The Malvern School of Glen Mills

We have attended this school and the summer program for over eight years. The best part is the low turnover and the dedication that the teachers have to the program. It is very structured. The programs are well laid out and the parent/​teacher interactions is great. My kids have loved it and the hours are wonderful. I do wish they would do less pushing about Alex’s Lemonade. There is an internal competition between schools and they talk it up to the kids so they want to always get me to contribute.

My two children (2 & 5) have attended the Malvern School of Glen Mills since the fall. Both of them LOVE coming in and greeting their teachers. The staff provided a great transition for my younger child who had never been in child care. His vocabulary has grown so much! My older child is in the Kindergarten Enrichment program. Having transportation to and from his public half day kindergarten is great plus he gets to build on what he’s working in school. One of the best preschools in the area!

My child attended this school for 12 months. It was not a good experience for us for several reasons:
1) The staff had very unrealistic expectations for the children of preschool age (age 2 ½ on up). It was very much a «you sit down, be quiet and do as your told or you’ll be disciplined» environment. No redirection or positive methods are used with the exception of sticker charts, which are not implemented consistently from teacher to teacher. One preschool teacher who was nice but new to the «lead teacher» role easily got frustrated with the children. Every single boy except one in her class was on a sticker behavior chart. But, at least she didn’t ‘X’ out the rough times like the pre-​k teacher did. My child would come home from pre-​K down and dejected over getting «X’s» rather than happy about getting stickers. And X’s were given for the most minor things. By the end, my child hated going there. My child left here with a low self-​esteem from not only their constant punishment, but also me coming down on him at their insistence and me not knowing better to question them and their recommendations. I made the mistake of thinking they were experts in child development and therefore took their suggestions on how to discipline my child. I learned the hard way that this chain’s methods have a reputation amongst local child development professionals as being «too traditional» with negative consequences depending on your child’s personality.
2) The staff was very disengaged, especially my child’s pre-​K teacher. I never saw her interact with the children except to bark orders at them. I went on a few summer field trips with the pre-​k classes and the teachers from my child’s class didn’t interact with the children except to move them to the next activity. They didn’t talk to the kids about what they were seeing or make positive comments about the activities. Instead, they chatted amongst themselves and complained about the heat or the smell, etc.
3) The administrator gushed about their NAEYC accredited program and the beautiful property for taking nature walks. It was mostly a sales tactic. They took a nature walk only once in the year we were there. There was nothing special about their academic program. My child learned just as much, if not more, in the short time at our current school than a year here. They did nothing to address social and emotional development. If your child doesn’t do what’s expected socially or emotionally they get disciplined, not developed.
4) You will be hit up for 6 months to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand. My family donates to a variety of charities but for 6 months you are hit up weekly (and often daily) for money for their fundraiser. Several art auctions (you buy your kid’s artwork), donations for gift baskets to silent auctions, charity dinners, give your extra change, donate cash, the list goes on. A month or two of fund raising, okay, but 6 months was absolutely maddening. And on top of that you can add weekly needs for «special events». Crazy socks, crazy hair, wear purple, pajama day etc. All school year long. It was really tough as a working mom to keep up with the constant requests for «special» things.
Some positives:
1) The fact that they have a gym and can exercise the kids during inclement weather is really nice.
2) They have an outdoor pool that they use during the summer
3) We met many really nice kids and their families.