Shaking my head on why we even started here after hearing other parents' nightmares and having to switch schools. We were desperate so we gave it a try. Had to pull out our kiddo after seeing safety issues. Also there is so much turnover with teachers. My kiddo was always telling me of a new person teaching that the admins never told us about. Lack of communication and when I asked the admins questions, they snapped at me and got defensive. Then I looked at the licensing reports after one parent pulled out her infant for big safety concerns (documented in a high violation). Small school and so many teachers have left. In 2024 so far many violations including untrained teachers. We are thriving at our new school and it's cheaper, staff is nicer (communicates at least without snapping) and is a safer place for our little one. Also located right under a 5 G tower (see the other review - it's unsafe for that reason too).Here is the mess I found from licensing. I was shocked to read the reports. https://childcare.hhs.texas.gov/Public/InspectionAndComplianceHistory?operationId=1113756 read more

If your child is neurotypical, you'll PROBABLY be "ok" with your FSCS experience. That said, if your child is NOT neurotypical your mileage may vary. Our child was diagnosed with ASD and ADHD after leaving FSCS. That said, FSCS never suggested that his behaviors might be due to some sort of developmental delays or neurodivergence. For the cost, I'd think/hope/expect that they would have someone on staff that would be able to help parents identify these types of "issues" early on but it was never suggested that his "behavior issues" might be something to take a longer look at. It was never part of ANY conversation that he/we might benefit from an evaluation for ANYTHING. We were just told (REGULARLY (almost daily)) about behavior issues. So, if you're into paying a premium to be shamed as a caregiver or being made to feel like a less than amazing parent, I encourage you to send your loved one(s) to FSCS. read more

We dropped by to ask about the process since they were unreachable but phone, the lady who met us with disrespectful, she didn't want to answer any questions and all she said we are full!!! read more

FSCS is not just a day care, it's an actual school for young children. They go through different curriculum each semester and really prepare the kids for success once they age out. It's also a very communal environment where you get to know other families and the teachers. We have two children at FSCS and are extremely thankful for the school and how it is operated. read more

Things to consider before considering Four Seasons: -High teacher turnover/unable to keep qualified teachers. (In the Pre-primary class, 5 teachers in one year). -Communication is lacking. Daily information and/or weekly updates about your child's day are not given. Teachers are intended to write in a Parent-Teacher Book once a week, but it is typically a little note every 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. Classroom photos are posted on a blog, but are inconsistent and depends on the individual teacher on how frequently (once or twice a month, or less). -Parents are not allowed to walk their child to their classroom or visit. The layout of the building does not allow you to see in the classroom at pick up or drop off. In the Parent Handbook, it reads, "classroom observations are offered with an adjustment period of at least one month to settle in after starting a new year or cycle," but if you do request to sit in on your child's class, it will not be encouraged and causes friction and questioning from the staff. The message is clear that family involvement with your child's education and knowledge about your child's day is not important to the school. The name "Community" implies there will be communication and involvement between the school and family. This is not the case. -The school moved in 2013 into an old daycare building that was vacant for over two years. The building is within Austin City Zoning Laws for Child Daycares and Cellphone Towers. The back playground and campus reside within a few feet of a Cell Tower. The City of Austin Telecommunications Department said, "there are holes in the policies and the school should not have been able to move into the building under current zoning." -The tuition of $800-$1200 a month is quite expensive to be under a cell tower. -Exposure to RF energy is related to time and distance from the source. The closer to the source (within .18 miles) the higher the power. The same exposure as your child talking on an iPhone as being on the playground except it is continuous while during outdoor play. Sources: http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/ http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/ClassificationsAlphaOrder.pdf http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7520941318 http://www.who.int/peh-emf/research/children/en/index.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IARC_Group_2B_carcinogens http://austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Planning/Applications_Forms/28_smallpjt_telecomm_tower.pdf http://www.magneticsciences.com/RF-Meter.html -Within 4 months, children at the school had cases of lice, double ear infections, pink eye, strep throat, mollusum contagiosum and croup. I hope this is helpful. It is hard and costly to acclimate your child to a new school and then transition them to another one once you realize it is not a good fit. read more

Four Seasons Community School - Preschools Near Me - Austin, Texas

After having a sub-par experience at a corporately-owned daycare, I have a better perspective on what okay vs wonderful looks like and FSCS is WONDERFUL. The teachers love my son, and WANT to be with him all day, which is the number one thing I care about. Using Reggio-Emilia inspired learning, they have an amazing curriculum, and my son (2.5 yrs) comes home telling me about all the amazing adventures he experienced throughout the day! The Director is constantly iterating on already frat activities, adjustments to their space, and parent-learning opportunities and as first-time parents, we've been able to leverage this little community for support as well. We just had a student-led art show with a family picnic on their beautiful campus - such fun experiences! The few times I've given feedback (I'm pretty particular), the director and teacher were super receptive and made changes immediately! The owner, Terri, is someone I'll be forever indebted to. As a first time mom, I thought it was normal to have a pit in my stomach and tear up daily after dropping my son at his old daycare: the plight of a working mom, amiright?! Terri, who had never even met me in person, counseled me through tears for almost an hour on the phone --- I realized immediately that my current daycare was the pits and I had to get somewhere that was invested in my child. I can't say enough good things about Four Seasons - the staff, the kids, the community, the facilities -- all amazing! read more

