I absolutely love this daycare! The directors do an incredible job of building a curriculum that is specially designed for each of their classrooms. All of the teachers are warm and caring. They are very mindful which classroom each child is in depending on their developmental milestones. They will move them up when the child is ready and always are willing to have a conversation about it if a parent feels differently about anything. They are amazing at keeping up with healthcare recommendations, especially enforcing vaccination, which I greatly appreciate in this era. They are very transparent about any infectious outbreaks that are happening so that parents are aware for each individual classroom to be on the lookout for symptoms in their own child. They use dojo to communicate so that we can see pictures and videos of all of the great learning and fun that our children are having as well as to send messages to the parents. They celebrate all of the national and international holidays, which makes this daycare, especially culturally inclusive. I love the diversity of the teachers and the children, building a wonderful social foundation for my children to experience while they have been here from three months all the way through five years of age. read more

We've been part of SEA since our son started in the Sea Turtles class, and what a journey it's been! As nervous parents dealing with COVID fears and food allergies, we were so worried at first. But the staff promised us everything would be okay, and they were totally right. This place is special because: - The teachers genuinely love what they do and it shows - Our son learned to read and write in TK Sharks (we were so impressed!) - They handled his allergies perfectly, giving us such peace of mind - He was SO ready for kindergarten thanks to them Walking in every morning and being greeted by Ms. Taylor, Ms. Christine, and Ms. Theresa at the front desk just starts the day right. And the teachers throughout the years, Ms. Dianne, Ms. Ginger, Ms. Tammy, Ms. Barbie, Ms. Erin, Ms. Madi, Ms. Christy, Mr. Nick, Ms. Carmen, Ms. Julie, Ms. Paige, Ms. Suko, Ms. Priscilla, and Ms. Parvin have all been incredible. Each one has touched our hearts and made such a difference in our son's life. After all these years, SEA feels like home. Our son loved it, we loved it, and we're so grateful we found this wonderful, caring place. If you want your child to be loved and nurtured while learning and growing, this is the place! read more

We are so grateful to SEA for the wonderful care they provide for our kid. As new parents, it was hard to imagine leaving our little one in someone else's care, but SEA made the transition so smooth and reassuring! The staff at SEA are incredibly attentive and genuinely care about the well-being of every child. My kid came back home with a big smile on her face every day :D Thank you, SEA, for creating a safe, clean, and happy environment where kids can flourish! Highly recommended! read more

We've attended SEA since the pandemic years, and they took great care and precautions. I appreciated that. Fast forward four years, and I am sad to be leaving since my youngest will be graduating from SEA! I don't know who is sadder, me or my child. Taylor, Christine, and Theresa are wonderful to work with in the front office. The teachers are equally wonderful. They take care of the kids from choice of snacks to playground design to classroom activities. They integrate fun with learning! I never have to worry while my kids are there, and if there are any issues, they are very open to communicating and listening. I appreciate SEA so much! I will miss taking my kids here. read more

I cannot express enough how thrilled I am with the outstanding care provided at Scripps Exploring Academy (SEA). After moving to San Diego and attending a few mediocre daycares, we finally found SEA 8 years ago and we couldn't be happier. From the moment we began in 2015, I knew my kids were in excellent hands. All four of my children attended SEA and we finally aged out in August 2023 as my youngest went off to elementary school. This daycare is a true gem, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to any parent seeking a positive and educational environment for their little ones. The teachers here are the heart and soul of the facility. They radiate warmth, patience, and expertise. The way they interact with the children is truly heartwarming. Two of my four kids initially had separation anxiety, but the teachers met them with gentle reassurance and endless patience. The staff's ability to create a seamless transition speaks volumes about their dedication. Even with four kids, I am amazed at the patience and love the teachers show not only my kids but all the kids in their classrooms and at the school. It was incredible to see how quickly the teachers learned the names of kids not only in their class, but those kids outside their class too. One thing that can be tough for parents in the daycare environment is high staff turnover of teachers and administrators. SEA is not immune to turnover but their staff retention was multiple times better than the other daycares my kids attended. It is encouraging to me that many teachers who were at SEA when I started in 2015 are still there today. The educational programs at SEA are top-notch. I'll never forget when my oldest came home excitedly talking about the science experiment they did - making their own slime. SEA's commitment to providing a well-rounded curriculum is evident through their creative arts and crafts projects. I was amazed when my third child proudly displayed a self-portrait that actually looked like my son (and not a bunch of shapes). All four of my kids also enjoyed the changing sections of their classroom. Teachers would often dedicate a corner of the room to a theme that changed every couple of months. My youngest recently had an "outerspace" corner, talked excitedly about astronauts and learned all of the planets at the age of four. Safety is paramount here. The facility is clean and childproofed, offering parents like me peace of mind. The outdoor play area is equipped with age-appropriate play structures that ensure the kids stay active and engaged. I loved hearing stories from my kids about their outdoor adventures, whether it was riding tricycles, running in splashpads during the summer or playing imaginative games. Communication is excellent. The daycare keeps parents informed about daily activities and provides regular updates on their child's progress. I particularly appreciate the photo updates through ClassDojo that showcased my kids engrossed in various activities. These snapshots not only brightened my day but also reinforced the wonderful experiences my children are having. My family was very fortunate to have the same administrative team the entire 8 years we were at SEA. I would never had envisioned that administrators would be so vital to the daycare experience but after experiencing administrator turnover at another daycare my oldest attended prior to coming to SEA, I know why they are so important. The administration team sets the tone for everything I listed above, education, safety, communication and establishing expectations for all the teachers. Miss Christine has created consistency for the SEA and it shows through the great proficiency of the overall school environment. Miss Taylor is both a great administrator and great teacher and she sets the daily positive tone for the school. Miss Theresa is the billing, information, and everything guru who was always patient when answering my questions. SEA is a great place with these administrators in place. As you may be able to see, I have not written a review before. I don't often enjoy sharing my opinion as I understand that people could have experiences vastly different from mine (although I may have shared too much information in my very first review). I have read too many yelp reviews where a restaurant/bar/contractor is labelled "the worst" by one person and "the best" by another. I felt compelled to come here to spread the news about SEA to help other families with their daycare selection. In summary, SEA has exceeded my expectations on every level. From their caring staff to their enriching programs, they've created an environment where kids thrive emotionally, intellectually, and socially. If you're seeking a daycare that truly treats your children like family, look no further. I am proud to have this school in our community and I'm incredibly grateful to have found such a fantastic place for my kids to grow and learn. read more

