Save yourself the trouble and heartache we went through with this school. If you care about your child's emotional and physical well-being avoid this school entirely. My daughter started school and was so happy to go, until 3-4 weeks in when she started to cry and have anxiety. Obviously, something had happened to set these emotions off. When she started to form her thoughts and feelings, it was clear we had to take her out immediately due to a few incidents that were inappropriately handled. This school is not a play based preschool. It's a free-play daycare with no structure and minimal oversight. One of the reasons we sent my daughter here is due to it being an Armenian school (this school was our second choice - she was wait-listed at our preferred school). Aside from picking up bad behavior from other students, she never really learned much. I was correcting their Armenian poetry hanging in the classrooms (see pic). In fact, they read them English books every week and the teachers don't really speak English so none of it really makes sense. There are too many very obvious issues at the school that I cannot go into detail about, but do your homework, check the hidden reviews that are a VERY ACCURATE depiction (similar to our experience), check with the state licensing department for licensed quality child care centers in your area and don't be fooled by the enrollment rate. The school accepts more students than it can handle and is understaffed. Weeks after we withdrew my daughter, several other kids/parents in the school reported similar experiences. Some withdrew, others are stuck with no alternative mid-year. The people running the school are incompetent and completely in the dark about early childhood education and behavior. They also have no understanding of appropriate discipline. What is most disappointing is that they are in denial for all their short-comings and sweep everything under the rug, including health and safety concerns. We sat through a meeting to discuss these concerns with the director only to have her bash on other daycares and Armenian schools for half an hour and go around in circles coming up with excuses as to why my daughter was mistreated. Find a school that actually cares about the whole child and doesn't just treat them like a number that comes before dollar signs. There's no shortage of quality schools in the area with stellar reputations, educated staff and operational standards. My daughter has been so happy at her new school and has made so much progress, both emotionally, behaviorally and developmentally which only reflects poorly on this school and validated my decision to withdraw her. Like many parents, I heard good things about the school until we withdrew my daughter and all the terrible stories came rolling in from parents who had similar experiences. Finally, if you are looking at schools, don't take this decision lightly. Early childhood education is a fundamental building block for scholastic and social success. This is the time when kids learn to love school. Good luck. read more

If I could give 0 stars, I would. Totally unacceptable school. Gave my son croup. Didn't change his diaper when needed. Had sand in his shoes numerous times. No socks. Always sick. Gave him just pita bread to eat. Disgusting school. read more

Currently both of my boys, ages two and four attend this preschool. I have nothing but amazing stories to share about this school. You can truly feel that the teachers care about the students. The school is up to date with their information and really engages the kids to prepare for kindergarden or whatever their next route would be. I can tell how much my boys have enhanced throughout their time at First Steps. They have plenty of activities for parents to be involved with and kids love it. They have a gate that fully secures the school and each age group has a seperate gate entrance with a key fob. They even have a security gaurd during drop off and pick up hours. I really cant think of anything negative to say about this school and I am rather surprised by some negative comments here. read more

My son has been going to First Steps for 3 years now and I am planning to send my younger boy starting this summer too. We love First Steps for many reasons: - Good size, not too small to give you a day care feel, not too big. It is the right size to prepare the children for the actual school. They have 250-300 students. - Curriculum, they actually have formal curriculum for every group. Now their emphasis is more on play and "let the kids be kids" theory, which I love, so their curriculum is more play-based for younger groups and it gets more academic content for older groups. - Nice campus, they have a huge campus for being a preschool. It includes multiple buildings with playgrounds, a grass covered field, parking lot, a full equipped kitchen and the offices. - Culture, this is an Armenian preschool so if you are not an Armenian or semi-Armenian household you might reconsider sending your child here. There are lots of aspects of the school which are Armenian, such as the food served for lunch, celebrating Armenian holidays, Armenian staff, teaching Armenian language, songs, etc. - Staff, all the teachers and office staff are kind and put a lot of care when interacting with the students. They would report anything that they notice about your child to you, know each of their students and their character very well and in general you feel your child is in good hands during school hours. - Extra curriculum programs, they offer lots of them including art, sports, science, etc. There is so much more to mention but I'll just wrap up my review here and give a shoutout to everyone who make First Steps a wonderful preschool for us. read more

