Stepping Stones Academy

Pretty good preschool for my 4 yr old. Carmen answers your questions, she's on point, and is always there. Virginia and Sara, teachers of my daughter, are very caring and sweet. This place has AC all day for the children. They offer build it club, water play, soccer, and swim lessons with Leahi swim school. Daily emails and photos on what your child did in school. Overall, I am very satisfied with her level of care there. Yes, I would recommend this place if you live in the area.

I will sing the praises of this school for years and years to come, even though my son no longer attends. The director Charlotte, teachers Ms. Vinalyn, Ms. Michelle, and Ms. Tania have created a nurturing and educational environment in which the children thrive. I was, like most, very nervous about leaving my son at any school, but the daily pictures and correspondence between staff and myself quickly calmed my nerves. I knew he was in great care. Stepping Stones Academy also offers a variety of extra curricular activities for the students for a monthly fee. Soccer, creative dance, TumbleBus (etc.) which the students love. Such a great school, we are very sad to leave!

A phenomenal school that cares about their children's development and well being. The staff, director, and board were quick to assist my family with care and attention since both my children were diagnosed with ASD. Their director was very attentive to my children's challenges and was so gracious as to assist by sitting down with us and helping us with whatever options they can control and resources available. They are definitely a phenomenal and caring establishment.

So I have had now 3 children in preschool at any given time over the past 2 years and when I first was told about Stepping Stones by a friend who had children enrolled I was still a little skeptical because of a huge ordeal I had just gone through with another preschool. We had such a bad experience that I think we were way over protective at that point but the staff at Stepping Stones Aiea was more than comforting. I called one day and spoke to the director Ms. Carmen and explained our situation and how we were extremely desperate to get our 2 girls into a school that not only we liked but accepted under 2 year olds (such a hard thing to find these days lol) but anyway she invited us there for a walk through right away and explained everything we would need to know.When we first started we had an issue with one of the teachers that was from another school, that we reported to department of licensing and Ms. Carmen made sure while the investigation was underway she was never with my children and then in the end she was moved out of the school. Ms. Carmen was very helpful and very understanding.First off I loved how clean and organized the school is. Parents don't wear outside shoes in the school. You take it off by the door or wear a shoe cover. Every afternoon around 4ish you see teachers sanitizing all the toys and shelves, I have seen them literally sanitizing each and every little toy one by one. With so many little ones in that school I feel that this is one of the most important things and I love how well they do it. You walk in at the end of the day and you can just smell how clean it is. Secondly I love that it is locked and you need a code to enter the building. The last preschool my kids where at you could walk in and go into a class all without anyone seeing you. there was a front desk which no one was every at so it was very scary with how loose the security was. I love that I can leave my kids here and walk out knowing that no one who is not supposed to be in the building will get in.My youngest child has health issues which restricts her from eating certain foods and when I was applying for them to start attending I told them about this. I was required to bring in a doctor's note, which was perfectly fine and then they were able to accommodate her. This school does not provide lunch; we bring home lunch daily but they do provide 2 snacks daily. Due to her being in the toddler class, she was 17 months at the time she started, she was given a high chair with her name and food restrictions on it so that she couldn't take others foods or the kids can't share. The director even bought other items of food to replace the food she can't have on days they had the items. There was an issue with the daily reports on the parent post where it looked like she was given food she wasn't allowed, but it was a misunderstanding and Ms. Carmen made it so we would get a photo of her eating each meal to have peace of mind. They really go above and beyond for the children in their care and the parents. You can tell that they love what they do and that they truly are in the right field of work. My oldest daughter no longer attends as she goes to DOE now but she loved her teachers and still talks about them and we had to put photos up in our home to help her feel better about no going there anymore. I would recommend this school to everyone I know as they have been nothing but the best for our family and we are so happy we found them when we did, only wish we found them sooner :)

