I initially posted this review on google, since then it has been removed from public view, and I have reason to believe that this center is making every attempt to suppress negative reviews to continue escaping accountability. I withdrew my child from this center for a myriad of reasons that compounded over the short 6 months that he was enrolled: 1- unclean: the establishment always smelled dreadful. My child contracted hand foot and mouth in his second week of daycare. He proceeded to have such a severe case that we took him to the ER because he was so dehydrated and refused to eat due to pain. He had to miss school for 2 full weeks of school. I made the daycare aware of this and they didn't have the decency to even respond. $700 in prepaid tuition lost due to no fault of our own. 2- about a month before my decision to withdraw my child, "incidents" started happening. At least once a week, I'd get an incident report. Once, there were two incident reports in a day. One of the times, he went home with a big scratch across his forearm. 3- lacks transparency: cameras are present in the daycare, but they are only "live streamed" so if an incident happens, there's no recording to watch. The daycare allows parents to go look at the cameras, but you're required to let the daycare know before you drop by.. kind of defeats the whole purpose. 4- Management is inflexible, unkind, lacks basic empathy. So please, before you decide to enroll your child there, consider this review, and search them up on facebook for another parent's account of what happened to her child in this center. read more

TLE Blackwood is amazing. Both of our sons went there from when they were 3 months old all the way through Kindergarten. HIGHLY recommend them. Staff is very friendly and the owner Lee is very involved. Thank you for everything!! read more

I absolutely love this place. I first visited TLE of Gloucester Twsp 11 years ago when we were looking for a day care facility for my grandson. We were very impressed that the facility was sparkling clean, the staff was friendly and pleasant, and the hours were convenient. It was an easy call. Now my granddaughter is in pre-school there and she loves it. Living close by I have the pleasure of picking her up every day in which she is always in a good mood which speaks for itself. I recommend TLE highly. read more

This is the absolute best daycare in this area! The staff is phenomenal and the teachers are absolutely amazing and are dedicated to the children. My daughter went for a whole year and would still be at this daycare if we didn't move far away. 10/10 I highly recommend! read more

My youngest daughter has been going to TLE for almost six years now. My son attends the before and aftercare program. I could not be more pleased with the services we have received over the years. The teachers are great and they really make your children feel special. Mr. Lee is approachable and it's nice to see how he interacts with the children on a daily basis. My daughter likes to go on her days off from school to see her friends at TLE. My children have made many new friends that have since left and they are still in contact with them. My children have made many memories over the years. Thank you TLE. Keep up the good work! read more

There are several reasons why you should think twice about sending your kids here. 1- Staff is questionable. Many of the staff members are teenagers with little to no experience handling kids. I checked on the NJ Department of Children and Families website and found that there had been previous complaints about teacher to student ratio. So, that explains why there is a teenager during drop off who seems to be afraid of holding a toddler. I guess they need a warm body there to meet state code. Below is a link for what I stated, check it out yourself. https://nj.gov/dcf/families/childcare/centers/080300033apr2017CS.pdf 2- Some teachers seem miserable. One of my son's teachers in particular was very distance, rude, and unwelcoming. My son didn't start daycare until he was older, and I'm not at all sorry for that. However, due to that fact, he is not going to conform quickly or easily to the daily routine like other children who have been to daycare since 6 month old. I expect some understandings but I guess I am asking for too much. 3- Money. Daycare is expensive everywhere, I get that, but bare with me here. My son was there for 35 days, he was sent home for various reasons. Some of those days we kept him home for observation. So, at least 15 out of 35 days, that is $100 per day. The very last call my husband got to come pick my son up was absolutely nasty. He is the most calm person I know so to ruffle his feathers, they must have been incredibly rude to him. 4- Minority beware! You interpret this however you feel like it. I'm not insinuating anything, but my personal experience has not been great. You can sense the same pattern from yelp and other review sites. 5-star reviews come from a certain clientele and 1-star come from "others." That is all! read more

TLE Blackwood is the best. Have never had a issue with any staff in the 2 years my children have been going to TLE.Always friendly and smiling. My children love their teachers and we are glad we chose TLE blackwood for our kids. read more

We toured a few child care centers in the area but, after visiting The Learning Center Blackwood, it was an easy choice! TLE met all my expectations and more - Spanish is incorporated into their lessons, parents can receive updates to update via app, lots of outdoor and playtime, center is clean and safe, etc. The owner, Lee, it's very responsive and always willing to talk to address any questions and concerns. He truly cares about each of the kids, along with the rest of the staff. Most importantly, my son truly enjoys going to school every day, has made lots of friends, and loves his teachers! read more

