My daughter had an amazing time at Rusch Park Preschool. Don't let the negative reviews sway you, Ms. Kathy and her group of teachers are fantastic, they truly care about each and every student, and it shows. The weekly activities and extracurriculars are fun, thoughtful, and enriching. They truly went above and beyond our expectations, and we are so happy we took the chance on Rusch Park Preschool! Thank you to Ms Kathy, Ms. Frankie, Ms. Nicole, and Ms. Natallia for a wonderful Pre-K experience. We wish we didn't have to leave!! read more

Let me start off by saying my kids did learn and excel in this program. But the director Kathy has no regard for the parents and no respect multiple times, She made unfair comments, in front of other parents. She likes to call people out when it is uncalled for. For example, being upset that one parent brought " too much birthday treats" which there is no policy on how much to bring or not to bring. During this speech she call me out saying I should not do this. Let me tell you why this was strange for her to say. My twins have summer birthdays so I had not brought in and treats. When she said this, every single parent stared at me which made things very uncomfortable. She also discussed another child to me (that was not one of my children) that was four years old and said "he would cry if his shoe was not tied" My other issues I have is Kathy calling children too emotional or over emotional mind you all these children are 3 to 4 years old. 3 to 4-year-olds have big giant emotions. Many of these children have never been away from their parents so the response to that is a normal developmental response for that age. I think that's a unfair assessment especially regarding crying at that age as so many children do now let me add. She had never said this about my children but as a parent, I don't like hearing about anyone's children at that age. It took me along time to make this review I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt. But now that my children are in a school setting, where the teachers have respect do not say negative comments like that I realized how wrong that was and how many times I let things slide when I was just trying to keep the peace in thinking maybe it was me. All the other teachers here are great . Kathy herself I believe is a good teacher, but I had some very negative times interacting with her. I wish there was a review like this before I signed up for this program so I would have been aware. I did bring this up to hire management and directors more than once through the school year last year. The reason I didn't pull my children out were they were doing very well in school they made friends and the other four teachers were all fantastic. read more

"I can't remember how this got started But I can tell you exactly how it will end" Rusch Park Preschool is an unlicensed county rec program. I've had the misfortune of teaching there for over a decade, mistaking it for a career. This site does not care about keeping the only college-educated teachers that they had, or changing the monotonous curriculum. Their objective is to solely make a profit. They expect parents to pay monthly tuition the day it is due without grace, or suffer the consequences of late fees and their child being removed. There is little to no budget for classroom expenses, yet tuition is always on the rise. Giving trees are posted, burdening families to buy things for classes, including bottled water- something the District should provide. Post-pandemic felt like entering The Twilight Zone. They hired a 16 year-old in the summer of 2020 who is related to payroll staff. She is allowed to preside over a class alone, yet anyone under 18- including siblings, cannot sign-out a child from the program. Despite the multi-colored, face-mask warning signs, inside the classrooms, masks worn are only for show. All children are expected to wear masks, but often return to school with the same dirty mask at the age where they enjoy sucking through the material. Per Lead teacher, toys slowly stopped being sanitized as often in the new year. Shortly after, there was a Covid outbreak within a family currently enrolled and their child was hospitalized as a result. It was eye-opening to me that we continued to fully operate without notifying families. Desperate because we were so understaffed and teachers cannot exceed hours, I was repeatedly questioned as to why I wasn't coming to work when I had a temperature of over 100. The lack of custodians, even pre-Covid, often left dirty classrooms which attracted a sewer roach problem inside both classes and a wasp nest issue out front. Knowing what I know, I won't be sending my Grandchildren here. In April 2021, a staff meeting informed us that our student enrollment numbers would be increasing, yet our hours would be stuck at 18 hour work weeks. So much for the retention the Spokesman was boasting about... they lost three teachers in a single year. The pandemic excuse for a permanent budget crisis is pathetic at this point, especially after stimulus funds were granted. The former Director did promote the Lead on her way out as the loyal few were demoted, losing our retirement plan. Congrats. Ms. Kathy looked surprised after I surrendered my work keys to her and quit. As if she didn't see it coming... third time is a charm. Changes need to be made and I hope someone has the power to do so. read more

Best choice I could have made! I put my child in class here July 2021. Still here and loving it! I think there is wonderful communication, my child loves going, even on the days that were hard, Mrs. Kathy gave me a call and sent pics just to make sure my child felt better! All the parents are decent and show respect and they do tons of cute activities, pumpkin fields trips, and the price is amazing!! We love Mrs. Kathy and I appreciate all she has taught my child! If your kid needs to be babied still,this may not be the place but if you're not a helicopter parent, this is THE best spot around!! read more

