My children have been here since pre-school. My youngest is about to start intermediate school (5th…read moregrade) and my eldest is about to start high school in a few days. Castle Hills is a part of our DNA. The superintendent is a man with more enthusiasm, dedication, compassion and commitment to student and family success than anyone I've ever known. Teachers are dedicated. The curriculum is challenging and the family-like environment fosters life-long friends and memories. I should know, I graduated from Castle Hills in 1992 and still have the same best friends from those days. If you want your child to know they are loved by Jesus and are more than just a face in the crowd, try The Christian School at Castle Hills.

As a 52 year old man, I have recently discovered that their assistant principle is Trudy Elmer. She…read moreis a child abuser and has no business work with or around children. If you are considering this school, be warned that it is run by a woman who has committed long term violent child abuse on many children, myself included when I was under her watch. I will give context below. I was enrolled at Believers academy in the 1980s at which Trudy was the 7th-12th grade english teacher. During my 3 years at that school, Trudy committed acts of violence on me and others so many times that I can not honestly give an accurate number, but I would say its a safe bet that she beat me personally (or by proxy having another teacher do it because she felt like it didnt hurt me enough for her tastes) at least 50-100 times over the course of my enrollment in that school. Let me start by saying I am Christian, and I do believe there is a place for corporal punishment in child raising. But this schools entire staff used wooden paddles (which Trudy and one of her proxies literally broke over me at least twice) and used extreme force and phisical violence for any infraction no matter how small. To give a few examples, the very first time she bent me over and beat me was because at lunch time I was talking to the children seated next to me before I had completed eating my entire lunch. I remember it vividly. I didnt want to eat some part of it and was done as far as I was concerned, but Trudy did not care for that for whatever reason, and she took me in a small back room which was literally too small to hold classes in, and was the dedicated spanking room in that building. and she teed off on me like no one had ever done before. I remember looking back at her while she was doing it and seeing her wind up like a baseball pithcher and swinging for the fences. Other reasons She would beat me included forgetting to turn in a daily assignment, or for talking in class, not having some piece of school supplies (pencils notebook, or forgetting a book at home) Any comment that she didnt approve of was met with violence, and this woman clearly delighted in these beatings. At one point she broke her paddle on me, and made me wait in that room while she went and found another one. I was hyperactive and at that age I wasnt able to follow the structure of the school as well as others, so after she realized her beatings didnt fix me, she made the assumption that she just wasnt hitting me hard enough, so she recruited a male staff member to beat me for her while she watched from that point on. there was at least one other time that person brok e a paddle on me while acting as her proxy as well. Trudy was constantly on watch for any slip up of any kind, and during my 8th grade year I recall a chunk of time where she or some man at her direction hit me every single day for several weeks. I was Traumatized by that school in general, but primarily by her beating so much so that I am still suffering with significant trauma related issues over it. That school (believers academy) was very heavy handed with child beating, but Trudy was by far the worst offender. After suffering at her hands for several years, I finally was able to convince my parents to send me to another school, but the scars from being so horribly abused by this woman have never fully healed. Using the name of God to abuse 12 and 13 year old children is the absolute height of despicable behavior, both for the children she abused, AND for the reputation of any school that would allow such a person to continue to work with children. I know there are others who suffered the same or similar abuse from her, but to be fair an honest I dont know if Castle Hills School is aware of her behavior. After nearly 40 years of holding this pain and anger at being so taken advantage of and abused by this woman, I decided to call her out for it about a year ago via messaging her on facebook. she immediately blocked me wihtout so much as a response, so I do not believe that the time since has changed her enough to repent for her cruel and malicious behavior. PLEASE do not send your children to this school unless Trudy Elmer is removed from this place of access and authority over your kids. I am a parent now, and the thought of my son suffering the way I did makes my blood boil. I have held onto my faith in God and my belief in the Bible inspite of her vile behavior, but I can not in good concience allow this woman to continue to hold such a position without warning parents of her abuse. This is not anonymous, my name is Robert Johnson, and I will talk with any staff administration who want more details, but if you are an administrator at this school please look into her past. I am not the only one with stories like this. I believe Castle Hills may be a fine school, but until she is gone, your students are in danger.

