St. Vincent Early Learning Center

"My son was going to the childcare center at USI before it shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic. We were very fortunate to be able to transition over to St. Vincent and even keep the same teacher, as a handful of USI teachers transitioned to St. Vincent as well. Ms. Karen is a very hands on teacher who encourages her kiddos to explore and learn rather than memorize and regurgitate letters/ numbers/ songs/ etc. She takes natural opportunities to teach - finding a bird's nest, examining plants, etc. Administration has also been great. Mr. Jared is very passionate about early childhood development and education. My son has THRIVED in this environment and I would recommend this school to anyone."

"The staff and teachers here create a nice environment. From the tour they gave me, they gave me the impression that they care about making the children comfortable and after we started I saw that in practice. Ms Laci and Ms. RayAnne help my daughter learn important skills. I also like that they do continuation of care. My daughter started here when she was 1 and she will have the same teachers until she turns 3. In other children centers they change teachers every few weeks. There are some drawbacks: the center is closed several days during the year for professional development days. They are also closed from December 24 until January 1 for holidays. That means that during the year I need to find someone to stay with my child so that I can work. If you have family around I can see that not being a problem but if you do not then once in a while this will be a problem."

"We have been attending daycare here for a few months now and absolutely LOVE it! My daughter is often timid around new environments or people and she is so comfortable there. I feel that every teacher and administration member knows my child and is invested in her learning and safety. They have been so helpful ensuring we stay on top of dietary restrictions my daughter has as well which has helped her progress so much! One of my favorite things about this center is their encouragement of parents to visit any time! I also loveeee the daily updates the teachers share ,with photos and updates of skills they are working on. The Director Alissa has been so involved in meeting with parents to consistently share and take in suggestions to improve current program offerings. I have also notice how supportive she is of her staff, and respected in return. I would highly recommend St Vincent !!"

"I felt our experience at the center started well 1.5yrs ago. As time went by (approx 6mths) the extremely high turn over in all areas of the center became concerning for me. I was assured by administration things would be improving. I trusted them. When we began there they had a core curriculum. Now it is Reggio. My youngest has suffered compared to her sister, a year older who was taught her letters, writing her name, numbers, addition and many other educational needs. With the teachers that stayed there and new ones hired and the new teaching method my youngest has not learned or been exposed to the type of education that public school Kindergarten expects. My experience is that the administration is in need of a drastic change. Also a need for them to be honest with parents about what is truly happening in their school. I can not fault all the turnover teachers and their training. But I can say that in the last 12 months it appeared to be a free for all with the children. Do what you want and we will try to help you learn from it. Not how Reggio was intended. This seems more like an over the top Montessori approach. It’s confusing what’s going on there. After a few more serious injuries that were not told to me, but were obv at pickup. And the lack of overall care and education, I spoke to Admin and the teacher again. I was assured they would be trying to teach the teachers better. Then 3 days later I began getting unacceptable text messages again from one of the teachers who I had also spoken to personally. So it was that moment/day that I went into the school that morning and took them both out of school. I felt it was no longer educational or physically, emotionally safe for the girls ages 3 & 4. Our time there was 2017-May 2019. If you do send your child please Listen to your children carefully when they come home. Take them seriously. I did not at first. I regret that now. As I said, this is my personal experience. I will say that Sister Sylvia has been by far the best experience that has come out of this. She truly cares for children and has a true gift when helping them. Wonderful woman. Very knowledgeable on childhood issues."

"The lady that now runs St. Vincent center for Family and Children becomes easily frustrated with the children, will call a sit down meeting with the parent and will recommend medicine, mental health therapy/evaluations... 3, 4, & 5 year olds! Seriously?! Her name is Alissa Mwenelepembe, pronounced [[When-uh-lah-pem-bay]] Other than that the teachers are great, well the select few they have that is. I just want to add the only reason why I gave it one star is because I feel like if you CAN NOT handle children who act up from time to time you should not be working around them! Several of the parents have even had DCS called on them for silly reasons. Alissa Mwenelepembe goal is to see kids removed out of homes, and her mind is sick. She thinks every parent is is doing something harmful to their child/children."