We withdrew our 3yr old son after one month. I had high hopes, but we felt our son was just "too young" for their program. Did I mention he was THREE. The director Cathy (Kathy?) has little flexibility. Instead of meeting children where they're at, she expects them to already have classroom skills, and will openly criticize the parents for not introducing - say scissors and glue - earlier. In fact, the director makes rude, critical remarks about previous parents during orientation regarding their snack choices. She has very rigid and narrow expectations regarding what size and type and container the snacks (that the parents are providing) are allowed to come in. All this, of course, is in the name of ease and cleanliness, so I understand having guidelines. I think it would be better to just provide a written sheet with all the restrictions and leave off the snide remarks. This of course, could be overlooked - she has been running this preschool for 12+ years - if not for the way our son was treated. I'm under no illusions that he's a special snowflake. He's a young, rambunctious boy who we would have like to acclimate to an academic environment. One morning, he was sent home after 1 hour of arriving. We learned that he was running in the classroom, encouraging another student to run, sticking his tongue out at the teacher and "mocking her" (her words), and also not sitting still in the time out chair -- for OVER 20 MIN. I should preface this incident with the words from the director that morning: the children were "wowie zowies." Obviously, she picked up that a lot of children were feeling rambunctious and probably should have altered the schedule to move playground time up, instead of forcing them to do a craft project. I'm disappointing that the director couldn't imagine other ways of redirecting or working with our son to find a suitable activity. Also, it's not very mature to take personally the "insults" of a 3yr old. He's not mocking you - he's expressing that he doesn't like you telling him what to do. Frankly, the kid had energy, wanted some attention and wanted to play, but that apparently means he can't handle the "rigorousness" (her words) of this preschool. And aside: there's a red string roped across all the toys in the cupboards discouraging children from playing with them. Not sure what they're for if the children can't ever play with them... I'm glad that other parents have found success here. If your child is already used to daycare/preschool and a very structured setting, AND if you don't mind being talked down to as if you're a simpleton, AND your kid is super compliant -- you'll probably have a positive experience. read more

The teacher is amazing, The classroom is very structured. The program is short 3 hours a day 3 days a week. But they pack a lot into that time. They rotate from one learning station to another. They do field trips and performances. They have a letter of the week. They practice letters and numbers and have fun art projects. They do require the child to be at least somewhat potty trained. They do not charge diapers. If your child poop you do need to come back and change your child. The teacher is friendly and professional and has been teaching this program for a long time. read more

I've had 4 kids attend this preschool, and I have only had good experiences here. Ms. Kathy genuinely cares for the kids and it shows. It's a no muss, no fuss type of place. Circle time, arts and crafts, songs, playground time, manners and waiting your turn, learning your letters, numbers, how to write your name, ABCs, using scissors, you get the picture. The price is right and the program is solid. Also, the artwork they bring home is as cute as can be! read more

The school year started with the teacher telling the parents about the guy that left the bad review and how if you cant take her humor etc something that definitely shouldnt have been told. Also if your child cries for any reason be ready to pick them up. This is not the school that will hug your child and TAKE THEIR TIME to call her or him down. Ive had one teacher raise her hands up and walk away when i said hey i signed my child up and now hes crying after me she goes i dont know what you take care of it. What the hell!? Theres good and bad. But honestly i wouldnt put my kid through it again,if it wasnt for him loving school because of his friends i was ready to pull him out 2 weeks later. One time after the playground they forgot a child outside who ran to his mother, when the mom knocked and told them that they forgot him ,the teacher said to the mom "lets not do that ok mom" and the mother was like i didnt do anything shouldn't you be counting the kids. It was crazy. The main teacher kathy has to realllly watch how she speaks to parents and kids . She has made some comments to me that if she said that at a regular school she would be fired. She came at me saying does my son have some disease because he always complains his belly hurts i told her here lets ask him so he says he gota go pee but he doesnt want to because he loveddsd sitting on the red square. Look lady they are 3-4 yr olds they get attached to stuff be nice or get a new job. If your child is a picky eater not the place for you. My son doesnt eat alot of junk gummies. Feed them freaking fruit or allow parents to pack their own for their child! So many rules but literally no compassion from the main teacher. If your child gets hurt they will sit on a chair with a ice pack while the teacher waits for them to stop crying thats all. This place needs a teacher that cares, that doesnt wait for the 3 hrs to fly by. The asian lady doesnt do anything the blonde lady is the best i have seen her hug children talk to parents just like a regular mom no military style like kathy. Theres so much more to add but honestly dont waste your time. The director of the preschool should be handing out surveys at the end and talking to parents instead we never even met the lady! read more

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My Son first started coming to this Preschool at age 3 for their summer camp program. He LOVED the program and his teacher, Mrs. Kathy. He then attended another private preschool in the fall for a 3's program but he could not stop talking about "Mrs. Kathy's school". He went back at age 4 to the Rusch park summer camp again and we decided to keep him there in the fall for their Preschool program. He loves his class and his teacher. Mrs. Kathy has been there for many many years and still teaches with such enthusiasm and energy. You can tell that she truly loves her job. I am so lucky to find this school because it's half the cost of what we were paying at a private school and just as great! Such a loving, happy and safe learning environment and my son amazes me daily with the things he is learning! It's definitely a place where children can learn and thrive! I know he will be beyond prepared for Kindergarten! read more

I wanted to add my piece about the Rusch Park Preschool. I had all three of my children in Miss Kathys class over a six year period. She was an incredible teacher, who very obviously loved the children and loved her job. I cannot recommend her enough. I had my first child in a couple different preschools prior to finding Miss Kathy that were nothing like her class. I had my three children close together so I went through some busy years. When my oldest was doing his kindergarten eval they started to ask if he know his alphabet, shapes, and numbers and I was quite embarrassed to realize that I had no idea if he did. He knew it all, thanks to Miss Kathy. My youngest just started kindergarten this year and constantly asks to go back to her class and see her. I wish we could steal her from the preschool and put her in my kids elementary school. They all love her so much. She was an integral part of their upbringing. read more