Chesterbrook Academy Preschool

Reviews

• RP

  Richard Paul

  6 days ago
  5.0
  Our son was there for a year and would have been longer if we didn’t change job locations Miss Ashley and Miss Trista were great
• LI

  Lydia Innacola

  Jul 11, 2026
  2.0
  Our son attended Chesterbrook Academy for a little over two years, so our perspective comes from a long-term experience rather than a brief enrollment. There were many things we genuinely appreciated. The individual teachers were kind, caring, and worked hard for the children. They communicated well with parents, and we loved the sense of community they tried to create through events like the annual Halloween parade, which became something our family looked forward to each year. We also appreciated the convenience of hot lunches, snacks, and enrichment programs like Soccer Shots and dance being offered during the school day. Unfortunately, our experience changed significantly during our last six months there. The school went through several leadership changes, with four different administrators during that period, and there was little communication with parents about what was happening. The former assistant principal was wonderful, and after the leadership changes, it became apparent that the staff who remained were doing their best while being stretched very thin. Our son’s classroom teacher was frequently pulled away to assist with administrative responsibilities, which led to inconsistency in the classroom. While I understand emergencies happen, this became frequent enough that it affected our confidence in the consistency of care. It also felt as though classroom placements and transitions were driven more by enrollment needs than by each child’s developmental readiness. As a parent, I would have appreciated a more intentional transition process that prioritized children’s individual needs. The overall atmosphere at the school shifted. What had once felt warm and welcoming began to feel more tense, and our son—who had previously enjoyed attending—began showing school refusal. Watching that change was incredibly difficult for us as parents. I also observed occasions where it appeared classrooms may not have been staffed at the ratios I expected. While I can’t speak to every circumstance, those observations added to my concerns about how stretched the staff seemed to be. Ultimately, we realized that the corporate model was not aligned with what we were looking for in a preschool. At times, it felt as though more attention was devoted to maintaining the school’s community image than to ensuring each classroom had the support it needed. That said, I want to emphasize that my concerns are not with the teachers themselves. I truly believe many of them were there for the right reasons and were doing everything they could under challenging circumstances. My heart went out to them. Every family’s experience will be different, but after more than two years at Chesterbrook, we felt it was the right decision to find a school whose philosophy and day-to-day operations better matched our family’s values. Since making that change, we’ve seen a remarkable difference in our son’s happiness and enthusiasm for school.
• AS

  Ashley Stank

  May 7, 2026
  5.0
  Ms. Dikipa at Chesterbrook Academy on Harrisburg Pike has been such a blessing to our family. Her consistency, support, and communication are truly unmatched. We are incredibly appreciative of the care and dedication she shows every day, and we’ve seen so much growth in our son because of her guidance. She also does an amazing job making both my husband and me feel included and informed in our son’s preschool experience. We are so grateful for everything she does and highly recommend her to any family looking for a caring, dependable, and engaged teacher.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chesterbrook Academy Preschool