St Andrews Children Center

This is my first review, but I’d like to share a personal experiences at St Andrews. I am very very happy that I found the school. The staff and teachers are loving and caring. They truely love what they do and it shows in small details. I had toured many places around Irvine, Tustin, and even as far as Lake Forest. It is my fortune that St. Andrews had spot open and I choose to have my child to be enrolled there. They helped with the transition period from a home environment to a Day Care in anyway they can. The administration staff try to work with my child’s schedule need and being very flexible. It is nice to see my child come home happy and growing.
I don’t have personal experiences in other Day Care, but I would recommending to check out St. Andrews for your child.

This center is wonderful. My daughter like her kangaroos class so much, and she told me that the teachers are so nice to her. Miss Maliha teaches her write and count, Mr Robert plays with her, and Miss Michelle takes care of her. Everything is well in this center!

My twins have been attending St. Andrews since March 2014. I moved them here from a montessori school as I prefer more of a play-​based school. I like that they have a lot of events for parents to attend & enjoy with their children — Mother’s Day Tea, Father’s Day BBQ, Art Festival, etc. I also really like that they provide healthy & delicious breakfast, lunch & snacks. My girl twin is a very picky eater but she’ll eat chicken & drink milk there but not at home. I signed them up for music lessons with Mr. Michael, soccer, & gymnastics with Webby Dance. I also found out recently they were doing yoga! They are very organized & on top of things. My twins’ teachers are passionate about teaching. They give them lots of activities to do & opportunities to learn. My kids come home & they surprise me with what they learn. My boy twin was (or perhaps still but not as bad now) speech delay but progressing wonderfully. He is talking way better now & keep surprising me with what he can say. He expresses himself a whole lot better. The teacher’s assistant Ms. S was so caring for both of my twins. She was always excited to see them everyday. I was sad she left. I’m so glad they found another teacher’s assistant Ms. Michelle who is like Ms. S. I hope she stays as long as possible.

I’m posting another comment about this center because these negative and exaggerated reviews are just ridiculous.
To Orange C. — Creating a fake Unilocal to make one bad review is pathetic. I picked up my child from that same class– and the movie was a reward for it being rainy and Friday. The kids are ecstatic to play outside and when that privilege is unavailable, what’s the best alternative? A fun movie. If you payed any attention to your child at all, you would inquire and know that a day at the daycare is filled with activities and educational games. I would recommend you being more active in your child’s participation at the day care and speak to the teacher more. The teachers always provide loads of work and activities that your child has completed and tracks their progress daily.
To C.V. — I understand your frustrations. My child’s teacher was also changed this year. And my strong belief is because the teacher was being too strict and tough with our children– so management let go of her immediately. And I can only imagine how hard it is to replace a teacher so soon. So ask yourself if your child is more important, or their teacher? I would choose my child anyday, and his safety.
I’ve been at this daycare for over 8 years, and have three children who’ve been and are enrolled. The functions and events thrown monthly are so lovely because this center creates such a community with all the other families, and the kids love it! I feel safe that my children are here. This center not only puts all their love and attention on your child, but are so supportive and informative with the parents. It’s a great place to have your child grow. I seriously believe that.

My child started here since being a few months old… it’s been over 4 years here and the first two years were fine and then a bit of a hiccup with a revolving door of teachers for about one year. We then had a sense of consistency from age 3 to 4.5 and it’s now nearing the end of the school year and we are now on our 4^th teacher in 4 months.
If I wrote this in February j would have overlooked the experience in the years prior but here we are again in the same situation…
The program is great with meals/​snacks included however the unresponsiveness of the director, Carolyn Jones, is unacceptable and the manner in which they handle staffing changes is disappointing. I found out we had a new teacher only when I came for pick up and saw the teacher… wow…thanks for letting me know.
Don’t get me wrong there are some great teachers and staff members there but the way the director mismanages the communication is not acceptable when it comes to our children and seeing good teachers be let go is disappointing — of course they’ll send home letters that are not clear on what happened and only after the change has occurred (if they tell you at all). As a side note: the funds are allocated to carnivals/​festivals rather than technology and staff retention.
I wish I could write a raving review about this place, but I can’t…the hard part is when you do your tour everything will be presented as smelling like roses and we did have a good few years here however we’re back to feeling the disappointment that was experienced before. Of course, each families’ experience is different… good luck and hopefully this was somewhat helpful.

