Stepping Stone School - Leander/Cedar Park

After reading a couple of not-so-nice reviews about this school AND it's staff I felt the need give my review. I was terrified when it was time to pick a daycare for my son. When I called and asked to schedule a tour they indicated they prefer me to come in whenever it's convenient so I can see the school in normal operating conditions, that way I didn't feel like they were ""making it pretty"" for me. To me that was AMAZING! After showing up when it was convenient for me, I immediately signed my son up and have never looked back almost 3 years later and are about to enroll our brand new baby girl. The director (Cherie) and assistand director (Christina) and ALL the staff have treated our family as their own ever since! My son loves everyone there and doesn't want to leave when I come to pick him up. To me that says something. My sons development is incredible and is constantly nurtured everyday. If you are not sure where to find a nurturing, loving, personal and professional school to send your kids in the Leander area, look no further! Stepping Stone 10 should be your FIRST and LAST stop! You won't be disappointed. I love my Stepping Stone 10 staff :) more

Our Children have attended Stepping Stone schools for over 8 years and more specifically Stepping Stone 10 for 4 years. Ms Cherie (Principal) is a professional and caring director. She is proactive and truly cares about the children at the school. Both Ms Cherie and Ms Christina (Asst Principal) are always available to answer questions and to provide a caring atmosphere where we feel our children are well taken care of. The advanced Pre-K program truly prepared our children for Kindergarden. The teachers we have worked with over the years Ms Donna, Ms C. Ms Alicia, Ms Carlene, and, Ms Lana care about the children and are always available to talk to parents and to provide updates about the childrens progress. Highly recommend this school. more

I LOVE THIS school! Both my girls went to this location for more than a year and the ONLY they are not there now is due to relocation. After reading the previous review I felt the absolute need to correct what was wrote! When my girls attended this school they were the happiest children ever the teachers were loving and nurturing. My youngest started in the infant room and moved through to the two year old room. Mrs. Nancy the 18 to 24 month old teacher made me feel like my child was the only one she was giving her personal attention to. My oldest was in the advanced pre- kindergarten class with ms.lana, she learned more in the few months with Ms.Lana than ever! My daughter was reading an writing her own name by the time she was three and a half!!! Mrs. Cheire and Mrs.Christina ( principle and assistant principle) knew every child's name and even the parents. When I would walk in the door they would offer to help me in or out. They addressed my children as if they were their own children. The feel of the school always made my morning. Mrs.Cherie was alway happy and professional. I would recommend this specific location to anyone and everyone. My husband and I are even hoping to move out that way again because we feel like our children have never been taken care of better and you don't come across a school this amazing every day!!!! more

The school is at a good location and have a FEW good teachers. There has been a lot of turn over at this school however. The campus director doesn't seem involved with her teachers. The campus director is sitting in her office with usually two staff talking away during peak times (i.e. morning drop offs and at the end of the work day pick up). I thought it was the norm at peak times to have available staff (like the 2 or 3 sitting in the front area) to go to the classes and walk around and help out the teachers with transitioning from the morning drop off class to their assigned class. Not here!! They don't greet the parents when they walk in or leave. Where is the teacher and parent support here!! We are really disappointed how this director is managing this campus. We are planning to move our child(ren) out of this school. I wanted to give this school a chance but I have not seen any improvement in the past 6 months---and don't expect to see it change unless the owner put tighter guideline on her directors on her school locations. These teachers need support and I don't see it. They are working hard caring for the children but when they have a few kids that are more challenging to handle and they are hitting on kids and disrupting the class and children and the director does not suppor her teachers...something is not going right here. We just wanted to make this know for other parents. more

