Active Learning Center

My daughter has been at ALC-Bellevue since 4 months old...at age 4 she is a beautifully happy, healthy, intelligent young lady and would not be without the wonderful staff at ALC. They have been a God-send, and we do not know what we would have done without them! These ladies sacrifice themselves for the kids (including spending the night at the school with them during a blizzard last year when parents were trapped on the interstate!!!!) and their families day in and day out. They even come to birthday parties, and email us adorable candid photos from special days at the school. These little extras are priceless, but add to it that my child could write her name by age 3 and count in various LANGUAGES (granted the sign-language had me stumped for a few weeks), they deliver the best. As far as tuition...it is half the cost of many and delivers 10 times over. more

As everyone knows anyone can write a review. I would like to respond to the review about the flood. I will not address money except to say be careful as some people leave owing money from previous weeks or as humans make accounting mistakes that need to be corrected. The questions should be where did the balance come from and if it was an error was it corrected. However about the fact that it is all about the money. Many of the staff drove over 4 hours finding a way around all the road blocks to open the center and give the children stability in these trying times. They also collected supplies for anyone in need. They even had staff members loose most of their belongings as well. They were at work everyday with a smile on their face to greet the children. They supported families, drove many miles to get to work, donated, and were their for the kids. Sounds like a staff that cares for their clients (the children). more

I don't normally post on these cites or talk about the bad in life....but after finding out what ALC has done to us, I wanted to say something.\r \r May the 2nd the flood hit the city of Nashville and the community of Bellevue.... \r \r We had 4-5 feet of water in a house. We had to move out of town for a month and had to live in the basement of a relatives house... \r \r We called the ALC and was told not to worry about it. They understood since they were in Bellevue and was affected by the flood as well.\r \r We returned to Nashville a month later and was contacted by the ALC that since we didn't give a 2 weeks notice we were charged almost 400.00 for the 2 weeks. \r \r Our Child wasn't even in the school. I'm sorry but this is just wrong. It wasn't like we knew the flood was gonna leave us homeless for a month. And was told in just the days after the flood we were free and clear.\r \r Wasn't like this school was good in the first place.... For the $$$ there are a lot better places in Nashville...this is just the only place in Bellevue close to our old home.\r \r But for them to charge us when we were left homeless due to the flood.....is just wrong in my opinion.\r Cons: Don't trust them.... more

I read the previous reviews that were written in 2006 and felt that it would be important to ""even out"" the two negative reviews listed. My daughter has been at ALC for almost 2 years and I have been extremely pleased with our experiences there. As a curriculum developer/designer, I feel more than qualified to speak to the value of the curriculum offered at this school. My daughter and the 20+ other children in pre-K are being very well prepared to begin kindergarten. The school has attained the highest star rating due in great part to the curriculum being offered at this level. My daughter receives and returns homework, and is participating in the extracurricular activities that are offered to supplement an already rich educational program. These teachers are not only teaching educational skills, they are teaching life skills. I have been tremendously pleased with the school and my child's progress and feel blessed that the staff cares enough to put the educational needs of the children before their own agenda in placing children in a classroom. We went to one school that pideon-holed my child based on her birthday and not her academic abilities - after three weeks and a repeat of how to identify the numbers 3 and 4 (when my daughter could identify up to 11), we found ALC and have been quite pleased ever since. The downside is the $5 per minute late pickup fee, which I think is exhorbitant but understandable. Parents should make no mistake about the daycare industry. It is, in fact, a business for profit, but that doesn't detract from ALC's worth as a daycare provider. I feel that the school's management increases ALC's value to me as a consumer, as it has clearly-defined, fair and equal boundaries that are applied to everyone across the board. So, your mileage may vary, but this is my experience. Pros: Curriculum, faculty and staff, central location in Bellevue, extracurricular programs Cons: A bit more expensive than average, but it's Bellevue, not east Nashville, and it's worth it more

Our daughter attended ALC Bellevue for almost 6 years, and even though we had to pay for time away and ""in service"" days we always felt like the staff cared about her, so we tolerated the fee increases and so forth. Recently ALC made the decision to terminate the after school service for school aged kids. Problem is they didn't bother to tell anyone. So we and other parents were left with no after school child care. No reason was ever provided as to why they could no longer provide this service. The cirriclum there is average at best and many times it seems like the staff would just as soon plug a movie into the VCR/DVD as work with your child.\r \r Most of the staff are kind and great with the kids but the administration has very poor buisiness skills and even worse communication skills. ALC isn't about serving your child; it is about getting your money. \r \r Getting someone in charge to contact you when you have an issue is near impossible. This used to be the best choice in Bellevue, but it has gone way downhill recently. more

Active Learning Center is absolutely beautiful, and always looks clean and organized. I like her teacher and I love the extracuricular activities, like dance and gymnastics, that they offer for less than what I would be paying outside the daycare. \r HOWEVER, the reason that I'm not recommending the center is because I feel that the center is trying to swindle me. Like many families now-a-days, my daughter has to divide her time living with me and visiting with her father, usually for one or two weeks at a time. This week I informed the daycare that she needed to leave soon for two weeks and I asked what arrangements I needed to make. I was then, for the first time, informed that I would have to pay FULL TUITION for the time that she was NOT ATTENDING. \r Now make no mistake, I did not sign a contract and the tuition is paid on a weekly basis. Paying monthly will earn you a discount, but is optional. The paper I was given with fees says that ""No reduction in tuition will be given for illness or holidays."" This is not equivelant to a child not attending for weeks at a time. The justification for this is that I have to pay to hold her spot. I can agree with the necessity for that, but I cannot agree with paying full tuition for care that my child is not receiving! Both myself and my daughter's father spoke with the Vice President of operations. They insist I have to pay even though no such thing is said in the list of fees I was given.\r I don't feel that I should be given exceptions to rules, but no such rule was stated to me. I feel that their instistance on ridiculous and financially uneccessary charges shows their disregard for the integrity of business and for their customers. I would never recommended a company with under-handed, side-stepping buiness practices to anyone. Please pick a center with more honesty and integrity. Pros: Atmosphere, organization, activities Cons: Service, Cost, Integrity more