We have had a wonderful experience with Rising Stars. Low teacher turnover, very caring staff and a…read morewonderful group of kids. My daughter was beyond prepared for kindergarten! My son has found a wonderful group of friends and we have built community with other parents. We consider the staff to be like family and partners in raising our children.

I am so glad we enrolled our son here. The experience we had with Rising Stars was exceptional. The…read moreteachers are so caring a sweet. My son was happy to go to school every morning and we were sad to leave. They send out a detailed schedule for the week with planned activities and learning objectives. They host holiday themed events in class and have small class sizes.

We are very happy here. Our daughter really enjoys her teachers, and we do believe that her…read moreteachers love her, which was the most important thing to us. They are flexible with our schedule, and the app they use to communicate with, once you get it down, is easy and useful. Mrs. Sabrina and Ms. Jamie have been a wonderful addition to our lives and we are very grateful.

I feel obligated to let prospective parents know the reality we (and many other parents) have…read moreexperienced here this past year or so. In my opinion, it is a lot of marketing + optics and not a whole lot of substance. There are some AMAZING teachers who are the heart of this school, but most end up leaving. It's the leadership/owners that need change - overall I found them defensive, retaliatory, and most concerned with controlling a narrative for the sake of their business, which is a shame because it once felt like a dream school. Say something they don't like? They will block you online or unenroll you from the school. The owner will infiltrate parent chats on a private app and attempt to start drama over them instead of using the opportunity to do better. Ask them for clarity on something like why their teacher is suddenly gone? You might get three different answers. We often felt like they thought we were gullible. Any time they get a bad review, a handful of 5 star ones magically appear, with one of the latest showing an accidental "Should I tweak anything?" at the bottom. Whoops. This feels extremely misleading to prospective families who are trying to decide where to enroll their precious babies and who to give their hard-earned money to. We hardly ever knew who was caring for our children everyday. There was such high teacher turnover and new aides subbing in who were lovely, but not qualified to lead classroom instruction. Children struggled emotionally with the constant changing of teachers. There was no syllabus or curriculum plan shared with parents. But they had no problem sending a plethora of generic AI-generated communications, which was odd and not particularly useful or informative to parents. It feels like a daycare in survival mode, while trying to maintain the image of a Montessori that is worth the tuition you are paying. Oftentimes the ratios felt incredibly high. Parents submitted complaints. Teachers noted they were struggling and didn't always have adequate support or supplies. When children would get hurt, teachers would sometimes not have the bandwidth to communicate properly about it and parents would have to seek information from the school. With all of this said, I really hope they find a better path forward and in my opinion that begins with a good look in the mirror and taking accountability. The feedback you are receiving might not feel good, but it's a great way to identify opportunities to be better. I would stop blaming everyone around you and learn that it's okay to be wrong and make change. In fact, many parents would have absolutely extended more grace if the leadership was more humble, honest, professional, and open to real dialogue for the benefit of our children - and the wonderful teachers who work so hard to help them learn and grow.

Leaving this review for prospective parents looking to chose this daycare for their child. I have…read morenot nor will I ever enroll my child in this facility for a few reasons. 1. They do not answer their phones. 2. They are vague via email. 3. Can guarantee you as the parent, will have more professionalism and better customer service than whoever responds to email inquiries. The phone thing, I do not get it and do not agree. This was the ONLY childcare facility that did not answer their phones once in the dozen times that I called looking for information. Every single other daycare I shopped (over a dozen) either picked up the phone or called me back. How can a childcare facility not answer their phone? I digress I had to ask whoever was responding via email if they weren't enrolling because they did not come out and say it, I also had to ask about a waitlist because this information was not offered (emails to be posted). When I reached out to this facility I let them know what the situation was the response was "we are not enrolling for that program at this time". I was asking about part time, no information on full time was given, nothing about a waitlist (I still don't know the answer about a waitlist because they never responded) Customer service is easy, offer all of the information up front and answer any questions. I asked for a phone call, I let them know I may be misunderstanding their tone, none of this was ever addressed or answered. I wanted to go with this facility because it worked for our price point, schedules, and location. However, if this were the last childcare facility accepting in Austin I would not choose to use them. They don't answer the phone or return calls and seem pretty subpar at answering emails. I'm not usually one to leave a review in this regard however, I feel it important to parents looking for a school for their children to know that they are incredibly unresponsive. Not something that you want to be when taking care of children. I sincerely hope that no one else encounters the same frustrations.

My son has been here since he was 3 months old and he turned 2 in April. We love this place…read more Absolutely love the teachers. My son's vocabulary is more advanced than my oldest was at this age. He is very talkative and active and I attribute that to the environment here. We are moving to Georgetown and I'm seriously considering driving all the way here to continue his care. It is such a great feeling knowing your kiddo is happy to see the teachers...even jumping into their arms at times.

Livia Hu and the entire Joy Park Montessori teaching staff exceeded all of my expectations. My…read moredaughter was at JPME for the last 2 years. The new campus has two turfed and shaded outdoor play areas and large and spacious classrooms. The curriculum fosters curiosity and confidence and I'm amazed at how much the kids learn! My daughter was exposed to Mandarin since birth but learned to read and speak with confidence at JPME. We were very sad to graduate and we already miss JPME greatly. THANK YOU for the love and care you showed our daughter and our family!