We have been part of the SEA family for over 5 years. Our two kids have been at this school since 1 year old, and we have had a great experience. Particularly, we think the procedures and decisions that SEA has made related to Covid are very thoughtful. The teachers are very experienced and positive, and the staffs and management teams are super helpful. The school provides a well-structured and safe environment for kids to learn and grow. It offers various educational activities to help kids develop important skills, such as problem-solving, communication, teamwork, etc. Overall, we highly recommend SEA! read more

Couldn't love this school for our daughter more. She's been going here for almost 2 years and has learned so much! All of the teachers and staff genuinely care about your child. Wouldn't choose any other school/daycare! read more

We are very happy of our decision to trust SEA in becoming a significant part of our child's growth and development. Our child was well taken care of from 5 months old up to 5 years old. All of the teachers are very caring and loving to our child. We had toured many daycares when I was pregnant to find the best place we feel safe. What caught our attention was how their rooms are laid out with children separated based on their developmental milestone. Infants are not in the same room as the toddlers who are walking. Each class as they grow also focuses on different learning milestones and activities appropriate to their age group to help them eventually be prepared for kindergarten. SEA is much more than a daycare. They work with the families in developing their children. We were convinced of the place when we toured it years ago and has been very happy with them all throughout the years until our child was ready for kindergarten. SEA also did a great job navigating through COVID environment. They kept the families informed and was following appropriate guidelines. They did their very best in keeping families feel at ease during the pandemic. We are grateful for all the staff and teachers at SEA! Our child has learned so many things from them and had so much fun with them! They really make sure each family will have a wonderful experience with them. THANK YOU, SEA!!! We hope to see you all again soon! read more

Our daughter has been attending SEA for a couple of months now and we could not be happier. She's your typical Covid baby that was born a few months before shut down. She has grown so much just in a short time from saying more words, motor skills, communication and socialization! We couldn't be happier with the teachers and the overall experience. They have wonderful Covid policies in place and we feel very comfortable. We look forward to her attending SEA all the way thru preschool! read more

We love SEA. My daughter has been at SEA since she was 5.5 months old and I can't say enough good things about this place. The teachers have taken the time to get to know our girl so well, and I always feel welcome when we come to drop off or pick up...especially since she often wants to nurse, so we maybe end up spending more time there than other families do at the end of the day. The infant and crawling baby teachers have created such a cozy, warm and caring atmosphere, that it was hard to leave to go to work a lot of mornings last winter and spring! I just wanted to stay and hang out with all the little friends and the sweet teachers. What teachers and director have done with the space they use in the business park is pretty incredible. The rooms are cozy and well organized for the flow of the day. The teachers swap out the toys and introduce new sensory activities regularly, so the kids are always engaged and interested. The art projects they send home with our baby are hilarious, and the mothers' day and fathers' day gifts we received this spring are now family treasures. The facility is big, but that makes them able to really specialize each class to the developmental needs of the kids. I was impressed to hear they have two classes for potty training - one for "beginner" potty trainers and one for "advanced" potty trainers. The director is responsive and confident in her staff. The teachers communicate effectively with the families, and often upload photos from the day on the Class Dojo app. I am so happy we have a spot at SEA and I highly recommend their services to families looking for a loving and developmentally appropriate environment for their little one. We couldn't be happier. read more

