St Paul's Preschool & Childcare, Inc 261 900 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84102

"We have been attending St. Paul’s for 2 years with our 2 children. My husband is on the Board. We purchased a home within walking distance, because we couldn’t bear going to a different nursery school. Before enrolling here, we were going to the Kindercare in North Salt Lake, so we have an idea of how it compares to other childcare. The highlights: • Tenure. The lead teacher in each class has been working at the center for 9 or more years (some over 20 years!). This is the biggest thing for kids!! They need continuity and stability and having a low turnover is incredibly important. You know the teachers love their jobs and your kids – why else would they have stayed in the industry for decades? And you know it’s a good school. Quality teachers don’t stay in bad centers. • St. Paul’s moves all children up at set times during the year (January, June, and September). They really consider your child’s development and individual needs before deciding to move them up, and they move up with some of their friends. In the weeks leading up to new classes, the children all spend some time in the next class to get their feet wet and adjust to a new class without it being jarring. I CAN’T STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS!!! It can be scary for a baby to move up to a new class, and the steps St. Paul’s takes to ensure an easy transition is amazing. • The teachers really care about your kids. They know the personality of my toddler and my young baby and they’re constantly telling me about them. For example, my toddler is the Mom of the class – which is exactly her personality at home. • Fun parent culture. I’ve made friends with other parents and enjoy spending time with them at pickup and various social events throughout the year (picnics, Halloween parade, holiday parties, etc.). • Price. This center is one of the most affordable in the area – but it is nicer than a lot of others. They’re a non-profit so they spend all of the tuition on the school – teacher salaries & bonuses, supplies, and activities for the children (field trips, Stretch n Grow, etc.). Curriculum: • Bumblebee Room (babies under 1). Doesn’t have a schedule. Babies nap when they’re tired, eat when they’re hungry, and play all day. The teachers there have adored our babies. • Bunnies & Turtles (1-2 yo). In these rooms, older babies are put more on a schedule for naps and snack time. They sing songs, read stories, and roll around all day. They have a pet hamster and learn to get along with friends. • Cub Room (2-3 yo) is more structured but is centered on play. They read books, sing songs, eat snacks, play outside, and have lots of free play. They also have enriching 3rd parties visit (story time, Stretch n Grow, puppet shows) that other schools charge extra for. My child is always singing songs learned at school, reciting lines from stories, describing in detail things friends did. Her shoes are full of sand from the playground. • Purple Room (preschool) – haven’t been to this room yet, but there is always artwork and science projects on display at the school. Regarding the bad review by Laura Cuagliotti: Laura Cuagliotti's child is still currently attending St. Paul's, so clearly her review is false. She is a confrontational woman just causing drama. She has no idea the reach her review may have and it is heartbreaking that she's taking her personal issues out on such a wonderful program and the other children at school. (Her child is in my child’s class so I have first-hand experience.)"

"We just graduated from St Paul's to kindergarten, so I feel a need to thank the staff at St Paul's for 5 wonderful years. They took exceptional care of our little guy and he formed some close bonds with several of the teachers. He even asks us to text them things about his day on the weekends sometimes. (Which we don't do, but it's a cute request.) St Paul's has a very family feel and there are many teachers who have been there for 20+ years. They sincerely care about the kids under their watch and they teach them a lot about how to handle emotions and interact well with other children. We'll miss you ladies and we appreciate you so much!!"

"My daughter loves this school, it's frequently hard to convince her to leave at the end of the day because she loves her friends and teachers so much. They take great care of her and I know she's in great hands while I'm at work. The staff and director have also been great any time I've brought up concerns I've had and been able to explain things. They are in a garden level so there are a lot of stairs, but they have adorable railings at the right height for small children on all of the stairs underneath the standard railings."

"We have loved having our children in St. Paul’s preschool care. We know they are safe and trust in their abilities to provide wonderful care. The staff is warm & caring to each child. They are very aware of how each child is doing throughout the day. Each day at arrival children are warmly greeted by each teacher and feel welcome. We have had all of our children at St Paul’s Preschool over the past 10 yrs from infant to age 5. Our children have warm memories of being at St Paul’s. Our current child loves his teachers and asked often over the weekend if we are going there on an outing. Safety and love of each child is always the priority and you see that day in and day out. Teacher turnover is very minimal which provides stability for the children. During the past 10yrs, only three teachers have left for family/retirement reasons. We have easily worked through child centered issues with staff and they have been more than helpful on several occasions to help us with any one off needs or assist in working through behavioral issues. We are impressed with their ability to remember to communicate any concerns or the usual kid stuff that pops up with each child. They love and care for each child, meet each child where they are at and help them to learn and grow at the child’s pace. We cannot day enough good things about this preschool. Seriously top notch, well trained & ongoing education, excellent communication, safe, clean, and a fun place. We put our trust in them to love and care for our babies and have absolutely no regrets. Fantastic place for young children and an overall amazing experience. Elizabeth & Dom DeCaria"

"Unsafe, disorganized, severely understaffed. My child has been picked up multiple times with "mystery" wounds that three or more teachers and the daycare coordinator had no answer for. Furthermore, when attempts to discuss the situation occurred, the coordinator would lie and attempt to say our child had the scratches and marks when he arrived at the center instead of after a day of care. It started to feel as though it would be necessary to have photographic evidence of how are child looked when we dropped them off and when we picked up. It was clear to us that our child was not safe in their care and they had no interest to right the wrongs to help us feel as though our child would be safe in their care. We would NOT recommend anyone to this center."