I scheduled a tour of the Goddard School a few weeks ahead of time. I received several reminders,…read moredirections to the school , as well as parking suggestions. I arrived to find the building very secure, being on Fifth Ave,can be of some concern. The director pointed out that all entrances require special admittance and there are two windows, only, in the gym, which are also safely closed. I met with Brian, Director/owner. He was extremely knowledgeable (as he should be), well spoken, and able to put me at ease in several instances. We spent at least 30 minutes discussing the curriculum, which I am extremely impressed with. I don't want just a babysitter, especially at such a high price. I asked what a typical day is like for the two year olds, and he was quick to point out, that every day has the same schedule, which it is important for toddlers to have continuity. We reviewed my particular needs, and Brian explained that my requirements were out of their ordinary, but he would make it work. As we proceeded to the "gym", Brian described the cleaning procedures of the school. Strict attention is taken to prevent spread of germs. But I have to tell you, I was amazed at this activity area, WOW. Large, appears safe, and decorated to the Pittsburgh area, including points of interest, historic sites, and sports teams. This is important to me, because I want my grandson to be familiar with his roots. We visited the classrooms, but unfortunately it was nap time. I do want to point out that this is a school, with education and growth in mind. Brian appeared "compassionate ", which is also important for children of any age. Brian answered every question I had, and never made me feel pushed, or in a hurry, despite that, I later found out, he had another tour, right after mine. I have to say, that my grandson is presently in a program that I am not completely comfortable with. This of course helped me to ask certain questions. Even though i haven't yet experienced the actual intervention, I am looking forward to enrolling my grandson in the program and continuing to watch him grow. I may write further reviews as time goes on.

My daughter has been at the Goddard School for two months and we absolutely love it here. This is…read morethe third center we have tried after being disappointed with the other centers. Everyone that works here is extremely kind and professional, my daughter loves all of her teachers and always has a big smile for them. The facility is bright, clean, and there are so many amenities for the children (I mean seriously, there's a climbing wall for little kids!). I'm not ashamed to admit that I wish that I could play here all day rather than work. It is very expensive but in my experience, you get what you pay for and this is absolutely worth every cent.

UNPROFESSIONAL, SAFETY HAZARDS FOR CHILDREN, POOR WORK ENVIRONMENT AND POOR MANAGEMENT…read moreOver the course of my employment at The Children's Center of Pittsburgh I witnessed several infractions involving children, staff and employees. There are inexperienced employees without the proper clearances in classrooms with young children and infants. Some of the problems I witnessed were, babies hitting their heads, sleeping on their stomachs and babies being burned by their bottles that were improperly heated. Infants were laid on their stomachs to sleep (if you know anything about SIDS you know how dangerous this can be). There were several inappropriate racial incidents between Caucasian and African American employees. I witnessed children being yelled at and hands being put on children. Two infants fell and hit their heads and no medical attention was given and no incident reports were filed (a legal requirement and the only way the parents know their child got hurt in the centers care.) As an employee I was subject to racial discrimination and I was fired via email for missing two days of work because my child was at Children's Hospital and not responding to treatment. I was sitting in my daughter's hospital room worried about how I am going to feed my child because I am no longer employed, when I should have been worrying about my severely sick child. The director Lynn was unprofessional and a poor supervisor. Several times I went to Lynn and the program manager Bianca with issues that worried me about the care of the infants, and they brushed me off and no changes were made. This is unacceptable, unprofessional and inappropriate. We rehearse for when DHS comes to do their inspection. So, if you chose to send your child to The Children's Center be aware that despite the certifications they hold, those requirements are not put into place on a daily basis. If I was aware of these issues, I would never have my child in their care. My only advice is to use caution when sending your child to The Children's Center of Pittsburgh because your child may be put in harm's way. And I would also recommend looking elsewhere for employment. I hope this helps parents and future employees make the best decision for themselves and most importantly, their children when looking into this center.

From the owner: The Children's Center of Pittsburgh is the leading day care center for UPMC Magee - Womens Hospital…read morein Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At our center, we strive to enrich the lives of children and their families vy providing model childcare and teaching through flexible, child-centered programs. As a valued member of the Pittsburgh community, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care for your children. For more information about our services or our contact information, please visit our website.

I can't speak to how Bright Light Academy was pre-covid (I see reviews from 2018 here) but I can…read morespeak 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!

Both of our boys, who are a year apart, have been going to Bright Light Academy for the past 7…read moremonths. 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.

This center is pricey but worth absolutely every penny. We used the South Side Bright Horizons…read morelocation for their pre-k and kindergarten prep programs with our oldest child and the infant program when our daughter was born. The facility is beautiful - welcoming, clean, enriching and safe (security is never an issue). The staff is absolutely excellent - some of the teachers have been recognized on a national level within the organization. And the environment is great, they have a terrific secure playground area and they take the kids for outings in the South Side Works. We were so sad when we moved and had to transfer our daughter's care elsewhere. A year later, we are still saying how much we miss it! p.s. Get on the list EARLY!

Dont apply for enrollment for your child here unless they have an opening right away, otherwise,…read morethey may scam you out of $100 like they did to me. i choose the Bright Horizons in monroeville/plum for our child and i need her to start at the end of summer. They assured me that there would be an opening for her then. i filled out all of the paperwork and was advised that there was a $100 enrollment fee/application fee to hold our spot. A few weeks before summer ended, i had contacted them to verify our start date and they told me that there werent any spots opened and they wouldnt have any openings until November or December. They never contacted me previously to advise me that they wouldnt be able to take our child at the end of summer like i was previously advised and i then had to rush around to find another daycare that would be able to take our child when i started back to work. They refused to give me my $100 back. i am pretty sure that they knew at the time that they wouldnt be able to take my child, they just wanted the $100. They are a bunch of scam artist, if you ask me and i wouldnt recommend going there unless you are able to start right away because them guarenteeing you an opening is just a scam to get your $100.

Similar to other reviewers, Mason/West Chester branch was unable to fulfill their contractual…read moreobligation. After persistently trying to get me to leverage their services for months, I signed their placement agreement and paid a significant placement fee. However, after signing, they completely disappeared. I called and called and it took several weeks before someone called me back. After nearly 6 weeks and right before school started, I still had zero candidates provided to me. Very poor experience. I learned a very valuable lesson here and hope others can learn from my mistake.

Very disappointed that it took more than 6 weeks and many emails and calls to finally get my son's…read moreresults.