Love Mount Sacred Heart!! Originally, I was put off because we're not Catholic. But, after trying…read more3 other terribly disappointing daycare facilities, I reconsidered. And I am so glad I did. This is the best Montessori experience in San Antonio. It is a great balance of cost and programming. I cannot say enough good things about this school. Mount Sacred Heart also offers traditional Pre-K instruction and, obviously, feeds into the associated Catholic school, grades 1-8. I don't know much about that part since the Montessori is separate. The children don't wear uniforms and those in Pre-K do not attend mass.The children do have some religious education, but I asked a lot of questions and am very comfortable with it. It has led to interesting conversation at my house as we're not at all religious. Since it is attached to a school, there is the option to participate in CYO (Catholic Youth Organization, I think?) activities. Essentially, it's after school sports. The community is great and the teachers/staff are kind and friendly. Don't waste time and money like I did. Just go take a tour of the school.

Excellent Montessori program. The teachers and directors are attentive, communicative, and manage…read moretheir classrooms quite well. The program has been around since 1972 and it shows (both the wear on the facilities as well as the professionalism of the program). The drop off and pick up procedures make getting in and out easy, and if they went further than the kinder year, we would stay.

You hear a great deal about a "family" feeling church but this is one which lives up to that…read moredescription. The current pastoral staff are exceptional in every way. There is something for everyone to become involved in (or not) and it is a growing congregation. The music is phenomenal as is the worship. It is liturgical and the music is rich and vibrant. The congregational demographics has a broad span with many young families, children and teens as well as retired. Abiding Presence supports many local ministries and outreaches across San Antonio. When we moved here we visited a few other congregations, but none felt like "home" as quickly as this congregation.

I have two daughters that currently attend - 2 y/o and 9 m/o. All the teachers are extremely kind…read moreand I love that all the teachers know both of my girls' names. I will say, I have had to bring certain things to admin's attention like needing more frequent diaper changes to prevent diaper rash and although I wasn't pleased I had to say this I was extremely happy to see that my complaint and solutions were accepted with smiles and the situation was resolved quickly and I haven't had issues since. I can say Admin and teachers truly want your baby to be happy here and are willing to not only listen to your concerns and feedback but take action to correct things on their end. And yes, I'm a helicopter mom and it's very obvious and they don't judge (at least not to my face lol)

As a new parent having a COVID baby, I thought putting my little one in daycare would be beneficial…read morefor everyone. Hindsight is 20/20 and I wish I could take back all the time, patience and effort I put in to try and make it a good experience for her. This place not only has high turnover, high student to teacher ratio, it seems like it also sells you this false belief of superior education from the Montessori brand. So maybe you think that justifies a large monthly fee (nevermind their holidays and staff days), and well it's the best of the best it must be worth it. Wrong. Surely the staff must go through more than your typical cpr/first aid 24 hour training? No. Nothing special here. It's all branding. I tried being patient and understanding, but ultimately my reasons for pulling my child was her safety and well being. They don't have their furniture anchored on walls and so they have bookshelves in the middle of class. Well, you probably assumed some kid got hurt. Yep. Another kiddo pushed the bookcase on to my child, falling over on her fingers. Even after that they didn't want to prevent that from happening again because they technically didn't have to, is what they said, but it wasn't enough seeing a kid actually get hurt to make them think otherwise. I had to really complain to make them do something. Another incident was a child attacking my child outside and not responding to teachers telling them to stop. Did my kid's teacher see this incident? No. Another teacher did. They had the parents pick that kid up. Another time, I go to pick up my kid and once I buckle her in the car I notice she had a busted lip, and they didn't have me sign the usual incident report. Teacher didn't see it or even notice it. (You'll see this as a pattern.). The culmination was the same kid attacking my kid again, this time on her face, and did her teacher see it? No. Another teacher did. Let me mention that this incident would not have happened had they followed their own policy, (which is not having more than one classroom outside at a time) and had competent staff (there were 4 kids to 2 teachers in her class that day and it took a teacher from a different class to see it and stop it.) They had the parents come and cut the other kids nails but didn't separate them from my kid. All this goes without mentioning my kid constantly being sick and them doing a poor job cleaning and changing her diaper. I had spoken to the director and staff about my daughter's health condition, which requires frequent diaper changes or she is at risk of an infection that can affect her kidneys. One time I pick her up and she has a diaper full of poop. I complain. Within the same week, after picking her up, I get home to change her and notice particles of poop because they didn't clean her well. I send an email to all involved about it, but then my daughter had to be hospitalized because, you guessed it, she got an infection. Maybe you can take this knowledge and go to a daycare that's more affordable and will probably give you the same experience. At least your wallet will thank you. All I can say is now my daughter is thriving at home because she isn't getting hurt or sick. She is developing better because I actually interact with her, unlike a time when I saw on camera her teacher completely ignore her when an activity was set up, and no effort was made to bring my daughter over to learn. Do yourself, your sanity, and your wallet a favor and don't go here. Don't buy into all the influencer romanticizing Montessori aesthetics. All they do is say their script,"oh we apologize...we understand...", but there is no change. There is no striving to be better, to stay on the ball. Their words are empty of proactive action, or any action at all. The previous posts and pictures are dated, and those people aren't there anymore. So anything that was said before being nice is no longer applicable.

