I attended this school from 4th through 10th grade. I have since learned that the school dropped…read moretheir 9th and 10th grade classes. At the time when I attended the school, there was a lot of time where we as students were left unsupervised. This led to a lot of difficult situations, one of which greatly injured me physically. While I was recovering, I was constantly getting calls from the school discouraging me from pursuing legal recourse, indicating that I was not a "true xian" if I sought out legal recompense. Well, my parents were in charge of such decisions at the time. And being devout to the church as they were, no legal recourse was pursued, much to the delight of the school at the time. Back then it was called Greater Philadelphia Junior Academy (GPJA). I attended a "reunion" there in the '10s. The Home and School leader asked me if I would consider sending my children to this school. My response: "Why would I ever do that? What have my children ever done to me?" The H&S leader quietly slunk away (this person was a classmate of my older sibling who attended this school as well). That is honestly how I feel about this school. There was a time when all of us as students were forced to gather in the auditorium/gymnasium for "Monday Morning Singspiration." It was just more indoctrination and trying to suppress independent thought. If you want your children to grow up as healthy, rational, critically thinking individuals, do not send them to this school. But if you're a SDA parent looking to send your kid to a private school in the Philadelphia suburbs, you're likely going to ignore everything in this review. Suit yourself.

I usually dont give reviews; however, I felt compelled to share my experience with HVCA having had…read morethe opportunity to meet and interract with the the new principal that started in August 2019, Mr. Chris Ebenizer. I gave a 4 star raiting because I feel that there is room for improvement; however, this is a nice place for children to be... where they feel safe and empowered! In a short time the new principal has put measures in place to restore/ensure that the school is a place where children respect their elders and each other. He has expressed to us specific academic skills onitiatives and is beief that Education and the love of God are paramount. The teachers (some new) are engaging with the kids at all levels. Soft skills such as listening and courtesy are being instilled... Values such as good manners and team work are being demonstrated on a daily basis as well. My wife and I make it a point to visit and we have observed these things. My son who we just enrolled in 1st grade loves the care and support from his Teacher Mrs. Rodriquez. She emphasizes disipline in education and often 'goes the extra mile' to show them love and encouragement in a Christian way. For example: my son was treated unkindly on the playground by an older child 2 weeks ago. He was nervous about speaking up at the time; but, upon telling my wife and I, we reported the incident on the same day. The principal and respective teachers met in the evening and responded by counseling each child individually the next day and followed up with both and ensured that the older child apologized and they now get along with no additional reported incidents. So, I do not know what caused people to say bad things about HVCA last year specifically; but, this experience is my testimony to the great environment for learning that is being cultivated currently... We did not receive this level of expected responsiveness with my son's development at public school where he was last year. Hence we looked for a nurturing environment and feel we have found it. This team that is managing the school is making a huge dufference. From my perspective, they have proven to be a loving, knowledgable and capable staff under Mr Ebenizer. I personally expect great things to develop from this environment that he is creating! Thank you HVCA team for all you do for these wonderful children!

The girls r mean and cheaters. They have no sense of humor and they are really rude. They are also…read morerude to the teachers.

Baldwin is a school where the faculty consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty for their…read morestudents. Students here are more than classmates, they are sisters. This school changed my mind about private education, these students continuously impress, push boundaries, and excel in every facet of life. Long live Baldwin.

TCA is, in my opinion, the only truly Christian school worth considering for kids in K - 12 in the…read morearea. What I mean is, I've never experienced any other school where the teachers and deans are dedicated to praying for the kids, guiding them, and making sure they take their academics seriously while supporting an actual Biblical world view. There are "Christian" schools throughout the Delaware Valley, and from what I've seen, these other schools are concerned with being considered "prestigious" so they can look impressive and charge very high tuition. TCA is NOT that. They are the real deal.

