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November 2022 by Christie Orpilla
My family moved from out of state in December of 2021, but prior to our move we toured and researched NUMEROUS pre-k programs months in advance. We decided Cranium Academy of Winter Garden was the right choice then and as the twins are finishing up this school year, we still feel this was the right fit. We have been extremely happy with our first school experience in Florida. Since the mask mandates have been lifted and I have been inside the school, I am very happy to see a healthy environment amongst the staff and students. The front door staff warmly greets all parents and students by name with a smile and the teachers all say hi and give high fives to the kids. I absolutely love that I can walk my kids directly to their classroom at drop off. It makes a difference to make eye contact with their teacher. I also receive pics and updates on all activities and learning that takes place. I also have been able to directly message the teacher with any concerns I have and vice versa. They are very well-rounded in the things offered both part of the school day, before and after. My twins spend an extended day there and if they are picked up before 5pm they get upset because they love school so much! As a parent first and someone with a teaching background, what became the deciding factor in the decision to send our twins to Cranium Academy of Winter Garden was their ability to assess and meet the specific needs of the individual. My daughter is more of an average learner but my son is quite advanced. There are programs and adjustments that have and will continue to be made so that both will learn, thrive and grow at their own pace with no cap on what they can learn. Their potential is met individually. Myself like anyone reading this can look at prior reviews with a negative comment or rating, as did I and make a quick decision based on that, but I am writing this in May of 2022 and I am speaking of the current school year. For all the reasons mentioned above, our twins will be attending for years to come. I know on a variety of levels this will be the best education for them. If you are looking for a quality school with a strong focus on academics done in a way that is engaging, Cranium Academy really is the place you should look into. I know my husband, myself and twins are all happy we made this decision.
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November 2022 by Richelle Mcdermott
My child goes RUNNING into this school every morning and absolutely loves his teachers! They have shown overwhelming love and understanding with my child and provide feedback in regards to my child's needs. Great team and environment!
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November 2022 by JUSTIN G
My daughter was way behind when we enrolled her due to the fact that we as parents were scared to let someone other than family watch our daughter when she was 3 years old. Then came COVID so we kept her out of preschool for 4 years old. When seeing her play with other kids you could tell it was not aligned correctly when it came to her vs kids that have been in school since they were three. Our child is bilingual, so we thought she was smart. But we didn't know how much schools expect from kids at such a young age these days. My daughter at 4 did not know numbers, letters, or any basics, but she had a huge vocab in both english and spanish. So, we enrolled her thru the programs that help with prevpk-vpk and were lucky to last minute get her into Cranium. Kimberly was awesome with all the help we needed for documents and just explaining how everything worked. So we choose to do free vpk 9-12 and added 3 hours out of pocket! Thank God because Mrs. Tara who is completely caring and awesome went out of her way to offer learning programs and sent practice homework! just after 9 months our daughter not only knows her numbers and letters, but now does addition and subtraction, counts to high numbers, understands opposites, knows site words, and gained appreciation for work earning rewards from the treasure box!! She has learned so much in such little time!! I recommend this school for anyone who needs help with teaching their kids to get ready for kindergarten!! I felt my kid was safe at all times!! They use Procare app which allowed the teacher to send pics and updates on what they were doing daily!! It really helped relieve the fear of "is my child safe". Mrs. Tara rocks!! She and the other teachers want these kids to thrive!! We hate that our daughter can't stay for K-5 but thank God for their VPK!! You cannot blame the school or faculty if your kid doesn't like the school due to not having friends, that is on your kid and your parenting not the school!! I totally recommend this school!!!
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November 2022 by Josh Kessler
My son went to school there 10 years ago and now we have our daughter going to school for the past year there. The staff is so friendly, patient and accommodating. My daughter has the best teacher she is so loving and keeps us up to date on all the progress throughout the day. My daughter loves the school and so do we.
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November 2022 by Tamye Crutchfield
The teaching staff is amazing at this school! I love the big open play spaces & the sports yard is fantastic! A wonderful school!
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November 2022 by Ed T
This school is amazing. My son is so well taken care of here. Highly recommended!
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November 2021 by Kelly Timmins
So grateful we found Cranium Academy. My son attended for VPK and the staff have gone above and beyond for our family and for our child. We have been so appreciative of their open communication, genuine kindness and engaging environment. We had originally planned to send our son to the local elementary school near our house but have decided, instead, to keep him at Cranium for kindergarten. Highly recommend.
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November 2021 by Sophia khan
The staff and teachers are not caring about the student. One year old and two-year-olds are watching TV which is of course not good for the development. my daughter kept telling me that she did not want to go to Cranium as a teachers were always very mad pulled out my kiddos as soon as I found a spot in another place.