My older two daughters graduated from first steps preschool and the third is still attending. We couldn't be happier with all that First Steps has provided for our girls. As a working mom, I took the decision making process for picking a preschool very seriously. My children would be spending most of their hours away from home and in the hands of people I had never met. The teachers and staff at first steps made the initial transition so easy, and now they feel like my own family. The teachers are very attentive to the kids and give them the attention they need. They are in tune to each child's special character and needs and adjust their interactions with them accordingly. They work hand in hand with the parents to ensure each child is thriving and gaining as much as possible from their program. The security provided at this school is great. The doors to enter the campus are locked and you need a key fob to enter. This not only makes it safe and prevents from strangers coming in, but there are also additional safeguards in place to protect kids from walking out. In addition, there is a security guard present at pick up and drop off directing traffic and so on. Both of my girls that graduated were beyond prepared for first grade and kindergarten, respectively. They not only were prepared and ready for the regular curriculum but also for the armenian after school program. We couldn't be happier and more thankful for all that first steps have done for our kids and highly recommend it to anybody coming in. read more

I went to First Steps when I was in preschool and now my Daughter is following in my footsteps. She is currently in the red group and loves it! She wakes up every morning excited for school. She has a hard time making friends but her teachers are helping her adjust and we are so thankful for them. I love that the school sends us a weekly email showing the daily curriculum. This allows me to ask my daughter specific questions about her day instead of just asking what she did at school. I also love how clean the school is and how they are always updating the campus. Overall 5 stars all the way! read more

I'm sad to have to give 2 stars to this school, because the people there are really nice (such as the teachers, parents, etc), but the owner/principal is not the easiest and/or most understanding person to deal with. It's an Armenian preschool, but really its like daycare. My 2 1/2 year old daughter really wanted to start going to school, so from several of my mom friend's recommendations, I chose First steps. My daughter is advanced for her age (i.e. very fluent speech, potty trained at 18 mos, writes her own name, identifies all letters/numbers, etc), and I let the principal know that I wanted my child to be put in a class with students she could interact with. The owner, Kathy, kept going on about her theories on social behavior and why social skills are important, which I totally agree with. After evaluating the school for 3 months, I realized my kid would come home only with bad habits (kicking, throwing toys), getting sick every 2 days, and being miserable. Most of her classmates couldn't speak very well, weren't potty trained, etc. so my daughter has no one to socialize with at school all day really. (my daughter even told me one day that one of her classmates was drinking the toilet water - when I told Kathy this, her response was that "well that in itself is a learning experience for your daughter)! After letting Kathy know about my concerns, her answer basically was "well that's how we run our school. you can come pick up your kids belongings when ever you'd like." - over the phone mind you. Can you believe it? She didn't offer to schedule a parent/teacher meeting, or to discuss in person. It's just about numbers to Kathy: how many kids she can squeeze in to make more money in tuition (crazy expensive too.. like $800/mo). Oh any by the way their "curriculum" they email out every month is to basically learn one thing in that month (like the color blue... for the entire month!) The day after I took my daughter out of there, she was back to her old sweet self - no more kicking, throwing toys, tantrums, etc. Now I spend that money on so many more meaningful, educational, and worthwhile things for her. read more

Like all parents, my wife and I started looking into pre-school choices when our daughter turned 2.5. One of our choices was First Steps, so we signed up for an open house event, and attended the event early this year. The event itself was great; the director and staff particularly emphasized their 'great communication' several times, noting that they are especially great at getting back to parents through email. After the open house, we picked up our paperwork, and were on our way, feeling pretty good about having found a place for our daughter to spend some time out of the house and become familiar with a school-type environment. Soon after we arranged a personal visit to get better acquainted with the school and staff, and paid our $300 registration fee to hold our spot for the coming school year. So far so good. As with most parents, we ended up having additional questions, so we emailed First Steps. One day went by with no response. But we figured it was not during a regular school session/season, so a little delay is ok. Two days went by, and we got no response. Finally we resent the email, and it took another day to get a response from them. We had very similar experiences on two other occasions, and we gave up, and decided that our daughter would not be attending this school. The whole process felt like we had been part of a time-share sales process, where everything looked and seemed great right up until we handed the school money. Best of luck to all the parents who are trying to find a good school for their children; however, this one is not it. read more

Well I have to start by saying that I researched very school in my area, after going to see abut 5 schools I was giving up. After finding first steps and going through the campus, meeting the faculty. I was beyond impressed. Both of my boys are very close to me and my little one is very shy. They both love school! My oldest who I started at 4 couldn't wait to see his friends and his teacher every day. He used to ask me if he could sleep there! Every single teacher is amazing, the aids as well! I don't even check the cameras, I have not had one negative experience and neither have my boys. I recommend this school to anyone that is looking to establish their Armenian roots, love of education and some of the best friends your child will ever make! I'm indebted to this school for how much they love my kids, take care of us like family and teach my kids! ( had to throw that in there) my oldest comes home with something new daily that he has learned! Thank you First Steps! read more

