From the beginning, we informed Small Blessings Christian Preschool that our son had a speech delay and could experience related behavioral challenges. We were aware he might struggle with transitions and were ready to work with the school to support him.
During his time there, our 3-year-old had issues such as not following directions, running off, and acting out. Instead of working on the collaborative strategies we discussed or trying to understand why these behaviors were happening, the school often asked us to pick him up early and said they couldn't manage his needs.
When we asked staff if they knew what triggered his behaviors, the answer was consistently that there was "no reason" or "I don't know." We've since learned from other educators and professionals that there is always a reason behind a child's behavior. That response was concerning and showed a lack of understanding in how to identify and address those reasons.
Even one of their substitute teachers, Michelle, observed that his so-called "aggression" was actually him trying to play with other children--not being mean. This reinforced what we and others already believed: his behavior was misunderstood rather than intentionally harmful.
Staff members described our son as an outcast and said other children were "afraid" of him. Hearing this was heartbreaking and raised serious concerns about how inclusion and emotional safety were handled in the classroom.
Observations by The Children's Cabinet indicated that the concerns appeared to stem more from classroom management than from our child's behavior. We later learned that other families had similar experiences.
We frequently left feeling judged and discouraged. After discussions with family, his speech therapist, The Children's Cabinet, and other schools, it became clear that our son is not aggressive. Professionals suggested his behavior may have been a response to feeling excluded or misunderstood--not intentional aggression.
We also want to add that we waited to write this review so we could fully understand what was going on with our child's behavior. Since leaving Small Blessings and enrolling him in another school, he has not had a single incident of the so-called "aggression." He has been thriving. That alone speaks volumes and strongly suggests that the issue was not our child, but the environment and lack of appropriately trained staff to support him.
If a school struggles to support children with developmental challenges, we believe they should be transparent about what they can and cannot handle instead of allowing families to enroll under false expectations. We were on the waitlist for a long time with the understanding that Small Blessings would be a supportive environment regardless of where our child was developmentally.
The school also told us that some parents had considered withdrawing their children because of ours, suggesting their encouragement for us to leave may have been driven more by parent retention concerns than by our son's well-being.
In other environments--at home and during structured activities--our son shows cooperative, positive behavior. This further reinforces that he likely felt unsafe or unsupported in that setting, which contributed to his challenges.
After withdrawing him, we were given incident reports, a copy of the handbook outlining suspension and expulsion policies, and papers on how to handle a child who hits. It was disappointing to receive guidance on managing behaviors that the school itself struggled to address effectively.
We're sharing this because there are no other public reviews describing experiences like ours. Others may be afraid to speak up, but through word of mouth, we've learned that other families have faced similar situations. Our goal is simply to help parents make an informed decision.
If your child has no developmental delays and fits a more typical classroom mold, this school may work well for you. However, if your child has developmental, behavioral, or communication challenges, we would not recommend this program.
We encourage parents to do thorough research and proceed with caution when considering enrollment.
We are relieved to have moved on and are grateful to see our son thriving in a more supportive environment.
In our experience, Small Blessings Christian Preschool was not equipped to support children with speech delays or related behavioral needs. read more
