Encinitas Shining Stars

Our child started in the baby room in 2022. What a great development of our child we have experienced! The school has gone through upgrades and we commend the school for never compromising on quality. They hired new staff, installed new flooring( which is awesome) and their new software Procare is so easy to communicate and get so many updates about my child. What we love is seeing pictures of my child engaged and doing activities. The staff is so focused on developing new activities and lesson plans, it reflects during in our child’s behavior and using new words in communication.

I generally don't write reviews but the value this preschool has provided to us is worth noting. We started in infant room and graduated during TK when we needed to move out of the area due to work needs. First, the baby was well taken care of and achieved the physical development goals and then the teachers worked with us to ensure proper social and emotional development during the toddler stage. We will always be indebted for the awesome time at the center. What I liked best was the regular updates and working with us to ensure our child's needs were addressed on time and properly.

Encinitas Shining Stars is an excellent preschool as I have experience attending two other preschools outside of SoCal. Their custom approach to the development of my child , when he was toddler made him learn how to make friends, engage socially and express himself. Overall their approach was fun oriented. I needed to take a break and move outside of San Diego area. When I returned and my son attended their preschool and their approach focused more on projects and structured learning through practical methods. When my son moved to KG, I could see he was so ready to be in classroom and start elementary journey.

A shell of its former self…. After spending 4 years with 2 kids here, we saw the good the bad and everything in between. The biggest change was the new owners. 1 star for owners, 5 stars for teachers, 2 stars for facilities brings it to a 2.6 star. The teachers are absolutely amazing! The school has lost 3/4 of their staff (since have rehired) over the past year because of the newer ownership. Put simply, the teachers and care on-site care about the kids but the micromanagement from the camera/Zoom connection in the Bay Area hand cuffs these teachers and makes their jobs a lot harder and not about the kids. Wonder why they are changing to expand their infant room…. Because very very few facilities offer that service in the area, where it’s competitive which is 2 years and up they have MINIMAL attendance. Why? Parents start to see the value elsewhere. Again, seeing this school for 4+ years, this wasn’t the case before the new owners. These teachers deserve better, deserve to feel like their every move and every conversation isn’t being watched and or recorded, it’s crazy. Good luck to all finding childcare, it’s a tough thing to do. You’ll know when you are in the right place.

The Encinitas shinning star runs as a scam. Firstly, the director told me to make a deposit to secure our kid’s position and we did. She said the money was refundable. When we decided to not having our kid go there and asked for the money back, she said it was not refundable. I was being told by some other parents that they encountered similar situations that they couldn’t get the money back. Secondly, I asked for a receipt of the deposit and it took me many times to get a simple receipt. They always have a million reasons not to answer your phone calls. Thirdly, the daycare had been reported many times and changed owners. You can find the evidence yourself by searching.