An update! My son **really** enjoyed his preK class with Ms Alicia. He adores her and she really has his best interest at heart. I saw first hand how she is able to tend to children based on their own particular needs and how she wants them to learn and grow in her care. My son is on his second day of kindergarten, though he is in Stepping Stone's after school program. As soon as I picked him up from his first day in the after school program, he wanted to go see Ms Alicia. I can't fully express how much Stepping Stone influenced our family in a very positive way, made my son happier about going to preK - so much so that he was sometimes sad when it was the weekend and he wouldn't see Alicia or his friends. Over the summer, he took swimming lessons with Stepping Stone and he learned SO much. I really enjoyed all of his artwork and how prepared he is for kindergarten. Ms Alicia really helped us prepare him for school - both academically and socially. I cannot say enough good things about our experience in Ms Alicia's class. The front office staff is kind and I always enjoy seeing them in the morning. Ms Connie is very kind and I'm certain we will enjoy Brodie's time in the after school program, where he is dropped off and picked up from school and is offered play time after school as well as homework time. read more

Ms. Shannon is amazing. My youngest son immediately gravitated to her due to her care and attention. She is extremely communicative and would let us know any milestones he achieves. Her professionalism sets the standard. I'm consistently impressed with this school to know that Ms. Shannon and others are the standard that they hire. read more

Customer service is a failure at this place. What I presume to be the owner, surely the manager over everyone else, is always extremely loud with me every time we talk, she's constantly talking over me so she can't possibly address my needs if she can't even hear them. I know a shit load about customer service and this isn't it. So freaking rude. 6 star reviews are likely friends/family of this place, there's just no way. read more

I unfortunately cannot recommend. First day of drop off after 2+ months of email communication regarding my kiddos first day and the front desk had no idea we were starting, so that was fun. The teachers looked surprised when my kids were walked to their classrooms and because admin forgot my children were starting we didn't have access to their app for updates. It was a horrible first impression. Now, I am a very forgiving person so I tried to realize mistakes happen but then I noticed during pickup, my eldest child's class was always sitting watching a tiny computer screen in the classroom while the teacher was in the back on her phone (for reference I did pick up at different times to test the theory). The director never acknowledged me or my children in the 2 weeks we attended there. I guess you would think with the place being on the smaller side she would have noticed a new family and at least said hello. I couldn't dis-enroll my children fast enough. I will say someone from higher up admin did call me after I submitted to dis-enroll and she was very very apologetic so I can at least appreciate that. read more

Between my two children, we've been at Stepping Stone Leander for 8 years. They started in Kim's class, with her nurturing care and attention to detail. When they got to Donna's class, it was evident that she was made to be a 2 year old teacher. Donna is so kind, loving and we felt like we wanted to stay in her class forever! We moved up to Princess' class and we were pleasantly surprised that she was equally amazing. Princess was very patient and understanding with potty training, my daughter absolutely loves her. I would recommend Stepping Stone to anyone looking for childcare for their children. read more

My twins boys are 2 years old and they go to the stepping stone school Leander location. I'm So grateful with everyone there I have no words to explain how much they have changed. they're so active, healthy, and aware of everything. They love arts and crafts with Ms Shannon. She's so attentive, patient, and sweet with my boys. She gives them that peace and love they need. I'm just so grateful for all her care, joy and happiness that she gives them. Thank you so much Ms Shannon! my mornings are easier because of you! read more

Stepping Stone has been the best thing for our family. From the moment you walk in to the school, everyone knows you by name. Our son started in the infant room with Ms Kim and Ms Melissa and even at just a few months of age, grew so much. He is now with Ms Princess and I cannot sing her praise enough. Our son has learned so much in the past few months. She made potty training a breeze and helps support us raise a smart and caring young boy. He also has a peanut allergy and they have been so diligent with his food allergy and epi pen. They are a peanut free campus and take that to heart. Our younger daughter just recently started in the infant class and I felt so at ease dropping her off, because I know they will love her just as much as I do. read more

We have been attending stepping stone for 6 years now. First, our daughter who is now 6 years old started when she was 7 months and now our twin 1 year olds attend school here. My favorite part of the school is that the director, Cristina Garcia is ALWAYS willing to listen us. She works endlessly to ensure you feel confident, comfortable and supported in your child's care. A number of the teachers have been there 10-20 years! This says a great deal about the leadership of this school. If you are on the fence about your daycare, go talk to Cristina. She has truly been the greatest blessing to our family. read more

