Benjamin Thomas Academy

"My daughter attended BTA from 4- 14 months when we moved out of state. We miss it so much. I truly felt like the teachers there knew her very well and helped me as a new parent; I felt like we were in it together. They were always able to speak in detail about how her day was and what she did, and I knew she was getting loving care and having fun. In our new city, we are trying to find something with the feel of BTA and striking out so far. It is a special place."

"My daughter was one of the first four kids to attend BTA, and she graduated last year, so I can talk reasonably well about the program. Miss Jessica and Mrs. Alicia have created a school that is caring, thoughtful, communicative, and above-all, loving. It was a pleasure watching Elizabeth grow, and now that she's moved on, I value what BTA provided even more. If there was ever anything to discuss, Alicia and Jessica were eager to address it immediately. It's hard to think of a better environment for a child to thrive. Another note: it's not just me. As we went through BTA, a couple folks with particular expertise in young kids' education visited BTA, and they all came away deeply impressed by what the school offers."

"Benjamin Thomas Academy is a wonderful preschool in Uptown New Orleans. My wife and I had the pleasure of sending our child to BTA for almost four years. She started as a baby and left just after her fourth birthday. We were among the first families with BTA. From the first day that we dropped off our baby girl, we felt like BTA was an extension of our home. That feeling was incredibly important to us because we had anxiety about putting our baby in preschool, and had not been impressed with some of the other facilities we toured. When considering the school, our one-on-one meeting with Alicia put as at incredible ease. Her personal attention made us feel that we had found a teacher/ preschool director that really connected with us. Our daughter loves Miss Alicia to this day. Our child grew with the school. She made amazing friendships with other children and incredibly special relationships with several of the teachers and administrative staff. We always felt like we were part of a big community. Regular BTA gatherings and events helped build that feeling. The staff at BTA is kind, attentive, diverse, and involved. We appreciated how accessible they were by text, email, and phone, and therefore how easy it was to check on our child whenever needed. We were always kept in the loop about any challenges, and kept updated on all her achievements. My wife and I also have non-traditional work schedules, and BTA always worked with us rather than forcing us to conform to a particular drop-off time. We’ve recommended BTA to friends and will continue to do so. I often joke that we stayed in New Orleans because of BTA after we had an opportunity to relocate for work, but chose not to do so. It’s a joke with an element of truth. The fact that we did not find an available preschool in the new city that matched the environment our daughter enjoyed at BTA did influence our decision. The day our daughter graduated from BTA was wonderful, but also one of the hardest moments in her little life. It was sad to leave her home away from home for “big girl” school, and there were tears all around. We all rest easy knowing she’ll always be part of the BTA family. The wonderful people she (and we) met there will continue to be part of our lives."

"We brought our 6 month old son here. Started out pretty well but went downhill quickly. There was staff turnover and substitutes were brought in. His bottles weren’t being warmed up. He was also either not being fed his lunch we picked for him or they weren’t documenting it. The final straw was when we picked him up at 4:45 and his diaper hadn’t been changed since 12:55. Completely unacceptable."