My daughter started here a couple months ago, after staying home with me and constantly being since she was born, she's now 18 months. Right away you could tell how much she loved it. She is so happy to go every morning and runs and hugs her teachers. The only time I've seen any crying is when her teacher has left before I pick her up. She was sick and out for several days (daycare ick after never being around kids plus being a quarantine baby) and she was extremely excited to go back. She brought me her shoes several times while she was out, indicating she was ready to go, the first day she went back her excitement started as soon as we got in the car to leave and once we pulled up she was overjoyed. They're great about updates, keeping you in the know and have been so patient with me even what I'm sure it wasn't always easy. It's given me a huge piece of mind knowing that she's happy and being taken care of, even if I sometimes I do get just a liiiiitle jealous. read more

We enjoy Bright Beginnings for our child. She has fun daily and we like the reports they send each day. It has been a positive environment.

If zero was an option I would have chosen it, this place is extremely understaffed and everyone looks exhausted out of their minds. The place has this fish/ paint smell and the ceilings are peeling and have a stain on them, I went with my friend who has a child in this school, and the ceiling was leaking. If you want your child to have proper childcare DO NOT take them here because there are too many kids and not enough teachers and so much burnout is shown on everyone's faces. Not to mention the owner just seems to not care about any of the staff who are nice people who deserve more than being underpaid and having to deal with so many kids in one room. read more

Disappointing to say the least Sorry to say, but parents need to be honest with each other. Our experience was this- a lack of communication in nearly every regard, from minimal to no updates on our child's day, to weeks going by without a response to emails sent to administrators. A far cry from students playing in "organic gardens" and engaged in "child initiated learning" as advertised, we saw primarily worn out plastic toys and considerable amounts of screen time. Screen time for toddlers in a preschool? Yeah, we were surprised, too. Keep in mind that when choosing a school you're paying for a service, on top of providing your child with an environment where they can thrive. And because you can rely on their care, you can rest easy while you tackle the other parts if your work/home/personal life. Countless times we were messaged in the morning that school was short staffed that day and would need to turn away students. Often at pick up, our child was with an individual whom we had never met and who sometimes we never saw again. Staff seemingly came and went without any notice to families. Other times we witnessesd teachers aggressively yelling at children to stop behavior that was entirely developmentally appropriate (digging in an uncovered, unsupervised sandbox). Yikes! When these concerns were addressed per the school's "Happy Family Guarantee" we were assured that change would ensue, yet here we are. To us, these things meant that our family couldn't rely on the care we paid for, and when we were there, we always felt worried that our kid/their peers weren't getting what they deserved. A quick internet search revealed that owners of the school have also worked for an advisory group who council early childhood educators on how to maximize profit. Big sigh. And heads up, the school frequently requests that families nominate them for "Best Preschool" awards in exchange for $100 gift cards, so keep that in mind when reviewing their accolades. As parents who care not only about our own family, but the safety and well-being of every child, we can not, in good conscience, recommend this school. read more

Our son was here for almost three months before we relocated out of state. It makes me sad to write this review because my experience since leaving this daycare has only validated my concern. My complaint is very simple; every single day, I would send my child to the Mill Creek location with pants on. Every single day, he would be returned to me, not wearing pants. His legs were very cold to the touch at pick up and so I asked if they could please put his pants back on after diaper changes. They NEVER did. It's concerning because if you're not staffed well enough in the infant classroom to put a babies pants back on after a diaper change, well then something is very wrong. I do think the facilities are nice and a few teachers were great. But overall, I would not recommend this facility until they resolve their communication and/or staffing situation. read more

I do not recommend you bring your child to Bright Beginnings. We pulled our daughter out after a week but we had red flags throughout the sign up process. They are deeply disorganized at the administrative level and it inspires no confidence that they can provide quality care. The second day of pickup they brought me some other Asian child (I am Asian). Apparently they will just let your kids go home with whoever, and won't ask about who you're there for. Not great! If you tour, you'll get dozens of frantic marketing emails asking you to "Sign up today!" "Book a tour!" even if you've already paid your registration fee. If you reach out to the admin people over email you'll rarely get a response in writing, and they will never remember who your kid is or when your start date is. If you're wondering why they have to advertise so thoroughly and mail out hundreds of coupons, it's probably because they can't stand on good word of mouth and quality care. There's bad price transparency, and a slew of $50, $100, and $200 fees throughout their contract documents which gave me the impression they kind of just want to charge you for whatever they feel like. Tuition is not on the website as you may have noticed. When we toured the Crozet location, the person we met with did not provide us with a printed fee schedule, but she did write the monthly rate on a piece of paper and slide it across the table like we were in a high stakes negotiation in an 80s movie. In case you're curious: Infant/Waddler (6 wks - 15 mo) $1525 for 5 days/wk Toddlers: (16-24 mo) $1200 for 5 days/wk Twos: (24-36 mo) $1125 for 5 days Threes: $1075 for 5 days PreK: $1025 for 5 days For $1525/mo plus a $150 registration fee and a $300 infant registration fee and a $300 "program enhancement fee" you could do WAY BETTER. Keep shopping around and don't go to Bright Beginnings. read more