At first I loved this school. And for $760 a month full time for a toddler with a hot lunch seemed like a great bargain. Top that with their accrediations and I sent my son here. But then I noticed every other week some kid would bite him. He would have bite marks on his arms, hands, and back. I asked the asst director how to remedy this problem and she said they dont punish the other kids they pretty much don't do anything but make them apologize and hug it out!! how does that stop biting? it doesn't!! it looked like i abuse my child that's how bad. She proceeds to tell me this is normal and a fact of child life. I told her my son has never bitten anyone. she tells me all kids bite. yeah right. my son started biting ME because they just let kids bite eachother all willy nilly in this place. and do nothing to them. or even talk with their parents. They offered to move him into another class with less known biters. I accepted. But me and the asst director have been cold towards eachother ever since. i prefer to speak with the main director whenever i have issues. Well the descision to switch daycares was made easier for me when I was told they were raising rates in September. They are no longer the most affordable child care in Leander. I plan on going elsewhere to a more affordable program and also has had GREAT reviews. The reason for the increase in rates? On the paper, it said because 30 staff were getting their CDA. We are basically paying for someones college education. I wish someone did that for me. Why should parents have to pay for someone to get their degree? The company should pay or else not offer it. or at least make the employee pay part of it. They are just another big business where money is the bottom line. That's why i'm going to a privately owned christian day care. forget it. more

My children have the honor of attending Stepping Stone in Blockhouse. We have been with them for quite a few years now and love them!! My children love attending and seem very happy when I drop them off and pick them up. My daughter is in Amanda Alger's class and has made amazing strides with her. My son is with Ms. Lynae and he is always smiling with her! My son started in the infant room and he absolutely loves Miss Kim, Miss Linda, and Miss Michelle! All of my children's teachers have been so patient and compassionate when working with them. It is comforting to know that not only are my children well cared for, but also loved when I can't be with them. The school is always clean, organized, and welcoming. This would be an excellent school for any young child! more

I switched my son to Stepping Stone this past Jan. because they had such great reviews. Recently, my infant daughter also now attends and I am very pleased with the staff, the care of the children, and the management. Miss Amanda Alger teaches my son and ever since she took over that class he has learned so much more. I admire her teaching ability and patience with the class. The children respect her and really have a great time. My daughter's class is run by Miss Kim, Miss Michelle, and Miss Linda and she enjoys going there everyday. They just love her and knowing my kids are well taken care of and safe mean everything to me in a daycare. I would highly recommend this school to anyone for all ages. more

My son attends Stepping Stone X at Blockhouse and the pre-k team is the best there is. My son is in Ms. Amy's class and he has learned so much while he has been there. Ms. Amy always has a smile on her face. She is warm and excited to see each and every child that walks into the building. She takes great pride in what she does and the activities that she does with her class are fabulous. I am a very proud mom to have my child attend Stepping Stone X and be a part of Ms. Amy's classroom. I would highly recommend her classroom to any family. more

I would like to say that Stepping Stone Day Care at Block House Creek Leander Tx is awesome! My child has attended the school from pre K up until now with the after school program. Pros: Staff and programs Cons: after school programs for middle school more

My older daughter has been in Stepping Stone X's Pre-K program for one year and it was a truly fantastic year for her. She blossomed socially and learned so much more than at her previous school. She loved going to school and would ask to go even on her days off. The teachers there are terrific as are the administration staff. I will definitely enroll my younger daughter at Stepping Stone School X. Pros: Excellent teachers, engaging classrooms, great facilities Cons: None thus far more

I can't say enough good things about the staff at this school. My son is 4 years old and my daughter is almost 2. I stayed home with my kids after my daughter was born and just recently went back to work. The staff made the transition so easy for us. My daughter that had never been to daycare before loves going to school every morning. My 4 year old son has just advanced so much being in the Pre-K class and is very attached to his teacher. This is an exceptional school for your children! Pros: loving, patient teachers, great playground, kids love it! more

My grandson started attended Stepping Stone X at the age of 3yrs and is now moving on to middle school. I remember his preschool graduation like it was yesterday. I always felt so confident & safe dropping him off in the mornings - It's so wonderful to make that drive to work feeling wonderful about the care of your child. I would HIGHLY recommend this school to everyone. My daughter has her little girl enrolled & will have her soon to be born baby boy enrolled as well. Pros: safe,clean,caring staff, Very educational . more

My daughter has been attending Stepping Stone X since she was 18mos ( she is now 3 1/2yrs ). From the moment we walked into the school we had the best feeling ever. I had my daughter enrolled in another daycare & did'nt have a good feeling in my stomach & knew we HAD to make a change. Everyday we see so much growth in our little girl... shes ALWAYS teaching mommy & daddy something new. The new Director is wonderful, she makes EVERY small detail to you seem so important & takes it to heart . I love this school. Our baby boy will arrive soon & will also attend this wonderful school. Pros: FABULOUS Staff & Directors Cons: None to give more

I'm a father of two children who started with Stepping Stone over 5 years ago. We were welcomed like a family member back then and still are. My children and I have seen many changes in Stepping Stone and just like a family they are always there for us. When I am running late to pick up my children they say ""They will be just fine. We'll keep the light on for you."" When my daughter fell off the swing they hugged her and made her laugh. When my son lost his favorite stuffed bear they searched high and low until it was found. My children are older now and will be leaving Stepping Stone for Middle School, I'm just sad that Stepping Stone stops care at 11 years of age. Well, I guess my kids have got to grow up some time. Pros: Good Family Feel Cons: only goes up to 11 years of age more

From a dad's point of view, it is simple. I want a place that I can take my child that I feel is safe and where they can learn with people who care. My child attended the Stepping Stone School on Hymeadow. When we moved out to Leander, we moved him to the Blockhouse location. We were very happy at Hymeadow and reluctant to move due to the excellent customer service the director and staff had provided us. Once we moved, my child had a difficult time adjusting. Things were good, but we had not made the connections with the staff that we had at the previous location. That is until earlier this year. The director that had been at Hymeadow is now at the Leander location. It had been over a year since we had seen her and yet she remembered our entire family. That is the family friendly environment that we love. Add that to the kindergarten readiness program this school provides and we feel very lucky to have found stepping stone school. Pros: family friendly environment Cons: na more

My child has only been with Stepping Stone X for almost 2 years in their accredited Pre-K program. I've only had great experiences (totally attributable to fantastic/dedicated teachers!). Both my child's Pre-K teachers have been phenomenal! My child has loved the teachers, has learned tons, including the social skills to be successful in Kindergarten. My child is old enough to complain...but only ""LOVES"" going to school. I do recognize that my experience is more recent, so that tells me that the administration is observant and making the changes needed to keep the school running to high standard. Pros: Accredited Pre-Kindergarten curriculum Cons: None thus far more

When I walked into this place the first thing I noticed was all the smiling children, who greeted the teachers with open arms and laughter. The children were so happy so see their teachers. The children were greeted with love and excitement. Teachers knew each child's name and talked freely with them. The classrooms were filled with the child's art work and creations. I heard Spanish and saw the children playing games and very busy with activities. I enrolled my two children and I have never regretted my choice in child care. Pros: Friendly staff, family feel, great activities more

I'll admit, there were some problems with this school under the previous directors. However, the new director and Stepping Stone corporate have made very good changes to this school. We've been very fortunate to have two outstanding teachers, Mrs. Jodie and Mrs. Loretta in the last year. We tried a local Montessori school, but there was no comparison to the new and improved SS on Blockhouse. We get a great value for our money, and a happy child that is writing and recognizes her name and a few other words. We came back to SS because they are a great fit for our family. Pros: great new director, excellent teachers more

My son is enrolled for summer camp and is having a blast. He is 10 and is really enjoying the summer already. Between the field trips, swimming, and the friends he has made already, he is very happy. I enjoy the activities and the learning that continue so that we don't lose what he gained this past school year. If you are looking for something for your child to do, I would definitely recommend it! Pros: The education and the fun for school age children more

(several reviews for the shoal creek location are written by admin, too) Pros: You get what you pay for...sometimes Cons: Sometimes you get less than what you pay for... more