Fear filled, paranoid, and I was not expecting such a response when I called to leave a message for…read morethe principal. "Oh, I cannot promise that she will get back to you." We had positive interactions before with the previous headmaster. Have the phone scammers and fraudsters changed their once helpful policy when someone calls? I know evil is abounding in this fallen world. Disappointing especially since many Christian schools have closed with the pandemic and increased online K-12 options.

The JCC staff and facilities are top-notch. Every program we have participated in as a family has…read morebeen a great experience, and we are so happy to have the JCC in our community.

loved the JAB Basketball Clinic today !!! my 3 kids had a blast !!! thank you K JCC !!!read more

I can not say enough good things about this school. My son started going here at age 3 and the…read moreentire experience has been wonderful!! He has learned so much and throughout all his time has been surrounded by loving teachers. We are moving 10 miles away, but I will gladly make the commute for my second child. LOVE THIS SCHOOL!!

We previously had our son enrolled in another Goddard school, but when we moved to Collegeville,…read morethis location was more convenient. This location is not owned by the same person, and BOY does it show! Everyone we've interacted with has been absolutely wonderful. We were on the waiting list for 8 months, but it was worth the wait. We immediately saw the difference, between the amount of time the kids spend outside or in the gym, (yes, there's a gym with a rock climbing wall!!!), the cleanliness of the class rooms, kitchen, etc... They had a back to school picnic with activities, face painting, a bounce house and water ice truck which gave us the opportunity to meet other parents. My son also LOVES McKenzie, he actually sings her name on the way there in the morning. Also, I'm pretty neurotic, so I appreciate that the teachers send us multiple photos per day. If you get on the wait list, stay on it. It's worth the wait!!

I'm surprised no one has written a review on this place. I feel that I need to warn people of my…read moreexperience. We had my son here for a year and he learned absolutely nothing. With a $600.00 per month tuition, you would expect more. He managed to have 5 different teachers in that time frame and when we asked the teachers "why" they were leaving, some said, "we aren't being paid enough". Really, with a tuition as high as this, where is all this money going? I was appalled at the lack of control they had over the classroom. It looked like a circus when I went to pick him up. I can tell you that there are smaller, more affordable options in the area and my son learned so much more there. I had been warned about Goddard Schools how you're just a number and everyone was so right. Obviously this is not my real name so I can tell you that I am being totally honest with this review. As you can see the response was a typical one from this facility.

You'd think that 8 years of school with all the same people would be way to much. You'd be right…read more Mostly. One great thing about Masterman is that you are with your fellow students day in and day out. So much that these people become your best friends and some of the friendships you make here will last longer than your can imagine. As a moderately intelligent kid with overambitious parents, I had to take and pass a test in the fourth grade to get into this premier magnet school. While I have no basis of comparison as to the quality of education at Masterman, I do know that attending this school exponentially increases your changes of going to a great IVY league college. About the top 1/3 of students here get accepted into several IVY League colleges. About half of those students go to UPenn (the IVY in your backyard). Masterman prides itself in stating that 100% of its students go to a 4 year college. The reality is that Masterman will force all its students to go to accredited 4 year colleges, whether they wish to or not (a friend who wanted to go abroad was strongly discouraged from this option). I've always thought that a preparation school would be responsible for two things: 1) getting it's kids to good colleges, which Masterman excels at; and 2) preparing the kids for college, which, sadly, Masterman did not do as good of a job at. I'm not sure if it's exactly the classes, the depth of materials taught, or the lack of emphasis on retaining what is learned, but most of my friends and acquaintances felt as I did that Masterman did not prepare them well for college. Then again, it could have been me (how many kids do you know take school seriously?) Part of the problem was the lack of funding. The only things I've dissected before going to college was an amoeba and a worm. When I got to Penn, I found that most of my fellow classmates had already done many of the labs in my basic science classes, while everything was all new to me. I've never seen most of the lab equipment, computers/programs they used at college (we had old microscopes - so I at least knew what that was), and it was mildly embarrassing for me to ask questions that most of my classmates considered to be standard knowledge. Part of it is that the school is so focused on getting everyone into the advanced courses that they sometimes forget to focus enough on the basics. This holds true for the trig through Calc 3 classes but not for algebra and geometry. Mr. Goldman (who taught algebra and geometry in 7th and 8th grade) would test us on both the advanced and basic problems - best math teacher ever. That being said, students who go to Masterman are generally very successful and pursue stable, steady, successful careers. Many have gone into law, medicine, PhD programs doing really interesting things with obscure titles. The only reason I seem critical is due to the fact that I am not sure what a preparatory school is suppose to do. Going to Masterman made it not difficult to get into a great college. However, in terms of basic skills/knowledge, I still get teased by my husband who went to a much lower ranked public school (same area) that had a LOT of funding from property tax dollars and he was able to somehow retain/learn a lot more basic knowledge than I did. He also tutored me in chemistry, back in college (although if anyone's ever had chemistry with Dr. Ranjini, they'd understand my willingness to block that part of my memories).

