First Steps Learning Academy

This is the last place I would take my child, I made a Facebook post asking about the school (rightfully so) ALOT OF PEOPLE had negative things to which I was already experiencing with it being only my sons 3rd day. I agreed with a couple things on my post and not even a couple hours later received a call from not even the director but his teacher terminating his care due to my post. Instead of fixing all the problems the solution was to terminate my care immediately. They are rude, the place is dirty and the owner didn’t even have the audacity to give me the call herself. My son was only there 3 days and they refused to give us our money back as well

As a parent, few things are more alarming than picking up your child from school and hearing, "My head hurts because someone hit me today — can you check it when we get home?" That’s exactly what happened when I picked up my son from First Steps Learning Academy. Upon checking, we discovered a noticeable bump on the back of his head — an injury that was never mentioned by any staff member at pickup. Naturally, my wife and I reached out immediately for an explanation. When we spoke with one of the teachers, we were told, “I don’t know, I wasn’t in the room,” followed by, “I’ll let the director know you no longer want to send your child here so she can help you with unenrollment.” We were shocked by the dismissive response — there was no attempt to investigate the incident, apologize, or show concern for our child’s well-being. We had to insist that we speak with the director before making any further decisions. To make matters worse, contacting the school was incredibly difficult. Despite calling both facility numbers multiple times during business hours, no one answered, and the voicemail boxes were full. The emergency contact number provided by the director also didn’t work. This raises serious concerns — what if this had been an emergency? The injury occurred on 10/13/2025, and despite our attempts to follow up, we didn’t hear from anyone until late the following morning. When the director finally returned our call around 9:50 AM, she placed our son’s teacher on speakerphone. Rather than addressing the issue directly, the director spoke in circles, continuously deflecting blame and avoiding responsibility. We had previously mentioned the child involved to the teacher after our son expressed distress about attending school due to this classmate’s behavior. At that time, we brought it up calmly, just asking for it to be monitored. However, during our phone conversation, the incident was brushed off as “roughhousing” and the director implied that such behavior was typical among friends. Regardless, there is no excuse for our son sustaining a head injury — particularly one that he reported immediately to a staff member — without any notification to us. When we corrected the staff that the injury was to the back of his head (not his face, as they kept referencing), we were met with responses like, “Well, how are we supposed to see it?” Our son was crying, visibly upset, and still, nothing was communicated. According to him, the teacher’s assistant witnessed the event, the other child was laughing, and the assistant simply told them to “relax.” This is unacceptable. The core issue here is not just the injury itself, but the complete lack of communication, accountability, and urgency from the staff and leadership. When we raised concerns, we were met with defensiveness and excuses instead of solutions. At one point, I questioned whether the staff was properly trained, and instead of addressing the concern, the director focused more on being offended than on resolving the matter. Sadly, this was not the first time our son came home with an unreported injury. That pattern, combined with the events of this recent incident, led us to the conclusion that this facility is not a safe or reliable environment for our child after being enrolled for only 6 weeks. In our honest and personal opinion, First Steps Learning Academy has significant shortcomings when it comes to communication, transparency, and accountability — all of which are critical when you’re entrusting a facility with the care and safety of your child.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ As a parent, finding a daycare you can truly trust is everything—and this place has exceeded all our expectations. The staff are absolutely amazing. They treat every child with such genuine care and attention, and it's clear how passionate they are about what they do. My child looks forward to going every day, which speaks volumes. The environment is warm, safe, and full of love. We feel so lucky to be part of daycare family!

We love our Ms.Kenna🤩🤩, when your child wakes up and excited to go see her teacher you know she’s happy there. Braylee is not even 3 yet but words she would use are just amazing ❤️… She have learned so much. My Daughter Brantlee loves Mr Roland and Ms Jackie😊. I have never pick up or drop them off without interacting with their teachers. A simple good morning, have a good day or thank you for all you do for my child. Even teachers that are not my children teachers I’m able to connect with and have friendly conversations with them, it’s literally more like a family place, but if you pre-judge people by not even trying to talk to them, you won’t know that. I really wish others were able to replied to the negative reviews above anyone who would says the Director of the school does not reach out or addresses concerns is false. Keep in mind she’s the director of the entire faculty dealing with hundreds of parents. This lady literally returned my emails within minutes address concerns, answering questions. She’s on top of things, always trying her very best even though she have a large family herself. This is why communications is so important. I’ve had the Director return my phone calls after hours and stay on the phone with me for over an hour to address whatever it is. Children have bad days, even at home, adults have bad days. Maybe they’re short of staffs some days, teachers out sick, that does not make the facility, staffs, owner terrible. 😢 i’m grateful for every teachers at that school. My children would mention those teachers by names during their nightly prayers being thankful for them. And if Mr Tony is out for a day or 2 they won’t stop asking me where’s Mr. Tony momma 😊.My children are happy and safe at FSLA, and I’m thankful for that.

From the moment we came through the door, we knew we had found the right facility for our Charli. Yes mom and I both had tears because where she was before just kept getting worse…She started at 2 years old and excelled with all the wonderful programs they teach. The kids classrooms are HUGE with different stations of activities in every room for learning and playing, private bathrooms in each classroom! They provide breakfast, snacks(2)and lunch. You have your own lunchroom where the kids walk down to in the same building, We always got there just in time for breakfast and Charli would hurry down the hallway waving hello friends! So happy! The play ground….you will be impressed!!! Over half the area is covered for protection with tons of outdoor toys and play equipment. I know my playgrounds and they spared no money! The soft flooring throughout the area for safety is wonderful! They are constantly having special days for different things and they had a program at Christmas that was so cute! The staff…such wonderful teachers, chef and director! They LOVED our Charli! This is all coming from a granny that adores her girl! I’m sad that Charli and her family just got transferred to Daphne and had to leave….fyi, Charli is a December baby, at her new daycare in Daphne, she was so smart they put her with the 4 year olds!! Bottom line, this is the only daycare in Freeport that is of quality, cleanliness and professionalism. This daycare/school gets a 5+ rating out of 5 from our family! I can’t thank them enough for loving my granddaughter! They really did!! We certainly will miss them and all her little friends! Hope this will help anyone looking for daycare in our area!