Great program, but be cautious when choosing this child care center. I was one of the first parents to put my kid in here for preschool around 2008 when it first opened. At first I loved this place. The staff was kind, the parents were close and I felt a real sense of community for the first time since I moved to Blackwood in 2004. I loved how TLE offered "Parents Night Out" and Family Night at Bounce U. At the time, most of the staff were college educated and I felt that my child was in the hands of very competent and caring people. Fast forward to when my kid started elementary school and was there only for before and after care. That is when I started to encounter some problems with the owner, Mr. Lee Handis. It became very apparent to me that he did not know how to talk to people and was hyper focused on the bottom line. On one occasion around the middle of June, he walked up to me with an attitude and told me that I owed money because the school year had ended and the rate increased for full time. That would have been a okay encounter if 1) I had previously been informed of the rate and 2) I had been approached with respect. On another occasion, he asked to see my bank account, be he believed that I had not paid the month. What he failed to realize is that I have paid ahead for the month on the 31st on the previous month. What parent wants to share personal bank account information in order to have their child continue to attend. They also attempted to charge me more for using my credit card. However, what one should realize is that it is illegal for a merchant to charge a client more money because they don't want to absorb the fees associated with using Visa and/or Mastercard. Fast forward to 2017, I had my 3-year-old son enrolled for before and after care so that he could be transported to the preschool disabilities program in the school district while my husband and I worked. This is where the proverbial "ish" hit the fan. My son has a speech delay and tends to get aggressive when he cannot express himself. While I understand that can be a challenge, Mr. Lee did nothing to try to work with him in order to make the situation work. In fact, he monitored my son on the cameras and complained that he was causing the kids to run away from him. Never did he mention that there was another kid that I personally seen up in my son's face and taunting him, which caused him to become aggressive. I only mentioned that because I personally witnessed it when I picked him up. Mr. Lee personally informed me that he didn't think that my son could attend there for full days and that he didn't want to charge me for my son to have a personal aide. I paid $180 for his first week and Mr. Lee called me on day 2 around 5pm demanding to know when I was going to pick him up. Day 3, my son had a good day. Day 4, apparently, my son bit a kid. Mr. Lee informed us that if it happened again, he would be out. On both the 4th and 5th day, I dropped my son off around 7:40am and he called us to inform he needed to be sent home because of his behavior problems. Please know that if you have a child with special needs, the ADA act, IDEA act, and the NJ LAD laws makes it so that child care center have to at least make attempts to make the situation work. I know for a fact that if my son was allowed some slight modifications, the program could have worked for him. However, Mr. Lee did not even try. He basically took our money, knowing that my kid was going to a program for being preschool disabled and gave us the message that he didn't think TLE was a good fit and that we need to find another daycare. Please realize that that meant that a week before the Gloucester Township preschool disabilities program started, I had to scramble to find other child care arrangements. Mr. Lee Handis, you have a great program on your hands, but you must learn some people skills and not be so focused on your bottomline. I only give 2 stars because I think the franchise has a good program. read more

It was difficult to leave our baby boy to strangers, Director Lee is very understanding and will work with you in any way he possibly can to ease your concerns. Anytime I have had a issue it was minor and Lee and his staff has always been accommodating & the issue was solved immediately. We absolutely love Ms. Vanessa in the twaddler room she is fantastic with our son, she is strict but fair and loving. Our son is happy and learning everyday. We highly recommend TLE as first time parents who want nothing but the best for our son. read more

My daughter has been attending daycare at the Learning Experience in Blackwood since she was 7 weeks old. We have never had any problems. All the teachers are amazing and the management team is great as well. My daughter has learned so much here. She loves coming here and never wants to leave. An amazing place to send your children. read more

