Miss Mae's Pre-K 2337 Pass Road, Biloxi, MS 39531

"I'm sharing our experience at Miss Mae's in the hopes it can help future families who may be confused about the conflicting reviews. When we first enrolled our son in August 2022, we were very pleased by the quality of the instruction at Miss Mae's and it seemed like a great fit for us. The teachers were all kind, we received daily pictures and updates, and on the whole it seemed top notch. There were some early red flags that, in retrospect, I wish we would have paid more attention to. For example, when our son struggled with the 2-hour rest time, we were told that this amount of time was state mandated. After doing our own research and speaking with parents at several other schools in the area, we learned that this is not true. In fact, many education professionals I spoke with were shocked that any pre-k or kindergarten would require this, much less a Montessori program. In fairness, the teachers did work with us to find activities that would occupy our son for these 2 hours while other children napped, but eventually we had to begin picking him up early. Other parents whose children also couldn't stay quiet during rest time also picked their children up early, so this was not an isolated issue. On this point, my advice to parents would be to be aware of this requirement and think carefully about whether you think your child would struggle to play quietly in a dimly lit room for 2 hours if he or she does not nap. As the year progressed, there was increasing inconsistency in staffing. Particularly concerning, Miss Mae herself was missing for about a month with no replacement, leaving two teachers for a full class of pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. She only communicated about her absence after parents began to ask questions and voice concerns. This absence lasted for at least 10 weeks, and we were never provided with a return date. We are sympathetic to the personal issues Miss Mae may have been dealing with at this point, but the almost complete lack of communication was immensely concerning. During this time, although we were never concerned for our son's wellbeing, the quality of the activities, amount of outdoor time, and the number of updates we received via the app significantly decreased. Ultimately, with the departure of our son's favorite teachers two weeks before the end of the school year, and Miss Mae herself still gone with no estimated return date, we chose to keep our son home for the rest of the year, and withdraw him from the summer program. Given Miss Mae's stellar reputation (as evidenced by the many 5 star reviews she has on this page) we had been planning to send our son to her for kindergarten. However, we chose to lose our enrollement fee and send him to another program (other families who did the same were told the enrollement fee is non-refundable, and this is also clearly stated in the parent handbook). Although we definitely understand there may have been some extenuating circumstances on a personal level that affected the quality of the school this year, the way these were handled were concerning and in the end we lost trust in the leadership at the school. The inconsistency in staffing and lack of communication was worrisome especially given the young age of the children and the important role these teachers play in their lives. We wish all the teachers well and we hope the necessary changes are made to help the school live up to its former reputation."

"Miss Mae’s Pre-K has been a life saver! This has been my first experience with sending my boys to daycare and they have exceeded all of my highest hopes. Ms. Peyton and Mrs.Demeria have loved my boys like they’re one of their own. They are always excited to “go to school” and run straight inside. The brightwheel app Miss Mae’s uses gives me pictures throughout the day and updates on what they are eating and doing throughout the day. My two year old’s speech and potty habits have greatly improved since starting and his love of learning is clearly being fostered through intentional play and activities. My four year old was ahead of the game when he started school this year and that was in part due to Miss Mae’s. As a parent, they hear me and happily work with me. I recommend Miss Mae’s to everyone because the atmosphere, experience and peace of mind are unmatched! ♥️"

"The teachers always treat my daughter with such love, patience, and care here! They are always so joyful and welcoming. I love how picture updates are sent to me throughout the day and how easy it is to communicate with the teachers too."

"Bad communication!!! Plus more!!! Yes you did give a good drive with expired food thanks for that!! All day cares throw b day parties for kids that’s nothing special thanks anyways!! I didn’t pay for one month!!! I emailed you and said she was not returning you decided to keep charging and said you didn’t no she wasn’t coming back after I said she would not be coming back. state say 2 weeks notice your Ridiculous rule is 60 days or some dumb stuff like that!! You decided not to ask for more info you call it a pre k but gabby wasn’t learning anything and I spoke to other parents there and they agree kids are not learning!!! You decided to respond to this review instead of my emails rude and unprofessional!! Now you have a blue sky day Mae!!!! And do better before more people call the voucher people on you like I did!!"