I want to share my family's personal experience with Growing Grove Academy in Willow Grove. I'm not…read morewriting this to be inflammatory, but because I feel parents deserve full information when deciding whether this is the right place for their child. Every child is different, and every family's experience will vary -- this is simply ours.
Growing Grove Academy is a newer center, and it's clear they are still developing many of their internal protocols. Unfortunately, some of those gaps had direct consequences for our son.
One of the most significant issues for us was learning that a CPS/OCDEL report had been filed directly on behalf of our child without our knowledge. We were not informed by the daycare or by the state. We only learned about it because the individual who filed the report reached out to us personally and told us the concern had been confirmed. We later learned that the teacher involved completed additional training. When we asked GGA about this, the situation was described to us as a disagreement between staff. While GGA may not have been legally required to notify us, as parents we expected to be told about anything involving our child that required state involvement. Our son continued to be placed with the same teacher afterward, and we had no idea anything had happened.
We had a positive meeting with GGA about our son's progress, the introduction of behavior tracking, and their plan to move him forward with a one‑on‑one aide. At that meeting, we were told that while securing a one‑on‑one would likely not be possible until fall, as long as we stayed open about his progress there should be no issues. They explained that if he ever had three significant incidents in a single day, they would call us to pick him up, but otherwise he was on a good trajectory.
A few days later, we were unexpectedly told he would be temporarily disenrolled unless a one‑on‑one aide was secured immediately. This was surprising given the positive meeting and the earlier guidance that a one‑on‑one would not be available until fall. Around the same time, GGA had held him back a few months, saying it was for his benefit, but later expressed concern that younger children were beginning to imitate his behavior. It felt like we were being blamed both for him being held back and for him not being held back.
Our son receives MCIU services at GGA, and I offered this as an alternative to complete disenrollment -- that he could continue receiving his services there until a one‑on‑one could be secured. During this period, my wife heard from a former parent whose autistic child had gone through a similar pattern: a positive behavior meeting followed days later by a disenrollment email. When I mentioned this to his teacher, she reported it to administration. We were then called in for a meeting where GGA offered to allow him to continue receiving services at the center without being enrolled. At the same time, they expressed concern about what I had said regarding their handling of autistic children, even though I was simply repeating what another parent had told us. Whether intended or not, the offer came across to us as a "you can continue services here if you don't raise concerns" type of exchange.
We also became aware of moments where a classroom assistant spoke to children in a very loud and intense manner. This was observed by another parent, and during this period our son began showing fear responses and regression. Every child reacts differently, but this was a noticeable change for us.
There was also an incident where our son was left alone on the floor during a tantrum. His therapist arrived and found him unattended, and the teacher commented, "He's in big trouble today." The therapist was able to comfort him and get him back to normal within two minutes. This raised concerns for us about how emotional moments were handled and whether staff were equipped to support him during dysregulation.
We also became aware of a supervision incident where a child left the classroom, navigated the building, and exited the front door unnoticed. The child was safely recovered, but understandably, the parent was upset. This raised concerns for us about overall supervision and building security.
I'm not writing this to disparage Growing Grove Academy. I believe many people there care about children, and I recognize they are still growing as a center. But based on our experience, I feel they still have areas where they need more development, especially around transparency, communication, and handling sensitive situations.
This review reflects our personal experience only, and other families may have very different ones. I encourage any parent considering GGA to ask questions, request clarity, and make the decision that feels right for their child.
