Bridgeway Academy in Saraland

"I worked at this daycare before this company took over was at the big meeting where she promised this loving family. I left a week before Missy Nolens took over. My three year old loves the daycare and everyone there till around November when I told them I would not come back and work there, he didn’t want to go and threw fits every morning and when he was home. Not a normal three year old fit an unhappy and uncomfortable fit over any little thing and was just miserable and would bed me to stay home. My aunt was the director and he would only want to go in if he saw her car any other time he would cry with me leaving. After I pulled him out he told me his teacher was yelling at him for just needing love or being a three year old but would never say his name just yell at him so no one knew what was going on. He loves Erin and loved everyone there till I left. Everyone but one person I worked with treated my son with love and respect but the three year old teacher. He is thriving since I pulled him out and much happier and not throwing fits anymore. I would have never pulled him if it was not for Erin not being there anymore but I’m happy he is not there anymore and none of my kids or future child will step foot there again. I have also been told multiple times that Missy does not know how to talk to people. Thankfully I never had to deal with it or hear my child say she was mean to him but I do feel so bad for all the baby’s I’ve took care of that goes there and are getting sent home daily for little thing like a tantrum or stepping out of line and laughing. Please don’t put your children here for there safety and mental health. -Raelee Young"

"Owner is unprofessional and just plain rude. Missy Nolen is all about drama and money. She doesn’t care about the children or the parents. She runs her mouth constantly and word gets around in a small town! She is a very NEGATIVE person. I do not recommend anyone to enroll their kids in the Bay Minette location!"

"I was the Director for the previous daycare in Bay Minette before Bridgeway Academy bought the business. We had such a nice, loving, close and family oriented daycare. Everyone respected everyone. Shortly after Missy Nolen purchased the business things got shaky with my staff. I encouraged everyone to stay, have a positive attitude, and give her a chance. I was led to believe it would be a wonderful change! I was excited to be a part of their team! She announced me as the Director moving forward and as I stated…it was good UNTIL it wasn’t. The fake nice wore off fast! Then we got to know the real nice/nasty lady behind the fake smile. This woman believes it’s perfectly normal to speak to others like they are beneath her. I witnessed this many times when she would talk to the parents about their children. She has zero patience with small children. Parents have jobs, jobs that pay her for the kids to be there! She never took into consideration that making them leave work over silliness put them in a bind. It was always her way or no way. She loves being in control and as she said “putting out fires.” Fast forward 3-4 months into the new ownership. I have a child in public school. This woman did everything in her power to make my life hard. She changed my schedule numerous times where I had to get an overnight sitter and depend on them to take my child to school. Every obstacle she threw at me, I accomplished UNTIL she thought it was a great idea to scream at me on the phone simply because I asked for help. Threatened to change my schedule yet again. I understand change and it comes with every job BUT I am one person and unfortunately I cannot open and close (6:30-5:30) the building 5 days a week for her. I had an assistant director but she sent her to another campus saying I didn’t need her. She said I had everything under control so it was a waste of money to pay a director and an assistant director. This was a little stressful but again, I managed to make it work. Mrs. Nolen also informed me I was not allowed to have a personal relationship with the parents or co workers outside of the workplace. EIGHT employees have quit since she has taken over!! This alone speaks volume of the type of woman she is and business she is “running.” She has also made numerous comments about Bay Minette parents being “low income” and their kids “are terrible.” Funny!! I never had the issues with the children she claims to have. I eventually decided I cannot be a part of a business that treats people however she wanted JUST because she could. I’ve been gone for a little over a month and she STILL has my name in her mouth degrading me. I’m not sure why though. When I was employed, Missy and Heidi stated several times how proud they were of me!! I guess as long as you “go with the flow” and don’t stand up for yourself, you’re in the clear! To say they are extremely UNPROFESSIONAL is an understatement. At this point, I am getting used to being the topic of conversation and it puts a smile on my face. Maybe I left more of an impact on her than I thought. Maybe she will one day learn, God doesn’t like ugly. I pray she finds a compassionate heart and learns just because she never struggled in life, doesn’t mean others don’t. Until then, I cannot in good faith recommend anyone to work or enroll their children in the Bridgeway Academy, Bay Minette location."

"I can’t say enough good things about this school! The after school care is phenomenal! They also pick our kids up from the elementary schools which really helps us parents out! The teachers are absolutely amazing! The school is extremely clean & the owner is very down to earth and super cool. She is really easy to talk to and we can tell that she has all children’s best interests at heart. Thank you Bridgeway Academy for providing such a valuable service to our community!!!!"

"I do not recommend this facility to any African Americans parents, Misty Noland is very unprofessional very condescending and there is no communication with the parent. I was blind sided on my son dismissed. Even though Mrs West apologize for the dismiss of my son still wasn’t enough. The owner Misty Noland showed that there was little to no class when it came to her. I do and will not recommend this facility to any African American people. She is a very biased and bigotry person. Misty Noland is a very racist person and she could care less about what’s best for your child. I never received a write up or a warning. A missed phone call, I called her back and that’s it my child is dismissed. The sad thing is she never communicated to me only about the time. Because they close at 5:30 Monday through Thursday. Misty Noland... NO... defiantly would not recommend her facility after care nor childcare to this place, located on Shelton beach. Just because when you google this place and there is a black girl in the background it doesn’t mean nothing. Misty is very condescending and unprofessional. (I did the same thing but her actions SPOKE VERY LOUD). This will be posted and tagged on Facebook. It wouldn’t allow me to post everything from beginning to end because it was to long but it will be posted on Facebook and I will be tagging there name and details of our phone conversation. Very Unprofessional and Very Rude."