I scheduled a tour and showed up and no one was there and I tried called three times and no one answered. Very unprofessional.

I love The Prep School of McKinney, and my daughter does as well. We live in Celina, and this location is closer than the one we previously attended. All of the teachers, staff, and the owner are amazing and so sweet with the kids. I would definitely recommend this school to anyone looking for a more structured and safe environment for their kiddos. Of course, when you have children, you tour or attend other schools or daycare centers, but The Prep is unmatched. I may be biased, but I don't feel right paying the amount of tuition (especially in today's economy tuition is high everywhere) if my child is just contained to one room and a playground. The Prep has a curriculum that I believe mimics McKinney ISD, along with a gym, a tech room, their assigned classroom, a splash pad, a playground, and more (They also constantly have parties and themed days/ random activities throughout the week). I know for a fact that my child is happy and comes home smiling every day. Thank you, Prep School of McKinney! read more

Toured The Prep on 11/10 and fell in love with the school because of all it had to offer, put my $300 deposit down that day and was told my child would be able to start in January when there is an opening. Awhile went by and I assumed they were waiting for a spot to open and finally decided to call. First call, I'm told she needs to check what day will work and call me back. Never called back. Let some time go by and called a second time, took my information and let me know I would be called back. No call back. Third time I called I was due to start work in less than two weeks and desperately needed to know what day she could start or I would have to make other arrangements. Took my information and no one ever called me back. Fast forward to today 1/4, I call and let them know I have made other arrangements since I start work on 1/9 and haven't heard about a start date or spoken to anyone since my initial tour. I understand deposits are non refundable if I choose not to enroll her because I selected a different place, but you dropped the ball and I had to scramble to find elsewhere. First person Jessica told me, "she's on the phone but I can tell you that you won't get your deposit back. I'll have her call you though." Guess what, no call. I called back and Jessica said "oh yeah let me transfer you" Monique then told me "sorry it's in our policy you don't get that back. I did see you called one time but it was on break." Not my problem they didn't relay the message to you and you still didn't call me back when you saw I called? Such a bummer your customer service is awful being as the school was great, in walking distance and planned to keep her there until kinder. Even considered taking her when she was a toddler STILL since I've already committed to an infant daycare but the way this was handled says a lot and she will not be returning. 1/8 and never received call back after they "spoke to the owner" Great job team read more

So glad we were able to get my grandson out of this place and somewhere that actually cares about his safety and well-being!! Only reason I left a 1 star rating is to be able to write a review, otherwise I wouldn't have rated them at all!! read more

What can I say about the Prep...In short, it's amazing! From the moment I walked in, I knew this was the school for us. From the office staff, to the amenities (splash pad, gym, activities, etc.), to the security and cleanliness...everything seemed perfect. Our son started off in the junior toddler class and is now in senior toddler, and both classes have been amazing! The teachers are very attentive and involved with the kids, and I love how they consistently send pictures throughout the day. They always communicate what they did that day, what he ate, even how many times he goes potty. At his old school he always had a bad diaper rash but at The Prep, they change him regularly and document each diaper change. The school is very clean and they focus on hand washing/cleanliness (even before covid) which is huge for a germaphobe like me. What led me to write this review was our most recent experience. We took a break for a few months due to Covid so my son fell behind in his language development. I expressed this concern to them and that same day they started working more with him and are giving us updates on his progress. Words can't express what this means to me. They didn't dismiss me...They care enough to take that extra time with him and send us those updates. The office staff is also amazing. They communicate with us so well and are always happy to answer my questions. I've been impressed with their involvement with the kids too. They genuinely care! They have handled this covid thing so well by communicating and enforcing measures to ensure everyone is safe. We are so so impressed with this school, and it's worth noting; My sister sends her 4 year old son there too and has had an equally positive experience. We feel comfortable leaving our kids there and have not had one red flag this entire time. They both love it there, and so do we! Thank you Prep for taking good care of my son and my nephew!! read more

Both of my kids have been students at the Prep from tiny toddlers to pre-K. It's always been clean, fun, safe, and the curriculum better than any other comparable preschool. It's not a daycare by any means. My kids are mentally and physically engaged through the day and always come home happy to talk about it. Highly recommend. read more

