I can't speak to how Bright Light Academy was pre-covid (I see reviews from 2018 here) but I can speak to how I feel now. Our children LOVE Bright Light. It's not a "chain" of daycares, so it feels very homey. My oldest child always has funny stories about their classmates and teachers, and my youngest is always singing excited to play with friends in the morning. Whatever changes BLA has made over the past 5 years, it's working for us. I highly recommend Bright Light Academy to anyone seeking childcare in the area. We plan on keeping our children at Bright Light through Pre-K! read more

Both of our boys, who are a year apart, have been going to Bright Light Academy for the past 7 months. Within about a week of being at Bright Light, and after I had been a stay at home mom for many years and they had never left my side, they were waving goodbye and walking into class by themselves. The staff are compassionate, friendly and professional and tremendously eased their initial separation anxiety. My youngest does both speech and occupational therapy. Both therapists worked at other daycares and told me they had started recommending Bright Light to their friends who are expecting and to parents looking for daycares. Not only does the staff welcome the therapists into their classes, but they keep me up to speed on his therapy sessions' progress and they carry out what the therapists instruct him to do. The director abides by the rules and takes them seriously. While this may be misundertood by some, I would rather leave my children in the care of a professional who follows the rules and abides by the law and who I can trust to leave my children with. Not only that, but she only hires the best staff to work alongside her. Also, at a time of political and religious conflict, and as a family with very different backgrounds in those aspects, she has made us feel welcome, we were treated with a lot of compassion and respect, and she has taken the time to stop and ask me about our culture and beliefs and has been very respectful to them, which you would not see happening at your average daycare! Thank you to everyone at BLA who participated in shaping the lives of our sons emotionally, socially and intellectually and have been a second home to our boys. read more

Our son has been at Bright Light Academy since June 2017. We transitioned from a full-time daycare, seeking a fun yet structured environment to prepare for kindergarten. What we've gained during the past eight months has been more than anticipated - highlights include: -High-level of attention and care, based on the individual needs of child. -Weekly lessons with themes that highlight a variety of topics, including alphabet, name and number recognition at an early age. -Detailed accounts of day-to-day activity and progress. -Safe and secure environment. -Events and programs for families. There is a high-level of expectation for children, parents and staff to follow the guidelines and rules of the center - however, it contributes to the overall success of all parties. The only thing keeping me from rating five stars is the opportunity for this relatively new center to continually exceed expectation as it grows. For the level of care and education my child receives on a daily basis, BLA is a value. read more

I have to assume that since the two 5 star reviews cropped up in response to another 1 star review, that the director or owner of BLA offered a discount to current families to provide good reviews here. My daughter was at BLA from 8 weeks through just under 1 year old and I wished I'd been able to move her to a new daycare sooner. Here's a list of what we experienced in our 10 months at BLA: * The infant room lead teacher just disappeared! One day she was there, the next she wasn't * I saw at least 3 teachers turn over in the infant room - if BLA is that great, why did so many leave in only 10 months? * Many children don't nap at daycare, I get that - but the teachers in the room couldn't even tell me if they had TRIED to get her to nap. They couldn't remember and no one had charted it. Or they would admit that they "forgot" that day. * When my daughter was older and could crawl and even stand up, my husband or I would often see her confined to an exersaucer she was too big for when we came to get her. Why would you do this other than to make the teacher's lives easier? * The director was flat out rude when we aired any concerns. After many occurrences where they just forgot to put her down for a nap (really? A 6 month old isn't going to nap ALL day?) he called to ask what we could do to work with BLA on this. Her response? If we care that much about our daughter getting a nap, we should hire a nanny. * HERE'S THE WORST PART...They wanted to force my 6 month old to hold her own bottle, and when she wouldn't they denied her food. Several times she came home having eaten only 4 oz in a 10 hour day. Technically this is legal in Pennsylvania, but do you really want your daycare starving your child? We were lucky to be able to train her to use different bottles so my baby would be able to eat - since BLA clearly didn't care if she did or not. I'm angry just thinking about our experience and there are many of us who left BLA in their first year. Highly recommend someone considering BLA to do their research and reconsider - I have only great things to say about our new daycare also located nearby. read more

