Mount Alvernia Day Care & Learning Center — Local services in Shaler Township

We went to Mt. Alvernia for a number of years. It’s a beautiful, historic facility with many wonderful teachers. I always felt my children were safe and generally cared for there. But overall my impression is mixed. If I could rate it 2.5 I would!

Some of the classrooms are excellent, particularly the infant and ones rooms. As kids get older, it’s more of a mixed bag. The nuns are no longer as active in the day-to-day. Still, the center is pretty “old school” in many respects. They can be super rigid about certain things in ways that other centers are not.

One of the concerns I had was around napping. In Pennsylvania, daycare teacher-to–student ratios can be lower during naptime, where children are to remain on a cot if not fully asleep. Mt. Alvernia used this time to schedule staff lunch breaks. If children were not staying put on their cot, teachers were unable to take lunch breaks as apparently there was no other coverage.

This was problematic on two levels: First, staff members just need a break and are entitled to one. Secondly, in needing children to remain laying down, some teachers became angry at the kids (2 to 5 year olds), essentially taking out their frustration on them and their parents. There were a few red-flag examples of this that I will not detail here. Teachers need breaks, but toddlers/preschoolers need flexibility if they cannot stay still for two hours (teachers will describe the inability of a 2-4 year to stay on a mat for two hours as “bad behavior”). It was a really bad set-up that suggested to me that they were not adequately staffed, even if in ratio.

In other instances, I got the sense that many teachers seemed burned out and could be negative to kids and parents (even openly resented their job, which to be fair, is a tough one). That said, there are many other wonderful teachers on staff who I will be forever grateful for.

For a long time, tuition was exceptionally affordable, which many of us appreciated. Understandably, they hiked the tuition two or three years ago and pretty drastically. Still, at the time we left, we did not get “more” for the additional cost. Other centers provide meals/snacks, have easier parking, apps, automatic payments, better teacher ratios, newer toys and furniture. We ultimately left because if we were going to pay more, we wanted to go to a center that offered more, which was actually quite easy to find. We then learned that many of the common practices at Mt. Alvernia (see above!) were not the case elsewhere.

Some of these things may have changed since we left. I would highly recommend the infant and ones rooms--they are exceptional as are many of the other staff members. After that point, I would just pay attention to your child’s experiences and how you interact with teachers. It’s a reasonable center, and I’m sure many people have had wonderful experiences, but there may be benefit to leaving as your...

Our oldest son started attending Mount Alvernia in the Ones classroom at 14 months old. The teachers, administration, and other parents were instantly welcoming when we joined, and we still keep in touch with many families from my oldest son's time there. At 5 years old, he is absolutely thriving in school and I'm sure it's due to the experience he got at Mount Alvernia.

My (now) 2-year-old started in the Infant classroom and loves going to school every day. In the Twos room, he is learning manners, matching, singing, and more. They do fun things for the holidays and frequently have themed weeks, so he is always engaged in something new. The day is filled with music, art/sensory activities, and walks outside on their beautiful property.

Both of my kids learned so much from this team and my third child will be joining in the Spring. We recommend Mount Alvernia to any family looking for an engaged group of teachers with plenty to keep your little ones learning...

Our son has been at Mount Alvernia since he was 4 months old. The infant room, ones Room, and now the twos room have all been wonderful. He is excited to go to daycare and is currently doing great with his colors and letters. Our daughter just started in the infant room. When we chose Mount Alvernia two years ago, it had a great word of mouth reputation but not much online information, so I just wanted to write saying that my children are well cared for and that means everything when you are leaving them for work. Also they offer a varied schedule, which has been amazing; my schedule varies as well and so having that flexibility has allowed me to maximize my time with my children. Overall its a safe, respectful place, filled with great, loving people. I can't...