Four Seasons ROCKS! Our babes started going to Four Seasons Round Rock (which has now merged into one with the Austin campus' new location on Adelphi) in January when the preschool they were going to didn't have full-time care when we needed it. We went from a situation where my husband had my daughter clinging to him crying 2 days/week when he dropped them off to Four Seasons where the 2nd day dropping them off she ran inside, forgetting to give me a hug and kiss!! It's hard to believe it's only been a little over 6 months since they started going there (at the age of 2 and 4); the amount of growth and learning that we have witnessed over such a short time is nothing short of amazing! They are in an environment that supports their individuality, nurtures their interests and is truly loving. Our daughter will be 5 in several weeks, technically old enough for kindergarten, and 6 months ago we were certain that we were going to wait a year but now she is going to have the opportunity to attend kindergarten in the loving arms of Four Seasons and we couldn't be happier...if only they offered 1st grade too!! This is a child-led environment, so it's for the more crunchy of parents; they also serve nutritious, organic snacks (while paying special attention to our meat/dairy-free diets) and have even been looking into arranging a food program with Whole Foods...so for the parents who are really interested in instilling healthy eating habits, respect for our environment, a sense of community and loving all creatures within an environment that gets kids excited to learn, look no further...Four Seasons is where you want to be! read more

Our family loves this school and have been a part of the Four Seasons family since 2016. Our oldest daughter has been at the school since she was 2 years old and is now in the Okapi class as a 1st grader. We also have our youngest son in the school as well and he started when he was an infant. We could not be more happy and grateful for Teri and Cindie and all of the amazing teachers and families. Our children have learned so much over the years there and their creative way of teaching has helped our children thrive! They have taken so much additional precautions to keep everyone safe during the ongoing pandemic and we feel so lucky that are children are able to socialize and learn during this time in an extremely safe environment. read more

My son (2 yrs old) wakes up in the morning asking if it's time to go to school. He loves it. Highlights: - Great outdoor space. Very large lot with the usual sandbox, slides, swings and trucks. But also some vegetable gardens, an outdoor music exploration area, balancing stumps, glass panels for outdoor art projects and an outdoor stage for singing songs and dancing! - Water days every Tuesday and Thursday (in the summer) - playing with sprinklers, smearing shaving cream on the glass panels, kiddie pools, water table, splashing and pouring, etc. - Education is structured around themes/units - examples: tinkering, culture, community helpers, home, etc. - Good student/teacher ratios, so students get individualized attention - Singing, reading - Healthy snacks - Active parents - Great teachers read more

Our kid was there for several years. We loved the teachers and the woman running the place. They're very good with the kids, all of whom genuinely seem to enjoy going to school each day. We like the "tools of the mind" teaching curriculum which encourages kids to be thoughtful about what they're doing and why. We're less in love with the comically entitled parents of Four Season's children, who truly and utterly believe their child is an extraordinary special snowflake. The truth is, the kids are all pretty normal, with upper-income parents. I won't generalize about every parent there, but it's a fairly large percent. Unfortunately the school gives in to all their insane demands, and though they're just trying to keep everyone happy, it really does become pervasive when the parents are deciding what happens and when. To give an example, children visited a retirement home to spend time with seniors. Great! However, they were all denied making goody bags with sweets (which is what the seniors specifically requested) because one of the parents has banned all candy from her home. Now multiply that idiot times a dozen (you can see one in a different yelp review who is obsessed with cell towers), they act like this ALL THE TIME. We're least in love with the bizarre Cult of Essential Oils that has taken over at four seasons. The kids, the parents and even the staff regularly talk about them like they have healing or life-changing properties, and have "essential oil parties" which turn out to be sales pitches like Avon. It kinda makes you second-guess everything else. 5 stars for the tools of mind method of teaching, caring teachers and staff, and genuine affection for the kids. 1 star for the kind of people this attracts, and the essential oil cult. If they took more of a stand against needy, busy-body parents and cut out all this oil nonsense I'd gladly give them my full recommendation. read more

