Active Learning Academy

Our son has been at ALA since September of ‘23. He was at a previous school and we felt it was time to move on. Our opinion is, ALA meets and exceeds our expectations. Clean, safe, active, involved, good communication, and most importantly, a place our boy likes to go to. Jen and her team have done a great job with family events, activities, and helping our boy potty train. We love when he comes home from school and has a new song to share with us, or a new story from a book they read that day. As we do our drop off and pick up, you’ll see the teachers actively moving about and being involved with the kids. Thanks for being a safe place for our boy to learn and grow!!

ALA. Has been an incredible experience for my daughter. Welcoming her with open arms. The growth that has come from her emotional, mental and physical body is a sight to behold! It’s true that not every preschool is capable of giving or providing a well rounded experience and ALA does just that! Jennifer and Amanda are incredible program directors and I trust their every move! ❤️

My son attended active learning for 3 years. The teachers are amazing at what they do. My son grew so much socially and emotionally in his development as well as in his education. The communication between parents and teachers is incredible. There are daily updates, pictures and videos. It is more than just a childcare/preschool, it is a community. I am so thankful for everything they do.

We had an okay experience here but my son really thrived when we moved to a new spot. He had caring teachers and didn't seem unhappy by any means, but the schedule and organization could use some work to truly be stellar and be a service that working parents need. To accommodate the school with all of the unexpected cancellations and early pickup requests, I ended up having to start working part-time. I just can't understand paying so much for daycare that is only feasible for part-time working families. I understand that this is how lots of the daycares in town operate but there are many examples I could provide where the schedule and requests go outside of their advertised restrictions and fall within the realm of the school making demands because they basically own the parents. The classroom environment for 2 & under is play based without a lot of structure or adult interaction with the kids, which is great for some but stressful for others. I was disappointed to find out the teachers didn't know my son spoke when he was confidently using sentences at home and is not a shy kid. Unfortunately I am also seeing a lot of reviews on the school that are written by employees, which I believe to be a little misleading to parents looking at business reviews. One last thing I'll say is that I believe Jen understands childhood development very well and was really encouraging with us working through issues with our son, he just needed a different situation and as parents, logistically we did too.

Our family has had direct experience with three different childcare providers in Bend, one of which was a year spent at ALA. ALA adheres to all legal and safety protocols, which is a good start. However, their efforts to offer quality early childhood development are underwhelming. Overall, we observed a lack of robust structure and personalized engagement, particularly with younger students. I know that personalized engagement sounds like a big ask for a facility with multiple classrooms and many kids; however, it IS possible and is being offered at other places. Additionally, we were disappointed with the interactions between ALA and parents, where the parents were ever so scared to raise any concerns (about unexpected closures, behavioral questions) for the fear of repercussions, such as getting kicked out. For families with limited childcare options, ALA is an okay choice. However, for those with time and flexibility, it would be wise to explore other options.