I cannot say enough good things about SEA. Fantastic group of people, who really know what they are doing. If you are looking for childcare and if you are in the area, look no further and get in the waiting list about an year in advance. This place has a waiting list for good reasons. read more

Our two boys have gone to SEA for about a year now and we couldn't be happier that we chose SEA to be their daycare! All of the teachers and staff are super down to earth, nurturing and welcoming. It is also very clean here for a daycare. You can really tell SEA cares about our kids. The teachers have the most fun activities in their classrooms every day and I always look forward to all the cute artwork the boys bring home. My boys always tell me they love school and have tons of fun with their teachers and friends. Definitely puts my mind at ease when I'm busy at work. Thank you SEA for all you do! read more

My daughter has been attending Scripps Exploring Academy since she was one (she's three now) and we couldn't be happier. We definitely did our research prior to enrolling her. This school has done wonders for our little girl. Prior to starting we had a private nanny and our daughter was shy, timid, and spoke very little. Now she's incredibly outgoing, confident and has many friends. Our 3 month old will be starting soon as well. Reasons we love SEA compared to other daycares we looked at: 1. Good teacher to student ratios: the ratios here were better than most daycares. Some of the daycares we saw had the same ratios but had much larger class sizes. Yes, the classrooms here are a little small but the class sizes are small. I'd much rather have a class with a 1:8 ratio with 2 teachers and 16 kids compared to 5 teachers and 40 kids 2. Kids move up when they're ready: many daycares have classrooms where the kids move up once a year. SEA moves each kid up when they're ready- for example infants move up when they crawl, and then move up when they walk (children are typically in a classroom for 6 months). 3. Music class: teacher Kevin comes to school every Wednesday and it's one of the highlights of my daughters week. He sings and plays many instruments and the kids sing and dance the whole time. 4. Teachers: I just adore all the teachers here- and so does my daughter. 5. Constant engaging, encouraging and active environment. When I pick up my daughter it takes 20 minutes because she wants to show me her artwork, introduce me to friends she made, and the dictation worksheet for the day. 6. Price: regardless of the price I would have sent my daughter here- however after comparing this was less expensive than most. read more

SEA is definitely the best place in town for my infant. The babies are segregated based on developmental milestones and my son is very happy in the serene environment of the Angelfish room. He especially loves the teachers and is happy to go to school each day and I know he is challenged to learn and grow each day - including lots of tummy time! Would highly recommend SEA. read more

We have been a part of the SEA family for over a year now and have had such a wonderful experience. We recently moved to the area and are so thankful to have found and joined SEA. Between our two girls, we've touched most of the classes and all have been phenomenal. All of the staff and teachers are so caring and we have seen so much growth in our children. SEA is a true gem. read more

I am absolutely impressed with Scripps Exploring Academy and this is why. Let me just say, before I even chose SEA I checked out 5 child care centers. Yes, I am one of those mothers. I have been taking my little girl to SEA now for two years. She was three when she began attending SEA and she really looks forward to going there everyday. Sure, there are days she feels like staying with mommy, but for the most part she loves this place and that makes me and her daddy very happy. This is why I take my child to SEA: a. The children are happy. If little children are miserable or scared at a child care, you can't hide it. The children at SEA are genuinely happy. I can see it in their eyes, smiles and body language. That's not to say it is perfect, there are the occasional crying children who are new and missing their mommy or daddy, but this is natural. b. The parent's are happy. I don't hear parents complaining or arguing with the staff. I don't hear parents talking behind the staff's back. I talk with the parents and they too are genuinely happy. They, like me, are comfortable leaving their little one's there. From conversations I have had with other parents everyone pretty much agrees on the reasons for having our children at SEA. c. The staff is professional. They conduct themselves as professionals and not hired babysitters. The teachers are educated and either have college education in child development or are attending college for child development. The office and facility is organized and clean. This all tells me that my child is not in a chaotic environment. d. The staff is caring. The staff are both professional and they are caring, a unique balance. I really like this about them. As parents we understand nobody is going to care for our children like we are. We do our best to find the most caring people to entrust our children to. That being said, I can honestly say by personal observation that the staff at SEA are genuinely caring for the children. They display a real concern for them. This, for me is super important and I am so glad I found these wonderful people. e. Child development. Child development can't be faked, either your child is learning or not, it shows. My little girl communicates to me what she has learned in my conversations with her. I hear her sing songs she learned in "school" that are educational based. I see her drawing and writing what she is learning. To all you parent's reading this review, I sincerely and highly recommend Scripps Exploring Academy. read more

