Bright Horizons at DUMBO

Reviews

• CC

  Campbell Cross

  Apr 20, 2024
  2.0
  When we toured and first started at the center, we were told there would be two consistent teachers in each infant classroom, with other teachers floating in to provide extra coverage as needed. We understand that two people cannot provide coverage for 10-11 hours a day 5 days a week with no breaks or sick days. However, about a month after starting, we noticed that our two usual teachers were around less and less and different people seemed to be “filling in” each day. Additionally, at times, the person we spoke with at pick-up was not the person who was with our child during the day so they were unable answer any questions that we had. Meanwhile, there was no notice from the administration about staffing changes. Then one day they sent an email saying our teachers had been reassigned but did not inform us who would be taking over as the new primary teachers. From then on, the teachers in the room varied from day to day between about six different people. Teacher consistency is very important to us and became a serious problem because our child was losing weight due to not finishing bottles at daycare. Each time we went into school we had to reiterate to a different person the importance of ensuring our child finish all the bottles because there was no consistency in who was caring for him each day. Some days we would come home with several ounces of unfinished milk. It wasn’t until we complained to the interim director that we were told the bottles we had provided were getting too hot in the bottle warmer and our child couldn’t hold them (something we didn’t know because we don’t use the bottles at home and no one told us it was a problem until several weeks later). This was after our child had been going there for several weeks already. Had we known, we would have changed the bottles immediately. When we toured the center, we asked specifically about their ability to accommodate cloth diapers and were told confidently they were familiar with them and it would be no issue. Fast forward to our initial meeting with our teacher where she informed us she had never worked with cloth diapers before. My wife taught her how to do it, no problem, and even drew step-by-step instructions to keep over the changing table. We think everything would’ve been fine at that point, but then the teachers started changing on a daily basis. Soon, we were coming home with two or three soiled outfits everyday because the diapers were incorrectly applied and leaking. We understand cloth diapers are uncommon and have a bit of a learning curve. It makes sense if daycare centers are unable to handle them. However, we were told by the administration it was absolutely fine. In reality the staff were not trained how to do it correctly. It felt like the administrators were just telling us whatever we wanted to hear to get us to enroll. When we spoke with the assistant director of the center we started getting the run around. First it took a couple of emails, then we were routed to the enrollment director, then back to the center’s assistant director. Eventually we emailed the regional director who was useless and just again routed us back to the center’s assistant director, who then had to email the accounting department. It took about a month to get an answer at which point we learned that by removing one day from your schedule, you only get a 5% decrease in tuition, which makes no sense. Why isn’t it 20% off or 15% off?? Its 4/5 days so it should be 20% less. Bizarre and no explanation for this was ever given. When I asked the manager at the location about our tuition adjustment she literally just said “oh I dont know I’m not good with numbers sorry”. Sorry how is that your response to a parent’s question about tuition costs? Theres a true lack of transparency among the administrators about who is responsible for handling questions and concerns that come up for families. It should not take talking to four different people over the course of a few weeks to get an answer to whether you can change your schedule and how much tuition will be.
• EV

  Erica Virtue

  Dec 8, 2020
  5.0
  Our daughter started at Bright Horizons as an infant and has since graduated to the toddler room. Our experience has been excellent and it’s been great for her development. Her teachers are all very warm and caring and the school is very communicative. They do tons of activities with them (including art, reading, exercise, music and Spanish). We really enjoy seeing photos and updates through the day via the app. She is super excited to go to school every day to see her friends and teachers.
• JD

  Jessica Donato

  Feb 3, 2020
  5.0
  Bright Horizons in Dumbo has been our second family. They are very understanding, qualified and great communicators. It was very nerve wracking for us to send our daughter to childcare and they really helped alleviate our anxieties and care for our daughter. I also believe it’s a great investment in her development. Very pleased, especially with her primary teacher, Ms. Cindy. Our daughter talks about her all the time while at home which makes us so happy and says a lot.