Seagull Schools The Early Education Center 1130 Alapai Street, Honolulu, HI 96813

"This is not a pre-school built around values that align with supporting their community of families. We were in Manukai 1 with Ms. Sharmaine and it was not a positive experience. I wouldn't recommend Seagull to anyone, especially not this specific class or teacher. I should've noticed the first red flag when I came to drop my son off for his orientation day, which was from 9am-12pm. I arrived at 8:45am to walk around the campus a bit, say hi to the kids and teachers and simply observe. Ms. Sharmaine greeted us with a sigh and a glance at the clock. She begrudgingly took him in on his first day while telling me that being 15 minutes early was not okay, and I should arrive at 9am for the next 3 days, no earlier, no later, and walking around the campus together until 9am was not ok either. My mother was with me that day and commented on how odd that was. Second red flag was when I began to notice that most of the parents dropping off their kids were fathers. It eventually started to make sense bc after a few weeks I started to notice why mothers, such as myself, may not feel comfortable dropping their children off. For starters, parents are not encouraged to come in to the classroom when dropping off kids.Teachers, at least the teachers I have experience with, Ms. Sharmaine, Ms Stephanie, and Ms Jaelyn were not friendly. The teachers will make a visible attempt to shame you if you walk in with your child and help them put their bag and water bottle away. When I was first unaware of the rule and would help my son into the class in the morning, it took me a while to realize that that was why I was treated so poorly. I would walk in and the teachers would get silent, they'd look at one another disapprovingly, and I was shocked to see that one rolled her eyes at me, it all felt very childish and unprofessional. Eventually I was finally told that parents are supposed to leave their kids at the glass door and walk away. From that day forward, I also became one of the mothers who passed the morning drop-off task to the father. I'd like to note that the few times I was in the class helping my son get settled in, I was able to overhear teachers speaking to students, and it was not friendly. They consistently spoke in a rushed and rude manner, not at all how I'd expect preschool staff to engage with toddlers that age. When I reached out to the interim "director" about my concerns, I was dismissed and guided to speak to Ms Sharmaine directly (who was on vacation at the time). Seagulls policies are equivalent to a public middle school. If you are walking into the class with your toddler at 9am you are late. Have that happen a few times and they will scold you and send you home regardless of the day being paid for by you. Maybe they will be lenient if you're a govt service member. I noticed that a day I was called out for being late (arriving at 9:01am) by the time I got down to my car, a parent in the same class with Ms Sharmaine, a father in a military uniform, was barely getting out of his car with his daughter to walk her up to the class. The teachers have their preferences on parents and they become clear overtime. Seagull also has many outdated Covid policies that they have yet to update. It seems like they aren't updating them out of convenience. For an example, they have a Sandbox near the Manukai 1 class. It has been boarded up since covid. A staff member told us that they only have 2 years left at this location so they'd rather not put in the effort to clear it up for the kids. If there is a fellow mother reading this review while considering Seagull, I'd recommend saving yourself time and stress and passing on this school. When considering a school, esp when it's for a toddler-aged child, a community of supportive teachers and staff is extremely important. It helps to instill a sense of peace when leaving your children in their hands day after day. This school did not foster that sense of peace with me. I'm a fellow mother who spent two months with my 3yo in their system."

"Seagull Schools is great. All my kids went there for pre-schooling. The caregivers are actual teachers. They are not just babysitting your kids. They have lesson plans and they teach them the ABCs and the123s. They also teach them friendships and manner. One good thing here is the open space and proximity to short field trip. They bring the kids every week to the city hall and count the church clock strike. They bring the kids to the Library and learn about quiet and how to borrow books. They bring the kids to trick-or--treat at the Fasi Municipal Building and collect way too much candies. They bring them to the state capitol and look at the legislation in session. I don't think the Cole Academy, Queen Emma, Star of the Sea, or Kaimaaina Kids would do so many of this kind of field trips of sort."