My 2 year old twins now attend First Steps in the Green group at their new campus. I love it! Its wonderful to have the smaller kids separated for that first year from the bigger kids. Its a very mellow, safe environment and the teachers are so loving and nurturing. We are very happy with First Steps. read more

I am so happy with First Steps. In just a few weeks we have seen so much improvement with our twins social and communication skills. I assumed my son will adjust in a few months, but the teachers are so caring and loving that with some effort we saw those results in weeks. Best choice we have made!!!!! read more

My son started in green group at age 2 with teachers Lena and Juliet. He had an easier transition to pre-school than I would have expected. As a working mom, I wanted to make sure my child would be taken care of in a warm environment, filled with fun and learning through play. He has learned to play well with others, sing in Armenian and brings home cute craft projects regularly. Most importantly, I want him to be happy, and when I see his smiling face at the end of the day...I know he's in good hands :) Thank you to the entire team that works to bring such a quality school to our community. read more

First Steps is a very special place for pre-school and kindergarten children. I have two children attending the school, both started in diapers, and the oldest is about to graduate from his kindergarten class. I am truly pleased about my decision for my children to attend First Steps. They have grown tremendously both adacemically and socially, learned a lot, and have an amazing group of friends. Their smiles and happiness truly makes my heart smile. My accolades of the school are many. However, the highlights for me are: 1- Positive & big-thinking vision of the administration and director. 2- Nurturing, loving and open-minded teachers. 3- Nationally-recognized focus on health - School has amazing garden and healthy school menu. 4- Safe school grounds and classrooms. 5- Stong academic focus through creative and fun projects, activities and instruction. 6- Strong parental support system - Many opportunities for parents to volunteer and assist classrooms, activities, projects and field trips. Very strong and active Parent Support Committee. Very effective Teacher Support Committee. 7- Strong sense of community. 8- Strong after school extracurricular classes. 9- First Steps produces happy, independent, socially well-adjusted, confident and educated graduates. I highly recommend First Steps Pre School in La Crescenta, CA. read more

The front office may have some communication shortcomings but we've been sending our daughter here for the last two years and so far we couldn't be happier with her teachers which is what matters the most. Ms Tsagik (red group) and Ms Tamar (blue group) have been amazing. My daughter can't wait to go to school every day. We're definitely signing her up for kindergarten (yellow group) next year. read more

I agree with the previous review. I was excited to attend the open house and learn more about the school as the school is close by to our home. The director began speaking, and two hours later, I felt like I was being beaten in the head about how I should parent my child, instead of learning about the school. I got to know all bout the director, her beliefs about life, her ideas on parenting and her kids. She is a very narrow minded and ignorant woman. She assumes she knows everyones circumstances. She spoke mostly in Armenian, and although I am Armenian and understood what she was saying, my husband is not Armenian, so he did not benefit from attending the 2 1/2 hour open house. I really liked the facility, the other staff members, and the cameras that show what happens during the day, but I am DEFINITELY NOT going to enroll my child in a school with a director as ignorant, self-righteous and narrow minded as Her. read more

My daughter started in the red group in September 2016 and we couldn't be more pleased! The teachers are caring and warm - they are also patient and dedicated to the students' safety and well-being. The school itself is clean and offers several after-school activities for students. Their playground is great. We love First Steps! read more

like most of parents i was looking for a good daycare for my 3 year old daughter in la crescenta area as we just moved here and i had to switch my daughters daycare which was a very nice place in Glendale, i heard a lot about first steps and decided to research about it, i called them asking for information, they said they will get back to me but after two months and no call backs i decided to walk in there, a lady named Maria came out but behind the bars like prisonars answering some of my questions, she told me that they are full and dont take any kids then asked my info to add her name to their waiting list, then advised me to check their other campuse which was not too far from the main, she told me to go and check it out and have thrm add her name to their waiting list as well , because they have plans to add one more class in that age group and if they get enough demands for that they will do that, she dven direct me how to get there and told me u can go nos if u have time, which i did so, gog there find that well known principal, miss Kathy, she was very cold and ignorant, told me " you shouldnt have come here now" " tjis not how we operate" " i dont think they told u to come here now" i was shocked didnt know how to respond, i told her Maria told me to come, again she said" Maria knows our rules better, and she would have said that" went on and on , very rude, i guess thats how she talks to her kids, cause it felt like she was talking to a teenager that came home late !!! didnt answer any questions and told me that i interrupted her because she was with a parent, put my name and phone number on a junk piece of paper throw on the desk and shook her head as a sign of goodbye, i guess i should have known by heart, anyways dont waste your time and money and dont risk your own hardwork of parenting to go wasted by this lady, read more