This is a beautiful facility staffed with loving, kind and hard-working staff, truly interested in each child. The pre-school curriculum is a wonderful blend of serious learning activites presented in a fun and engaging way. Lots of outdoor playtime, which is so important. The classrooms are well-designed and stocked full with age appropriate, high-quality, furniture, books, and educational supplies. Our grandson LOVED being a Cheetah! read more

Our daughter Lila loved the school. We loved the school. I felt the teachers ran a great program. She was always tired by days end they kept her engaged. And she learned she would come home talking positively about her day. Really glad we had picked them, if we had not moved we would have said. read more

We have been very pleased with this school. We have a child in the 2 year old class and the preK. Upon walking inside, it feels nice, homey, and (somehow) relaxing- quite the opposite of other daycares I've visited in cville that have that "institutionalized", sterile, cold feeling. Parents are friendly with each other during pick up/drop off- everyone is just happy. Most importantly, our picky kids love it too. read more

Almost a year after I had my first baby, we moved from Texas to Charlottesville and I decided to go back to work, talk about a big transition! Even from the start when I was reserving my baby's spot at Bright Beginnings from my home in Texas, the staff was wonderful in helping me to feel reassured that they would have a place for him when we arrived, we could tour all 3 locations and meet the staff too. I think they could tell I was nervous about having to make reserve a spot at a facility I hadn't toured. However, military life can make life tricky sometimes and we just deal with it! I remember the first day I dropped my baby off at Bright Beginnings, I know that I cried more than he did! The staff even had a packet of Kleenex ready for me as I filled out my paperwork! What I love about Bright Beginnings is that it is more than just a business to them, I know that they really truly care about my baby and his family! I feel 100% confident that I know my baby is in the safest of hands when he is dropped off every morning and if I do ever have an issue or concern I feel that I can talk open and honestly with the staff too. My child I loved at Bright Beginnings, even though he has only been in the baby room and recently transitioned to the toddler room, it seems like all the staff know him and everyone greets him by name! Aside from knowing he is surrounded by caregivers who are truly passionate about children and skilled and experienced about taking care of them, I love the Bright Beginnings curriculum. The communication is excellent, every week and every day I am informed about the activities my baby is participating in. Art projects, sensory play, fine motor skills, and just for fun activities, my baby has the chance to experience so much here! To be honest, its more than I know I could provide him with at home! I also love the Tadpoles communication application they use. I get daily reports on my child and almost every other day I receive pictures and videos of him at school. It's really brightens my day and helps me record precious memories of him! Tadpoles even lets me communicate with the teachers from the app if I'm not there at drop-off to tell them something. I'm so glad we found Bright Beginnings for our family. It really has made the transition of going back to work easy on us knowing that Louis learning and thriving in a safe and loving environment. read more

There is no communication between family and director！All I got was just bunch email talked about how great is the school. I have been trying to reach out million times just trying to see if we can speak with someone and get more info about school and potentially a virtual tour，but apparently no one want to talk to us. On the website they literally said they have opening call us today，but unfortunately no one ever pick up their phone and respond their email. How funny！A daycare doesn't want talk to potential new family（we literally will pay them thousands dollars） Maggie did pick up her phone one time and told me she is in a meeting and will call me back and guess what she never did and then I tried call her back，no surprise no one ever pick up the phone again！No matter how many voice mails you left or emails you sent.  I don't believe a single word that in those email they sent. This is just a joke！ read more

Parents BE AWARE! If you take your child there she will be abused, hungry, and changed once before you pick her up. The management is the worst they lie into your face about everything! I'm still having an emotional trauma after our experience with Bright Beginnings. I hope that no child will have to go through this horrible experience! read more

My son has been at Bright beginnings now for six months, starting as an infant, and I've been very happy with the care that he's had so far. Ms Brooklyn runs a tight ship. I think there was one time in the past six months where they had to turn away several children because they had reached full capacity for the number of employees that were there that day. I think there were two teachers out sick and two additional teachers that had to stay home because of sick children.I've heard several friends be alarmed by that fact, but I actually think it's a good sign because it means they're following regulations, where as other facilities might just turn a blind eye. I would much rather my son get proper care with a proper teacher to child ratio and very very rarely be inconvenienced if that wasn't possible. The facility recently had some interior upgrades and it looks great. I would not hesitate to recommend this daycare facility to anyone. read more