My son has been attending here for 3 months and He’s 4 years-​old. I was a bit worried sending him here without his older sister but he’s doing great. I love the fact that his teacher, Ms. Kristi, is strict yet very nurturing and loving. My son loves her. The classroom size is small so I like that. What I love the most about this school is that they provide breakfast, lunch, and snacks that are healthy. It’s not from an outside catering company. The food is cooked at the school and they feed the kids healthy food.
They also have a huge variety of activities for the kids. The cost is more than the preschool’s out here in Costa Mesa but it’s definitely worth the cost.

Very disappointed with this school. I had high expectations because is located in Irvine and is part of a church but I had to withdraw my son after his first day. When I come and pick him up, the kids were at the table eating a snack and the teacher was holding a mini IPAD. The kids were watching the animated movie Toy Story. When I asked the teacher who’s IPAD is that, she replied saying it was her personal gadget and sometimes she shows letters or numbers. I almost died when I saw that. My son, who is usually very happy to see me, giving me hugs and kisses when I pick him up from school, this time he said just hi and continue watching the movie. For the rest of the night, he kept asking me to let him watching a movie on the IPad. I never expected that a school that was supposed to educate children will allow their teachers to use IPads in the class to show movies while the kids are eating.
I went and complained at the front desk and then went back to the class, the teacher said she was showing the Toy Story book. I know exactly what I saw and it was the movie because the main character was moving and talking. However, what happened with the regular books? The school doesn’t have the money to provide books for the preschoolers?
then, while I was talking with the teacher about the use of IPAD in the class, I heard a mom that was picking up her son from the table, saying «I hope he didn’t drink that». She grabbed the paper cup and took a sip and she said «oh, this is water, thank God». I noticed it was water on the table and we touched it and smell it and it had a very strong bleach odor. We asked why is she using bleach in the class while the kids were eating and the teacher replayed that she needs to disinfect. Very careless! To use strong chemicals around children that young is a very careless thing to do! Of course, I complained to the front desk about this aspect. I decided not to bring my son back to this school.
The director of the school confirmed that teachers are not allowed to bring personal things from home to teach but it looks like they let it go because the teacher said it was not the first time she used the IPAD in the class. I’m assuming she was seen before and they didn’t say anything to the teacher.
My son was in the Sunshine class.

Horrible care for kids. Unhygienic. They donot give proper attention to kids .
They donot live up to their promises, they donot even their own rules & regulations. I’m sure they are out of compliance as well. They are only there to make money.

I first thought this school was great. The teachers were amazing. One day changed my whole perception of this school. I had a mutual friend of a teacher Miss. Daisy on a social media web site. She put a picture out of her having a beer on her lunch break. I was very concerned for my child’s safety and emailed the school. I was saddened that no further communication about this serious matter was followed up with me from the school. I took my child away from that school. I do not support a school that allows teachers to drink while taking care of children.

This is a great place for working parents! It provides what we were looking for and didn’t have to worry while we were at work.
My twins have been going there since July 2013 and just left due to relocation.
5 Great things about this daycare center:
1. Clean and safe environment — all around clean and well kept
2. Great teachers — Miss Brittany, Miss Daywah, and Miss Yuri worked with my twins and they love them, at 2.5 years old, they tell me everyday that they like their teachers
3. Freshly prepared food every meal, we were very impressed with the freshly prepared breakfast, lunch and snack and with many organic items
4. Many activities to keep them actively learning everyday, and extra music Tuesday inspires my son’s interest in music
5. Well organized and managed
In short, I highly recommend this center.

My 3 year old and 18 month old started here 5 months ago and I am so pleased I made the switch from another childcare provider in the area.
The main teachers are very friendly my kids have Ms Diana, Ms Gina and Ms Kathy.
I love the variety of activities cooking, gardening, fitness yard, dance, soccer…
They are so family friendly always having family events which I think helps the kids feel more secure when they see their parents socializing with teachers and attending their school for fun time… today was breakfast with santa so cute breakfast for all the family, last month was a TG event and prior to that a Pumpkin carnival … I love the nutritional food menu and how open the kitchen is you see how clean it is through the window and a lady always working hard in there preparing or cleaning! The first 2 weeks were tough for my younger kid and I felt he would never settle or stop crying when I left but after 2 weeks he was fine and my eldest adores Ms Kathy. My only advice would be to have a look at the kids class before as i feel some are not very balanced in gender.