We love The Prep! We toured many facilities and had two personal referrals to the Prep prior to registering (this was our first daycare experience). Our toddler started at The Prep January 2023 and we have been impressed at the level of care and compassion from everyone at The Prep. The teachers cross-cover each other's classrooms and this has lead to creating a family-like feel between teachers and our toddler and we couldn't ask for more! There are numerous updates throughout the day everyday and that helps us as parents feel present in their kiddos days at school. As parents, we are very protective and want what's best for our child and it takes unified collaboration between parent and any daycare/school to ensure a child is well-cared for. The Prep staff has listened and acknowledged any need or concern we had as parents and we are grateful to have our little one at The Prep! read more

When our child began attending the PREP back in 2021, we were amazed with the quality of directors, teachers, and care that our son received. We were greeted when we came through the door, no matter if the administration staff was on the computer, in the office, etc. My son enjoyed coming to school. The administrators knew his name, our name, etc., and really made a point to make him feel special. He loved coming to school, and his infant 1&2 teachers (Ms. Hailey) were/are absolutely amazing. Their communication with parents was fabulous, and we always felt at ease knowing our son was in the best of care while we were at work for the day. Seeing as my husband and I are both teachers, we withdrew our son for the Summer since we were both home. Fast forward to August 2022 when we re-enrolled our son, there was a quick shift in not only the atmosphere at PREP, but our son's attitude about attending school. The only member of the administration that was still there when we returned was Ms. Jeanie, who we absolutely LOVE. She has a true heart for children and knows each child by name, as well as the members of their families. She was always the first (and probably only) of the current administration who would check on our son if he was upset in the morning. The remaining administration is impersonable and I feel like had no idea who my son was. The biggest complaint my husband and I have had is the fact that PREP does not consistently inform parents about when their child is hurt. There have been a few instances where our son would get hurt, and we wouldn't find out about it until the following day (if even). There was one instance where I picked up our son, and I noticed a horribly dark and swollen bite mark on his wrist when we got home. I know that this is an extremely common occurrence of children his age, however, my issue is with how it was handled (or lack thereof). My husband had to call the PREP to find out what happened, and spoke with one of the administrators at the front. She had no idea what had happened, and had to call our son's teacher to get more information. Come to find out, our son had been bitten that morning by another student and they had failed to "give us the incident report". I'm not sure why this wasn't reported to me when I picked up my son for the day, but instead I was told by his teacher that "he had a great day". To this day, we were still never given an incident report. Biting is a HUGE issue at this daycare; our son was getting bit almost every single day, and he is still sporting a bruise from a horrible bite on his arm he got a week ago. The communication regarding our child's well-being while at this school was concerning and unacceptable. I honestly do not know how well the children were being monitored, because there were many instances when my husband or myself would pick our son up and the teacher wouldn't be paying attention to the students. Another subject of concern for my husband and I is the sanitary precaution/food preparation. We were sent a photograph of our son where they had slapped a piece of cheese directly on the filthy table; no plate or napkin in site. My issue with this, is that A: he was eating off of a table that was dirty with germs AND/OR B: he was eating from a table that had cleaning solution on it. There were a few instances were food portions were an issue. One day they placed an entire burrito on his plate and didn't bother to cut it up. My one-year-old does not have experience with eating portions this large and this posed a severe choking hazard for him. Then, instead of cutting it up into bite sized pieces for him, they threw it away and left a comment that he did not eat. My child does not skip meals, he loves to eat. He just didn't know how and they chose not to accommodate my one year old and expected him to eat a full burrito on his own. From my understanding, it is an expectation that they are to cut up the food into acceptable pieces for him to eat. We had mentioned this to the staff before, yet they were still giving him pieces that were too large, and posed a choking hazard. During our son's last week at PREP, he developed a horrible diaper rash- the first time he has ever had diaper rash since he has been born. They consistently failed to put the diaper cream that remained in his daycare bag, ALL AUGUST, until it was too late. Our son is still in excruciating pain, and is still on the mend from their negligence of applying diaper cream, which is also an expectation. Teachers (and administration) are fleeting from this place at an alarming rate, and I think that says something about how this daycare is ran. I have also spoken to many different parents who are becoming frustrated at how things are now being ran at PREP as well, and have began looking into other places. Please, save yourself (and your child) the heartache of this terrible place, and find somewhere that will love and take care of your child while you are at work. read more

