Early Learning Children's Academy - Springfield

ELCA Springfield has been amazing since we switched to this center in February. We switched primarily due to having a second child and our previous daycare not accepting infants.

The app is one of my favorite things as we can stay informed on how their days are going and easily communicate with teachers if needed.

I also get to know so much more about what they are learning through pictures/updates provided.

Lastly I love getting to see the interaction my children have with the teachers and classmates. The director and teachers my daughters have had have been friendly, knowledgeable and great with interacting and caring for them!

We have loved our experience at ECLA! As a first time parent, I have been put at ease knowing my daughter is in the care of people who are not only passionate about working with children, but also communicate about her needs on a daily basis. The staff are professional and personable - we know each day when we drop her off that she is cared for and loved. Thank you, ECLA!

Our daughter is currently enrolled and has been going to ELCA for about a year from age 1-2 and we love it. They use the ProCare app, which makes it easy to pay your bill, get updates, sign forms, and chat with the staff. The director is thoughtful and caring and has made a clear commitment to excellence including going for the next Keystone STARS "star".

The teachers are caring, kind, and provide great structure. They move through weekly themes in the classrooms and have art projects, stories, and songs that align with the theme. They play a lot but it's not just free play all day every day. The use age-appropriate activities and curriculum. Our two-year-old can now count to ten in English and Spanish, and her language acquisition has been nonstop. It's clear the classrooms are under control and the kids are well supervised and cared for. As a parent you can just tell if your kid's diaper is being changed often, they're napping well, and they're being cared for. Our daughter loves her teachers and classmates and talks about them all the time.

The facility is clean, organized, and secure. They even refresh with holiday decorations and have celebrations for the kids, teachers, and families. They do periodic "Parent Nights" where for way less than a babysitter your child can stay late at the Center. The kids go outside to the fenced-in outdoor play area whenever weather allows and have a glass-enclosed play space when it's too cold or wet out. There's plenty of parking so pickup and drop-off is easy.

We have had a great experience and highly recommend ELCA!

ECLA has been a great choice for us — our toddler loves his classroom teachers, Gabby & Haley, and Aisha has been so communicative, responsive, and helpful. Everyone is so kind every day when we walk in, and the app updates we get throughout the day are the best.

Both of my kids have been attending ELCA for about 3 yrs now and they have been great. The teachers here at the center have been a blessing with helping both of my kids get ready for school teaching them motor skills and reading skills and more. My son has started kindergarten this year and has been doing awesome due to him attending ELCA his teachers Ms.Ketura and Ms. Asia are awesome and a pleasure to work with and be around. Also they have been a blessing with teaching my daughter as well her teachers Ms. Jasmine and Ms. Gail have been awesome too. The owner Mrs. Nicola has been nothing but awesome to work with always willing to go above and beyond with everything for the kids send your kids hear there great.

I disagree with some of the negative reviews here in Google. I am one of the parents. My daughter loves going to the daycare. Her classroom teacher Ms. Gail is very loving, caring and clean. She always washes my daughter's hands whenever possible. There is another teacher Ms. Autumn. She is very energetic, loving and warm to all the children. Every time I went to pick up my daughter, I could see they cleaned all the toys and let them lay on the table to dry. They have an app that the teachers and staff use to send pictures and updates to parents. I am so glad they send these pictures and even videos so that I could see what my daughter has been doing at school and save them as good memories. As long as it is not raining or too cold outside, they always take kids out to the playground and have some fun activities. I agree that certain staff member could have a cleaner appearance but I could tell they are all people who love children. What I care the most about is having teachers and staff members that really care for and are warm to the kids. And they also do fun activities throughout the day like arts and crafts. They even teach kids about fire safety. When I pass the infant room, I could see teachers holding babies in their arms to give them love. I also love that they heat up the food for the kids and provide clean paper plates and utensils, and teach them to clean after themselves after meals. The director of the daycare is also very strict about following rules and policies. From time to time, they turn on the TV for the kids for either learning programs or just for fun. So I suggest less TV time. I am not sure why some of the parents have such a negative view of the daycare but I am happy that my daughter is there. And I plan on sending my second baby (due in March 2023) to this daycare.

This place helped my children create many new friendships. Also, the staffs genuinely care for the kids that attend and show them compassion and love!

I just want to say this has been my first experience/ best experience yet. My children have been going to this center for almost three years now and I haven’t had any complaints. Ms. Nicola and staff have been so helpful/ pleasant towards my family. The amount of support I received from the beginning until now has been so genuine, I would say one of the many reasons why I was able to finish nursing school! There care and love for what they do never goes unnoticed from us.

Thank you Early learning children’s academy!

Very pleased with the quality of care that my child receives at ELCA. The staff is kind and truly cares about the children that they work with. My child has been going to this location for nearly 3 years and they have made transitions from the pandemic and each stage of her growth easy. The easiest way to get my child going in the morning is to remind her that she is going to see her teachers and it always gets her out of bed!