Everyone warned us to enjoy every moment because kids grow up so fast! I'm horrified and embarrassed that it's been a year and a half since I've updated my review of Stepping Stones Academy. Brooklyn is almost 3 now, and my opinion of SSA is even better now than when I was a nervous newbie mom.We had a momentary lapse in judgment a year ago when we thought we were going to move closer to town after a particularly horrendous week of traffic commutes. We ended up touring 4 preschools, and I realized how lucky we truly are to have found Stepping Stone Academy. Most of the others were dark and dingy. We saw some toddlers running around in diapers. The communication logs between teachers and parents were either non-existent or a handwritten weekly update. The most important indicator was that most of the kids simply looked bored. I left some of these places feeling like the teachers were overworked, not adequately supported, and it took all their energy just to watch a room full of kids.The difference is so apparent at SSA Aiea. The classrooms are clean, light and bright! The teachers and kids are always fully engaged. There is an amazing curriculum in place which is posted in the classroom, emailed to the parents, and supplemented by hands-on activities. As parents, we are thrilled that Brooklyn is not only being supervised in a safe environment, but she is excited to learn. Some examples of recent lesson plans: During the study of insects, the kids got to watch the life cycle of real mealworms and butterflies; while studying ocean animals, Sea Life Park brought a baby sea turtle (Honu) and the kids learned to throw away trash at the beach. Brooklyn's been singing this song about a tunafish, great white shark and humongous whale that is pretty catchy. I'm posting some pictures of a lesson plan, art project and guest speaker that I hope you will find useful.I know everyone thinks their own child is brilliant, but I can honestly say that Brooklyn (and almost all of the other kids at SSA) is ahead of the curve developmentally and socially, which I credit a lot to the quality of early learning she's receiving. She is fully potty-trained. This is one of the schools which will walk through this important stage with your child, and try to tailor it to your requests for a seamless transition between home and school. They are fine with Pullups or training pants, and depending on your child's level, they can go potty on a regular schedule with the whole class, or on an as-needed more frequent basis (the kid-friendly bathroom is conveniently behind the Jr. Preschool classroom). Brooklyn is fiercely independent (which I LOVE...most of the time). She wants to do everything herself, and as long as she can safely try, the teachers will let her. She uses a stepladder to wash her own hands (while singing to Frere Jacques, "tops and bottoms, tops and bottoms, inside too, inside too, rub my hands together, rub my hands together, now they're clean, now they're clean! See, I warned you..."catchy"), folds her blanket after nap time, picks up toys, rides tricycles, and on and on. She knows all of her colors, ABCs, can count to 20 (even to 40, but she'll skip a number here and there), can count to 10 in Japanese, and knows about 20 songs. Her vocabulary is astounding. She can speak in full sentences, and can accurately answer questions demonstrating comprehension. An example is we recently returned from a vacation to Disneyland and Wyoming (to visit her adult half-sister). Brooklyn was asked where she lives, and she replied in Hawaii. She was asked if she would rather live in Hawaii or California, and she answered "in California", with a followup question of "Why?" She replied that Disneyland is so fun because she loves riding on rides and she knows Minnie and Mickey would let her stay, but she thought the fireworks were a little too loud. She also said she would rather live in Wyoming because she loves her sister and misses her a lot. She easily makes friends at various playgrounds or events that we've taken her too. She has no qualms about walking up to older children, introducing herself and asking if they want to play. She's empathetic of other kids who might be crying or hurt, and she exhibits leadership skills during social interaction.I'm not an expert in child development or psychology. Heck, I'm not even a perfect parent...much of it is just winging it! All I can do is share my experiences, and hope that helps other parents make an educated decision on where to send their kids for childcare. I can whole-heartedly tell you that I truly love Stepping Stones Academy. It's done wonders for our daughter, and I'm so proud of the big girl she's becoming. Yes, it is expensive...but we will continue to make sacrifices elsewhere to give Brooklyn the best possible experience in early childhood education that we can...and SSA is well worth the investment!

