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June 2025 by Melany Milan
I hesitated to share this because I wanted to move on from what was truly one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with a daycare. However, I feel compelled to speak up in the hope of helping other parents of children with special needs avoid a similar ordeal and find the supportive care their child deserves.
I want to share my experience with The Learning Experience daycare and their misleading advertisement claiming to “offer programs designed for children with special needs and learning differences.” In reality, this simply means they allow outside therapists into the building—not that they provide the inclusive support their marketing suggests.
For context, after the age of 3, New Jersey transitions children with special needs from early intervention services to public school programs. However, during the summer, working parents are left with few options, which is why I felt so strongly about registering my child here. Unfortunately, my experience was a nightmare.
Within two hours of my 3-year-old’s first day, I was called and informed that she “did not want to do the workbook” and “wouldn’t stay seated for circle time.” She’s three years old! The director, Matt Lemma, mentioned that if she wasn’t a good fit, or if they weren’t a good fit for her, they would consider termination. He refused to process my registration payment because of his doubts. Hearing this was gut-wrenching. As a parent of a child with special needs, these types of conversations are unfortunately common, but they’re no less heartbreaking. My child isn’t disruptive, harmful, or unsafe…she simply has different needs.
By lunchtime, I was called again to pick her up because she “wouldn’t lay down for nap time” and was “too noisy.” In New Jersey, children in licensed childcare centers are not necessarily required to nap but must be provided with a quiet rest period. This means they don’t have to fall asleep but should have time for quiet relaxation or activities if they don’t nap. Instead of offering a reasonable accommodation, my daughter was asked to leave because she didn’t conform to their “expectations”.
I attempted to let her try again a second day. Most children (especially those with special needs) need time to adjust to a new environment with unfamiliar peers, adults, and activities. I was told that nap time was from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM. However, at 12:34 PM, I was called and asked to come pick her up because, once again, she would not comply with sleeping during nap time. When I questioned how it had only been four minutes since nap time started, the director claimed they had done nap time earlier that day. Whether this was true or not, it was clear this arrangement wasn’t worth the heartache or headache. Once I picked her up, while my child and I were exiting the facility, the director let out a long sigh of relief. At this point, I decided to withdraw my daughter immediately.
For any parent of a child with special needs or learning differences, I strongly advise against this daycare. My child has been in other daycares since she was one, and no other facility has ever deemed her “not a good fit.” She’s a child—a toddler—deserving of patience and understanding, neither of which this daycare provided. Their quick judgment and lack of inclusivity are a disservice to children and families alike.
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May 2025 by Melissa Koufodontes
We absolutely love the TLE in Sewell. The two center directors and all staff are simply AMAZING. We have loved our experience here and can’t imagine our child anywhere else. The amount he’s grown in his almost six months being there is tremendous. Within his first month there, he started crawling, waving and blowing kisses. Then a couple weeks after he started walking. You cannot compare the teachers to anywhere else - we love all of them, especially Ms. Aggie, she has a special place in our heart! Ms. Danielle, Ms. Aggie, and Ms. Natalie were so enthusiastic and made him feel so welcomed from the start. Ms. Alyssa, Ms. Christina, Ms. Becca and Ms. Brielle have also been so wonderful with our son as well. We recently moved up a room and his new teachers are just as great - we love their patience as he transitions and their guidance. I love that Ms. Haley and Ms. Jess know his favorite toy and they truly all go out of their way to make sure your child is comfortable, safe, and meeting all developmental milestones. Ms. Marlene, Ms. Alianna and Ms. Jordan are also incredible teachers. Knowing your child is being cared for by these individuals puts a parent at ease. I truly couldn’t have imagined finding a better place to care for and help my son grow. They also have such a fantastic chef, Mr. Luis, who is more than willing to help try to give you recipes if your son loves the lunches. I call constantly to check in and talk to Ms. Jordan or Ms. Stephanie in the front at least 5x a week to check in and they always answer with compassion, and are so understanding of the check-ins while he transitions. I commend their patience. We also love Mr. Matt - as one of the center directors, he’s so involved with the kids and always greet you in the morning with a smile. Truly incredible place. They go out of their way for your children. I wouldn’t want to send my son anywhere else! Thank you to TLE from the bottom of our hearts. We are so grateful and blessed we have the opportunity to have TLE as our daycare and are so relieved to know our son is in amazing hands. Thank you. 🙌🏼. We appreciate all the center and staff provide to us and are so thankful to have crossed paths.
