Bright Beginnings

Frankly, I'm a little surprised this place is still in business. We had our child in the in-home infant care program in the summer of 2011, then moved on to the Center off of Brentwood that fall. We liked the daycare center at first but soon, it seems, things starting going down hill. They were featured in a Fox 2 news program entitled, "Daycare Danger", and had 5 violations against them at the time. Around that same time, a teacher took me to the side and told me that Gale (the owner) hit my child on the back. She said that my child was crying and she hit him/her with such force that she knocked the wind out of my child, causing my child to immediately stop crying. The teacher also stated that Gale has the teachers put phone books on the backs of the toddlers sleeping in cots, so that they will not get up. The teacher proceeded to show me a photo on her cell phone of this very thing.

Beware that the owner of Bright Beginnings (both the infant center on High School Drive and the center on Brentwood), Gale Spiegel, is a dishonest person and someone to whom I regret entrusting my child. She deceived us into thinking she cared about our family but stole almost $6000 from us in the end. My son, Jack, attended from 3 months to 2 years of age. During that time, Gale often offered us discounts to pay for several months in advance. (She "knows we're a young family" and she wanted to "help us out.") We took advantage of this, as many young families on a budget would. In spring of 2014, we paid to reserve a spot for Jack's little brother who was due in June and would start at BB in August. We also paid ahead for the second 6 months of the year for Jack, in order to take advantage of a discount. The total of these 2 payments was almost $6000. Very soon after this, my husband unexpectedly got a new job in another city, meaning we would move before we entered into the time period for which we had already paid. Gale promised we would receive a full refund, according to the procedures in the parent handbook, by September 2015. We did not receive it then and Gale continues to refuse to refund our $6000. We've called many times to follow up, but she has blocked many of our phone numbers and if we do reach her she tells more lies and gives us more false promises to send the refund. I'm so sad that I ever trusted my child to someone who lies, cheats, and steals from hardworking young families such as mine. Because who knows what else she has lied about? Or stolen from us? Diapers, food, supplies that we brought for our child? I would like to drop by the center when we're in town for a visit but I feel so betrayed that I can't do it. I would recommend finding a more ethical, professional childcare organization to care for your child.