Beacon Academy Inc

As a parent, I know how difficult it can be to choose the right school for your child. I have two children who attended school at Beacon Academy. I would like to reassure you that Beacon Academy is absolutely the right place to send your child for an education. Their academic program is exceptional. The environment is friendly. The staff is well trained, highly qualified, and seemingly love to work with children. My children are graduating the program and I am finding that it will be most difficult to say goodbye to the very people that have been such a huge part of my children's lives. Ms. Joan and her entire staff care for each child and parent very much. It is apparent in every decision they make. I would absolutely recommend Beacon Academy to every parent that is looking for a school that will offer everything....a safe environment, a caring staff, and a great education.

Posted 06/12/09 | Report Abuse

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I am a highly qualified school teacher with certifications in Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle School, Special Education and Reading Specialist. I am experienced in ALL aspects of child care and education. I know what it is to educate and care for other people's children. I know the importance of providing a safe environment for children to learn and play. I also have high expectations for my son and for those whom I have chosen to care for him. I want you to know that I have no regrets leaving my son in the hands of Beacon Academy's staff. I am very pleased with the care and education my son is receiving from his teachers. He loves going to school and often asks to go on the weekends too. Ms. Joan is fantastic with all of the children and always has a smile, a kind word, and a laugh for every person who walks through Beacon's doors. I have never felt uncomfortable there and I truly do not believe anyone could. My concern is my son. I want him to be comfortable and he is. To those of you who feel "you are not a favorite." You are self-centered individuals. Your concern should not be YOU, it should be your child and the care that he/she is receiving. It is that care that I recommend. I look forward to sending my youngest son in the fall to join the Beacon Family.

Posted 05/01/09 | Report Abuse

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PLEASE BE VERY WEARY OF ANYONE WHO WRITES A NEGATIVE COMMENT..THEN SIGNS IT ANONYMOUS.

My daughter went here for two years. And there are no words to describe the kind, caring, loving environment found a Beacon Academy. I watched my daughter grow and blossom at Beacon. The teachers are so loving, caring and giving. My daughter absolutely loved the staff and they were always able and willing to go the extra mile to make sure she was not only safe but happy. Last year she went for a 1/2 day only so she could attend 1/2 day kindergarten at our local school. Much to my surprise, she hated leaving Beacon and going to the local school. On many occasions she asked that I leave her at Beacon ~ and the staff NEVER denied her request. Ms. Joan is especially exceptional with the children.

I shopped and shopped for a daycare because I am very particular about the educational material as well as, the learning environment, and staff. I had considered enrolling her in a "chain" daycare center because I was at a loss to find any that met my standards. I thought it was me. Then along came Beacon like the answer to my prayers. It was absolutely clean, sanitary, the teachers qualifications were eagerly disclosed, with no reservations, and to my surprise they welcomed me to stop by at any time unannounced so I could see the site in its natural every-day state. Which is what I did. The teachers were well involved with the children and each classroom had a teacher and/or assistant.

If you are considering Beacon Academy I invite you to go and see for yourself this outstanding daycare, staff and environment for yourself. PLEASE BE VERY WEARY OF ANYONE WHO WRITES A NEGATIVE COMMENT..THEN SIGNS IT ANONYMOUS. If I were a caring, loving, and concerned parent as "anonymous" portrays herself to be, I would scream my name from the mountain tops to warn other parents of a dangerous or bad day care and I would have no shame giving you my name, address AND phone number so you could confirm what I was saying, with details! It seems "Anonymous" has a personal grudge with someone and is more concerned with slandering someone than 'warning parents'. Maybe "Anonymous" save some of that time and energy for her children!

MSCruz

Posted 02/15/09 | Report Abuse

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Nothing special. Just an average/below avg daycare center.
MANY more places in the area that are much better.
I visited. I say pass it by. Your kid is safer elsewhere.

Posted 02/13/09 | Report Abuse

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As an business owner I find it sad that there are no qualifications to post reviews of a business. Reading several of the reviews I have no doubt they were written by former employees who did not live up to the standard of care this school has set. There are many preschool and childcare facilities in south Jersey, but I am certain you will not find one that gives the quality of care I found here. The educational program, the care for children's health, the cleanliness of the facility, and friendly teachers should convince anyone that this is the only school to take your children to. The only drawback is they do not have an elementary school so my child could continue beyond kindergarten with them. Keep up the great work.

