Adventure Place Children'S Center

Our son attended Adventure Place for 3 years (age 1-3) and we had a wonderful experience. The only reason he did not continue for VPK is that we had to move. He learned a great deal. In fact, he thrived in this school and really seemed to love it. He still talks about how much he loves and misses his teachers, Miss Rozzie (also the director), Miss Margie, and Miss Marianne. I really regret that he was not able to finish his pre-kindergarten experience with these wonderful, sweet teachers and I would not hesitate to recommend it. I have been an educator for over 13 years.

My son has been attending Adventure Academy for the last 3 months, and I am thrilled with the experience so far. The staff has been wonderful, and their experience shows. Almost every day I walk in to a room full of two year olds all sitting quietly and politely at tables engaged in group activities. My son loves the other children and the all the teachers as well.

Only reason I will give one star is Ms. Margie she is so kind and helpful to all kids and their parents but the director Ms. Virginia did a behavior analysis on my son with out verbally discussing with me first. My 1 year old also attended at this time and after he was bit by other kids multiple times he bit a kid and she wanted to a behavior analysis on him. A 1 year old for doing exactly what he was taught to do by other kids in his class. So she didnt get the response she wanted from my oldest behavior analysis she tries to do it on my 1 year old. Also my oldest we picked up from school one day had scratches all over his face a bite on his shoulder and a red mark on his neck from where his shirt was pulled and nobody knew what happened they didnt even realize he had scratches all over his face until we asked why. To this day my son still tells me he is happy he doesnt go to ms. Virgina anymore. Its sad that somewhere he is suppose to feel safe has scarred him.

What initially brought me to the school was the fact it was in a great location. Right off of Gandy & MLK, for us, it was close to both of our jobs. When I was checking out the school, I talked to the director, Ms. Roz. She seemed like she loved her job & happy to be there. I was on the fence about the school because of the reviews but when I asked about it, I was assured that it wasn't true. When I first checked it out, I was quoted a price and two weeks after my son started the director came up to me and said "Sorry but we need to charge more", I asked why and she explained that I was informed the wrong price from the beginning. Okay, I let that slide. On of the main reasons I decided to have my son go to another school is the simple fact that they are extremely unorganized. When you make your "tuition" payment they write it down on a scratch piece of paper. When my son had projects, they would use scratch pieces of paper. It doesn't bother me that they use scratch pieces of paper, what bothers me is if I am paying over 500 a month for tuition, I would expect something a little better. Maybe a binder with all of his projects put together ( Like his new school). Safety on the playground,They let the kids run wild. My son constantly got hurt and no one knew how or why he was hurt. He would come home with cuts, bruises, eyes swelled up, and when I asked my son what happened, he would tell me, my friends hit me. It was really bothersome, and they were quick to blame someone else. No one would take responsibility for it. They have 2 other women who watch the kids sometimes and I know nothing about them. Did they have a background check done? I know nothing about them and yet, I am expected to be okay, with two random people watching my son. Tuition payment is due the Friday before the week. If your child is sick, or you want to take a vacation they actually charge more with them being there less. Makes no sense to me that they can even get away with this. I asked for a calendar of when the school will be closed (in advance because last year they would claim that they would post it on the door but there was nothing except it being blacked out in the sign in book), and she gives me a hand written piece of paper with all of the days written on it. For example last year they had a sign on the gate that said "Please pick up your children early, we have families too", Really?They are closed on December 24,25,26, and the same that goes with thanksgiving, Forget about getting a break on tuition. (The only reason I mention it is because his new school does not charge for the week of Christmas, and gives 1/2 week tuition prices in case of sick or vacation, I asked Ms. Roz about it and she said, I've never heard that before). One positive thing I will say about the school is Ms. Margie is very sweet. Overall I WOULD NOT advise you to take your child to this school, unless it was the last resort. After extensive research I found a new school for my son, that it well organized & digital. No one is let in there without a code and its a 200% improvement. Please do your research first and don't waste your time and money like I did.

As the Owner and Director of Adventure Academy, I am writing a response to the review from a previous post. First and foremost, I, personally, DO NOT administer behavior analysis on children! Developmental screenings (ASQ) are required and administered to children that receive state funded scholarships. The ASQ, is a questionnaire answered by the child’s teacher. It also has questions regarding speech, hearing, vision and other concerns. These screenings are later scored by the funding agency. Parents can approve or decline additional screenings. The additional screenings (ex: behavior) are submitted by a Development Specialist (from the funding agency), who is trained to observe and assess children as they play in the classroom and one-on-one. As in the case of the previous post, to say, “…the director Ms. Virginia did a behavior analysis on my son without verbally discussing with me first”, is false. The parent did approve the screening (signed form was on file) and the specialist discussed the results with the parent. As well as to say, “so she didnt get the response she wanted from my oldest behavior analysis”, is also false. I encourage working together with parents, teachers and specialist, but it must be a joint effort. Working together for the better of the children! Furthermore: • Parents are notified in writing regarding accidents and incidents, which are documented by the teachers and school staff. • Parents are given a receipt for tuition payments. Former student records are kept in storage, and annual tuition totals are provided by our accountant. A call back is required, and Tax ID information is given at that time. Anyone can obtain my Tax ID; it’s public record. Nevertheless, Adventure Academy is a wonderful preschool, with GREAT Teachers and Staff (and yes, Ms. Margie is awesome!!!!). The school has been in business for over 25 years, and I have been the Owner for over 3 years. Preschool is a big step; Infants to Pre-K. Our goal is to prepare them for their next step; Kindergarten. I encourage parents to communicate face-to-face with their child’s Teacher and Director. P.S.** Google Reviews are good, but to use social media to post personal false accusations can result in irreparable damage. Defamation of character is a serious matter.