Growing Tree

I hate to give this review because my child hasn’t even had the chance to attend Growing Tree, but here’s why I’m giving it… I got a tour while I was in my 2^nd trimester and things seemed like they might work out for our child to attend Growing Tree. I liked everything I saw and the staff seemed great. There was a waitlist (that I paid to be on), and timing seemed like it might work out for when we needed childcare.
That was 7 months ago and since then I’ve called and emailed to check in no less than 6 times and I haven’t heard one word back from them. Not a call back, not an email saying «sorry, we’re slammed. I’ll get back to you later,» literally nothing. The fact that they are so hard to get in touch with is extremely discouraging. What if my child was there and I needed to speak with the school for some reason?
This place seems like a nice homegrown little school, which I loved about it, but they need to work on their communication. Very disappointed that they aren’t able to manage that aspect of the business. Hopefully they do prioritize getting back to the parents of those children who are already students, but it doesn’t build a lot of confidence in potential parents if you can’t respond to even 1 of 6 different attempts at contact.

I love this place, the staff is kind, caring and down to Earth. I love that my child goes outside every day and plays with rocks and sticks and dirt, just like kids should.
Growing Tree also nurtures kind and considerate behavior, they teach the kids manners and using their words. I was amazed when my kid started saying please and thank you without prompting at about 1.5 yrs.
The small class sizes are great and now that she is a little older she’s really started learning. I am very impressed with the quality of this school, the teachers and staff, and how comfortable it all is.

My son has attended Growing Tree for a year and a half and he and I both love it. The classrooms are inviting and comfortable. Class sizes are small which allows for plenty or personal attention and a welcoming community feel. You don’t have to hang around long to realize all the parents know all the kids and vice versa.
The staff is warm and professional. There is low teacher turnover and parents are encouraged to communicate directly with teachers rather than through the director. The teachers provide plenty of art and music activities as part of themed lessons and the kids get tons of outside playtime as well.
Mine comes home sweaty and a little dirty from some serious outdoor play, but he’s also got a huge smile on his face and loves to teach me the new songs and words he learned at school. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say tomorrow!

This is a great little neighborhood preschool with kind of a crunchy, organic, community-​driven feel. It’s located in a converted historic house, so the space is warm and friendly. The kids spend several hours each day playing outside in a huge shady playground, and do plenty of art projects and dramatic play inside, as well as academic preparation.
The staff are terrific and turnover is amazingly low. They really work to maintain a lot of communication with parents.
And most importantly, my kid is really happy there. They’ve also managed to instill in him this love of cleaning up his toys, which is rad. :)
If you’re looking for a place where your kid comes home a little grubby every day because he’s been having fun playing hard outside, and where a pretty high proportion of the parents sport Obama bumper stickers on their car, then this is the place for you.