Posted 02/12/09 | Report Abuse

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I love Beacon Academy! Their staff, the Owner, Ms. Joan and everyone is always so nice!! I would never send my daughter anywhere else! My daughter started with Ms. Tanya and moved onto Ms. Sara and she has learned SO much! She amazes me every time she comes home! I can't believe that I am reading the negativity in these reviews, it shows that whomever wrote these needs to pull the wire out of you know where! Kudos to Ms. Joan (who is always so marvelous) and provides yummy hot coffee to those parents who are in a rush! ;-) I would NEVER send my daughter anywhere else. I give Beacon 10 STARZ!

Posted 02/05/09 | Report Abuse

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The rant from Tina F. is really from a disgruntled employee---one that apparently does not even have command of the English language! All of Beacon Academy's teachers are CPR certified (documentation on file) . Why am I even responding to this? Come and visit us and receive references from our hundreds of pleased parents!

Posted 01/14/09 | Report Abuse

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am personally completely unhappy with the environment my child's teacher. they are never in the classrooms and always wandering around. The owner plays favorites and they are as fake as could be. How could I ever feel comfortable with my child here? Especially when the teachers and assistants are not even classroom or teacher certified! Ee not even CPR certified and of they are it's probably not even kept up to date. Those who love it are obviously favored. this palce is a complete nitemare and a complete disgrace.

Posted 12/23/08 | Report Abuse

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My daughter attends Beacon Acadamy and is 3 years old. I'm amazed that she's been taught more than my neighbors daughter who is in kindergarten. She's been taught her phone #, home address, the alphabet, she knows the months in order, can write her name, etc. We get loads of feedback on her paperwork. Her teacher is always singing and laughing with the kids. She loves school and her classmates. Overall it has been a great experience. Her teacher last year and this year are both great people. Kudos.

Posted 12/01/08 | Report Abuse

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The owner and most of the staff clearly have their favorites. Children are hurt here, and left unattended, and if your child is not a favorite, you can only hope that they will not be adversely affected for life. The owner is extremely unprofessional, looks sloppy coming to work, and is extremely rude to children and parents that are not her favorites. It frightens me that she is in the childcare business. She is also extremely fake to parents and then will turn around and treat their child in a terrible way. It is truly scary that someone like this can run a "business" involving children.
This place should be shut down. Extremely unprofessional, dirty, with teachers who are not only unqualified, but rude, and prefer to stand around talking and gossiping than taking care of your child. How scary that they even have a baby room.
I pray this place is shut down fast.

Posted 11/28/08 | Report Abuse

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Where to begin! KUDOS TO ALL OF THE STAFF AND MISS JOAN!!!! This school is absolutely fabulous. My daughter has attended this daycare/preschool since she was 8 weeks old. She is now 2. She has received impeccable care from all. She has learned so much more (comparing her to my twins who are now 12 and went somewhere else when they were her age) and her speech is unbelievable. She has advanced up from her classes because she is retaining everything she has learned up to this point quickly due to repitition. I am glad I was referred to Beacon by my friend, whose daughter also goes there. My daughter is staying there until kindergarten is finished. I will be sad to leave this place.

Posted 07/09/08 | Report Abuse

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You will NOT find a cleaner, healthier, more sanitized daycare anywhere around. On top of the far-superior classrooms, general play area, cafeteria and bathrooms, the teachers are just plain wonderful....especially Miss Joan, the owner. I couldn't have said it better than the reader that posted before me that the staff is more like a big family...aunts, cousins and grandmothers than just plain daycare providers. You won't worry about your children while you are at work...you will be able to concentrate and do your job while you are there, and you will be confident that they are in the best of hands (just as if they were in your own care).
As far as the negative comments below...sounds to me like these are the kind of people that are a PITA anyway and needed to be weeded out! Knowing the staff, I highly doubt that the stories below went down the way this reader posted. I would NEVER believe them, and think it's a shame that people can post such "slants" on a story without being able to hear both sides. I will miss Beacon when my kids move on to kindergarten. Again, I agree...you get what you pay for. If you can put a dollar amount on your childs' education/care, and want the cheaper version....go to Chesterbrook....where my daughter went until she had 3 ear infections, then a febrile seizure....before I pulled her out after 6 months....Thank God Beacon opened up and saved me from having to quit my job! I am forever grateful to the amazing staff and to Miss Joan.