This school is really good. The principal Cristina really cares for the kids if you have any concern she will address it immediately. Ms. Kim one of the teachers is always here early at 6am. My only issue I have is when I come in I can't find which class my daughter is in. I will say my daughter is very happy when she comes here and is definitely learning for sure. My money is worth it. I highly recommend this place it's very secure read more

I absolutely love this school! Everyone is so kind and great with both my kids. I wanted to give a shout out to Ms. Mackenzie Madry with is seriously so sweet and gentle with my one year old. She has made our experience so wonderful and I feel comfortable dropping my littles off with her : ) read more

Our son has been here for two years (age 2-4) and has been very well cared for. Ms Princess and Ms Donna are the absolute best

My husband and I LOVE Stepping Stone (Blockhouse). Ms. Donna's class is the BEST! She loves what she does and truly cares about her student's health and well being, social skills, and their education. My son is 2 years old and is learning so much at school. He loves his new friends and goes into class daily with a huge smile and anticipation of what the day will bring. All staff are warm, friendly, knowledgeable and caring. And OMG, I love the daily updates/pics throughout the day and the daily reports. I highly recommend this school. read more

Very safe clean school. I feel very confident in leaving my son with his teacher and their staff. I know he is getting attention and some education during the day. He really enjoys going to school and seeing his friends. He gets good exposure to activities and good music. We could not feel better about our decision. read more

My daughter has been there the last two years and it's been the best experience we could ask for. Everyone that works there are so nice and they always know where your child is at all times. I couldn't have ask for a better place to prep my daughter for kindergarten. Branston- read more

First off, I would like to commend a couple teachers at this location. We just left a couple weeks ago and we miss these teachers I am going to mention. Ms. Donna and Ms. Princess are the best teachers our daughters ever had in such an instrumental time of her young mind. Our daughter has been going to SS since she was 10 months old due to me going back to work in person. She first went to the Hymeadow location and did fine, but there was a lot of turnaround and our daughter did not do well. Then she was transferred to the Leander/CP location due to us moving more north into Liberty Hill as well as the glowing reviews, which got our attention. Luckily now, I work in CP and it was just super convenient and on my way in to work. Ms. Donna was the first who had a ton of impact on the growth of our daughter intellectually. Ms. Donna is one of the sweetest teachers I have ever come into contact with...we are truly going to miss her. Ms. Princess is amazing on her own, our daughter loved to get her hair done after she had no accidents for the day. That was just one of the fun times, but the many reasons why she was great for our girl was she was attentive, patience of a saint, amazing teaching skills. Our girl learned so much and we are so thankful for her being in our lives and we will miss her so much. However, I am sure we will see her again in the fall. Secondly, in regards to the school itself, the Director/Principal Ms. Christina was very much involved with all children, knew them by name and is just nice at the beginning. However, on our daughters last week at the school, her name was taken off the check in list and conveniently the check in ipad wasn't working. When we had asked why our daughters name was taken off the list while she was still going to the school, they stated that it was part of their policy. Like couldn't you have waited until after she was gone before erasing her from the list? This was very disappointing as we've mostly had a great experience. Another disappointing event that we had happened earlier, about a few weeks or so before she was getting ready to leave, one of the assistant directors who had a very bad attitude. We are unsure if this was just towards us or if this was a few families. We had an issue to where our daughter wasn't being helped in regards to being brought to the potty, not necessarily being put on it, but being asked or brought in there during a certain time to avoid accidents. We didn't think this was a bad pr too much of an ask. However, once we asked this of her teachers, she didn't have accidents for weeks. When we asked this assistant director about having her teachers try this for not just our daughter, but for all children, this assistant stated that it was against the law that they are not supposed to do, which in turn made us ask for this law in writing. What they gave us was not anything of the law stating that they cannot help them to get to the toilet, but that it was a punishment to do that. Texas HHS.gov site, Code 746.2805 is what they provided, which from where I see it, that it is not punishment. She was not helpful, horrible customer service, our daughter didn't like her or wanted to say hi. That was a tail tale sign of something was not right. The last class our daughter had was the Kindergarten Readiness Academy, it was not challenging her and it was not helping her in anyway. There was chaos (which I understand dealing with a lot of toddlers), but too many fights and incident reports. I also heard this from other parents in her class as well. This is a bit much, but our daughter was only posted about on the walls once when she was a baby, but never again which made us feel she was unwanted. All in all, we would recommend the younger classrooms like Donna or Princess, but do not recommend the older ones or trying to challenge one of the poor excuses of an assistant. read more

