harshly when I was around. They have one teacher I believe her name is Mary who was terrible to toddlers screamed at them from drop off to pick up. I stayed and caught marry yelling at my son as soon as she thought I left . Chastising babies as if they understand her logic. I heard her berating children. She also has a bluelivematters sticker (mind you I have never seen a Blue human) in a place with many black children and teachers which to me directly says black lives do not matter. I spoke to the director about the teachers and the use of 10 minute or more time outs on 3 year olds. Terrible way to treat little ppl. Pay more and go somewhere else.

My child has been attending Busy Bee since Feb. and I can't say anything but amazing things about…read morethis place. I feel like they are not just a childcare but an extension of our family. It truly feels like we are dropping our child off with a family member. We thank Busy Bee for making two worried parents feel at ease and reassured every step of the way. From the Director to all of the teachers we have been impressed. You are making the wrong choice if you go elsewhere!

We have children in 7th grade and 4th grade. We had started at MCDS in PK and had planned to go…read moreto public school. Plans were altered with COVID and we have never looked back. Our kids have thrived academically and enjoyed participating in extracurricular activities. Both areas that we found lacking in public school where we felt that the teachers really did not know our kids. We've been particularly impressed with the middle school teachers and the overall middle school experience. The strong academic focus and supportive environment have been invaluable. We feel similarly about the elementary school, which also provides an excellent foundation. The after-school programs, including Cross Country, Drama Club, Outdoor Living Skills Club, and Cooking Club, have also been exceptional. The teachers and staff leading these activities have been wonderful role models and have created a sense of community outside the classroom.

We have been extremely happy with MCDS. Our daughter who is in sixth grade now has been there…read moresince she was a baby. All of our experience with MCDS has been nothing but positive. She absolutely thrives there and doesn't want to be anywhere else. They have been so great to work with! Some things that we love about MCDS are the academic rigor, the school/life flexibility, and the nurturing environment. First, you will find at MCDS that they are usually one year ahead of the public school system. But on top of this, they also place the students according to their needs. So, if they need to be challenged more, they will move them up to something more advanced. Likewise, if the student needs more help in a subject, MCDS will make sure the student gets the individual attention they need to succeed. This is so much better than the public school system where every child has to fit the same mold. We also have an older son who has always been in the public school system. We clearly notice a difference in how MCDS sets their students up for success while the public school tends to not cater to the individual needs. Either the student is advanced or they are not, there is no in between and it is really difficult to move up. Second, the faculty and administration at MCDS are always willing to work with us to ensure our daughter has what she needs. If we need to take a trip during school or she is sick from school, they have always been good to work with us, to ensure that our daughter has what she needs and gives her the flexibility to make up work. They have also been very open to feedback about how to improve or what programs that we would like to see added. They work very hard to see how they can accommodate these requests. Lastly, we really appreciate the nurturing environment they create at MCDS. My daughter is so happy there, we couldn't imagine sending her anywhere else. She is growing to be a confident, smart and caring person and we have to say a lot of that is due to her time at MCDS. The teachers really get to know the students and take the time to be a part of their lives helping them grow into well-rounded individuals whether it is joking with them at lunch, helping with pancake breakfast or teaching one of the clubs. They teach the children to respect one another as well as the teachers at a very early age. The older students participate in a peer leader program where they work with the younger children to help them grow and learn. Not only is this a great program to teach the older students leadership skills and responsibility, but it helps provide a good example for the younger ones on how to behave and treat others. While MCDS is a small school, they are able to offer a nice variety of extracurricular activities for the students at all grade levels. They offer activities like track, soccer, cooking club, outdoor survival skills, drama, and yearbook. The kids really love all of these and it gives them something else to look forward to at school. It helps to build the camaraderie between the students regardless of age and they really support each other. As a parent, we are very grateful for our daughter to have this wonderful experience. Mendham Country Day School has become a part of our family and we couldn't imagine sending our daughter anywhere else.