Posted 07/08/08 | Report Abuse

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I just read all these negative reviews and feel the need to respond as a parent who has had three children attend Beacon since the first day it opened...To the parent who stated that their child received a "poor education" at Beacon: my daughter attended pre-k and kindergarten at Beacon and was READING at the end of pre-K. Her teachers at Wedgwood specifically asked me where she went to kindergarten because she was so far ahead of the other children in reading, math, and comprehension. In speaking to other parents of her kindergarten classmates, their experience in 1st grade was rather boring because they were so advanced so either my child is the next Einstein, or yours is just stupid.To the parent of the infant room complaints: obviously you are a first time parent or a first time daycare user. EVERY daycare in the world has illness. (In case you didn't notice, your child is not the only one there.) If you don't want your kid to get sick, keep him home in a bubble. When my children attended a different daycare in the area, I never worked a full week because one of them was always sick. My children have been attending Beacon for three years and have NEVER, EVER, EVER missed ONE day from being sick. In case you haven't noticed, the staff is constantly using anti-bacterial wipes on every surface, doors, book, etc. Maybe they are getting sick from your own dirty house and you should spend some time cleaning it instead of writing lies about Beacon? In regards to the cost of Beacon, you get what you pay for. If you want your child to get a Pay-Less shoe education and care, then go somewhere else. If you want the Bandolino or 9 West experience, then you bring your child here for the caring staff, EXCELLENT education, and cleanliness. As I always tell my husband, if I buy a pair of Pay-Less shoes, I am wearing them for three months and throwing them away, if I am buying the Bandolino shoes, I am keeping them for a few years! In regards to the staff at Beacon, they are all more like cousins, Aunts, Sisters, and Grandmothers than just caregivers. Just ONE example is how much time, energy, and effort went into organizing a charity event for a young girl that attends Beacon who was diagnosed with cancer. All the staff participated and specifically the owner, Joan, who dedicated a lot of her own FREE time into making the event a success. This is the same woman who is there at 6:30 am every morning and doesn't leave until 6:00 pm at night! For anyone to have the audacity to say anything about "simple human decency" in ANY single staff member at Beacon, should take a look in the mirror. I would recommend this school to anyone and everyone. I think it says a lot if you look at how many Washington Township Public School teachers send their kids here. I am sad that my children are moving on next year and will miss everyone at Beacon!!!

Posted 07/07/08 | Report Abuse

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I have had both of my children attend Beacon Academy. On many occasions I have walked into a classroom to drop off or pick up my children and have found a class of children left unattended. I have on those occasions pointed this out to the owner and simply received and "oh she must have stepped out." Oddly enough she is supposed to be the teacher in that classroom. She has a terrible attitude when it comes to dealing with the parents and will often be found doing more gossiping than educating. I am also appalled to discover that my son, though he has graduated the kindergarten class at Beacon, knows little of the material that meets the standards that are required for NJ. The gaps in his education will certainly put him behind the other 1st graders in the fall. There are many papers and journals that come home with not one mark on it that shows a teacher has provided feedback for the student. Many times I will find my son has made an error which has not been corrected therefore, reinforcing poor habits in my child. This school has poor leadership and fails to follow anything that it claims when they are trying to get you to enroll and get your money. They leave much to be desired in the ways of simple human decency and public relations. In addition, my younger son was hurt to the point where he had to be taken to the hospital. No call was made to me because legally, they did not have to call me. She did not care that the decent thing to do was to alert me. My poor son had staples placed in his HEAD and when I returned to pick up my other son not one apology or sign of concern was uttered from his teacher, the owner, as she was trying to sell to new customers. I understand that kids get hurt, but the school should be concerned. Not one call was made to my home that night as to the well-being of my son either. This is a poor excuse of a school in terms of academics as well as safety. I would not recommend this school to anyone.