Caring and compassionate staff. I enjoy the love they show to the infants and families as well as the inviting and caring environment provided. I love taking my little one here and receiving updates about her throughout her day. read more

Let me start by saying my kids never attended the school. I was looking for after school care that could pick them up and there's only a few options. Almost immediately I got a weird vibe from Helen who was running our "tour", she wouldn't let the kids do anything. Anytime they wanted to check out something she was ready to have them move on. We had visited another place that let my kids jump in to the afternoon program while I was able to sit and observe as well as ask questions to the tour guide. Two very different experiences. Then throw in that Helen just seemed shady I went with my other option. She's called me twice since almost begging for us to be there. She started her first call by sounding like a salesman say "I'm just wondering why you aren't here filling out paperwork today!" I don't trust my kids with many people and this place I definitely didn't trust with them. read more

We love this place! We get pictures of our children emailed to us every day! We see what they do while they are in their classes! At the end of the day, we get detailed reports about our children's day. The ladies who care for our children are top notch! A lot of them are college educated professionals! READ THEIR BIOS :-) These ladies take care to plan out well-designed lessons for our INFANT! He gets exposure to reading, math, science, and even art! Yes! We have art projects that our son did when he was 6 months old! Our older son is in the after school program and, not only does he get help with his homework, his teacher plans fun lessons for him to keep him engaged and learning EVEN AFTER "SCHOOL" IS OVER! The teachers/caregivers at Stepping Stone (Blockhouse) are kind and loving to our sons, they teach them to respect themselves and others, they protect and nurture their natural curiosity, and, most importantly, they genuinely care about them! All of the staff, management and caregivers, are the best of the best! I highly recommend Stepping Stone (Blockhouse) to anyone who wants their child to be in a place that cares about them as a person and their education! ***I'm a high school teacher, I understand and appreciate the value of a good education AND surrounding your children with professionals who understand that as well! Thank you, ladies, for all that you do for my sons and all of the other children in your care! read more

I have been generally happy with my son's experience here. I wanted to get him used to sitting in a class with other kids in preparation for joining kindergarten in fall 2014. He started at Stepping Stone in June 2013. His first teacher was Ms. Alisha and she was fantastic. His second teacher has since moved on, and her replacement, Ms. Jillian is also fantastic. She usually has something to tell me about Seth's day when I see her and she's very open to questions. I had problems with the teacher who has now left because my son would be in various rooms when I would arrive and there would not be a note telling the parents where the class was. I haven't had the same problem with Ms. Jillian, although to be fair, it may just be that I understand the flow of my son's day a little better now. The main office took awhile to figure out billing for us, because my son only goes part time, so there were some tiresome months of incorrect statements, but that has been resolved for a long time now. And the principal was always very responsive when I had to tell them the billing was incorrect. They are available by email (which I love) or by phone. I have never had my son come home to me having been hurt. Knock on wood. I like that my son is welcome to go to class field trips that are planned for days he's not in school, at no extra charge. I wish the extras that are available at the school (Kung fu, swimming lessons) were more affordable, considering the price you already pay to send your kid there, but overall it's probably pretty competitive to what is available elsewhere. I plan on taking my daughter here, too, when she turns four. I hope the team is Alisha and Jillian will still be there! read more

I cannot say enough about these ladies. They have been exceptional to my child and he absolutely LOVES coming to school every day. They welcome him every morning with open arms and are so accommodating. We have been so pleased with Stepping Stone. Best daycare experience. Cristina, Helen, Ms. Kim, Casey, Donna, Connie, Heba, Jamie, are so absolutely wonderful in my book. As well as the rest of the ladies. It takes a village and we are so glad we chose this one. read more