This review is probably long overdue. We just hit our one year mark at The Prep, so I feel I have had plenty of time to form an opinion. My wife & I agree that moving our son (now about to turn 4) to The Prep was the best thing we could have done for both him as well as us. We were at another preschool, but we were not pleased with some certain aspects. After seeing how things can be done at The Prep, I now understand the difference between a daycare and a preschool. The Prep is strongly tied to curriculum that has my son learning beyond what most kids his age are. We have had multiple friends and family members who work in education that have expressed how impressed they are with our son's advancements. They all comment how he is years beyond what he should be at this age. Perhaps he is a genius, and he would be doing well no matter where he is? That is one perspective to take. I, however, choose to give all the credit to The Prep. The learning is not just limited to life skills. The students learn reading, English, science, and other skills in addition to the normal things like manners and life operations (teeth brushing, etc). We have had a few different teachers who have all been great, but I have to single out one particular teacher. Ms. Yvette has been with our son now in two separate classes (Jr. Preschool & Preschool 2). Ms. Yvette has a genuine concern for every aspect of his life. She is quick to update on us everything (good & bad). At a previous preschool, I always felt there was more going on that what we were told. I do not have that feeling at all with Ms. Yvette and The Prep. I trust every decision they make, and they keep the parents informed at all times. I'm sure all of the teachers are fantastic, but I truly hope Ms. Yvette moves to a different class like the students do at times (wherever our son happens to be). On occasion, we speak with other parents (school events, birthday parties, pickup/dropoff), and it is amazing the high percentage of satisfaction that all parents have for this place. It is such a relief to my wife & me to know that our son will be in good hands until he starts kindergarten. A huge THANK YOU goes out to all involved with The Prep from our family to yours! read more

The Prep is TOP notch. The school is clean and fun inside, the staff is amazing and care about your kids and they go above and beyond in every way. They are teachers, not babysitters. My son has blossomed there and I feel 100% confident he is well cared for and stimulated throughout the day. Quick story: I just dropped my son off at school this morning and he was in a terrible mood. He woke up that way and I made the teacher aware when I dropped him off. Instead of nodding and continuing what she was doing, even though she had a group of kids around her, she got up and knelt down beside my son to ask about his morning and what happened and to listen and really hear him. Simple yet so powerful. I got a photo a little later of him having fun and smiling. This is honestly just one of a million times they have shown me what type of school and staff they are. HIGHLY recommend. :) read more

This is a formal review of the prep at panthers Creek. My child learnt back manners from the other wild kids in class. With lack of teachers in big class sizes we had bruises, scratches and water bottles missing from class. What a nightmare. My child got written up once after picking up bullying from the other kids. Also got severe ear infections several times. Lack of cleanliness and hygiene maybe the cause. Got fed up and left. Doing much better at his new day care. Night and day. Not worth the money. Dont give a crap and just want you to leave if you child struggles. read more

I feel compelled to share my original review (from 8/19/16 on the Facebook page) here as well after reading some other reviews. We can most definitely all agree to disagree and that we all have different experience but lets remember that we can always look up CPS reports, lawsuits, settlements, etc on the state website. This is all public accessible information. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! YOUR KIDS ARE WORTH IT! We were enrolled at the school during the exact same period. I received calls probably on a daily basis regarding one of my children and his behavior issues and I had no issues whatsoever meeting management, the owner or seeing videos when I requested. They were an open and honest book. The Prep has at least 3 different numbers to call in so there is no reason whatsoever that you are unable to get in touch with anyone there. Here is my original review... I have waited a long time to write this review. Today is my older son's last day at The Prep. He stats K on Monday. I can say with 100% certainly that he wouldn't be the person he is today without the love, guidance and help of every staff member at the prep. Everyone there is a cheerleader for both my kids and truly wants them both to succeed. My older son isn't easy. In fact, he is probably by far the most challenging child to ever walk through those doors. Between behavioral issues and his ADHD, the staff had their hands full. Some days were better than others and there were a lot of tears for not only my son but for us as parents are well. The staff always worked with us. Every time I thought they were going to tell me that we needed to find another school they gave me a hug. They were honest with me and it took me a long time to understand and appreciate their position. They constantly went out of their way for us always coming up with solutions to help, advice, and sometimes something as simple as a much needed laugh. My son thrived there and I'm ecstatic to see how my younger one grows in the next few years as he prepares for K. No kid is perfect and mine certainly are not. If you want a patient and loving environment no matter the circumstances I highly recommend The Prep. read more