I'm still mad at myself for sending my son here. This place needs to be shut down. They do not adhere to the teacher: child ratio's and as a result the kids aren't supervised and hurt each other. It's really sad. Parents have let the CA child care law center know and the state is constantly evaluting them. Hopefully they get it together. But parents don't risk it! read more

The director allows classrooms to be filled to capacity, and the classrooms arent big at all. As a result, there is near total chaos with the children in some classes with little supervision. Kids hit, push, bring home bad language and are basically bouncing off the wall. Several of the teachers seem utterly totally overwhelmed, and yet more kids were added to the class every day. When I talked with the teachers and director, I often got different answers about the classroom situation and my concerns about my child's behavior. No one was on the same page. read more

Horrible school, there are about 4 nice teachers in there, the rest are just horrible, negligent and just don't care. Initially we had Kiely and Jaime for the clownfish, they were very good, carrying and very attentive to the kids. Our nightmare started when our kids moved to the shark classroom. initially my kid was bullied by two other kids, spitting on the face , we talk to the teacher (jane) , she said we will get it under control, no the spiting continues for five more incidents. you ask the kid , what did yo learn today, says nothing, you ask the teacher(Susan), does the kid have any problems speaking correctly ( I noticed, the kid pronounces things wrong home), She says ( Susan) " hhhm I don't know!". Really!! . you spend 8 hours with the kid for the past 5 months and you have never noticed a thing about the kid learning/development. The worst part is when you find out that the teachers are not keeping an eye on what is going on with the kids, especially if one one of them is taking a teaching role and asking the other kids to copy sexual behaviors and assaulting them. The kid comes home, talking about penis, pussy, and every thing that sex related, the kids were even showing their privates during circle time and touching in bathroom... all horrible things that happened in this school while they were under the supervision of the teachers. The principle (cristina) , all she cares about is MONEY. she moves kids around classrooms like candy. she does not take into consideration the age gap between kids, you find 4 years old kids with 5 years old, which can lead to nightmares( if the older kids have problems and issues, which what happened in shark calssroom). Make it worst, She will place 24 kids in a classroom with two teachers. JUST HORRIBLE. read more

Our first preschool classroom at Scripps Exploring Academy was wonderful. Ms. Cristy and Ms. Heydy ("Manta Rays" class) were so kind, patient, and skillful. Despite a bumpy second month, our child had a successful first year and grew a lot under their care. They went out of their way to track our child down in his next classroom with gracious good-bye hugs. Our second classroom at S.E.A. with Ms. Ginger and Ms. Dianne (who teach the "Sharks") could not have been more different. At our first parent-teacher conference, we were told that our child was doing well. The progress report reflected far more positives than negatives. The only support the teachers requested of us was to "read" 20 minutes each night, "point out environmental print," and "work on fine motor skills." About one month later, we were surprised when the school's director demanded that our child be disenrolled - one day after she returned from vacation. Just 13 days earlier (the night before her vacation), she had assured me that S.E.A. would continue to prepare our child for kindergarten, despite a recent patch of behavioral challenges. To justify this sudden reversal, she lay before us a 9-page, single-spaced log of misbehaviors spanning the course of 5 weeks. In their personal notebook, Ms. Ginger and Ms. Dianne had meticulously recorded in 174 lines numerous date/time-stamped incidents that were never reported to us on the school's "Accident/Incident Form," as required by policy. Nor were a single one of these incidents conveyed to us by email, phone call, or Class Dojo. Nearly devoid of any positive observations, this log read like a grand jury indictment crafted to guarantee a student's failure - not an educational plan aimed at supporting a child's success. I asked the director why the teachers did not communicate these problems earlier so that we could have taken different action to intervene, as we have in the past. The director replied along the lines of, "Well, that goes to show how ill-equipped this school is to deal with behavioral issues and to support your child." This was a cop-out: everyone knows how to use the "Accident/Incident Form." The director simply covered up what was effectively a hit job against a 4-year-old by two 60ish-year-old women who had decided not to invest more effort to include our child. We were saddened to see S.E.A. act as a business that caters to its teachers more than to its students. On our child's last day, we hired a behavioral consultant from Y.M.C.A. to conduct a classroom observation for 90 minutes. While she saw nothing extraordinary about our child's behavior, she saw several deficits in Ms. Dianne's and Ms. Ginger's methods. In her opinion, their responses to attention-seeking behavior invited more attention-seeking; they failed to use standard cues to help preschoolers transition; they made conflicts more about how the adult feels than solving a problem; and instead of a neutral tone, emotionally charged responses escalated situations. Based on many preschool audits, her opinion was that Ms. Ginger and Ms. Dianne were not open-minded, inclusive educators. I understand that Ms. Ginger and Ms. Dianne are former elementary school teachers; I question their training and experience in early childhood development. It begs the question what business forces drove S.E.A. to hire two teachers who apparently did not finish their careers on a higher-paying elementary school track. I am not optimistic that Ms. Ginger and Ms. Dianne are open to learning. After all, they refused to adopt the techniques shared by Ms. Cristy, who had been so successful with our child the previous year. They refused to implement a simple sticker chart, which the director had been open to. Contrary to S.E.A.'s motto "Developing the Whole Child," Ms. Ginger seemed preoccupied with "kindergarten preparedness." Ironically, our child was bored and underchallenged by her academic curriculum. Our pediatrician laughed out loud at Ms. Ginger's entry in the nine-page log: "I felt threatened by [our child's] look & action." This was the same woman who coolly answered, "Oh, I've seen it all," when I tried to explain on back-to-school night that my child had big feelings, as many four-year-olds do. Our experience is not unique. At a birthday party, I casually asked another parent how the school year was going, she replied, "It's fine, but Ms. Ginger seems to be losing patience." While one might argue reasons for the result, there is no way to rationalize the process of how our child left S.E.A. While not every school can serve every child, any classroom within any school should serve children before teachers. Parents, who are paying customers, should feel their children are fairly treated. I learned that sending your child to S.E.A. is a crap shoot, depending on which teachers you get. read more