Our children went to Stepping Stone in Leander, for pretty much their entire lives until we recently moved. That would be nearly 10 and 7 years, respectively. We initially chose the school because of its location, but stayed because not only was it convenient, but we liked it. It would have been difficult to leave an objective review (before we moved) - since we had nothing to really compare Stepping Stone to. I can say that it is a quality school, and there are opportunities there you wont find anywhere else: after school martial arts for one. The Kung Fu program is excellent, and kids can continue with the program past the after school/daycare classes. We seldom had issues with/at the school, but when we did they were always addressed promptly. Thank you Stepping Stone for all you did for and taught our children over the years! We miss you! read more

My son has been at Stepping Stone since our previous daycare closed a few months ago. We've been really happy overall with the staff, building, and curriculum. I feel like he's learned a lot and the environment is perfect for him. I like that I don't have to worry about meals, they feed him a morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and late afternoon snack if he is still there at 5. Communication is key for me and I love getting daily updates and photos on Tadpoles. It's a quick, easy way for me to get a snapshot of his day. read more

I have absolutely enjoyed this school and the teachers, let me tell you why. I enrolled my son in daycare when he was 13 months old and I was absolutely terrified. I toured Stepping Stone and it automatically felt like home. His first day was a huge success and I give that credit to the amazing staff at Stepping Stone as well as his teacher, Miss Minda. She has worked incredible magic with my son and I couldn't have asked for a better teacher and caregiver while I am away. Everyone at the school knows my son by name. But, I have to tell you the best part. They caught my sons FIRST STEPS on video and emailed it over to me in the middle of the day. I called immediately and everyone was already aware of what he did that day and how excited they were. Christina is absolutely amazing as well. She responds to phone calls and emails and goes over and beyond for each of the parents there at the school. I would HIGHLY recommend you tour and enrolled with this facility. I'm a cloth diaper kinda mamma with a son who has food allergies and they have accommodated everything. A HUGE thank you to Miss Minda and the team at Stepping Stone. You've made me one happy and worry-free parent! read more

My daughter started at SSS when she turned three months. She has been in Ms Kim's and Ms Minda's classrooms. My wife and I could not be happier. The teachers seem so wonderful. The admin has been helpful and friendly. Very willing to listen. Overall a great experience. read more

First, the positive: Great environment, staff know Granddaughter by name, accommodating hours. Negative: Granddaughter entering Kindergartenafter ( after 2 yrs at S.S) & not prepared. Now in special class to catch up. Cost High turnover rate read more

Both of our kids have gone through Stepping Stone and have loved it. Our daughter was ahead of her class when entering kindergarten and our son is just now heading into the prek program, but has already learned so much. I haven't noticed a high turnover rate in teachers. Our favorite is Ms Alicia. She really sacrifices for our kids and makes sure they're well taken care of. It's nice to know that when we have a hard drop off, that the kids are taken care of and she will let us know they're okay. We're excited for our last year at Stepping Stone with her! The only downfall is the price. It used to be one of the lower priced daycare centers in the area, and it's now average with everyone else in the area. We loved the quality at a great price, but we will continue to pay to get the quality education for our kids. read more

We've had my son here since he turned 1 and it has been amazing. Such great teachers that truly care about the kids and their families. The administration is always quick to respond to any concerns and are very open to parent feedback/requests/suggestions. They are continually updating the facilities, classrooms, and toys. We love it! Totally feels like Stepping Stone Leander is our family! read more

We enrolled our 4 year old and 8 year old in this school for the summer and they had a great time. The kids always seemed happy to go each day and they never seemed bored. The teachers are great and seemed to take a sincere interest in the kids. Both of the kids took swimming lessons there (swimming pool on site!) and loved it. I would definitely recommend this school to anyone looking for summer/after school care. I really never felt like I had anything to worry about when they were at Stepping Stone. We will definitely enroll them next summer as well. read more

After several years of going here, I pulled my child from the school. There were several instances where I felt he was unsafe. The teachers do not seem to have genuine interest toward the kids. Snack time was saltine crackers or some other processed food. The teachers just stand there with their iPads (school issued for the purpose of keeping track of the kids) and do not pay attention to the children. Multiple times when picking my child up from the playground, there were several teacher outside, all with their backs turned away from the children. Go somewhere else. read more

