BKPlay Academy for Gifted Children3513

Our son is returning next year -- and our daughter is joining him. The difference in his happiness and growth from his last year is staggering. And he really likes learning Korean too! We have experienced no teacher turnover at all and know many other students returning. Communication has been excellent with targeted written reports for our son every month as well as daily touching base with his teacher.

My child is thriving at BK Play! I'm not understanding the negative reviews--everything IS in writing, there has been no teacher turnover, there ARE formal checks for parent volunteers, and communication with parent/teachers has been wonderful. We will be attending again next year!

BK Play is top notch! The disgruntled reviews are generated from one unhappy parent successfully getting another parent riled up and the allegations are unfounded and not true. We have had our child at BK Play since age 3 and have been completely happy with the progress. The teachers that are there are wonderful and great with the kids. Volunteers are made up of parents and made to go through background checks. Progress is tracked in writing with monthly reports and regular parent/teacher meetings and they have no problem talking with you at the end of the school day. Go and see for yourself. You won't be able to find a better program.

The school management is totally unprofessional and mismanaged. Issues with the school: Very high teacher turnover No updates or information from management Security of the children is completely overlooked. No formal checks for volunteers Teacher to student ratio is never maintained Teachers are not qualified in Gifted education Student progress is not tracked or conveyed in a good manner Students leave mid-year Check thier records, policies and talk to previous families. None of the last years students returned, every year families just withdraw due to horrible management and ethics

Great school. my daughter has grown and prosper this year. Teachers are very hands on with the kids and very informative on their growth and what areas they can improve on. They have always asked for parents feedback.

Our son started at BK this year. Last year he was at an accredited Montessori school. He cried every morning and refused to participate much after the first few months. He was miserable.

He has been doing so much better at BK. He is learning Korean, is already well through his 1st grade math (he just turned 5), is reading and writing and -- most importantly of all -- he has made friends and does not cry before school. He participates and is an overall happier child.

We have already signed up for next year.

This is a wonderful accredited school. The teachers are great and very attentive to the students. Not sure why one parent gave one star - everything is listed in their policy like any other school. Student to teacher ratio is great and you could not find any school that has such a low student ratio per a teacher. Teacher's are very hands on, lots of great thems, field trips that many parents go to, and lots of parents volunteer (and there is a background check for them). They have student evaluations monthly for the parent. Please visit the school and see for yourself before looking into the negative feedbacks.

It's been amazing! My daughter totally understands whatever the teacher says now even without Q's and she
continues conversation with simple sentences. She also behaves like BKPlay is her home. The whole process looks very natural and comfortable.

Find out the data
1) How many students attended in 2008-2009 ? How many of these students or thier families returned to the school? - Almost none
2) How many teachers totally there - how many changed last year? 2 teaches and both were changed. Also both the teachers did not return this year.
3) How many teachers were there this year ? How many actually stayed and did the job?
4) How many parents volunteer? How many went thro a background check?
5) Was a school handbook provided last year and this year? Are the policies and procedures listed in that - are safety procedures documented, are emergency procedures documented, are disciplinary procedures documented?
6) Are student evaluation done, is parent input taken into considerations while doing student evaluation, are the findings of those evaluations shared with parents
7) Is the curriculum provided in writing to every student depending on thier evaluation and capability since the school claims to be ability based?

I must respond to the comment by the owner to the previous negative reviews. My child also attended this school and we had a very negative experience. There were major problems with organization, communication, teacher turnover, and I developed a real lack of trust for the management. The comment by the owner is a perfect example of how they attempt to marginalize parents with legitimate complaints. In the 2008/2009 school year, two, of four, teachers left a month into school. There were only five returning students from 2008/2009 school year to the 2009/2010 year. The 2009/2010 school year started with even more teacher chaos. Of those five returning students, three left in the first month of school, more than 25% of the student body. Why would parents, who want their children to have loving consistency and a positive school experience, be forced into the drastic step of removing their kids from the school with no back up plan and no future school lined up? I am aware of many parents who have had significant problems and disappointments with the management of BK Play. All I can say to anyone who wants to place their child in BKPlay Academy for the Gifted is to be cautious and get everything in writing, from student/teacher ratio to substitute teacher hiring policy to the time per week spent in foriegn language and will the instructor will be fluent in the language. Good luck with your gifted child.

As a real parent, you have every right to place a concern; however, if you are willfully making false statements knowing that you were one of returning customers who ended up leaving after your unreasonable demands are not met, it is not protected under Freedom of Speech.

The parents and kids at this school were great! Unfortunately, leadership is lacking at this school and the teaching my child received was very uneven. Personal experience with some teaching staff was extremely unprofessional. A small school like this one doesn't afford much choice when teachers aren't meeting your child's need. The management is not open to ideas/sugesstions and responds in very unprofessional and unethical manner. The school is supposed to be trained professionally to serve and inspire gifted children - whereas the teachers have no prior experience in doing so.
Make sure you get everything in writting before you sign anything

You will truly appreciate the value of BKPlay Academy and go see the program to find the truth for yourself.