Posted 06/17/08 | Report Abuse

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Unfortunately my experience with the facility did meet the service I had hoped to receive. The infant room was where my child was. The communication between staff members was lacking to say the least. There was no primary caregiver to your infant and any one of the women in there can care for your baby. This lack of communication between caregivers in the infant room resulted in Beacon violating their Communicable Disease Policy as stated by the State Licensing Bureau.While my infant was suffering from numerous ailments from thrush to ear infection since entering daycare from one week to another, he was then taking an antihistamine/antitrussive/decongestant to relieve his current symptoms. One morning I dropped him off at the daycare with nothing but a runny nose and watery eyes, which I attributed to allergies because everyone at my home was experiencing symptoms. (And he was still taking the antihistamine medication per dr's orders). When I picked him up at around 3:40pm, one of the staff members who had been there in the morning was still there and another that was not in when I dropped off my son had just finished feeding him. When she handed my son to me, both his eyes were full of YELLOW DISCHARGE. His left eye in particular was shut closed from the dried up discharge, which they didn't even bother to clean. The young girl who had been there in the morning when I dropped off my son did not say one word to me. I immediately went to my car and contacted the pediatrician who was closed at the time. I proceeded to walk back into the center and put my son on the front desk in front of the director/owner of the facility and asked her to look at the condition of my son. She looked at him and nonchalantly said "well his eyes are not red. It just looks like the mucus he had in his nose went up towards his eye area." I then found out from the other individual at the front desk that my son was being treated with a warm compress throughout the day. Sadly, not only did the director/owner had any clue that this had happened (and she should be embarrassed), but NO ONE CONTACTED ME. None of the adults in that Infant room had the idea that maybe a parent should be called not only for the health of my son to see a dr., but to spare any infection that may result to other infants in that room.Subsequently, I went in the next day to the infant room and spoke directly with the individual who had treated my son. This individual was also there the morning I dropped off my son. During this questioning all I kept hearing was how it was not her responsibility to call me, but the front desk was suppose to... Then she had the audacity to say that he did not look well to her when he came in but again she can't say anything because it is not her place. That she is studying to be a nurse, yet she has to be careful not to give the perception that she is diagnosing. No apologies for not following up to make sure I was called just excuses and placing blame on others. No answer as to why she didn't even write a note to me on the daily log before she left for the day. Nothing. I left specifying that under any crucial circumstance I want to be called and she agreed adding that she would feel the same.Apparently, this woman had no problems with seeking assistance to the director/owner of the center to complain that I spoke to her as if she was a child. (She couldn't find her supervisor when my son's eyes were red and full of discharge, but she sought her out when she didn't have answers to my simple questions). Consequently, the director/owner called me 20 minutes after leaving the office. She was yelling how her staff member works hard and was upset and she abruptly expelled my son and told me to pick up his things--no more discussion.Since when did the victim become the villian? This woman should be trying to rectify the situation, gather her staff together and find out what went wrong, to apologize to the PAYING customer and make sure this does not happen again. She just violated yet another policy: The Expulsion Policy. I gather Beacon does not read the very papers they hand out.I just recommend that parents READ everything they get from these centers and to report them to the Licensing Bureau when they do not meet their end of the bargain. While the majority of the workers do genuinely enjoy being with children, proper training is needed. These centers are expensive, they spend most of their time with our children, and they need to remember they are being paid to provide a service. It is critical that communication with the parents be of utmost priority and they need to be held accountable for EVERYTHING they do--irrespective of how pretty/clean the facility looks.

Posted 10/03/07 | Report Abuse

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My son has been attending Beacon Academy since September, 2005. I have been completely satisfied with the care he has received from the beginning. My son has learned not only how to share and to be kind to his friends but he has also learned how to read, write and do math! That is amazing to me considering his older siblings did not learn these skills until the first grade! My hat goes off to all of Beacon's top notch teachers. My family loves all of you!

Posted 04/19/07 | Report Abuse

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Beacon Academy is such a wonderful facility. I have three children that attend this school, and I feel wonderful leaving my children there throughout the day. I am in charge of drop-off, and needless to say I am never there at the same time everyday. The teachers never seem annoyed if I am there later, and whenever I drop off they are always involved in an activity. We toured a lot of daycare centers in the area, and this one by far was the cleanest, and set up most like a school. The serve them such great lunches that on the weekends my poor wife can never measure up, the children tell her that-not me! As a parent it is very hard to find that perfect place to leave your children, the most important part of your lives, and I just want everyone to know that I have found that in Beacon Academy. Special thanks and recognition to the teacher in the infant room, Miss Lois, and Miss Joan!

Posted 04/19/07 | Report Abuse

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