Willowdale Children's Academy, Avondale PA

We toured the facility looking for daycare. The facility falsified their safety polices, during our tour. Then at time of enrollment after processing our payment they informed us their polices have changed, placing infants at risk for current covid exposure. Even though current county, state, and cdc regulations are recommending otherwise. Then they refused to refund our payment, although they misrepresented themselves during our tour. I do not recommend this facility, and fear that they do not take the appropriate safety measures to ensure the health and well being of your children

Our son attends Willowdale Children’s Academy in Avondale, Pennsylvania. I want to share what a great experience it has been for him, and how he has blossomed there.

When you walk in, the building is beautiful, and you can really tell thought and care was put into its design. There are murals from familiar children’s stories on the walls. Watching our son identify the stories and hearing him sing the songs associated with the murals is so meaningful to me.

All the classroom doors are decorated with fun themes that change with the seasons. Inside the classrooms, the kids’ most recent art projects are hanging up for everyone to admire. I love how our son beams with pride when he shows me his latest creation.

The staff is friendly, supportive, and caring. Our son loves his teachers, and they truly care about him. He loves to stop to say hello to the Director, Ms. Tacy, every morning. I am always so impressed when she unfailingly puts aside whatever she is doing to return his greeting, and give him her full attention.

It also impresses me how the Director and the teachers are always willing to listen to any issue, problem solve, and quickly implement an appropriate solution. For example, our son didn’t want to nap during nap time because he sometimes had accidents while he was napping. We decided a pull-up was appropriate for nap time, and then the teachers discreetly implemented this solution right away.

The staff also made sure that I was aware of CCIU’s screening process for developmental delays, when it was apparent that our son was a little behind with his speech, language, and attention skills. With their help, we were able to get him screened at the center, and have an IEP developed to address the issues. They accommodate the CCIU’s staff visits right within the center, during his normal hours there. He has gotten the right help, and is making so much progress!

The best review I can give is to say that our son truly enjoys “school” and is eager to go and “play” each morning. The staff does academic work that is right for his age, but I am very glad it is presented in a fun way. I’m so grateful that our son feels that his main activity is play, since play is exactly what he should be doing at age four.

My son has been going to Willowdale for a couple years, and will be returning next year. I can't say enough good things about this place; the staff is amazingly caring and more than capable of basic child care. My son has learned so much and his development has excelled faster than I would have imagined thanks to his wonderful teachers. His social skills have blossomed because of his daily interaction with peers and adults. I am very pleased with how my child has progressed at Willowdale. If you have any questions about whether or not you should have your child attend, I can assure you this is an awesome place and you should definitely enroll. Thank you Willowdale!