Brightside Academy Early Care & Education

This place lost my child for hours! They signed him out of the school without confirming they actually had him, and allowed my 5 year-old to wander aimlessly for blocks by himself in the middle of Philadelphia. When they realized he was missing, they didn’t even contact us. Do not use this program if you care about the safety and well-being of your kids. Thankfully, a Good Samaritan crossing guard found my child and kept him safe until someone from the school recognized him and brought him back. And now, after the fact, they want to discuss “preventative measures.” Completely unacceptable.

Where do I start, id first like to give praise to Ms, Autumn she's my Daughter's (Dream'shelly age 2) teacher. Ms. Autumn has been so sweet and nurturing since I met her. I always feel so warm knowing that my baby is in good hands. Ms. Autumn thank you for taking care and educating my baby, I know part of her advancement is natural, however, I see the hard work you put into her. I would hate to take that from Dream. Ms. Cherry has my daughter (Tru age 4) I'd like to also give praise. My daughter Tru came to the center age 3, basically her first daycare experience, and I have seen tremendous progress in Tru's speech, writing, comprehension etc... I have no complaints; my daughter loves Ms. Cherry! Between Ms. Auttumn and Ms. Cheery I've been keeping my babies at Brightside Academy on 40th and Lancaster Ave. !!!!!!!!Now getting to the sole purpose of my review, Brightside Academy drops the ball with the director!!!!! I read one post that mentioned Keisha was nice at first (application process) and you know something I agree to that statement whole heartedly! At first, I thought I was entering a safe, inviting environment and TBH, as soon as I walk up to the center doors I cringe, and instantly go into a defensive mood, I hate it, but once I get pass the office area, I can't wait to greet my babies. I really want to know why Keisha face always balled up, energy always off and she gives ready to fight always! 1. one time about 2 months in my daughter dream was still having a hard time being left (morning drop off) Dream teacher wasn't in, and Keisha was in the baby room (my daughter room), i was running late for work, a lot going on and I was expecting a little help a little compassion, but instead she took dream out of my arms and placed her on the floor had a look on her face while turning away from my baby, like shell be ok! that didn't sit right with me at all! that was my first red flag.... like what mom is ok with leaving their baby in distress!!!! there were other small encounters that always leave me on edge.... but today 10/23/24, I had a missed call from the daycare. I called back and Keisha answered, but the tone I got led me to believe she knew it was me calling, it lacked empathy, concern and care. I said over the phone "hey its Tru and Dreams mom, just want to let you know dad will be on his way, she says ok..... before I can say how is my baby doing now (because it was said she had a fever and the shakes) she bangs in my ear!!!!!!!!! i called back to ask why she was so quick to hang up and she says to me because you said what you said.... made my coworker and I look at each other like what kind response and tone is that!!!!!! Iam debating on what I want to do because my daughters do love their teachers and so do I!!! BUT I WON'T CONTINUE TO ACCEPT BAD VIBES AND UNPROFESSIONALISM!!!!! Keisha doesn't even speak or greet ever, she's not a good fit for childcare!

Thank you bright side for treating me and my child like family. My son enjoys coming here everyday and has made so much progress with his motor skills, potty training, and speech. Ms. Cherry and Ms. B are phenomenal teachers!! I love the dress down days (pajama day, eagles Green Day, breast cancer awareness day and etc.) It’s nice to see the Supervisor Ms. Keisha engaging and interacting with the children and not just sitting behind a desk. It’s small things like greeting me and my son by name everyday that shows she care about the well being of my child. I’m happy I chose bright side as my sons daycare provider

I recommend anyone looking for a childcare facility that is compassionate, loving, caring, patient, understanding, and overall family oriented to enroll their child into Brightside Academy at 4047 Lancaster Ave. The teachers are kind, polite, and very attentive to the children needs. You don’t have to worry about your child being physically or verbally abused by staff or students. So my first encounter with this wonderful staff. I was trying to enroll my son into a free pre-k program. The two Directors Ms. LaKeisha and Ms. Dionne suggested that maybe I would be more interested in The Philly Prek program. It was less demanding and inquisitive about your circumstances. For a single father who experience hardship after hardship. It feels good when you encounter individuals who are willing to assist you on any level. After that Ms. Dionne and Ms. LaKeisha has had my back on many occasion, and has became a valued support system to us. Love them❤️👑💪🏾✊🏾

If you would like quality care for your child, I highly suggest you do not send them to this facility. Firstly, the director of this daycare is extremely nasty and rude ALL THE TIME unsolicited. She always has a smart tone to her voice when answering any questions, she’s always walking around like she has a chip on her shoulders and quite frankly with that attitude she shouldn’t be working with anyone’s beautiful babies!! Secondly, my daughter was sent home with a rash on her vaginal area that looked as if someone hurriedly changed her diaper and scratched her while doing so. When I called the daycare for answers no one knew what happened and said that they didn’t notice the rash UNACCEPTABLE! My baby was in visible pain and I did not drop her off that way. No one cared to update me for the whole week I kept my daughter home and upon returning when I tried to address the director Lakesha on the issue, she told me verbatim “I don’t have time for your attitude today I’m not having a good day”…. It was 8:30 in the morning…… and all I wanted was answered on why no one knew what happened to my baby in their care.. UNACCEPTABLE! Multiple times I was informed I had to pick my daughter up early due to short staffing. Multiple times my daughter was sent home with dirty bottles in her bag and no daily report to let me know how her day went. Oh and speaking of daily reports when I would get them it would say the babies ate graham crackers or animal crackers for breakfast… extremely unacceptable what kind of breakfast is that for 1 year old babies? In the very last incident I was informed I had to pick my daughter up early due to a gas leak in the middle of the day on a Tuesday.. no problem, no updates were given on if the daycare would be open for the remainder of the week so I continuously called to receive an update, no answer until Thursday when the same nasty ruse directory Kesha got on the phone and said “we open any other Friday right?” No, actually wrong!!! Which is exactly what I was calling to clarify and when I told her I haven’t received an email update in reference to closings that week she replied “that has nothing to do with us emails come from Pittsburg” and that was my very last straw. So again, if you would like quality care for your child/children this is not the place to send them!!