We feel so lucky to have found Joy Park for our daughter who is in the Primary program (ages 3-6)…read more They have a beautiful facility with a shaded playground, and a great community of parents. But the teachers are what really make the school special. We couldn't ask for a better and more caring teacher than Ms. Iris. She has an advanced degree from UT in education and a degree in teaching Chinese language. She has been so sweet to our daughter and our daughter has learned so much there. In just a couple of months, our daughter has learned her numbers and comes home each week knowing new Chinese words and phrases that she wants to teach us. My wife and I don't speak Chinese at all, so our 3 year old is teaching us! lol Livia the director has done an amazing job bringing together -- professional -- teachers who are passionate about teaching kids this age. It really shows how much thought and effort they put into the curriculum and how deeply they care about the children. I've never seen kids so patient, calm, and well behaved as I have when we've visited our daughter's classroom. Ms. Iris creates a really fun environment for them where they can be themselves and learn and it really shows. Our daughter's growth there has been amazing to see and she loves getting dropped off at school every day. We're beyond happy that we found Joy Park and I couldn't recommend it more. It's also affordable and they offer great enrichment activities like piano, Chinese language classes, soccer and more that we've enjoyed having our daughter participate in.

After much searching, interviewing and site visits we have enrolled our daughter in this preschool…read moreand are quite happy with our decision. Our daughter was previously at an all play based preschool where she would have very little structure. We wanted to find a school that not only promoted more learning but also promoted learning through play, dance and song. We found that Challenger offered that. We have always shared creative learning with our child and wanted to make sure that she had all options available to her. There are some comments on here about diversity, but this is one of the most diverse Challenger campuses. Also, Challenger is now offering a referral tuition discount program for 2017-2018 year. If you are interested in this program, please contact me so we can both have the two-way 15% referral tuition discount every month throughout the academic year! If you use me as a referral for the 2017-2018 year. Message me for details.

The school is great. Love their program. On the 1st day of school no kid was crying in my son's…read moreclass ! It was the 1st day for a lot of kids but the teachers were amazing about keeping them calm. Ms. Erika is very sweet and always willing to work with you.

We're relocating our family to Northern Virginia, and leaving Austin Children's Academy is…read moregenuinely one of the hardest parts of this move. Our son Benjamin has been a student here, and the growth we've watched in him during his time at ACA has been incredible. The teachers and staff didn't just teach Benjamin important skills like potty training and using utensils on his own -- they did it with so much patience and care that he hit these milestones happily and confidently. As a parent, watching your child grow through these big "firsts" is special, and we always felt like ACA's team was as invested in those moments as we were. What really sets this school apart is the sense of family. From the teachers to the entire staff, everyone made us feel like we belonged to a community, not just a daycare. Benjamin was loved and cared for every single day, and that kind of warmth is hard to find. If you're considering ACA for your child, don't hesitate. We are beyond grateful for everything this school has done for Benjamin and our family, and we'll carry these memories with us wherever we go. Thank you, ACA -- you'll always have a piece of our hearts.

What an amazing experience we had at ACA! Our two kids were at ACA for 2-4 years and there were so…read moremany reasons we loved it... amazing staff! Incredible teachers who truly care! And a happy, fun environment for our kids. We will miss ACA

Thanks to Sarah, helped with process a lot! I think this school should be top pick for the kidsread more

There were a few hiccups in the beginning, but they were addressed quickly and professionally…read more Anytime I've had a concern, it's been taken seriously and resolved right away. The staff here is truly committed to creating a safe, fun environment for all the children and they act immediately if anything goes against Montessori principles--which I deeply appreciate. All the lead teachers have been in Montessori education for over a decade, and their passion really shows. My daughter absolutely adores everyone here. Miss Amanda is an absolute gem--genuinely perfect for this role. She has such a deep love for the kids and brings so much joy to the classroom. Every day, they do fun, hands-on activities and learn practical life skills like cleaning, cooking, cutting, and setting up their lunches. Mrs. Sarah is also incredible--she's such a gentle, kind soul with a calm energy that's instantly comforting. She's been in Montessori for many years and is the kind of person who just gets it. You naturally gravitate toward her. I'm so glad I gave this place a chance. It feels more like a family than a school, and my daughter truly feels at home here.

We have loved our time at Nicholson. The teachers do a wonderful job connecting with students and…read morefamilies, and always communicating directly with us. The positive, nurturing environment combined with the play-based curriculum has allowed my grandson to learn and grow in a way that is fun and engaging, and he is always excited to go to school. The flexible schedule is also convenient for our family. We recommend Nicholson to any family looking for a more personal preschool experience, with a highly trained staff, and engaging curriculum.

My daughter started attending Nicholson 1 month ago and we couldn't be happier with this choice…read more It is a smaller place, so they get to know every child. I feel like they truly care about my daughter and listen to what I have to say. Dr. Nicholson and Ms. Renita are both fantastic and very knowledgeable, and I feel like they managed to find and retain really great teachers. They emphasize the importance of free play, which I agree with, but they also do lots of art and they do a jamboree with singing and dancing twice a week. Another thing I really like is what they call a sociodramatic play event: once a month they set up a new scene in the hall like a camping site, a restaurant, a veterinarian clinic for the kids to play.