The campus is clean and well lit, it is also air-conditioned, which is a plus on these hot Hawaiian days. The school is small and there can be a waiting list, which is appropriate. All of the staff knew our son's name, and walking in he was always greeted by his name and with a smile. The school is competitively priced, but appropriate and worth the money. The curriculum helped our toddler with the needed tools to transition into kindergarten.Charlotte the administrator is amazing. She is positive and happy. She knows what she is doing and she disciplines appropriately. I was sad to have our son transition out of the school.Parking in the morning can be curbside if prior to 8am. But heed the warning signs as I have witnessed people being towed. The towing company has no mercy for rule breakers . But then again, rules are rules and people seem to have some defiance issues when it comes to following the rules, but I digress. If it is raining, like storming, sometimes you can call the school and they will let you pick up your child at the back door, so you and your child don't have to get soaked walking to and fro.Great school, I highly recommend it. They take cool field trips and sometimes parents get to tag along. Kualoa Ranch was my favorite.

Best daycare on the island. My 10 month old was extremely needy when he started. Constant crying, refusing to eat or sleep. They went above and beyond to accommodate him. The parent post system they use is also really cool. I would give more than 5 stars if I could.

If you want quality care and outstanding education, this is the place to send your child. I initially did not want to send my son to a babysitter much less a day care, but my family members were unavailable and quitting my job to be a stay-at-home mom was out of the question. While I was pregnant I worked in Pearlridge mall so SSA seemed like the most convenient option for me. I took a tour of the facilities, watched the teachers interact with the children, and spoke with the Director of the Academy (Charlotte) and a bunch of other teachers there. At the end of it, I was impressed and applied immediately.My son's first day at the facility was when he turned 6-weeks-old and naturally, I was nervous. But within the first 2 weeks of sending him there I really saw how caring the teachers were. Although parents receive a daily progress report stating the child's participation in activities, eating habits and diaper output (wet, BM), the teachers still verbally recapped my son's day with me and filled me in on funny things he did. The teachers cared for my son (and the rest of the children) so much so that they have pictures of him on their phone and even feel sad when my son doesn't give them a kiss or hug goodbye. They treat my son like their own son, and that is exactly the type of interaction I expect from his teachers.My son is now 2-years-old and continues to attend SSA. I have friends whose children are around his age who do not attend day care and the differences between them are noticeable. I say this not in pride for my son compared to theirs, but as proof of the quality of the SSA education. My son's expression of emotion, communication, social, and cognitive skills exceed those of his peers (in my social circle), prompting my friends to ask me about his education so that they can do the same activities with their children.Yes this place is a private day care, it is expensive. But in my mind, money is not an issue when it comes to my son's care and education. I'm still working towards my degree as a full time student and work a 40hr a week job, same with my fiancee, so I can truly say this with a humble heart; I have no money to be careless with and I know that my dollar goes a long way at this facility.Stepping Stones Academy is my son's second home and the staff is our second family. I am truly blessed to have found this place for my son.

When we had our daughter we didn't really think about who was going to watch her until it was too late. We started to call family and friends to see who could help us out, but that was a dead end. We then turned to daycare facilities and really had to weigh the options of travel, cost, etc. Stepping Stones caught our eye because they are located a block from my wife's work and attached to a mall!! Ms. Charlotte, was and has been so thorough and respectful of what we were looking for in a daycare. From day one Ms. Charlotte and her staff have made us feel no anxiety of leaving our daughter in their capable hands. From 5 months old to now 2 years old, each teacher she has had keeps us updated on activities they did during the day, if they were mad or happy, whether or not she played well with others, and if she had a good appetite or not.Now I know that the price might seem like private school tuition, but my wife and I honestly feel that we have gotten every pennies worth of love, laughter, and learning for our child. The facility is always clean and cared for, cots are provided for nap time, and snacks for snack time as well.We are expecting another child this year and could not have asked for a better establishment to send our children too.Mahalo Stepping Stones Academy Pearlridge!!!

Miss Carmen and Miss Jan and the rest of their staff were amazing! Very helpful and always addressed all of our concerns. My son loved it here and always came home happy! Upon moving to a different state, Miss Stacy was gracious enough in providing us a binder with all of our son's learning mile stones with pictures and reports. Even after relocating Miss Carmen went above and beyond to mail our son's epi pen which we had forgot to pick up.