St Stephens Child Development Center

My child has been at this daycare for two years and we’ve had a great experience. I was hesitant at first because this is my first child, but it’s turned out to be the best choice. There’s been so much learning: coming home singing, knowing the ABCs, colors and shapes, and they offer fun extras like dance and soccer. The staff is caring and communicative, always gentle during tough drop-offs and respond with updates and answers to my questions. My child is happy, thriving, and I feel confident in the care being provided.

I'm thankful for St. Stephen's. The staff are very kind and caring and I cannot imagine doing such a difficult job. I feel like some of these negative reviews here are parental drama.... we've had only positive experiences.

My son has been bitten 10 times at this daycare, with the last 4 being in one week, and I feel that this issue was not properly addressed by the director, instead she kicked him out of the daycare after I expressed my concerns. One of his teachers, Miss Rainey, was fantastic and went above and beyond. After my son was bitten while in the care of another staff member, she came to me in person to discuss exactly what happened, what steps were taken, and to reassure me. She even wrote a heartfelt letter expressing how much she loved my son and assuring me that she would do everything possible to keep him safe. Her actions were a source of comfort, and I truly appreciated her dedication and transparency. I also appreciated the morning opening staff including Mrs Kamden (and I can not remember the other teachers name) but they were always so nice and kind. Mrs. Caballero was also very kind to us. However, despite my repeated attempts to communicate my concerns and seek reassurance from the director that this matter would be handled appropriately, I did not receive adequate responses or solutions. I was repeatedly misinformed, being told at first that only one child was responsible for the biting incidents, and then later told that multiple children were involved, especially after a child was removed from the classroom and on top of that she moved a known biter up into a new classroom with my son and sure enough he was bit again. Additionally, I was told the bites were in retaliation, yet no one ever addressed or discussed any inappropriate behavior on my son's part. Several incident reports even stated that the bites were unprovoked. As a parent, I expect a safe and supportive environment for my child, and I strongly feel that his well-being has not been prioritized in this situation. I was also told they only have 2 incident reports on file out of 10. I do not understand how this was not followed up on, even after the emails of concern I voiced to the director. The culmination of my frustration occurred when I was informed that my son would be expelled from daycare. This decision has left me deeply upset, especially as it seems to be a direct result of me voicing legitimate concerns about his safety and care. It feels unreasonable to penalize a child for incidents that have occurred due to lack of supervision or failure to address ongoing issues within the facility. Instead of expulsion, I would have expected a more constructive approach, such as a meeting with the staff to discuss preventive measures and how best to address the behavior in a proactive and supportive way.

My son has been there for a few months. The director and faculty have address all of my concerns, communicated well, sent me pictures in the day, and in general has done a great job worked with a nervous first time mom sending her kid to daycare. I'm shocked by all of the sudden neg and nasty reviews, and my son is happy so far. If my son is no longer happy in the future my review may change but my 1 year old is happy going to daycare in the morning.

I have had a child attending St. Stephen’s CDC for the last 3 years. I can tell that the teachers/staff genuinely care for my girls. They are always happy and clean when they come home, and they have nothing but great things to say about the school and their class mates! In the last year the center has implemented an online payment and communication portal, improved playground equipment and installed a new security feature which is specific to every family (which is awesome). I love our little school!