I was a little apprehensive as I felt the security wasn't quite as good as it could be but in the end this was a great experience. My only recommendation to SEA would be to build a taller fence, upgrade your security locks etc... these are way too easy to bypass. My son improved so much in such a short amount of time. the growth that he demonstrated in less than a year was incredible. The staff is really helpful and nice, and genuinely care about the kids. big shout out to Ms Taylor and Ms Diane who did a wonderful job with my little man! can't thank you two enough :) read more

I was recommended by a friend to Scripps Exploring Academy. It was the best move for my daughter. As a teacher, the daycare works with my schedule. I am not charged when my school is not in session. Every other establishment charges at a min. half price. My husband schedule is also constantly changing and Scripps is extremely flexible working with us. We had gone to another daycare that was extremely clean with the best toys yet gave us a terrible time when it came to our schedule even though they claimed in the beginning that they were ok with it. The care: I am so extremely happy with the care that we receive. The teachers are playing and interacting with the children, they give daily feedback, and overall care about the kids. Everyone knows all the children's names even if the kids are not in their class. The academics are top notch as well. By two, my daughter knew her letters and colors. The daycare also has daily art as the children are older and a potty training class to help with the transition. Overall, I am extremely happy with the decision to send my daughters here. read more

We are a military family so it was VERY VERY important that we picked a preschool that met ALL our needs! Scripps Exploring Academy is AMAZING! My 3 1/2 is in the Seals classroom and has done wonders. Christine, the lead, is very helpful and registration was super easy. Teresa their book keeper goes OVER AND BEYOND to make things work out, everyone is super nice. My daughter LOVES the animal pets they have at the school and we LOVE the class she is in. We get a progress sheet everyday and a week schedule to help continue the learning at home. I cannot express enough how much we enjoy it and feel right at home. Trust me we researched and checked out 6 different preschools and Scripps was our pick. read more

If we could give 10 stars we would. We have been with SEA for 6 years and 2 kids. The teachers and staff are amazing, especially right now during COVID. They do such a great job, I feel totally safe with my child being there. Ms. Taylor and Ms. Christine really care about their students and are approachable. They even took the time to set up a special program when our little one was having an "issue", and we worked through it together. Highly recommended!! read more

We have sent two children to SEA and have had a very positive experience. Our oldest started in the Dolphins (Ms. Julie and Ms. Priscilla) and learned so much there, it was an excellent environment for her first preschool experience. She developed so quickly and learned an incredible amount. From there she moved to the Sharks with Ms. Dianne and Ms Ginger, they both showed such amazing investment in her development. The daily questions to start their day thinking were great, and we always felt so informed with how her day went. They have a daily color code chart for behavior so even if we were in a rush when we picked her up we were able to quickly glance and see how her day had been so we could talk about it as a family. Ginger and Dianne were always open to talking about her progress and worked with us as a team to help her develop healthy communication skills and it has served her so well. She is halfway through her Kindergarten year now and has been so extremely well prepared and continues to thrive thanks to them. She is still lovingly greeted by all the staff there (the fact that so many still know her by name is fantastic) and she's still ecstatic to get to go help pick her sister up and say hi to her old teachers. Our youngest started at 3 months and we felt so at ease with how loved she was by her caregivers, they were also very communicative and always seemed very involved with her from drop off to pickup. We were able to keep her home for a bit but then she went right back and started again with the 18 month Seahorse class. We love her daily letters and artwork, the soothing nap time, healthy snacks, and communication from her teachers. Overall, we have had unique cases with both of our children attending SEA that required flexibility from the staff and a lot of communication from us. One child only attended part time with a somewhat complicated schedule for personal reasons, they could have easily filled that slot with a full time child and not bothered with us, but instead they truly cared and treated us like family. With our youngest we found ourselves in an incredibly fortunate situation and were able to remove her from childcare for about a year, when we asked to take her out and place her on the waitlist again for the future (twice), they celebrated with us for being able to take time with her! I cannot imagine the administrative pain it caused for them to keep moving things around, but they were extremely accommodating. We have had nothing but a positive experience with the front office staff of Cristine, Taylor, and Theresa (who also still greet our Kindergartner lovingly by name) they have truly gone above and beyond any requirements for a childcare facility that we could have expected. I don't recall seeing this in the other reviews, but in the last two years or so they have expanded their interior space and have very large classrooms for the older kids (Sharks and Dolphins) as well as a great indoor play area. They also recently got an amazing new shaded outdoor play area. read more

