The owner of StemSteps is a very reactionary person. She doesn't sit to think and reflect before…read moreacting at all. She runs off emotion and uses intimidation to get what she wants. When you attempt to have an adult conversation about your feelings, she loses her ability to think rationally and asserts her dominance once again. She attempts to micromanage every situation even when she isn't present. There were several situations where she would spit off emails or call before she had all the facts, accusing and pointing fingers. She, however, would not come back and apologize or admit that she leaped before having the facts, afterwards. It eventually got to the point where she was twisting facts and blowing molehills into mountains with untrue statements. She was pushing us to medicate our child when our pediatrician strongly discouraged medicating at that time. The teachers were too passive to set strict boundaries, and they seemed to cower to the owner and allow her to control and micromanage a classroom they were in charge of. The owner made accusatory statements that, when I would speak with other parents, didn't seem true at all. We are not saying that our child was perfect in any way, and he definitely needed some more guidance and stricter boundaries; however, the way things played out here was very disheartening. We even went as far as to have a behavior specialist come in to observe for an IBHS support person; which they requested. I attempted to have a discussion with the owner about feelings towards my child, which is what ultimately ended our time here. She went ballistic instead of being professional and reassuring. It was such a hit to her ego, and she couldn't take it or someone standing up to her false accusations. There was no professional adult conversation, just finger-pointing and blocking. Our son didn't have these types of behaviors in the school before or after this school. He is doing great now in a new school. The behavior consultant discussed what she saw when she observed, and a lot of it was boundary pushing and allowing him to get his way, instead of setting clear boundaries and consequences to teach him, it seemed to be all over the place. Lots of reminders with no consequences, allowing him to get what he wanted, which would reinforce the poor behavior, them being frustrated, and eventually just a target on his back. Again, not that these behaviors were acceptable, but they weren't what was being made out either after speaking to the behavior consultant and piecing things together on our own. I also went in to observe one day. No behaviors but saw him being kicked. When he kicked back, he got caught and in trouble. His new school said they also don't understand because they don't see the behaviors that this owner was saying he had. If you have a very calm, timid, robot-like child, this will be a great fit. However, if you have a rambunctious child with ADHD who goes against the grain at times and wants to be moving, this is 100% not the right fit. The day I observed, they were expected to sit for 25 min doing carpet time. That's a long time for a 4-year-old, let alone a 4-year-old boy who has ADHD. They do wonderful activities there, which is why my son loved it, but there was lots of sitting and expectations of standing still, straight lines, chair work, and not enough strict follow-through. Like I mentioned above, if you have a quiet, calm, timid child, this place is great. If you have a typical hyper, rowdy, strong-willed child, I would find a place better fit because StemSteps cannot and will not be a good fit for your child. I suggest reading the book Raising Lions for this school and some training in consistent follow through, rule setting, consequences and behavior management.

The best daycare around hands down! We have taken our kids to a lot of places and we were very…read moredisappointed. Stemsteps has the best teachers/atmosphere that actually care about kids (not just keep them alive), provide great exposure to veggies at meal times, and give him a variety of experiences to meet his milestones. My son has been attending since 8 months and I wouldn't take him anywhere else. He's very excited at drop off and loves his teachers.