Learn To Grow

Our son is 3 and has been at Learn to Grow since October 2024, and I can honestly say it has been one of the greatest blessings for our family. Not once has he been sent home sick in over a year, NOT ONCE. That is unheard of. The kids are always washing their hands and the facility is clean and well maintained. Truthfully we have not once felt anything but total trust, warmth, and respect from this incredible team. The staff is exceptional genuinely the best of the best. Seeing both male and female teachers in the classrooms adds such a special balance, and the way they care for the kids is beyond anything we expected. They helped our son potty train the way we wanted. There were no "you can't do that" or "he has to be in a diaper". It was so nice that they did it our way at our pace. His teachers always comfort him, they celebrate him, and they love him in a way that feels so real. As parents, that means everything. There’s a reason the waitlist is so long. Every morning our son runs to his teachers, and every afternoon he talks about them like they’re part of our family. When your child misses their teachers on the weekends…that tells you everything you need to know. Kim and Michele run an outstanding program, and educators like Temisan and Sanuye have truly become part of our village. As gay parents, feeling welcomed, supported, and loved is not something we take for granted and this school has given us that in the most beautiful way. We are endlessly grateful.

Our child attended LTG for four months. The tour left a great impression—clean facility, and Michele seemed warm and familiar with all the children. We enrolled our toddler for two days a week in Fall 2024, expecting a normal adjustment period. Soon after starting, I was surprised to learn that male staff—including a regular and a substitute teacher—were changing diapers. This hadn’t been mentioned during the tour, and I had assumed only female staff handled that. When I raised my concerns, the director, Kim, dismissed them and said no accommodations could be made. While I later felt more comfortable observing the male teacher with the children, the lack of transparency and communication was unsettling. Things escalated during a cold winter morning drop-off when I found multiple toddler groups outside in ~25°F weather, many of them visibly upset and crying. Teachers seemed unconcerned. I was told they’d be outside for another 35–40 minutes due to an indoor tour and that my child couldn’t be brought in early. The scene was distressing enough that I took my child home despite having work conflicts and later reached out for a meeting. Kim met with us and was initially sympathetic—she acknowledged the situation was upsetting and said she wouldn’t have left her own child either. But her tone shifted by the end, and her follow-up email downplayed what happened. She said she had stepped outside earlier and didn’t notice any major issues. Her explanation felt dismissive and shifted the responsibility to me for not handling things differently (i.e. coming into the office to talk to her right away, bringing my child back later in the morning). A week later, I witnessed another outdoor play session. This time it was 10 degrees warmer and the children were in a better state. I saw a couple of children crying for a while without attention and asked a staff member to check. She said she didn’t see anything wrong from the window. But I asked her again to come out to check and asked how long the kids will be out this time. Our interaction became a bit tense. A couple of hours later, Kim emailed requestimg another meeting before pickup. During that meeting, I asked whether the surveillance footage from the earlier incident had been reviewed. Kim responded by asking if I was accusing her of lying. Michele said some teachers overheard my earlier feedback and were in tears because I had called their behavior unprofessional. That was our last day at LTG. I’m sharing this because families deserve to know about recent experiences—especially when it comes to their children’s well-being. What troubles me most is that I only witnessed these issues by chance, due to a later drop-off. I doubt other parents are aware of how their children spent those cold mornings, or what actually happened that day.

We have been really happy with Springboard so far (Learn to grow)! Our daughter is in the infant room and is very happy there. They have caring teachers and a nice community!