My daughter has been going to school here for a little over 2 years now, and we absolutely love this establishment. The school is very clean, safe, and organized. The director, Candace, is very passionate about the children and very attentive to parent's questions and concerns. You can tell she genuinely cares about her job and her positive attitude radiates through out the establishment. The staff has always been very friendly, professional, and caring towards my daughter, always calling her by her name and making her feel special and acknowledging her coming in the mornings and leaving in the evenings. They have fun activities for the kids to do in the summer with splash pad days, soccer shots, and other fun themed days. My daughter looks forward to going to school and getting to see her friends. I highly recommend this daycare to anyone looking for a trustworthy place to take their children. read more

To whom it may concern, After a lot of thinking and discussion we decided to withdraw our son from PREP School of Mckinney starting April 2016. A couple of months ago we started noticing a change in his behavior and started to get complains from his teacher on almost a daily basis. Although, when our son came home with scratches and bites we never got any reports from school. I decided then to make unannounced visits to the school in different times and days to observe the class on the monitors. I rapidly realized that many times my son was only replying, or responding to the provocative behavior from his peers. I asked for meetings regarding watching videos from my son's class starting in January 2016. Several weeks passed and nobody contacted me. Again, I went to the school showing my concern about my son's behavior, and at this point he'd started refusing to go to school in the mornings. He was coming back from school unhappy and complaining, and his teachers insisted saying that my son didn't know how to express himself. He never stopped expressing his emotions or talking with his friends outside the school, he just lost the interest to go to PREP. As you can imagine, our concern was growing day by day since our son always loved going to school since he was a baby. My husband and I were always participant parents, and didn't understand the lack of regular parent-teacher meetings about the children's progress, like we were used to at the prior school. When we were able to talk with the teacher at the classroom, we almost always only got complains about my son. The last meeting I requested regarding watching the videos about my son's agressivity was March 9th. Both teachers and the director were present at this meeting, and I had a friend with me to prove that nothing was explained and no video was shown to me, once again. This alone made us insecure enough to let him continue in his class. After that meeting we made the decision to withdraw our son. We can now happily report that he is back to his normal behavior, enjoying school and all activities. Also, that his new teacher is very excited about how much he can express himself and participates in the school's activities. I wish you all well and hope that no other parent has to go through the emotional roller-coaster as we did. read more

As first-time parents, the care of our newborn was paramount to us...a feeling I'm sure anyone reading this can relate to. I was going to be a first time mom and couldn't imagine how I could hand over our baby into the care of someone else. My husband and I spoke with/toured at least 8 daycare/preschools in the area. Each one had pros and cons but I never felt the pros outweighed the cons and each time we left another one, I had this pit in my stomach thinking "this isn't going to work." Then, after a glowing recommendation showed up on a neighborhood FB page, we decided to check out The Prep. From our first phone call we knew this was different. "You don't need a set time to come check us out. Come whenever you can. We are happy to show you around." This was very different; other schools wanted to know when we were coming or told us when we could come. The first time we stepped in the infant room, there was just a sense of calm (which, as a parent, you know is RARE with multiple infants). The teachers took time to talk to us, answer all our questions and give us information on their backgrounds and experiences but never took their attention away from the babies they were caring for (which I can truly say was not the case at other schools where we watched the children take a backseat to the "pitch"). We chose The Prep and I can't imagine our baby anywhere else. The social exposure and teacher involvement and care have helped speed development right along. The teachers truly care about what's going on (if baby has an "off" day, they are sure to let us know and vice versa). We appreciate the attentive, loving care received and the open communication we have with those so closely involved with the care of our little love. The smile on our baby's face all day is all we need to know that we made the right choice. Thank you to all those who devote their time to taking care of these precious little ones. It is a challenging job and we appreciate all you do for us and our baby on a daily basis! read more