Great daycare, great teachers. My 18-month old has been at ELCA Springfield for over a year. We’ve had pictures sent nearly every day, crafts sent home, and a happy smiling kid. Incidents are handled well, and communication all-around is consistent and thorough. Miss Autumn and Miss Kathi especially have gone above and beyond for us, but everyone is great. The teachers at ELCA have helped us and our first child proactively get through all the transitions including napping issues, walking, and solid foods. Couldn’t ask for more.

ELCA is amazing! When I dropped off our 1st child for the first time I was a mess as a mother however was quickly reassured our child was in good hands. I received updates via their mobile app with feeding/diapers changes, activities, as well as photos. This type of communication has continued over a year later! We have easy access to the director, Ms. Nicola, through email, phone, and the app who has always been super responsive. We have also had easy access to our childs’ teachers via the same methods. Parent-teacher conferences have happened every 6 months showing what the teachers are working on and how we can help at home. Our child has always come home happy and clean. If our child gets messy at ELCA from an activity, food, etc, she is changed and put into a new outfit. The center has fun activities for all ages and even for the parents! Everyone is extremely friendly, welcoming, and really shows they care for all child and the parents.

My experience w/ ELCA everyone is great! My child started in September and thankfully we haven't had any bad experiences. Everyone I've encountered has been very welcoming, not only to myself and my child but w/ the other children as well. My child is always very happy to be here, enjoys the teachers/staff as much as seeing her friends. I drop her off every morning and see everyone in good spirits, always kind. I have to say children are honest and my child has always looked forward to going even if she has her moments in the morning lol but she's always said good things. I literally have NO COMPLAINTS! All the teachers/staff are Great!!

ELCA has been amazing from the very beginning 😍 enrollment was a breeze! The staff are excellent and they love and care for my son as their own, and he loves them just as much ❤They are clean! My son is dropped off at the crack of dawn and the staff are always in there cleaning and disinfecting the rooms and toys. And I absolutely love that they utilize the Procare app efficientl! I get daily updates and picture of my son 😊 as a first time mom I got really lucky with them as our daycare ❤

Sent both of my children here at various times over the last 7 years. I've always found the center clean, safe and full of light. In fact, the windows in almost every room was one of the reasons we selected this center in the first place. (Who decided daycares all need to be dark or in basements?) The staff itself is always professional and courteous. Many of the same staffers were there when my oldest was there and are still there when my youngest was there - and they remember their students. They truly care about their kids. (Shout out to Ms. Nicola, Ronette, Gail and Jasmine!)
We had a visiting Speech therapist and they worked with her, asked questions and actually seemed to apply the skills she was trying to teach not only to my daughter but to others in the class as well.

My only negative was the switch to the new app - I feel like there were a lot of times we weren't getting the full notifications of things happening we were supposed to - I preferred the old app.

One of the best compliments I can give is that my kids were happy going here and looked forward to coming every day and I felt safe and confident leaving them.

The daycare center is very nice. We have a 18 month toddler with them. Teachers are responsive and so as other staff. Inside is clean. The hours are 6:30-6 and 10 hours per day. I was very impressive also during the COVID times with all the precautious steps the center had taken. Kids have to bring their own meals though. Certainly would recommend it to friends and families.

My children love this center and the staff. The staff there are incredible and really care for the kids. They have a great curriculum and activities for all ages. I've noticed at home how much they've learned at ELCA.

Im so grateful for a place where I can leave my kids while we work and know that they feel safe and are learning while having fun.

Still employed here (it’s been 3 years) and now have 2 children that attend the center.

In a parent POV, I love it here. The staff members are pleasant to my children and they treat them with respect. My 5 year old is not much of a morning person but she always pulls through due to her teachers. And my infant adores her teacher and definitely acts like her teacher is her second mother.

In a staff member POV, I love it here. The energy i feel walking through the building is wonderful especially with our new director. She works well with all of her employees and she encourages us to be strong and excel and we reciprocate this as well. I’m glad I chose to work for Mr. Hertzberg and the ELCA Springfield team.

This is the best daycare I've ever taking my child to. And me and my child both love this this daycare. The staff is amazing with the kids and they are always on top of everything at the center. I couldn't ask for a better daycare for my child.

I have been taking my children to ELCA @ Springfield for almost 7 years. Only left briefly 5 years ago for reasons that were not related to the daycare itself in any way. Went back when my son was 18 months old, he's now 5 1/2. I also have a 2 year old that attends as well. I always feel confident that when I leave my children in the centers care, that they are safe and will be treated well and have fun! As often as any place today, there are often times someone may only stay for a few months and leave, while I don't know the reason of their leaving, I do know that there are also teachers that have been there since I started taking my kids 7 years ago that are still there! I can't speak about the owner, since I've never met him.. But I would vouche for my children's teachers and the director at ELCA any day

This is my son first daycare and i couldn’t be more pleased. The teachers love on him so much and even the teachers outside of his classroom knows him, they always call his name as we walk through the hallway. Very family oriented and I’m beyond pleased with the services I’m receiving. #GRATEFUL❤