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September 2021 by Kimberly M.
This is my sons 4th year attending, and I wouldn't have him anywhere else. He is excelling well above his developmental range. The teachers are so caring and dedicated. He loves his school, and they have taken the time to get to know him and his needs. We love their therapy partnership with HandLed Therapy as well. This school really goes above and beyond to ensure their students are getting what they need. The learning environments are so well set up, and they are doing amazing things to keep the school safe during COVID. I can't say enough amazing things about this school and staff.
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November 2020 by Denver Fox
When we first moved down we were lucky to find Cranium. My 6 and 3 year old both attend. They have had a few transitions since we have been. We lost the first Asst. Dir Devon and the director, both of which were amazing! When the director was replaced she was replaced by someone who lets say did not have the best customer service attitude. Currently it is Feb 2020 and Ms. Kimberly was promoted to Asst Dir. Ms Kimberly is amazing and has a bubbly personality exactly how you want in this position. There are still a few issues to work out but I have never felt as if the kids were unsafe. Most of the teachers are amazing and build close bonds with the children. The before and after school care could probably use a little more work. As a few of the caregivers don’t seem to be fully vested. I would give this school a solid 3.5 or 4 right now. If they allow Ms Kimberly to put her mind to it I know she will bring this up to a 5 star establishment.
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November 2020 by Concetta Brightbill
Cranium Academy has a lot to offer. My son is flourishing in the program. One of the best.
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November 2018 by Heidi Barley
My 4-year-old has loved his time at Cranium.The teachers and staff are so caring and helpful. They all take the time to get to know us personally.The activities are so fun - structured enough to make sure the kids know what to expect but free-form enough to let them explore. My son has learned Spanish, sign language, yoga, songs, rules and more.My son is a very advanced reader and I’ve been impressed at how individualized his learning plan is. He has the same assignments as the other kids but may be asked to read a book to the class, given an additional assignment or given homework that is more appropriate for his level.We have signed his up for VPK next year and are so excited.
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November 2017 by Knights Inn Kissimmee
Awesome school, my son was going there when he was 3 and then my husband thought he wasn't learning much so we took him out and put him in JCC, but Within couple months I found out Cranium was far better then JCC , I kept calling cranium and they had the class full so I couldn't put my son back in cranium but thankfully they opened another class in october and called me and I jumped on it straight way. My child fell so far behind in 3 months but thankfully he is a fast learner and the teachers are helpful so he cought up and now being in Prek, he knows how to read, write, additions, and subtraction. ALL THANKS TO CRANIUM AND THE GREAT TEACHERS!!!! CAN NOT THANK YOU ENOUGH, and my daughter will definately go to cranium this year.
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November 2016 by Vikki Montoya
We had our 4 & 5 year old girls at Holy Family for 6 weeks when they told us we needed to medicate our 5 year old! I was planning on Cranium as a "pre-k" until I could find a "real" school. However, Cranium is a real school. I had no idea! It has been the absolute best education in a caring, extremely engaged environment we have ever seen. Our girls are 8 & 9 now and are still at Cranium. It's an amazing school, with an amazing staff.
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November 2016 by Amanda Singh
We chose Cranium Academy for our toddler in August 2015. She was very excited and ecstatic to start school, and went school shopping for the first time and was counting down the days to start. In the summer she was rushed to the ER. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease in May 2015 and was later in remission. In August, for the first day of school, she had a relapse and was hospitalized for over 10 days, the doctors said that even if she's in remission, she will not be able to go to school for the entire year AT LEAST.I immediately called the school the next morning and explained the crisis to them and explained what my daughter was going through; she's in the hospital, and she will not be able to attend school for the entire school year. They told me they charged one month tuition, which was $590 and the registration fee for $280. I pleaded with them and asked for the tuition to be refunded since my daughter did not even attend school at all, or even set foot in her classroom.So here we are,Cranium Academy collected $870 from us, and my daughter NEVER ATTENDED their school.The director of the school told me there was nothing they can do and no refund can be given. We pleaded with the director and explained the situation over and over, and she told us that's their policy and they can not refund the tuition. Here's a school that is money hungry, only cares for the tuition to be paid, even if the student/child has an auto immune disease and in the hospital. They had no remorse, consideration, or sympathy for our situation.Not to forget, when we attended the open school a week before school started, they form classrooms in the hallways with temporary walls in order to provide more classrooms. These "classrooms" were not even secure with four walls.If you want to send your child to a school that does not care for the well being of that child, and only cares about receiving your tuition money every month, this would be the school.