My experience is is regarding my 3 and 4.5 yr old sons who attended. My experience was in the 6-12 months after they opened. I hate writing bad reviews and I certainly hope they have improved since then....but here is my sons experience: İncident: My 3 yr old son was left outside alone with several other students while the teacher went inside for cups and water. She closed the door behind her, and without another teachers supervision was inside for a minute perhaps. My son fell runnjng down a large hill in back. The teacher did apologize and even cried bc of the extent of my sons injury- she admitted what she did was not ok- she said she felt unable to call for a second teacher bc others dont like to be called to help- what?!?! Those were her own words. My son fell and injured his head. He laid down most of the day, from the teachers explanation. He did not cry after he fell but seemed shocked. He developed a concussion and post concussive syndrome per his MD, with weightloss of over 10% of his bodyweight over the next 2 wks. He was sleeping 15-16 hrs a day, and per our pediatrician, We had to keep him out of school per our doctor's request until he gained weight and stopped having nausea and dizziness. He developed floaters in his right eye as well. The pediatrician did everything she should and could do and he is doing great now. Unfortunately, Many phone calls and emails went unanswered in the weeks after my sons injury, and the attitude of the director was initially quite dismissive and negative. Later they switched directors and she did call me back several weeks later. My friend also pulled her daughter out after complaining several times that her infant daughter was not being wiped after bowel movements properly; her complaints went unanswered, without any positive results. Fyi: İ did call the state re this incident. They investigated found them deficient in their care of my son and the school had to make several changes. The Director and a teacher were fired, a warning and i was told a fine was given and the school, they had to do retraining of staff and flatten out the hill in back of the school. One reviewer mentioned that İ was probably lying bc İ did not have a lawyer involved?? İ was MUCH more worried about my sons health and getting him well over taking this business to court which would have been nothing but stress and time away from my then 3 yr old son with post concussive syndrome. As of today on the Texas DHHS Childcare Safety Commission there are two other safery incidents which are not ours. İncidents are made public for two years. The school is allowed to keep operating as long as measures are taken to correct the deficiency. Additionally, on other visits to the school my older sons teacher (and at times one or two others) could be heard yelling at the preschoolers. One morning I heard a baby room teacher yell "Shut up, ur r not dying!" To a crying infant in a stroller as they walked the babies around! İ was so shocked. I questioned my sons director about this and numerous bruises around his upper arms that he told me was from a teacher " squeezing his arm" because he was not listening he said, or did not want to take a nap. I asked to see video and they would not allow me to view it. They first told me they would review it and discuss w/ me. Then, They told me they have no way to review the video feed. His teacher was later fired (the asst director who was actually very nice called to tell me this). She said thhat the teacher was found being physically rough with another student. İ was happy she called me to apologize for what happened and said she was shocked bc she'd known the teacher for 20 years and this was "not like her". I do hope the school made improvements and it sounds like they may have, if they did I thank God for that. Ill say, this Could be such a great school If they put more into finding good, well trained, positive, caring staff and training them and keeping them accountable. it seems they have great classrooms and modern teaching tools, but caring about ethics and the children needs to always be the first priority. read more

My 2 year old daughter started coming to the Prep just a couple of weeks ago and she is already coming home singing the days of the week and telling me how much she loves her teacher Ms. Victoria. I get pictures throughout the day of everything she is doing, from doing art work, tracing letters, to eating lunch, napping and other activities so i know she is always okay. She is very attached to me so when I drop her off in the morning and she says "bye mommy" i know she really loves it! The curriculum at the school is amazing and i know when the time comes my daughter will be fully prepared for kinder. The management team always makes sure that the parents and staff have what they need and are aware of everything that is going on with the school. read more

I can't say enough about the Prep School is McKinney. Our son, 21 months, absolutely loves this place. He literally runs into the school to his classroom. This place is state of the art and so clean. The Prep just opened in November, but the teachers are very experienced and I actually feel like my son learns so much...it's not just a daycare. They also have decent food here and don't feed your kids a bunch of junk. I'm so happy that we found this school. read more

