Short Stuff & Co., Inc.

"I toured this school as well as several others at the end of summer. I think this school has supervision issues that need to be addressed. When being shown the baby room there was an infant left alone in her swing with no teacher in the room with them. After a minute passed by the teacher came walking in from across the hall. The woman conducting the tour didn’t seem bothered by it which gave me the impression it happens often or not thought much of."

"This is the second time I am posting a review for this company. My first review I took down because I was threatened, I would be sued otherwise from the owners if I did not. After discussing my legal rights with my lawyer, I was informed I had nothing to worry about as long as what I posted was completely honest, which is it. My first review included my experience with Short Stuff. My daughter was enrolled at this school for 4 days, she began on a Monday and that Thursday I had a very unpleasant phone call from the owner of the school, Betty. A little background information, my daughter has a diagnosis of ADHD. Before enrolling her at Short Stuff, I had multiple conversations with the director (Denise) via phone call and email asking her if they would accommodate her behavioral therapist at the school. (Every conversation was yes) I worked as an educator at a NAEYC accredited school and I am very familiar with the regulations and protocol of a daycare setting, and in my experience working at the school I never once treated a parent or a child how I or my daughter was treated by Short Stuff. I know there are multiple documents that needs to be filled out prior to enrolling a child at a school, one of which is an emergency contact form. On the bottom of this form it clearly stated my daughter had an ADHD diagnosis and required a behavioral therapist. How my situation was handled was very unprofessional. As I said my child started at the school on a Monday, on Thursday afternoon I received a phone call from Betty, who started the conversation off something like “This is the owner of Short Stuff and your child is not welcome back at my school.” Confused as anything I tried reasoning and discussing why with her. She just continued to yell at me. She used harsh language (one a daycare owner shouldn’t use in my opinion) and when I suggested the way she was speaking to me was ridiculous she told me that “I was the one being ridiculous and crying like a baby.” (Keep in mind I am pregnant, hormonal, and now getting insulted by someone I don’t even know.) She tried to tell me the reason my daughter was no longer aloud at her school was due to the fact I did not let them know she had a behavioral therapist and kept telling me I was a liar and did not disclose that information. However, it was in all my child’s documents, and emails with the director. She also kept using the phrase she just isn’t going to work out here. I’m not sure how someone can make that judgement after only 3.5 days, especially about a child. Maybe it’s just me, but I believe every child needs to be loved and taught in a different way. Betty also told me “my child was behind in her education” again, there was no fair chance given to my child to even make that judgement, I know very well that this is not the case. When I went to pick my child up that Thursday, I had a conversation with Denise (the director) and tried to work things out as I was still so confused how any of this was even happening. She told me they had to go tell the other kids “what was wrong with my child” in terms of her behavioral plan. My child cannot sit for extended periods of time and a walk to break up her day as been helping greatly. I don’t like the fact that this was shared with other students even if they were only of a young age. Her therapist and the therapist’s supervisor tried to reach out to Short Stuff multiple times to create a behavioral plan that would work for all parties involved. However, that chance was not even given. It is sad because my daughter felt as if something was wrong with her due to the actions and lack of professionalism of the school. After posting my initial review Betty’s husband even admitted they should have handled the situation differently via email. I also had a personal message from a parent who said they TOO had a similar experience with this woman, so she is no stranger to talking to people with no respect."

"What do we as parents look for in a center? What's different about the millions of daycares that surround us within a few block radius. How can we assure our children are learning and are safe. I had 2 kids go through short stuff until they left for 1st grade. Well when I had my daughter 5 yrs later I tried 2 different centers. 1 closer to home, then 1 closer to work, AND then i.... Landed back at short stuff. I can assure you this place is not just a "daycare" but more like family. My 4 yr old is now with the same Pre-K teacher my 11 yr old had. They separate each age group so you can be assured your child is in a small setting with all same age kids. The place is very well kept. Offers tadpoles app so you can check on your childs learning throughout the day. Secured entry with keyfob technology and the entire place has closed circuit security cameras. You get catered hot, healthy lunches included. The programs are amazing(summer camp themed field trips each week). Grade level curriculum during the school year. Parents are kept well involved in all school activities. The teachers really go above and beyond to make learning fun!"

"If you haven't noticed, there's a lot of gossip going around in this place. Just look at the follow up review from the fake user, Janet Springer, created the same day the review was made. If this wasn't in fact the owner, this review implies the school was discussing private interactions of a family with other families at the school which I'm pretty sure is a violation of PA § 3270.183. This is not a great center at all and I will be pulling my child soon and moving to the new center down Trooper. Despite having a Keystone STARS rating, many staff have trouble dealing with kids and resort to aggressive yelling and grabbing/pulling children. I've woken up the morning staff asleep at their desk with the lights off in the morning in the past. While it's understandable and no kids are there, having an attitude about it is unprofessional. I've also almost been run over by the Short Stuff bus barreling down Main Street, driven by the director going WAY too fast. The same director who every day goes bolting out the door early so she can't be caught by parents who have questions. Viewing the centers inspection reports is appears they have an issue keeping current records on employees and while complying after receiving a violation, how many times do you need your wrist slapped before requiring clearances for new employees as well as long term employees. I've never met or spoken to the actual owner but I'm told from people in the center that she's rarely there and sits home occasionally watching through the center's cameras. Take close note to the reviews as well, testimonials on the site and various reviews posted on CitySearch and Google were made by relatives of the owner. Like both the follow up reviews to mine. Do an IP trace on Janet's review and you'll see what I'm saying... I'll let you come to your own conclusions. You can see in the reviews on here the owners responses to previous employees and negative reviewers and they're incredibly unprofessional. My kid is now in Eagleville Elementary and was only ever at Short Stuff and Bright Horizons "

"I have had children attend Short Stuff over the past 13 years from the ages of 6 weeks through elementary after-school care. The facility is very clean and bright, and the children have access to a giant, enclosed play yard for fresh air and exercise. We have worked with many wonderful teachers, but Miss Tiffany stands out as a particular gem. She develops amazing immersive experiences for older toddlers that my children still talk about, like NASA week, where the kids all come home in custom NASA shirts proudly talking about their space exploits. The on-site director is warm and helpful and took time to develop relationships with my children. The kindergarten program is excellent and my kids were more than prepared to transition to their public school classes. While I don't like to comment on other reviewers' experiences, I do have to say that the negative review before this one does not reflect the experience that I have had over 13 plus years with children at Short Stuff. My kids always loved going and now talk about how, when they grow up, they want their kids to go there too!"