I can't say enough good things about SLES. In her first semester, our 3 year old is turning into…read moreone polite and mindful little lady. All of her teachers and other staff members have such a concern for our entire family that this school has felt like home from day one. I will be sending our new son to SLES when the time comes. This has been the best educational experience we could have dreamed for with our family.

We absolutely love SLES! I honestly have not one single complaint! We are so happy we found such an…read moreamazing community for our son (PK3). He loves going to school, has met amazing friends and teachers who cherish him and his sweet personality. He is also involved in an after school enrichment program -gymnastics and absolutely loves it and the coach! This is such a loving and special place. When my daughter, who doesn't even go to the school yet, was sick and in the hospital, I can't even begin to tell you how many people reached out to us with concern and love, asking how she was doing and if there was anything they could do to help. We truly feel special and loved here, and the education my son is receiving is top notch! What more could you ask for?

We absolutely love Mavericks. We have seen our daughters…read morethrive here thanks to the amazing staff and facility. Coach Hannah, Coach CiCi and Coach Mo have really developed both our children's gymnastics skills with their collective patience, kindness, and expertise. We would also like to note that the classes are very well structured.

Mavericks gymnastics is a great place to introduce your child to gymnastics. My athlete is only 3…read morebut she loves coming to the gym and also seeing the older and more tenured kids practicing. They are centric, provide great value and plenty of parking and the staff is very professional and friendly. I have been pleased with our experience and recommend them to anyone looking for a new gym for their child. They offer parents night out programs and camps.

Ivy Crest Academy has treated my daughter Maya so good! She started at 16 months and has been…read moreloving it since. The teachers are true sweethearts and the staff is always attentive to the kids. My daughter has learned so much thanks to their curriculum and they've exposed the kids to a lot of fun activities throughout the year. My niece and daughter both went here together and enjoyed bonding daily because of the teachers. We're very sad to be leaving but we are beyond grateful as first time parents that this facility took such amazing care of my daughter!

Excellent daycare. The staff is very friendly and willing to help. My granddaughter Georgie…read moreenjoys her time there and I am confident I am leaving her in good hands Melissa R.

We love this school! Our kids are learning a lot, and they cater to their needs. They are not just…read morea day care but a place for my children to grow and learn.

I highly recommend Lil Friends Dayschool: caring Owners Sarah and Ross Moore; awesome teachers,…read morewell-planned curricula incorporating STEAM; fresh, homemade meals, daily communication with pictures and videos of daily activities via the Brightwheel app.! A fun, safe, educational environment for infants-pre-K.