St. Mary's Early Childhood Center

I love this childcare center. They are very polite . Heaven cash is so Professional and seems to have her class on point. I would give heaven 10 stars if I could. 🫵

I was hopeful and grateful for affordable childcare, but the expense was far greater than any family should handle. One day, while picking up, the secretary told me my child was being physically held down to nap. My child told me he did not like the teacher's body on him. I asked about this. They went months without telling me the truth about my child. They told me I was a great parent but pushed me out of the school when I asked to meet with the director about what the secretary and my child told me. I discovered the teacher was putting my child in another room alone with her during nap time. She was putting the weight of her body on top of his. The director was never there. I have it all documented in an email. The director said they do not communicate with families because the teacher studies neuroscience at Butler. After a month of this happening without my knowledge, my child developed anxiety with her during nap time and did whatever he could to escape the room. They offered a therapist that I agreed to because I regretfully believed them over my child. I wanted the therapist to observe, but she was never given a chance to because they hurried to discontinue care. My child was 4 and is now about to go to Kindergarten. He was growing out of naps, but within a week's time difference, he naps peacefully and loves his NEW school with NO problems. ZERO PROBLEMS. There was never anything wrong with my child. Being alone with a child in a room, exclusion, and the teacher working with her daughter in the class, the leader feels entitled to break the rules and delude the importance of family involvement. They only met with me to tell me, " You don't trust us. So we don't think you are a good fit". After a month of the teacher lying to me, breaking the rules, and not calling or informing me so I could parent. I'm a single mom. I was feeling secure enough to start a new job, then this happened. The interruption harmed my child's education and made it much more difficult for me to work. This resulted in more disadvantages for families because it took away my ability to have time to serve youth at the new job. Being a parent is good work, but every child deserves the right to quality education.

I'm so glad I came across an ad for St. Mary's new school on Facebook, if not for them I don't think my baby would have had the opportunity to go to school this year at all. The office staff and admin were super helpful and patient in helping me get her enrolled here. Our family's income borders on upper lower class so we make too much for things like CCDF and Headstart but still qualify for Medicaid for our children which is what has allowed us to start attending St.Marys for just $10 per week. My baby just started Friday, she can be timid and weary of new situations / people but Ms. Misty did so well with her - my baby even blew her a kiss before leaving lol she had such a great first day that she was crying to go back to school when we got home :,) . This location is so great because it's small and close knit with just 3 classrooms and low ratios compared to other places, completely rennovated / brand new building, the library is right across the street for field trips as is a community sensory garden geared towards kids! There's also a playground they're still working on at the school complete with mud kitchens. They took a trip to the garden her first day and I just know she loved that! They also take pictures and give you a little collage each day and each families child gets their own photo album the teachers put photos of your child in which is so stinking cute! St. Marys follows a Reggio Emilia philosophy which in my opinion means she is getting a wayyy better program here where she gets to learn through play, art, science and nature vs being in a stricter more work sheety school like environmemt that most head start programs provide. I had toured a few other reggio schools that were too unstructured and chaotic but this one is not like that. They do not do work sheets here or super structured crafts but they have an art room with an art teacher which is pretty cool. They also have a mini gym room they can play in when the weather is yucky. Overall I feel like she is going to receive a really good foundation here where she will discover a love for learning while building upon her social skills and that was our goal! :) I'm so grateful this place exists!

We’ve had such a wonderful experience at St. Mary’s. We enrolled at the Thompson campus in August 2022 at the recommendation of our pediatrician. And moved to the 42nd Street campus when it opened. The staff have always been amazing. They care a great deal about the children and make great relationships with the kids. Our daughter has thrived in their thoughtful and play based learning environment. We highly recommend St. Mary’s to anyone looking for a great PreK experience.