We are extremely happy with SEA. Our daughter graduated 2 years ago and is thriving in elementary school. Our son currently goes there. The kids along with the teachers are always doing creative/hands-on art projects that are theme oriented, so they definitely learn through play every day. The school is extremely organized, clean and up-to-date. The teachers and staff are very friendly and family oriented--they are like family to us, they are also quick to address any concerns we have. We think Christine, Taylor, and Theresa along with staff do a fabulous job. I'm always recommending SEA to friends with new babies, our kids love it. read more

My daughter started at SEA as her first pre-school experience to get more socialization and for the curriculum to prep her for kindergarten. I am a Director at a school-age child care so when I heard from word of mouth that Scripps Exploring Academy was great, I knew I wanted to check it out. SEA did not let me down one bit. Starting from the tour of the pre-school with the Director, Christine, meeting Theresa who will assist you with crazy schedule requests and is always there to greet you and your child by name as you walk in and out, to my daughter's wonderful teachers, Ms. Taylor and Ms. Dianne in the Dolphin Room. My daughter adores her teachers and talks about them constantly. Even when she starts having a hard time listening at home, I threaten her by saying I'm going to tell Ms. Taylor and Ms. Dianne she's having bad listening ears and she automatically turns her attitude around because she doesn't want to disappoint them one bit. Crazy, right? Also, I professionally know their Assistant Director, Crystal and she is the best there is and will ensure the preschool is up to par with everything while also helping with the infant room. My daughter goes for half days and she never wants to leave because it's never long enough. They get homework packets every week and at first I thought that was crazy but it turned out great because now she was responsible for something tangible. The curriculum is challenging enough that I saw the improvement in every subject as she learned more and more with every month. They track every child's creative and educational progress and do parent teacher conferences throughout the year so you can see something like how they simply drew themselves on their first month at SEA until their ready to go to kindergarten and the visual of progress is wonderful. The preschool itself has its own extra teachers who rotate through the rooms, give breaks, cover the main teachers when they're sick or out, and that's when you know it's a quality pre-school. This means when your child's teacher is out, it won't be a random substitute from a subbing agency that doesn't know your child's name, it'll be a teacher they are already familiar with because they've seen them all over school. They are a nut-free environment which is totally understandable as multiple kids in my daughters class had allergies. I simply introduced my daughter to sunflower seed butter and she loved it the same as peanut butter. They can heat up your child's lunch if needed which makes packing lunch way easier. Each child has a huge cubby for their backpack and nap things and then a little cubby for daily art, worksheets, notes. The dolphin class has a great set up, lots of toys, imaginative play areas, and even a class pet. They do cute bulletin boards and projects with your child's face which I've kept and hung up on my daughter's room. The gifts that they make for holidays and special occasions are ridiculously cute and the greatest things, ever. For discipline, they have a color chart and the kids move their pin according to their behavior so everyone starts on green for the day. I completely support and agree with their method because if the child misbehaves, they themselves have to move this tangible thing and it completely makes them realize they have to get back to green. Enrolling my daughter was the best thing I ever did as she is leaving SEA after the summer for kindergarten but she leaves already reading, adding, subtracting, counting by 2s and 5s, and with better penmanship than she started. Ms. Taylor and Ms. Dianne have ensured me that she's completely ready and I couldn't be more thankful to Scripps Exploring Academy. So I hope you make the same decision for your children! read more

I don't know what this Alyssa person is talking about. She must have had a bad day or something because S.E.A. is amazing. I love the infant class and it's teachers. I always see the teachers interacting and taking good of the children. They document everything and let you know how your baby did during the day, The infant classroom is always clean and organized and the teachers are friendly and know what they're doing. I have never seen 7 children alone with one teacher, and I go into the facility a lot. I am happy I send my baby here and I highly recommend S.E.A to other parents. Especially if you're a new parent. You are always welcome to come in whenever you want and spend time with your baby. This daycare is absolutely amazing. The baby room teachers and environment cannot get any better! read more