As a former employee- take your kids elsewhere. In the 4 months I was employed here, the school failed 3 Child Protective Services checks. Staff with no experience was hired- I was there when one of those employees fell asleep feeding an infant and dropped the child on their head. There is no hired cleaning company, bathrooms are filthy. All the staff is overworked and tired. Employees of 10+ years working 6-6pm shifts. My coworker, a single mom with a child was the infant room teacher and was making $10/hr. Rarely were classes in ratio. An average day was 10-15 2 year olds under the care of myself and 1 other staff. Emails are sent out to families saying "small class sizes are priority" and "top notch cleaning is done daily"- despite already not having enough staff for the amount of students, new students were always being enrolled. The site we used to tell parents what their children were doing in class was totally fabricated. We'd lie daily about sensorimotor activities, giving infants tummy time, taking them outside, activities they did etc, when in reality all there was time for was diapers, bottles, and trying to keep them alive. For the money spent, you are absolutely getting scammed. "Program enhancement fees".. for the nonexistent activities we claim the children do. For the safety and wellbeing of your child, go elsewhere. read more

I normally dont give Hail Marys (5 stars) but when it comes to my children or someone else's I think an establishment either makes it or doesn't.. The interview process and orientation was superior.. I was made to feel right at home.. I felt my child was going to be safe and comfortable. I get a daily outline by email on activities with pictures. All questions are answered with details anytime I have a concern.. The teachers take a personal interest not just showing up to get a check..My 2 year old loves this place. After doing some research around Charlottesville I am extremely satisfied... Thanks Miranda and your team of professionals!!! read more

You guys are great. I love the premium education and experience my daughter receives.

I could't be happier with the teachers and management. The renovations are stunning- you really have to go and see them for yourself. There are no other preschools in the area that provide this kind of environment for children! read more

This is not a good place to take your child. The owner is horrible and only cares about herself. She literally sits at her homem office and talks so bad about ALL of the directors and staff. She only cares about money. So many parents accounts are messed up and the infant rooms are not designed correctly. They have mobile and non-mobile infants in the same room. Definitely not worth the money! The owner has lied on her directors and staff. Teachers let children get so dirty outside playing in the mulch and dirt and not cleaning them at pick up. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE place to take your kids!!!! read more

I worked for this preschool and left. The management was horrible. PJ Gilbert was degrading. While working there I only met the owner once because she was always at her home in California. They never would fix the clock in so they never paid me for the correct hours I worked although I asked daily. When I decided to leave they made not only me but others who left change their statement as to why they were leaving. Whenever they knew the licensing was coming to check up on the school they would shift the staff and move the cribs back to the way licensing would approve of and make it so the child to staff ratios were good. Some days they would not give me a lunch break and took advantage of the new staff. The turnover rate is extremely high. Three people left the week before I joined. The staff was nice but management was very poor. Don't send your children to this preschool. read more

On the surface, Bright Beginnings appears to be a great choice. They have a little hiking trail, organic garden, great hours and a very convenient location. But the staff turnover has been astounding. Our son has had 5 teachers in one year. Many mornings, it is pure chaos at drop off. Communication is very poor. We've liked many of the teachers, but the work environment they are subjected to is unacceptable. I regret our decision to place our son here. read more

We had our three year old daughter here when we first relocated to Charlottesville. I should have known from some of the warning signs that this facility had no clue on what they were doing. However, it was nicely redone and the teachers all seemed nice during our tour. During the short two months my daughter was there, she was treated like a number... she went through two directors, two teacher and classroom changes and multiple teacher assistants. It was no surprise, when we went to pick her up, no one even could locate her at times because they didn't know any of the kids!!!! Now, almost a month later, we are being contacted about billing issues. At first, we were told we have to pay the entire month of November because we didn't give the full 30 day notice (although they already took the $300 deposit for this)... wait it gets better: after about a week of talking to multiple people via email (no one ever wants to talk on the phone with you) I finally get a call now stating actually we don't owe for November but we never paid for October so we owe that. Again, everything about this place screams extremely unorganized and misinformed - and after all of this back and forth NO ONE ever accepted this was any of their fault just always stating something about how they are learning to make it better for their families and children. I've heard better things about the other locations but at all costs avoid the Forest Lakes location! read more

My son has attended Bright Beginnings at Mill Creek for almost 2 years. We have Ms. Alison and I requested he remain in her class for his Pre-K year. She is really creative and the kids absolutely love her. Over the 2 years, there has been quite a bit of turnover, mainly with directors, I believe we have seen 5 different directors; however, the current director, Ms. Michelle, is AMAZING! She has made a lot of positive changes and has had an overall positive effect on the school. I would definitely recommend this school! read more