Stepping Stone School - Leander

We love the teachers and staff at Stepping Stone Leander! It can always be tough to try and find a daycare option that you trust and the team at Stepping Stones has made that easier for our family. My husband and I know our sons are safe and cared for while they’re at school each day. In addition to the interpersonal and life skills they work on developing every day, our sons have made great strides academically (ie. learning sign language, narrating stories, learning to count, etc) They also get plenty of outdoor playtime each day, including Splash Days on summer Fridays, and lots of time for stories, art projects and music. Over the years our sons have attended Stepping Stone, they’ve had so many wonderful, amazing teachers including Ms. Kim, Ms. Princess, Ms. Erica, Ms. Alexis, Ms. Jackie, Ms. Minda and their current teachers, Ms Kaitlyn and Ms Donna who are both so amazing and who are boys look forward to seeing every weekday! Special shoutout to Ms. Cristina, Ms. Mackenzie, Ms. Margaret and the rest of the team supporting the teachers and kids, and who welcome our boys to school each morning!

Informed them day 1 my daughter is Autistic before paying for any tuition and fees. A month goes by and now I am informed of them not being educated at all in autism after taking my money which I need a refund for wasting my time. They have no education in autism. Leander is known for educated teachers of kids with disabilities. They kept writing incident reports that's basic on how autistic kids act with loud kids and if they're not calming or have a calming personality she will be triggered. My daughter has never ever had issues with any daycares due to them being educated with autism. They called me today and said she cannot come back. If your child has autism this place is not for them. I also seen a child hitting another child. It's very loud and teachers are not educated in any forms of disabilities. I will make sure I get a refund for taking my money knowing you all lack any background for autistic kids. In showing everyone even the daycare my youngest goes to that my oldest went to since she was 2 until she was school age. They were even shocked to hear it and this is why my youngest who isn't autistic will remain with them because I can't trust anyone but them unfortunately. They are educated with kids with autism and my oldest loves it there and she doesn't seem happy at this location at all. She is high functioning autistic so for them to not even handle that is concerning. No telling what they're doing to cause her to react abnormally. Sounds like awful personalities and mistreating.

First off, I would like to commend a couple teachers at this location. We just left a couple weeks ago and we miss these teachers I am going to mention. Ms. Donna and Ms. Princess are the best teachers our daughters ever had in such an instrumental time of her young mind. Our daughter has been going to SS since she was 10 months old due to me going back to work in person. She first went to the Hymeadow location and did fine, but there was a lot of turnaround and our daughter did not do well. Then she was transferred to the Leander/CP location due to us moving more north into Liberty Hill as well as the glowing reviews, which got our attention. Luckily now, I work in CP and it was just super convenient and on my way in to work. Ms. Donna was the first who had a ton of impact on the growth of our daughter intellectually. Ms. Donna is one of the sweetest teachers I have ever come into contact with...we are truly going to miss her. Ms. Princess is amazing on her own, our daughter loved to get her hair done after she had no accidents for the day. That was just one of the fun times, but the many reasons why she was great for our girl was she was attentive, patience of a saint, amazing teaching skills. Our girl learned so much and we are so thankful for her being in our lives and we will miss her so much. However, I am sure we will see her again in the fall. Secondly, in regards to the school itself, the Director/Principal Ms. Christina was very much involved with all children, knew them by name and is just nice at the beginning. However, on our daughters last week at the school, her name was taken off the check in list and conveniently the check in ipad wasn't working. When we had asked why our daughters name was taken off the list while she was still going to the school, they stated that it was part of their policy. Like couldn't you have waited until after she was gone before erasing her from the list? This was very disappointing as we've mostly had a great experience. Another disappointing event that we had happened earlier, about a few weeks or so before she was getting ready to leave, one of the assistant directors who had a very bad attitude. We are unsure if this was just towards us or if this was a few families. We had an issue to where our daughter wasn't being helped in regards to being brought to the potty, not necessarily being put on it, but being asked or brought in there during a certain time to avoid accidents. We didn't think this was a bad pr too much of an ask. However, once we asked this of her teachers, she didn't have accidents for weeks. When we asked this assistant director about having her teachers try this for not just our daughter, but for all children, this assistant stated that it was against the law that they are not supposed to do, which in turn made us ask for this law in writing. What they gave us was not anything of the law stating that they cannot help them to get to the toilet, but that it was a punishment to do that. The code they provided, which from where I see it, that it is not punishment. She was not helpful, horrible customer service, our daughter didn't like her or wanted to say hi. That was a tail tale sign of something was not right. The last class our daughter had was the Kindergarten Readiness Academy, it was not challenging her and it was not helping her in anyway. There was chaos (which I understand dealing with a lot of toddlers), but too many fights and incident reports. I also heard this from other parents in her class as well. This is a bit much, but our daughter was only posted about on the walls once when she was a baby, but never again which made us feel she was unwanted. All in all, we would recommend the younger classrooms like Donna or Princess, but do not recommend the older ones or trying to challenge one of the poor excuses of an assistant.

Our child has been attending Stepping Stone School for a couple of years now and it has been great! Staff is very attentive and open, good flow of information and a focus on age appropriate academics. Currently we are with Ms. Donna who is amazing. We have seen a lot of positive growth in a relatively short amount of time in her class. She is a true professional and knows how to grow her students.

My son has been a student for 2 years (age 2-4) and we have loved it. Ms Princess and Ms Donna are absolute gems when it comes to caring for toddlers

Stepping Stone provides a nurturing and engaging environment that fosters my child's intellectual, social, and emotional growth. They have a well-rounded curriculum that includes art, music, storytelling, and outdoor play. The teachers at Stepping Stone are truly dedicated and passionate about early childhood education. They create a warm and welcoming atmosphere where my child feels safe and secure. I appreciate the open communication with the teachers. They keep me updated on my child's progress and daily activities. Overall, I'm incredibly happy with Stepping Stone. They provide exceptional care for my child, and I highly recommend them to other parents.

So thankful for the wonderful teachers and staff at Stepping Stone School! My granddaughter has been a student here for two years, and she loves it. As a retired teacher myself, I see the top-notch learning environment that has been created here. I appreciate the nurturing, creative, and fun learning experiences she enjoys daily.

The director, Ms. Christina Garcia, leads with professionalism, passion, and accountability. This school is dedicated to creating a true safe, educational environment with a family-friendly orientation. The staff is attentive and caters to each child's specific needs. I highly recommend this location. I went to school here as a child and enjoyed every bit of it!