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August 2024 by Lauren Young
We feel so blessed to have both of our children at TLE! They have helped them grow so much! They have been so supportive with our children's needs and have allowed Early Intervention therapists to work with our children in the center. The directors and teachers keep us informed daily and are always making sure they answer any questions we have! The kids love coming to school everyday to see their teachers and classmates! We LOVE TLE and recommend it to everyone we know! Thank you so much for helping our children grow and learn!
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July 2024 by Ashley Herring Soper
TLE has been a great daycare for my son. The staff are available to answer questions, keep me updated throughout the day and my son loved his teachers. They also plan lots of great activities to keep the kids excited throughout the year. Summer camp support has been a big helper for us as we both work too.
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July 2024 by Angelita Minquela
When I first started bringing my child here I thought it was great but after a while I learned that it's all a show and they truly don't care about the children.
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April 2024 by Shannon Kelly
When looking for a daycare, the Learning Experience was the first place we visited and it set the bar high. We then toured almost every daycare facility and some in home locations across the south jersey region. We were thorough! We saw the good, the bad, the UGLY. The learning experience just felt like home. We cannot begin to explain how much we love it there. Our son could not be happier and as parents, we know he is being cared for and loved.We feared leaving our baby in the hands of strangers and that quickly went away as soon as we met the director and the lovely teachers that care for him as their own.Check this place out! Its clean, welcoming and an amazing place for our little ones.
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June 2023 by David Colle
The staff at TLE are wonderful people - warm, seemingly always upbeat and happy, patient with the kids (no easy task there, for sure), and accommodating. I will highly recommend this academy if given the opportunity. My grandson, Jackson Bradis, loved going to school there. In fact, he's been disappointed that he can't attend on Saturday and Sunday as well. One day he told me he'd like to live there. Kids say the darnedest things, don't they.
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June 2023 by Mike A
We are so happy we chose to send our son to TLE - Sewell. The facility is clean and inviting; and the staff are not only professional and courteous but genuinely caring and giving of their time and energy. From the very beginning TLE has been very welcoming. Our son loves his teachers and loves going to school. He has grown a lot because of them and is so much better prepared to enter Kindergarten than we could have hoped for. I would highly recommend TLE - Sewell to anyone looking for a top notch day care / pre-school facility.
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December 2022 by Amy Fardone
We love TLE Sewell, my daughter has been going since 4.5 months. She really loves it there and everyone is so happy to see her every day. We love her teachers and the management team.
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December 2022 by Leigh Brown
My daughter's first experience in a child care setting and I could not be happier. The director is caring, energetic and my daughter loves the teachers. They give me information about her day through the app and do excellent, engaging activities with my child. She is always happy and excited to go to school. The facility is clean and the playground is great.
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December 2022 by Shamus Savage
My girls absolutely love the place! They are always excited for school. The staff is wonderful, the atmosphere is always bright and happy. I cannot rave enough about the place and how much my kids have developed. Oh, and they LOVE Mr. Matt!!
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December 2022 by Lauren Achenbach
I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to send my daughter to TLE. It was the first daycare I toured and I knew the moment I stepped in the door that this is where I wanted my child to be. It was bright, inviting and clean. She started when she was 1 years old in the Toddler room and graduated at 5 years old in the Preschool 2 room. She was completely ready for Kindergarten. She has learned so much and made so many friends. The curriculum and art work sent home each month helped me keep track of her progress. Everyone there: the owners, management and staff; are friendly and willing to help your child succeed. I always recommend TLE to all my family and friends.
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December 2021 by Barbara Wolk
The Learning Experience at Sewell is hands down, THE BEST! Curriculum and staff are outstanding! Beyond being teachers, directors, aides, they are moms and dads and genuine great people! I cannot put into words the respect and confidence in this school! They have been my survival for 3 years, my daughter has grown and learned so much, blows my mind. Ms Steph and Mr Matt are truly angels onEarth. Thank you.
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December 2021 by Jessica Hollembeak
We are so thankful to have our child attend TLE in Sewell. The staff goes above and beyond with kindness and attention for the children. My child has attended since only a few months old and has grown and learned so much in the course of 1.5 years. Highly recommend this daycare center!
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December 2021 by Chris Tanzola
We are very happy about our experience at TLE Sewell. We have two kids there, and we can tell that both are flourishing. We are pleasantly surprised at the skills they are picking up earlier than we expected, even with the kids there part time.