Our experience at The Learning Experience in Livingston was deeply disappointing and harmful to our…read moreson. From the beginning, it felt as though the administration attempted to force our child into a rigid, cookie-cutter mold rather than approaching him as an individual. In the 90 days we were enrolled, the concerns raised often felt excessive and out of proportion for a typical four-year-old. During his time there, our son was subjected to bullying and unkind behavior from classmates, which was not adequately addressed. He experienced daily emotional meltdowns, asked to be picked him up early every day, and grew to hate going to school altogether. He expressed feeling that the administration and staff did not like him, which was heartbreaking to hear from a child so young. Communication with us was overwhelmingly negative. Not once did a staff member share something positive about our son, despite him being described by multiple childcare professionals we trust as exhibiting entirely age-appropriate behavior. We received near-daily reports of issues that felt outlandish and unnecessarily alarming. Additionally, very few staff members used positive reinforcement or supportive intonation when speaking to him. Class sizes were extremely large, up to 25 children in his class! Perhaps most troubling was the inconsistency and insensitivity in communication. While staff spoke one way to us in person, they sent urgent-toned emails about our son during two major life events for our family, including one email sent just two days before our wedding, framing matters as emergencies when they were not. Early childhood education should be rooted in patience, compassion, and developmental understanding. Based on our experience, I would not recommend this location.

I enjoyed visiting the Livingston location. Patty was a doll and made me feel very comfy. Planning…read moreon enrolling my little one here once there's a slot. The facility was clean and the teachers were all pleasant. Looking forward to the new outdoor playground area. If my viewpoint changes post enrollment you'll be sure to hear about it!

When we were moving back to the north east from CA, this school was what anchored us in NJ! It's…read moreour priority to make sure our daughter stay fully bilingual in Mandarin and English to stay connected with my side of the family and culture. We compared different immersion schools nearby but liked how nice the school facility as well as the teachers were. It was a leap of faith for us, but we are into our second year and still quite happy with the professionalism, the caring and loving characters of the teachers, as well as the constantly improving school programs. I really love the parent community too.

My children have been at HudsonWay for 4 years now. They started in Kindergarten and 3rd grade in…read morethe Spanish program. As we head into our 5th year, I am confident to say that we made the right decision. Our main priority was that our kids would be able to speak Spanish confidently and build relationships with the Spanish speaking side of their family that lives abroad. Well, we got that and so much more! The teachers at HudsonWay are irreplaceable. Their Spanish teachers are all native speakers from different countries and they each bring a warmth and special touch unique to their cultures. Their English and Math teachers are top notch. Because of the smaller class sizes, the teachers are able to provide a much more individualized approach to teaching and provide each student with what they need. They are also always available and happy to connect with parents. My kids have really enjoyed the engaging activities, projects and presentations which increase in complexity and rigor each grade level. As a parent, I too have enjoyed them, as we are invited in to see presentations and projects multiple times throughout the year. The community is tight knit and the parent board is very active in providing additional activities and experiences for the students and families. HudsonWay is comprised of families from all different backgrounds and walks of life, but at the same time, there is a common thread that runs through the community which is valuing language and learning. This makes HudsonWay a unique and special place; we are a diverse group in so many ways with a common cause bringing us together. Although my kids are in the Spanish program, they have friends in the Mandarin program as well as they are together for English, Art, Music, Phys Ed and more. Thank you, HudsonWay, for giving my kids the gift of language. It is a gift to our entire family!

I am two years into having a child at this school and let me tell you I am still being…read moreflabbergasted by how amazing an experience it has been for my child. The creativity that goes into the activities and thoughtfulness to growing her skills is over the top. These teachers are the real deal. They are smart and knowledgeable. They check in and really understand my child holistically - her strengths, weaknesses, personality, and home life. They factor it all in. They avail the kids to the latest in educational methods - always include sensory experience. I could not ask for a better school (more like a community) for my child! Please do not hesitate to welcome these people into your family. You will love it.