My daughter has been attending SEA since she was 6 months old ( she's now 3 years old.). The teacher ratio seems adequate and she has been developing really well. Within a month of being there (7 months), she was using sign language to communicate what she wanted; using "more", " milk", "all done", "eat", and "drink". She's learned all primary colors, recognizes most letters and number, counts well beyond 10, as well as achieving several other age appropriate milestones. At 8 months, my daughter had open heart surgery and returned 2 months later. If we had any concern for her safety, we would not have taken her back. Kids in social settings sometimes get hurt. I would recommend SEA to anyone of my friends or family. read more

This is one of the best day cares in the scripps area. My son is on the wait list but it is worth the wait. They are reasonably priced as well. read more

Love SEA! This was our first "school" environment for our 2.5 year old and the teachers and front office staff made us all feel so comfortable. My daughter loves going to school now. Very happy with the communication, quality of care, and the wonderful learning and development. read more

Love this place! They have an engaging curriculum and playground. They understand kids develop at different rates.

Before enrolled my 3 years old daughter at the time at Scripps Exploring Academy I did several researches in all pre-school in the area. My checklist was,1. environment,2. teachers 3. price. in all criteria Scripps Exploring came out first. I look around some other "really" good and pricy pre-school. All offer pretty much the same but way more pricy. The teachers, Mirs Taylor, Mrs Steffy, and Mrs Sue are awesome, and they really bond with the kids, even the way they discipline them it is in a way that helps the kids to become a better person. Now my Daughter is going to Kinder garden and it is a bitter sweet. Not just her but also I will miss this place and staff. Teresa who works in the front desk and all around is an awesome person and always willing to help. read more

I cannot say enough good things about SEA. Our daughter began going there when she was 10 months, and stayed until 4 years old, when we moved out of state. The outdoor play area is large and amazing. The children have fun every day. There are plenty of toys, but also TONS of learning at EVERY age level. My daughter was always ahead of schedule academically. This place treats your children like family. All the staff are incredibly good at what they do. I love that they celebrate all holidays, and offer lots of activities that include parents. I have recommended two other people to this daycare facility, and both of them have been satisfied as well. When we moved, I was sincerely disappointed that my daughter would miss out on Ms. Steffie's Pre-K program. It is top-notch! In our new home, I researched and toured 12 different preschools before settling on one. Nothing I've found here has come close to what we had at SEA. Overlook the fact that the place isn't sparkly and new. You will not be sorry that you tried it. The price was the best in the area for a daycare facility, too! read more

One year at this facility for both my boys. The staff is great with them, and my kids love going to school. Great, down to earth people. Very helpful to me when my husband was deployed. We all have to adjust to someone else caring for our children, and the dynamics between children and their peers and children and staff. I have no idea why anyone would give this center one star. read more

Absolutely love this place! Most importantly, my daughter loves her teachers and friends. Whenever I pull up to drop her off she gets so excited! read more

This facility burned my child and caused other injuries to her. These were substantiated by multiple doctors, including a pediatric burn doctor, and the state licensing board. You can review these by contacting the state licensing board and speaking to Nancy Diaz. When my baby was just 12 weeks old, I picked her up on her first day only to find her seated in a high chair about 4 feet off the floor, not strapped in, alone. She was slumped over with a zombie-type look on her face. Who knows how long she had been sitting there - she likely cried herself into that unresponsive state. She was alone along the wall of the darkly lit infant room. She had NO spine control and any doctor will tell you an infant should not be forced to sit when they are just 12 weeks old! I would often find the rooms understaffed with just one person attempting to care for 6 or more infants. I came in once to find my baby on her back on the floor with a bottle propped up on her chest while the one person in the room was sitting with her back to her feeding another infant. She turned and saw me and quickly grabbed the bottle and said, "OH! She was practicing feeding herself." I freaked out - a 12 week old baby doesn't hold her own bottle and should not be left on her back to "feed" herself! This woman had no help - there were more than 4 babies in the room and she was alone with them. No bottles are labeled - there are no requirements to do so. You can bring glass bottles in without covers so if they accidentally drop a glass bottle - all those glass shards will fly into the babies on the floor. They don't have a bottle warmer - they use a large hot crockpot and they will hold a baby on their hip while heating several bottles in this crock pot. The crockpot balances on a small refrigerator. They keep babies in swings and cover their faces with blankets. They don't buckles babies in. I arrived on several occasions to find my infant in a swing without a buckle. I've seen babies in their cribs screaming and they ignore them - they say that if the parents tell them to ignore their baby in the crib, then they do. They call it a "parent-led" schedule. They put soiled clothes in the bag along with empty bottles. They don't always rinse bottles and will often just put the bottle in your bag, along with a poopy blowout onsie. When my infant was 5 months old, they told me they were moving her into the toddler class. My infant could not crawl, let alone walk. I told the director that I refused to have her moved into the toddler class. There were several infants much older than my baby who were still in the infant class. The following day, I had a note placed on the counter that said my child was being moved. Again, I had to fight to keep her in the infant class. The sign-in sheet doesn't allow parents to actually sign their name. I arrived on several occasions to find that some other person had "signed" out my child. It was just initials, so I didn't know who it was. Thankfully, as I ran into the room I found my baby still there. The person initialed the wrong line. Each sign-in/out space is just a single line on a sheet and there isn't enough room. Additionally, the play areas outside are not locked. Anyone can enter into the playground and interact with the children. All of these are actually violations of state licensing laws and there were sooooo many more violations. The children are in danger at this facility. The staff is incompetent. They don't realize what is safe and what isn't. They lack common sense to recognize a dangerous situation and they lack the care to fix it. When I told the staff that toddlers and infants need to be strapped in when they are in highchairs and swings, they scoffed at me. They happily plop them into highchairs along one side of the wall and then walk off - leaving the children to feed themselves unsupervised. They also do not have any educational curriculum for the children. They don't interact with them in meaningful ways. They also hired a couple people who were fired from other daycares, including employees who text instead of interact with the children. Now, having said all of this, and believe me, this is just scratching the surface of the issues here, I have reported these to the center and to the state and hopefully, the state has forced them to correct these by now. However, the problem will never be resolved until the entire staff is replaced with people who care. These problems exist because they hire staff members who don't actually care about the children's safety. Now, there were a couple staff members who I felt were nice and honestly trying to look out for the children, but the fact that they witnessed these violations on a day to day basis and did nothing about them, means that they are no better than the rest of the staff. They are incompetent. read more