It was fun while it lasted. Unfortunately, we are no longer happy with this school. At this point, we feel like all we are is another check in the bank. Although we like my son's teacher, it's the lack of professionalism from the receptionist/school assistant (who is positively the rudest person I have EVER met), as well as the home/corporate office. We continue to have billing issues (THEIR error, which I can prove through documentation). On top of everything else, and probably the main point, my 4 year old doesn't ever want to go to school anymore. He asks me every day if he can stay home, which I find extremely disturbing in a child his age. You would expect to hear that from a teenager, but not a 4 year-old. Needless to say, I have appointments this week with other day cares and we will be switching soon I hope. read more

I guess corporate never got my messages I left with their secretary, about my concerns, and how the asst director blew me off when I told her I was tired of my son looking like he got beat up. No one ever called me back. Sorry that Yelp is the first time you are hearing about this Ms. Paver. read more

It's taken me awhile to post this because I was so angry about it. This happened last year. My son who was a young 4 and diagnosed with ADHD and SPD by a neurologist spent 2 weeks in this place. The staff simply doesn't have the knowledge and capabilities to handle a child with issues. With my son, his issues can be simple, let him be if he's overwhelmed, don't antagonize, redirect him. I never had meltdowns at home, he had them daily there. His teacher and the director were apathetic and uninterested in any child who couldn't be a sheep in their herd. He was asked to leave. I found a wonderful school at Pathways good shepherd Lutheran after that. Their teachers are wonderful, educated, and it shows they love kids. You'd think at $1000 a month they would try a little harder at stepping stone. I emailed their corporate office and received no response. read more

My child has attended Stepping Stone School in Leander for a little over a year now. I have worked in childcare in the past, so I have seen both sides of it all. Over the past year, I have been very pleased with my daughter's development. She has been going through some behavioral issues, due to personal things at home. I could not be more pleased with how her teacher Ms. Alicia has been handling it and helping me come up with solutions. Ms. Alicia always goes above and beyond when it comes to taking care of the children in her class, and I can tell they all love her very much. read more

Fantastic daycare center!!!! I've had my children enrolled in this center for 6 years. My oldest started at 2 and my 2 youngest have been there since they were 8 weeks old. I can't say enough positive things about the teachers and management there. They are all so welcoming and really care about your children's experience. They all go out of their way to make sure your child is happy and content and if there are any problems at all they address them immediately. Cherie Snell, the Director, is top notch. She's just absolutely awesome....as is the rest of her staff! I couldn't be happier and neither could my children. read more

This Stepping Stone location came very highly recommended by a close friend who has both of her children in the school. We needed care for this past summer and than after school care for our first grader once school started. When I arrived with my husband to tour the school Ms. Helen greeted us with a warm smile and I felt instantly comfortable. The school is spacious, very clean and had so many perks we knew our daughter would love! Ms. Nancy was her summer teacher who we just adore! My husband and I were thrilled with how many events, field trips and special guests that were coordinated for the entire summer. They even gave us a completed calendar that let us know exactly what was planned. The bonus for us, as parents, was that Ms. Nancy drove their field trip bus through out the summer so when it was time for her to get on the Stepping Stone bus after her first day of first grade there was a familiar face to greet her and safely drive her to Stepping Stone. Our daughter still has Ms. Nancy for after school care and it is a daily occurrence that when I walk in to pick up my daughter she has the kids busy on a special project coordinated with the theme they are learning or helping children with flash cards etc. we feel like we found a real gem with this school. Ms. Helen always greets me with a smile and a quick chat and it has become one the nicest parts of my day! My husband feels the same as I and has frequently commented on how friendly the staff is and how nice the school is in general. We are so thrilled. Also, because this always helps, the tuition is competitive with other schools in the area but I feel the quality of people and space puts them above the rest!! read more

My children have been going here for years. My daughter who started in their pre K program is now in kindergarten and is reading above grade level. The teachers and the curriculum have been wonderful. I highly recommend this school. read more