Despite the physical appearance of the building, this school still holds up to its reputation as…read moreone of the premiere schools in the Philadelphia area. Recently awarded Blue Ribbon School status, President Obama delivered his annual Back to School Speech to an ecstatic student body on September 14, 2010. Goosebumps! Teachers and administrative staff are top-notch for the most part. The students DO work hard and the Home and School Association works to support academic and extracurricular activities. To my knowledge, there's rarely a discipline problem or any type of bullying. Instead, there's heated classroom discussion and early morning EC activities. Who can complain?

Pools that are never open. Basketball courts that are never used for basketball, only ping pong and…read morepickleball.

Speaking as a lifelong West Chester resident. I've been a member of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine…read morefor some time, primarily using the West Chester location on Airport Road. While I appreciate the facilities and the overall mission of the Y, I am increasingly frustrated with the inconsistent and arbitrary enforcement of rules in the Wellness Center, which has significantly impacted my experience. The posted Wellness Center Rules clearly state under "Personal Belongings: Please store bags and items in lockers." Recently, however, this guideline has been strictly enforced as a outright ban on gym bags on the floor, with staff citing "safety reasons" (potential tripping hazards). Yet many other rules on the same sign--such as re-racking weights and avoiding dropping them, limiting cardio machine use to 30 minutes during busy times, using headphones for music/videos, and wiping down equipment--are routinely ignored. Unracked weights, dropped barbells, and cluttered equipment create far greater safety risks than a responsibly placed gym bag, but these violations go unaddressed, even during peak hours. Even more concerning is the allowance of independent, non-YMCA-affiliated CrossFit sessions on the wellness floor. This is not a dedicated CrossFit facility, and these high-intensity group workouts frequently involve heavy lifts and dynamic movements that result in dropped weights (directly violating the posted "avoid dropping" rule) and take up large areas of shared space, increasing risks for other members. CrossFit carries well-documented higher injury potential compared to standard individual workouts, yet it appears to be permitted without oversight. This double standard suggests favoritism or other priorities over consistent safety and fairness for all members. Regular gym-goers like myself rely on a gym bag for practical reasons: it keeps essentials organized (clean clothes, towels, water bottles, recovery tools), maintains hygiene by separating sweaty gear, and supports efficient routines for busy schedules. Some members even carry emergency medical items--inhalers, EpiPens, or glucose monitors--for conditions like asthma or diabetes, needing quick access during workouts. Unfortunately, these selective policies and lack of uniform enforcement reflect poorly on management. It feels as though member convenience, fairness, and actual safety take a backseat to arbitrary decisions. This is the primary reason I give the West Chester YMCA low referral ratings and hesitate to recommend it to others. I hope leadership will review these practices to ensure rules are applied consistently and the facility remains a truly positive, safe, and welcoming space for everyone--as the posted sign promises.