To start, I find it funny that out of 18 reviews, there are four 1-star reviews (one made by someone whose child didn't even attend this center) and (14) 5-star reviews with none in between so I feel like the 1-star review by someone who never sent their kid should be thrown out; and the other three sound like people with personal grudges and/or agendas because my experience, like the other 14 5-star reviews of people that actually sent their children to this center, was AMAZING...just my two cents on that but anywho...my story... We moved from Florida in August 2013 and my daughter spent her Pre-K year at SEA. Prior to moving, we visited several daycare centers while visiting and looking for a house. Of all of them, SEA had the friendliest, most hands on teachers, and I felt so at ease with their teachers. I loved that they had a garden for the kids to play in and get dirty; and that the children just seemed like they were having a good time on my visit. A couple of the other centers just seemed very sterile, and much more like an operation vs. the warmth the teachers at SEA exhibited to their kids. Once my daughter started there, I knew we had made the right choice. She came home excited and happy the very first day, brimming with news about the class fish; a special project they were working on; and her new friends and teachers. While her class had two teachers dedicated to it, she knew all of them and drop-offs and pick-ups were full of hugs by teachers from all the different classes because they all know all the kids. Her penmanship and creativity soared during her time there and she now loves art and will spend hours in her room, drawing pictures and making cards for my husband and I. She started kindergarten this past fall, and was easily ahead of 90% of her classmates in her ability, and to this day, we still go back and visit the teachers. This school made our move from Florida, and the four years she had spent at one daycare there, so much easier and much, much less traumatic than I thought it might be for her, and I would and have, recommended it to many people I know in the area looking for quality childcare and a place where their children will be loved and nurtured. read more

My 4 year old daughter is currently enrolled at SEA and I could not have dreamed of a better environment for my child. They have different classes for different age groups. They have children there from 6 weeks old to 6 years old. There are nannies there that care for infants and the setting is so calming, with cribs behind sound proof glass, my daughter is in the sharks group which is Pre-K. She started off in the dolphins and was moved up to sharks. Her teacher has a masters degree in child development. I have learned so much from her teacher in regards to how to teach my daughter patience and empathy for other children. My daughter now knows how to write her own name and was just sent home with a Valentine's day card that she wrote all by herself, It said "Dear Grandma, I love you very much, Happy Valentines Day"! I was so impressed. They treat each child according to their learning styles! I feel so confident everyday I drop her off that she will be treated with love and will feel unique and safe. My daughter never wants to leave. They have a daily schedule that they follow, it is nothing like a daycare where a bunch of wild animals are running around. they have free time but they also have learning time and share time. My daughter is learning things that first graders are learning, and I would highly recommend this place to any parents who are dealing with the anxiety of who to trust with their precious children everyday. thank you SEA for making my daughters childhood have meaning and substance and for caring for her as much as I do. read more

I am so upset I let my child go to this daycare. The morning shift may care for the children but the afternoon shift was like having my 17 year old sister watching her. I just didnt trust them. I have walked in and seen 7 children to 1 worker. The toys look old and look like they came from a garage sale. The kitchen if filthy. When you do the tour, they put on a great show but I only had my daughter in there for 2 weeks and I just couldnt let her go back. They say they are "play" oriented but thats aka im too lazy to read to your children or educate them. I just did not trust this facility at all. read more