U-GRO Lancaster | Brownstown — Local services in West Earl Township

I debated reviewing this place. Because of recent events, I feel obligated to tell other parents about my family's experience.

First, the amount of yelling that occurs in this daycare is hands-down unacceptable. You should not hear an adult yelling in a one-year-old room under any circumstances, and yelling at four-year-olds is completely out of line. If an adult can't adhere to that level of maturity, they shouldn't be working with young kids.

There's no tenure among teachers or aids with one or two exceptions, and there are so clearly enormous training and experience differences that going from one room to another is more like changing schools instead of changing rooms. I know one of the better teaching aids left mid-week once, having told me and a few other parents that she was jumping ship to work at a local bowling alley. If that happens, U-Gro probably isn’t working hard to keep its staff happy – or working to get the best-trained staff, either.

The number of times my kids came home angry -- for no clear reason -- was nearly every day. When they stopped going to U-Gro, the anger disappeared and we started to hear why. Their teachers scared them -- the same people they spent 6-8 hours with every single day. It killed me that I was doing that to them, and it infuriated me that I was spending $3,500 / month to have it happen.

The thing that finally nailed it for me is when I picked up my kid and one of the teachers was talking my ear off about them being nervous on the playground. My kid didn’t look at me the whole time, and it wasn’t until the teacher walked away that they finally looked up at me. We went home in a silent car ride, and when I asked what was wrong, they said “Nothing.” But it wasn’t “Nothing” like you hear from an adult who’s doing just fine – it was the anxious, strained-voice “Nothing” that you hear when something has most definitely upset a child to the point where they’re feeling fear. I heard the same “Nothing” when I got reports that my kid had accidents – something that never happened at home or in public.

When I talked to the leadership about it, their response was: “Oh, she’s leaving at the end of the week.”

No action. No followup. No concern over what I told them.

This led me to my conclusion of U-Gro Brownstown in general – the leadership either has no firing power or has no interest in exercising it. It feels like the daycare is run by a faceless corporate board, and it's told to hit numbers instead of providing positive experiences for children. The people they hire are in and out in a matter of weeks, and the more turnover they have, the more desperate they get to hire replacements. The more desperate they get, the lower their standards go. The lower their standards go, the worse the experience for your kids.

This isn’t a U-Gro thing, either. U-Gro HACC has a long-tenured teaching staff, some of whom have backgrounds in education or childhood development. When I spoke to them, I learned that they hadn’t had any turnover in a year.

When we left U-Gro, my kids were instantly happier. And when that’s the payoff, no challenge is too great.

There are only a handful of people in that building who should be with kids as much as they are. Everyone has bad days – and that’s to be expected.

But nobody has an excuse to make toddlers feel shame, fear, and anger in an environment where they should feel safe.

PS: At the time of writing, one of the five-star reviews on this daycare is from a director at the facility. That tells you everything you need to know about...

I absolutely love this daycare. The teachers are so lovely, caring, and patient — they truly make every child feel safe and valued. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to prepare kids for kindergarten, with plenty of hands-on learning, creativity, and play-based activities that keep them excited to learn. My oldest child left U-GRO overly prepared for kindergarten. My youngest is currently in the 4 year old room and I have really noticed how his vocabulary and language skills have really improved over the last year or so in the preschool classes.

One of the things I appreciate most is how family-oriented the center is. They host wonderful family events such as Trunk or Treat, Mother's and Father's Day celebrations, as well as Grandparent's Day. The teachers know everyone's name in the center and it really feels like a family. Our children has grown so much socially and academically — I couldn’t be happier!

Highly recommend this daycare to any family looking for a nurturing and enriching...

Our experience with this U Gro center has been better than expected. When we enrolled our son at 1 years old, we were nervous about what to expect from daycare in general. It’s about two years later now, and I can say —This center has exceeded our expectations! Majority of the staff truly has your child’s best interest in mind. Our son is thriving and continues to learn more than some of his non-daycare peers. He comes home and surprises us sometimes. As with anything, no place is perfect- that’s life. It is corporate and it is expensive but childcare is expensive across the board. The facility is very clean, has an indoor playground and feels secure and safe. I don’t regret our choice in making this center...