St. Andrew’s is simply fantastic. My son was there from about 3 months to 18 months, when, sadly, we moved to Phoenix. Otherwise, my son would have been at St. Andrew’s for many years. He developed strong bonds with each of his caregivers (thank you Minoo, Katie, Carissa, Joan, Olena, and many others). I agree with all of the reviewer’s comments posted before mine. The one thing that I would like to also add though is that they are very BREAST FEEDING FRIENDLY. This was very important to me. They have comfortable b-​feeding areas, are very accommodating in terms of storing and warming frozen and/​or refrigerated breastmilk, and the caregivers are very comfortable with the whole thing. Also, perhaps most importantly, they carefully record the time and number of ounces that your baby drinks, so that you can plan your pumping schedule accordingly. This was not my experience at other centers and home care situations that I visited.
Also, importantly, when I did have questions or concerns, Stephanie, the center’s coordinator, was very responsive and helpful, as were all of the caregivers. I have to stop writing because I’m tearing up… St. Andrew’s is part of my family forever. I have them largely to thank for how well-​adjusted and happy my little one is!

Not a fancy school but you can expect to get all the attention and care for your toddler! My son loved Maliha. They are all great people. thank you

St. Andrews has been such an amazing blessing to our family. I was a stay at home mom for the first two years of my sons life and recently was admitted into a masters program. Although I was elated my heart also sank, it was so hard to imagine having to leave my little guy all day. With my husbands help, we went on an extensive search of daycares, including in home childcare. It was literally one disappointment after the next. I was so disheartened, even the more «famous» schools you hear of with the long waiting lists were a disappointment. Basically the main things I looked for were safety, cleanliness, child to teacher ratio, what activities and meals were provided and most importantly «how» the teachers and staff interacted with the children. This school hands down should receive five stars in ALL the areas I listed. I honestly felt such relief to walk into a school I liked and to see how much the teachers give the children attention and actually supervise the children. I was amazed at how many schools really lacked in that area (teachers on cell phones, not getting down to eye level with children, etc).
I was terrified to start his first week of school, he had just barely turned two, but so far everything has been amazing. The first week he actually cried because he didn’t want to LEAVE!!! Ugh, talk about hurting a mommies feelings! But that just proves that he is treated well at St. Andrews… he loves it there and gives hugs and kisses then runs off to play! Leaving him is still so hard on me, but seeing his reaction to the school and environment makes it a little easier, and it’s all I can really ask for.

My daughter has been going to St. Andrew’s since she was 9 months and now she is 4 ½ years old and in the Pre-​K program. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the center and its staff. St. Andrew’s is very clean, especially for the babies, which is what drove me to choose them as my daycare provider four years ago. They have a rule about no shoes allowed in the baby rooms– great for crawlers! They are very good about separating children by their ages and developmental stages (i.e. young infants have separate space from older babies/​toddlers; 2 – 3 year olds have a different playground than 4 – 5 year olds). Any time there were issues (i.e. food concerns, behavioral), the teachers and staff were always open to communicate with us and things were always resolved positively and quickly. Over the years we’ve had to take her in and out of daycare due to various family issues and they have always been accommodating to our crazy schedule. Our relationships with all her teachers have been one of collaboration and each of them has felt like an extension of our own family. We also enjoy the fact that St. Andrew’s fosters community building with other families through their monthly family events. It’s always good to feel supported and understood by other working families. I also love the fact that the staff and families are very diverse. Bottom line– my kid LOVES this place and they have helped her develop an appreciation and love of learning.
P. S. This is the only childcare center (not home care) in the area that offers part-​time care for infants.

I am so happy I enrolled my little guy at St. Andrews Children’s Center! They are very caring and good with the children, it put all my first time mommy nervousness aside. And I know I’m not the only parent that loves this center. All the parents I’ve talked to at the center’s special events have the same thing to say! They are as impressed as I am. Oh! And mentioning their events. Awesome! They even had the Aquarium of the Pacific come out for a cute presentation and petting tanks for the little ones! They have an international fest, fun breakfasts, offer soccer and dance, music!!! Not to mention how much my 3 year old loves the place. