My boys have been going here for three years and LOVE it. They enjoy learning so many things I am unable to teach them as well as hanging out with other kids. I enjoy having a little time to myself. The instructors are amazing and care for each kid that comes to class. read more

Our family was with Ft. Steam in Augusta for many years, dating back to when the co-owner taught art out of her home. While we were long-time members, a recent failure by management to handle a situation professionally forced us to withdraw before the year was up. I am sharing our experience to help other parents make an informed decision. Following a peer rumor that inadvertently involved the business, my minor daughter proactively requested a meeting with the owners to clarify the situation. Given our long history, she expected a safe, moderated environment. Instead, we found the meeting to be hostile. In our experience, the co-owner spoke to my daughter in an aggressively loud and elevated tone before she could finish speaking. The situation felt so unsafe and unprovoked that I felt compelled to physically remove my child from the room, as the owner could not de-escalate the interaction. When my husband subsequently met with the owners to address this behavior, we felt there was a complete lack of accountability or apology. Furthermore, during this discussion, the owners shared details regarding another child's past behavioral history by name. This lack of discretion left us with no confidence that student privacy is respected behind closed doors. Worse, we learned that instead of mitigating the peer conflict, leadership allegedly instructed other teens in the program to focus their grievances toward our daughter and another student. While we understand that business owners cannot prevent outside rumors, the way this peer conflict was handled felt entirely inappropriate for educators responsible for minors. While families may have a fine experience when things run smoothly, our situation completely changed how we view this leadership. In our opinion, Ft. Steam handles conflict poorly and does not maintain the level of professionalism or student privacy we expect from an educational environment. Since sharing our experience, there have reportedly been threats of legal action toward individuals and groups connected to discussions about Ft. Steam and their handling of similar interactions. read more