I have 3 children (4.5, 2.5, and 8 months) who have attended the Prep since January 2015. Overall, I think the school has been an excellent choice for my children. In the infant classroom, my baby girl is consistently loved on and made to feel special each day. She is achieving milestones daily and the teachers are constantly sending me pictures and videos to ensure that I don't miss those moments. My 2.5 year old has been in three different classrooms and I have liked each of them. She is shy at times and they have really worked with her to feel comfortable to be able to express herself both emotionally and physically. Besides all the great things she has learned, they are working to potty train her. My 4.5 year old has an incredible teacher that goes the extra mile daily to give my son the best experience at this age. I believe she makes learning fun and also teaches discipline at the same time which I greatly appreciate. Some of the extra great things at the school are the gym, rotation of areas throughout the day (outside area, gym, teach room, lunch, art) and the splash pad. My kids have really enjoyed the different activities that they experience at the school. Lastly, we pay a pretty penny to send three kids to this school. Overall, I'm pleased with my choice as we've tried Church daycare and another national chain daycare. The owners have recently put new management in place and I think they're doing a great job. Communication and safety are always number one on my list; I believe they are making great strides to communicate to the parents more on things that are going on at the school and I look forward to seeing a more formalized process. I do believe the kids are safe. One other thought. I read the comments below from these other parents. I was sad to hear that a child got hurt or a kids' bottom was not properly cleaned. HOWEVER, I did look to see that the parent who wrote the extremely long negative comment also writes extremely long negative comments FOR EVERYTHING (She said something horrible about our dentist....so I just know she is a negative person and no one will ever meet her standards.) Bottom line, this is a new school and there are certain kinks to be worked out, but do I think my kids would get a better experience elsewhere...NO. Great school and look forward to building stronger relationships here. read more

My two boys have attended The Prep for over a year now, after a wonderful, turned awful experience at another day care. From the minute we walked in, we were bowled over by the facility, which is undeniably the best in McKinney! We loved that the boys would have exposure to different things, like the outdoor classroom, the gym and the technology room. We also loved that they opportunity to move around from room to room, rather than staying in one place all day long. (And my oldest was pretty excited about the splash pad for the summer). Coming into it, I was slightly apprehensive about the fact that the facility was only a year old (at the time), but after touring felt assured that things were going well. My older son's teacher helped ease his transition to the new school, and he adjusted quickly. My younger son was in the infant room and got lots of love, too! It definitely eased this worrywart's mind. Every teacher that my boys have had since has been amazing! (Just to clarify - they've moved up in classes, not had a lot of turnover, which I know is a concern for many parents). You can tell that they really love the kids, which makes it so easy to drop them off every day. My oldest is now in the Pre-K program, starting Kindergarten in the Fall. He constantly amazes me with things he's learned, and I cannot say enough great things about his teacher. In the last year, the entire director staff was beefed up and replaced, which made me very nervous. Like I said, we've been burned before and any upheaval gets my mind going...The new staff has been in place for several months now, and they have already made great changes that I love. We're getting more frequent and more detailed communication, which is so important. Having boys, I'm not getting a lot of details from them directly, so this is wonderful! All-in-all, I'm so happy with the school and our decision to send our boys there!! read more

We've been very happy with The Prep so far. We get constant updates with pictures and lessons and our daughter is so happy every day! Even with the little ones, The Prep is dedicated to a productive learning environment. The teachers and staff are so nice and welcoming. The facility is clean and well-lit. This is our first daycare for our first child and for new parents, they've really set our minds at ease knowing our baby is well taken care of. read more

My son attended the prep for 4 years for after school care. I love this place. The staff is amazing and helpful and the teachers are warm. I recommend this school for anyone. I especially love that it is a smaller environment. You won't go wrong here. We will definitely miss it. :) read more

The Prep school is new, modern, and clean. The school uses tadpoles which is a system where you receive daily reports and photos all day. This is perfect for helicopter parents such as myself. My son is 11 months old as in the infant room. He struggled to adjust at the beginning but after a month he adjusted well and does not cry when I drop him off. We like it and feel like the teachers take adequate care of the children. It is still a daycare and the school is understaffed. There is the state requirement of I think 1 adult for every four children. Parents if you want to have one on one attention at a daycare with your child..it is not going to happen- it is a daycare and attention must be shared between other children. Overall we are very happy and looked at other places such as Primrose Eldorado,Merryhill, The Goddard School, Top of The World, and Primrose Stonebrooke. I would consider Primrose Eldorado as my second choice. The school has a nature center area and age appropriate playgrounds as well as a splash pad. I see the staff use sanitizer diligently as well as gloves. I feel good about this place and hope that you do too! My doctor brings her kids here.(I copied this review from my other review at greatschools.org, no sense in retyping my thoughts) read more