LeafSpring School at Cornelius

As a parent, I feel a responsibility to share our experience so other families can make an informed decision. We enrolled our daughter at LeafSpring School in Cornelius with high hopes. Unfortunately, what unfolded over just a few weeks made it abundantly clear that this school struggles with basic supervision, communication, and accountability — and that children’s safety is not being prioritized the way it should be. The first red flag appeared before school even started. At the “meet the teachers” orientation, I noticed several classroom clocks were all set to completely different times — some off by hours. When I brought this up, both the teachers and administrator brushed it off with a dismissive, “Oh, those have been like that forever.” After 20 minutes of no one doing anything, I ended up taking each clock down and setting them myself. It seems small, but a school full of incorrect clocks — and staff indifferent to fixing them — says a lot. If accuracy and attention to detail don’t matter, what else doesn’t? Unfortunately, we found out. Incident #1: A few weeks in, my 4-year-old came home with a red welt across her face from another child swinging a jump rope. The teachers never mentioned it. I only discovered it while buckling her into the car. When I walked back in to ask about it, I got an “Oh yeah, I forgot.” The accident report wasn’t given to me until the next day. Accidents happen — we understood that — so we moved forward and gave them grace. Incident #2: Not long after, my daughter came out from nap time with a bruise under her eye. She said another child was spinning their jacket around and the zipper hit her in the face. When I asked the teachers, one said it was an accident involving a sleeve… the other said the child had been swinging the jacket. Two different stories and again, no report until the next day. The written version did not match what my daughter or one of the teachers had said. This one felt less like an accident and more like a lack of supervision. At this point, we started looking for other schools. Incident #3 (the final straw): The Thursday before her last planned week, I walked in and the teacher immediately said, “Don’t worry, I’m filling out an incident report right now,” before I had even reached my daughter. She was crying, holding her mouth, because an unsupervised child lifted a nap bed and it hit her in the face, cutting her lip. Instead of comforting her, the teacher prioritized filling out the incident report — likely because of the previous delays. When I asked for ice, she returned saying they had none… but offered a Popsicle. One of the main reasons we chose LeafSpring was because they advertise having a full-time registered nurse. Not once during any of the three incidents was the nurse called. Not once. We withdrew our daughter immediately and did not even let her finish her last day. When I spoke to the administrator, expressing how concerned and upset we were, I asked if this pattern was normal. She proceeded to show me a three-ring binder full of dozens of incident reports. That was the clearest sign yet that what we were experiencing was not unusual — it was systemic. In summary: The staff are kind people, but kindness alone does not make a school safe. What we repeatedly witnessed was poor supervision, inconsistent communication, dismissiveness toward concerns, and a concerning number of injuries that could have been prevented with proper oversight. There was ZERO follow-up or signs of remorse or empathy from administration upon withdrawing our daughter. If you are considering LeafSpring and value safety, accountability, and honest communication, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere. Your child deserves better. Our daughter certainly did.

We absolutely love LeafSpring! After trying two other schools, this is the first place where we truly feel our child is in the best hands. The environment is so warm and welcoming — every staff member knows our son by name and greets him with a smile, which makes such a difference. You can really tell how much they care for each child. The “Get Well Place” is also an amazing bonus and gives us such peace of mind. We couldn’t be happier and highly recommend LeafSpring to any family looking for a nurturing and supportive school.

Our son loves LeafSpring and his teachers in the Orange Blossoms class - Ms. Pam, Ms. Keishaun, and Ms. Trina! The space is beautiful, the teachers and assistants are wonderful, and our kiddo is learning so much. When we mention school, our son excitedly responds with “SCHOOL TODAY!” It makes us very happy that he loves LeafSpring so much. Highlights of our time there include summer “camp” 2022, the winter holiday pageant, and music class!

LeafSpring School at Cornelius has been a great place for my 2 year old to grow and develop as a toddler. The teachers and staff are wonderful as they give updates and photos of activities throughout the day. Even though my son is in a classroom with designated teachers, the other teachers interact with my son and support his development as well. As they say “it takes a village to raise a child” and I truly feel like everyone at LSC really does an outstanding job of doing that with every child!

My daughter has attended LeafSpring for a year now. It has been a safe, nurturing environment with caring and knowledgeable teachers. We appreciate the communication between the staff and parents, including the use of apps to share photos and updates. We are looking forward to another great year!