Here's my honest review of this location. My niece and nephew attended for just about a year prior to COVID and I was involved a lot with their care during the time. Stepping Stone is filled with great programs and curriculum, they have a lot on the surface, but they just didn't deliver past that. I'm not sure what went on during the day but pickup was always a disaster. You never knew what room they were going to be in and it seems that they had transferred classes several times during the day. Even the babies were hauled around on a push cart and traded between rooms, I can only guess to keep staff at the appropriate number of children. The mornings were about the same where kids were in and out as other teachers showed came in. A lot of them were very upset. The teacher for my nephew (if it was ever the same girl) always had way too much going on and was obviously as stressed out as the kids were. I asked her honestly one day why the craziness and she confided in me that the teachers were on strict overtime policies and they didn't have a choice once others started leaving for the day. My brother paid a lot for care, and it really saddened the family that the children's needs were pushed aside for the managements strict business policies. Especially since their whole mantra was that children were the main priority. Even the director looked extremely distressed most of the time. There were a couple days my brother walked in and saw she was visibly crying or even angrily speaking with employees in the front office. My niece/nephew always seemed happy being there but my brother ultimately withdrew them because we just didn't feel comfortable. I don't have my own children but I can't with good conscious, suggest others to send theirs there. read more

My son has been attending Stepping Stone for close to 2 years now and I have been very happy with his care. Last week they threw a fall (Halloween) party, free for families, which was great! My kiddo had a blast! read more

My wife and I took a tour of the facilities 2 weeks ago. It was a average looking daycare, nothing extraordinary to be considered. We also toured another daycare the same day that was actually full and set the bar fairly high as well. Slightly cheaper and WAY better school. I believe Helen was our guide around the school. She was pleasant enough but, something was very off putting to my wife about her. She seemed like someone that hated her job but, was smiling while we toured. We both informed her that we were in a time crunch as far as finding a daycare because my wife is returning to work full time. (Later she used this knowledge against us). Sales tactics used by used car sales & door to door sales people. I never thought a daycare would. As we closed out our tour she mentioned that there were only one spot available and another couple was coming in to tour the facilities. It would cost us $100 to save our spot. Thinking we did not have time to think about it or we would lose the spot. So, we wrote the check thinking they would hold it or maybe add it to our first billing cycle. Never at any point disclosing this was non-refundable in any way. By the grace of god we found the absolute best babysitter in the days following. Today they called and asked if we would be enrolling . We said no, we luckily found someone, at that point we asked about our $100. "Sorry, this is non- refundable" we now find out. She took advantage of the knowledge she had against us. Making us feel obligated to make the deposit or we wouldn't have a spot. Knowing the previous day care was actually full. And we needed the help fairly quickly. Absolutely the worst business practices, I will never do business with this company and advise everyone I know do be weary as well. I would advise you to make sure you're very cautious about this place. read more

Our son (6) went to STEPPING STONE AT BLOCKHOUSE for exactly one month, would have been less except we were required to give a two weeks notice to discontinue care. Let me start off by saying the $100 off enrollment fees never equated to anything for us, so beware. I asked multiple times prior to our first payment of all upfront costs and mentioned the $100 of advertisement via YELP and was surprised to get hit with a fee for summer registration (which I was told by 2 different folks would not apply since it was so late in the summer) as well as a fall registration fee (again was told this wouldn't apply since we were unsure if he would stay for fall). I was partially reimbursed some of the summer fee but was told I was given misinformation. Second frustrating incident - upon pickup I asked my son about his day (I always ask his favorite part/least favorite part of the day at school) and he told me he didn't get to eat lunch. I immediately called the school giving them benefit of the doubt to explain a possible misunderstanding. The woman at the front went to speak to his teacher while I waited on hold and said that his teacher offered him a plate and that my son said he wasn't hungry. My son listened to the call via Bluetooth and was saddened and told me he never said that and that and that he didn't know a plate was made for him. I expect direction and follow through from caretakers, have my kiddo sit down with a plate in front of him and give him the opportunity to eat. My son said there was no room on the table and again, he never knew a plate was "supposedly" made for him. Lastly, while the staff is nice enough, my son would tell me some days he had no interaction with his teacher other than him being present in the room. No real connection or genuine interest, it felt uncomfortable and not what I come to expect from a school I'm entrusting my sweet boys' care. Our last two weeks at this location my husband and I coordinated our work schedules so that he would have to spend as little time at school as possible as we did not feel confident in the level of care he would receive and made sure to pack him a lunch each day so we knew he would have a true unbiased opportunity to eat. I highly encourage you to look elsewhere for quality care- this place completely misses the mark. read more