Absolutely horrid. Worst childcare mistake my husband and I have ever made in 3.5 years. Aside from a handful of staff who are genuinely excellent with children and seem to have real childcare experience, the rest are absolutely clueless about how to care for a child. The worst of all is Lee, the director, who I never once saw interact with any of the children, yet he felt it appropriate to lecture my husband and I daily about our parenting. Completely out of line and unprofessional. Though the facility claims to focus on the individual development and needs of each child there, in reality the children are grouped up and constantly shuffled around between different teachers and if a child doesn't fit into their "system", such as if a child doesn't nap for example, they are completely unprepared to accommodate that child's needs and instead choose to punish that child as if they were misbehaving. Takes a very conformist approach to childcare. A good child with a unique or spirited personality will have a very difficult time there if they don't conform to the formula. The "curriculum" is less focused on actual learning of useful skills and information and instead on teaching children about subjects they don't really need to be learning at their age. Is it nice that they told my daughter what "astronaut" is in Spanish? Sure. Did she really need to know it given that they don't actually teach Spanish in a way that children can truly learn it? No, I think not. If you're going to teach something, then teach it properly so that the student learns it not just memorized and regurgitates it on command like a parrot. That's not education, that's training. The facility itself is a series of closed isolating rooms and is always cold, no matter what the time of year or temperature. The daily activity reports are all pre-printed at the beginning of the day and generic. Nebulous scale for judging a child's behavior. Parents expected to correct bad behavior with almost no contextual information about it beyond generic footnotes such as "was disruptive in class" "not listening" and "yelling". Lee will swear up and down that he can accommodate any schedule since the facility is open 6am to 6:30pm, but in reality he DEMANDS that children (at least the preschoolers) be there no later than 9am every morning or they will be turned away. Likewise if a parent is even a little late picking up a child the facility will call child services and turn the child over to them. (Not hyperbole, actually stated in TLE rulebook.) They are heinously overpriced considering they can't even manage to wipe a child's nose or give the child a tissue to do it themselves. From feeding children the standard Sodexo fare of hamburgers and chicken nuggets for lunch everyday to the sad little cubby next the front desk with a filthy little mat on the floor they call an "infirmary", I could go on and on, however the very worst thing about this place was that my daughter who loves to learn and has been in daycare since she was 6 months old, HATED going there. She would literally cry and scream and beg us not to take her there EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for 5 months until today when we finally had enough and said good bye to that place forever. I cannot stress enough that if you value your child's individual emotional and mental development then do not waste your time or money at The Learning Experience. read more

Love this center! The owner and directors have all been there for years. They are there every single day and whenever there's an issue it's resolved immediately. Although I never really have any issues. His curriculum is the best in town and he matches the public schools. My kid actually got into the gifted and talented program and I swear it's because of the curriculum! They come home with the craziest art activities. I'm pregnant right now and I can't wait until my little guy gets into his center because the infant room is awesome. He works with me on tuition and he serves a full breakfast and lunch every single day! read more

I have to say my son has been there at least 4 years. The other day he balls his eyes out and says another kid keeps touching him inappropriately when no one is looking (which he tells me the teachers are always on their phones). The owner didn't want to do anything about it and pretty much just sweep it under the carpet. So if you want your children to learn how to eventually get suspended in school send them here! I wouldn't even say 1 star but I had to, to complete this review! read more

The Learning Experience has been absolutely great with my son. I've never had any issues leaving him in the hands of any of the staff. The management has always accommodated my sons needs and have always been pleasant. The owner, who is present every day is great with taking the time to talk to parents whenever they need him. Sending my son to TLE has been a great decision and made his transition to Kindergarten easy. read more

My daughter is doing great at this school. We've been attending for the past 6 months and couldn't be happier.

Out of control!!! If you want your child to come home cursing then go right ahead and send them here.. the kids noses were always running and the curriculum was set up just to make themselves look good... its more like babysitting then an actually LEARNING center. The rooms always smelled like poop and the kids that were being out of control were taken up front to the office where they just played and wasn't even told what they did wrong... Save your money and take them to a place where your child is actually going to LEARN something!! read more

I have been sending my daughter to The Learning Experience in Blackwood since she was six weeks old. The staff are very caring and the children are well cared for at this facility. The owner takes an interest in all the children and their parents. In addition, the hours are great and if you are the last to pick up your child you are not made to feel like you are a hassle to the staff. They frequently offer a parents night out on a Friday night, in which, you pay a nominal fee to keep your child there for a night out for several hours. My daughter enjoys going to the center each day. They have retained some long term staff who love the children. Ms. Mary and Ms. Barb are fantastic and all the other ladies who work at TLE. read more

Our daughter has attended TLE in Blackwood since she was just a year and a half. We traveled nearly a half-hour each way because we were so impressed with our first visit and then with the friendly way we were greeted at the desk each morning and the warm and loving way the teachers welcomed us into the class each day . We always returned at different times throughout the day to pick her up - sometimes without notice, and we were always impressed by the pleasant, calm and happy atmosphere around us - during a time when parents typically aren't there. Leaving your child is a nerve-wracking experience and finding a school we loved took us forever! We chose TLE and never once regretted in, in fact, we grew to absolutely adore every office member and teacher that our daughter had. As a bonus, they sometimes have extra activities and events that are included such as dance, soccer and an occasional tumble bus or bounce house. No one sits in an office with the door shut - everyone is involved, including the owner and directors. They even have a chef and provide a very impressive menu! There are a lot of day cares in that area - but we highly recommend TLE - it's really no contest. As our daughter leaves for public school this fall, we are so grateful for the years of great care we received. read more