My wife and I have sent our 13 month old to BLA since she was 6 month old, and we can't imagine what we would have done without such an amazing staff and environment. Our daughter was colicky as a baby, and it was a challenge to get her to accept being held or cared for by anyone other than my wife or I. The staff at BLA was incredibly understanding when we first started going there, and simply approached it as "We'll win her over!" While we were skeptical, they proved true to their word. Our daughter has thrived under their care, and now our family wonders if it's the same baby they knew for the first 6 months. Due to some other issues, we have also had her working with a PT/OT, and BLA has not only facilitated these appointments but the staff has been engaged to continue the strategies that the therapists recommend. When our daughter was lagging behind on the growth chart (below 10%), we had to begin sending in extra food/formula to supplement. With their help, she is now close to 50th percentile. I can say--without reservation--that the primary goal of the director and the staff is to care for children and help them develop into independent, well-adjusted people. Their approach focuses on what the children need first, and they are not shy about advocating for them. While this may rub some people the wrong way, it is what I hoped to find in people caring for my child. As a new parent, I'm quick to recognize that there is much I don't know, and I appreciate the input of those who not only have more experience, but formal training in child development. To summarize, we couldn't be happier with our experience at BLA, and would recommend it to anyone. I would encourage anyone interested to take a visit for yourselves, and not let anonymous reviews from people with a grudge color your opinion. Addendum (2/25/18): It's somewhat unfortunate that I'm forced to update this review, but it appears I need to clarify that no, I did not receive any considerations (e.g. discounts, free tuition) for writing it. read more

Not every environment is good for every child. My daughter attended BLA from the time she was 2 until she was ready for kindergarten. During that time my family and the staff at BLA FORMED A PRETTY great relationship. I have to say the pre k teachers MR Henderson and ms Williams were nothing less than amazing. My child was beyond ready for kindergarten. One of the main reasons why we stayed the curriculum is outstanding. up until recently my experience changed. My son started when he was about 13 months. He was welcomed with open arms. Fast forward some months. There was a shift with the energy not from the staff but from the Center director. This center wasn't for my son anymore. He was a fresh 2 with a very free Spirit. Walks were complicated for him because he was still learning to walk holding on to rope. He also tripped over his feet more than often. I was told him tripping over his feet is a safety concern for the other students. and I would need to provide a doctors note so he can stay inside the center while his peers went on walks. As a mother I was very offended and I expressed that. I was told they would need to come up with a different plan so he can go out on walks and that solution was more offensive! I was told to bring in an umbrella stroller! Sounds good until there was an undertone. "That's not something we would normally do because that's pretty difficult to push and stroller and hold a rope for the other kids" I walked away that day in tears because I knew my time was coming to an end BLA. BLA is an upscale center that only takes a number of clients who has CCIS. I was one of those parents. I was told that the owner didn't want these types of clients in his center but allowed it for the benefits that came along with it " extra funding" that was the great offense you don't want a type of people in your enter. That was a deal breaker for me. I've boycotted business for less. So I made a choice based on our recent experience and that comment to remove my son. It saddens me that we had to go. But it was necessary. As a single parent we work hard to provide a better life with better opportunities for our babies. What's good for one child isn't always good for the other. I'm thankful for the staff that nurtured and helped my children grown while they were there. I wish them nothing but the best as the center grows. read more

I like everything about this daycare. I send my 2 kids here. What I like about BLA - 1.Great location! Just a 3 minute drive from my house 2. Very reasonable fee structure 3. Sufficient Parking space for drop off and pick up 4. Friendly and receptive staff 5. Lots of field trips for older kids 6. Constant updates and communication by staff The only addition I would like them to have is that they should send parents the pictures of their kids doing various activities at daycare everyday. That reassures parents that their kids are indeed having a good time! read more

My toddler son is excited to start his day at bright light academy! The teachers are outstanding, they are kind and attentive to the kids while helping them learn. I really like the ways they focus the kids to do constructive play with games and outdoor time. As a parent I am very pleased that he is safe and loved while away from home. read more

After writing a review on Facebook, the Center has now hidden its reviews on their page, so you cannot see how many stars they have or the reviews themselves... I just wanted to share here my FB review since it was more summarized: Unfortunately this Center did not work for us. My 7.5 months baby was in the infant room for about a month, but we withdrew him this month. The current Director has no emotional intelligence, no compassion, no empathy. She is very rigid in terms of developmental milestones and seems that she doesn't understand that each baby has their own time and 'average' means that you have babies who reach milestones earlier and others later. She is not kind and gentle when talking to you about potential developmental issues! I didn't see 'care' and 'love' coming in first place there; business, payments, rules, milestones, etc come first... well... for an infant room, I would expect care, love, then milestones... for a daycare Director I would expect kindness, gentleness, and politeness (at a minimal), but we did not find it there and we could not leave our son in a place that, even though the staff was great, the Director runs the place and dictates the atmosphere... Bottom line is: my son was not appropriately fed because he was not able to 'consistently' hold his bottle and they could not help because at that age [as per the Director's interpretation of the state's regulation] he was 'supposed' to do it... Worse than that is the way she talked to us about it! To [nicely] summarize: Impolite! :( read more

My daughter is going this childCare. This place is really safe, clean, trustable staff and management. 100% satisfied! Thanks BLA.