I will try to give a fair, objective review of my experience with North Star Learning Center, in the spirit of helping other parents who are looking for suitable childcare for their children. In a nutshell, I think this school is quite adequate for an infant up to toddler age, but would recommend another school if you want your child to be well prepared for kindergarten and don't wish to move them after age 2-3.
I also don't believe North Star consistently looks out for the best interests of the children, and instead often puts its own interests first at the children's and parents' expense. That is the primary reason I chose to leave.
There are some definite pros and cons to this center:
Pros:
1. The building is updated, large, bright and airy, with colorful decorations in the halls and classrooms as well as the kids' artwork regularly on display, which creates a cheerful atmosphere. The classrooms are also large and spacious.
2. The center is conveniently located if you live in east Richardson, Murphy or even Wylie. It is close to George Bush Turnpike and Renner Road.
3. The teachers for the infant classroom up through age 2 were mostly kind, friendly and seemed to enjoy spending time with the kids.
4. The teacher turnover seems low, (though I of course don't have official numbers). I believe this indicates that the teachers are happy working there, which is important.
5. The school has a separate library with quite a selection of books, and the library teacher is a favorite of many of the kids- very friendly with a warm personality.
6. Teacher-student ratios are low, at least up to age 2. Ratio in my child's class was 2 teachers to 8-9 students.
7. The school works to plan fun activities during the year, such as water days on Fridays during the summer and Trunk or Treat at Halloween. However, parents have to provide all supplies for the events- none of this is supplied by the school.
Cons:
1. This school is on the higher end price-wise compared to just about every other daycare or preschool in the area, with little additional offerings to substantiate the higher price.
2. The school closes for a full 3 weeks out of the year (in addition to regular holidays and additional in-service days), and gives no reduction on tuition. They close for a full week in August for "teacher in-service" (despite the fact that the teachers are not accredited or certified in any way and neither is the school), as well as a full 2 weeks in December. This presents a substantial challenge for working parents.
3. While the school will not provide breakfast, lunch or even one snack, they will purchase pizza or chick-fil-a 2 days a week for $10 provided by the parents. I personally don't think this is in the children's best interest. Most other schools offer at least one healthy snack if not lunch as well.
4. There is no defined curriculum beyond scheduled activities throughout the day, such as library, art, etc. The teachers do not create any sort of lesson plan, nor do they offer conferences to parents to discuss the child's progress unless requested by the parent. There is minimal individual attention given to each student.
5. The children in my child's class (ages 1-2) do not nap until 1pm or later most days, and 8
In the age 2+ class they do not nap until 2pm or later. This is much later than I feel is appropriate for this age and again I believe relates to serving the interests of the school and teachers over those of the children.
6. Several requests I made for things related to my child's care were initially agreed to and then were consistently not followed or ignored. I had to send multiple reminders and was told yes, they would comply, and again they weren't followed and the director offered no reasoning other than to say "ok I'll remind the teachers" and then they continued to ignore it. Very frustrating.
7. Teachers, staff and parents have not worn masks since March 2021 despite the ongoing risk of COVID-19.
My child has also gotten sick quite often (4-5 times since turning one) but I think that's part of the risk of sending a child to daycare/preschool. However, the fact that no masks are required by anyone entering the building presents a significant additional risk.
All in all, I would rate North Star a 5/10. I believe many parents will find they can get a better education for their child and value for their money elsewhere, when comparing North Star to other options in the area. read more