Looks like it is time for a fresh review as the one star review couldn't be further from the truth in my experience. Apart from yes, there is a cell tower but last I checked, I have a cell phone attached to my body at all times. Just being real here. -Photos are on Instagram daily -Infant report provided daily -Pre-school report provided at least once a week, more as needed and a response to my inquiry is always provided -Walking children to classrooms was disruptive at our old school, in my opinion so it just depends on the child (or maybe the parent that needs to let go) -I have always been granted access to see my children at any moment, though, I'm resonable in my requests -They provide healthy, organic, allergy friendly foods -Turnover is due to high standards of the Director. But keep in mind that sometimes women have babies, or perhaps people move, or maybe they just aren't the best for our children and need to be let go. That has been my experience with any turnover, which is not as high as mentioned in the other post. -My children are rarely sick. The school has very high standards for health: children wash their hands as they enter the school and they use essential oils to fight germs. Everyone has their own washcloth for drying hands and so on. -The learning and development has been mind blowing to me! We couldn't be more pleased with the intellectual and social development from both of our children. -My baby reaches for the infant teacher every morning with a huge smile, and she rarely even reaches for me when others are holding her. -They have been patient through potty training my oldest. -They have family activities and education nights for parents. I could go on but the experience has been incredible. And you get what you pay for. I don't think it's that expensive compared to other top notch schools. My friends that pay less have complaints. I don't have any complaints at all. read more

I've been looking for an infant daycare in Austin. Four Season Community School is completely unreachable. The multiple different phone numbers listed online lead to a message of "the mailbox has not been set up" or a simple, nondescript phone number mailbox. Any website links I click on for them give me a "database error message," no matter what device I try it from. If I can't even reach this school to arrange a tour, why the hell would I enroll my child here? It leads me to wonder if it's still even in business since there is absolutely NO online presence or answers to my phone calls. WTF? Either that, or they don't want to be reached. I find this very strange. Too bad, since its convenient to my home... read more

Teri and her staff have a wonderful school! They provided a fun, hands-on, nurturing environment for my daughter as was seen through her enthusiasm to go to school everyday. The music, overall teaching approach, attention to healthy food, and spirit of community life between the families and school were some of my favorite aspects of FSCS. Unfortunately, only after a little over a year at the school, my husband relocated his job and we had to move away from Austin. We miss FSCS and have not found a school that has comes close to the community FSCS offers. read more

i looked at many schools when looking to bring our infant son to daily day care. Many of these day care facilities are scary! Stepping stones on Red River has NO room and the kids all looked scared and unhappy when we toured. My wife broke down in tears when leaving.Scary When we met the owner at Four seasons we really were set at ease. We drove a long way to have our son stay there but now have jobs too far away to make it anymore. We really miss it. As you look at schools, first off you'll see that the school is very well designed and bright and clean. Its also got a huge play area. The owner has clear teaching plans and works very hard to hire good people and keep costs reasonable. An incredible feat as its so hard to keep teachers with low pay. Another commentator really trashed this place and they just sound like an angry troll. And with no other links Im guessing they just work for another school and wanted to lower the rating here because this school is so good.BTW all kids get all those illnesses all the time at every school - thats just how it is. And ask your pediatrician about it- its good for them to get sick so they can build immunity for later on. The owner Teri always was available and friendly and said hi. She has a passion for running a school and it shows. After all if the leader is liked, that affects everything top to bottom. Other parents? Who cares, if your child is safe, protected and getting a clear learning plan you're in the top % for finding a great school like this. The infant room is always the hardest for parents and we could not have been happier here. Its bright, cheerful and the teachers are young and full of energy and open and friendly. Many other schools had teachers who didnt even care that you had just entered the room or they were playing a movie on their phone to show the kids so they didn't have to actually teach them! Its scary- so I advise going here and see for yourself- ask Teri about the plans for the school and look in the infant room- Its a great place to leave us working parents feeling comfortable and secure. read more

I'm a grandmother of 3 children at Four Seasons and a former teacher (2 years as a preschool teacher). As an educator (and a grandmother) I think Four Seasons does an excellent job teaching, guiding and creating a positive social environment for my grand babies. I recently read through the tabs (with a focus on the Inspiration tab) wanting to learn more about the Tools for the mind philosophy. As I read through I realized that the ideas and goals listed were things I see very prominently in my grandchildren. The two older children (3 and 5 have amazing verbal skills and I have no doubt that the littlest will follow in their footsteps. Their emergent literacy skills are very well developed and one of the most important factors is they are sooo happy at their school. Parents are the most important factor in a child's life in developing maturity, self control, literacy skills etc. but a good school can give much needed support as a child is learning so many complex and important basic skills. Take a look at the tabs and evaluate if what the information given is what you want for your child. If it is, Four Seasons will be a good fit because the proof is in the pudding and I see nothing but consistency between what Four Seasons says it does with children and what it actually does. And what it actually does with children is excellent. read more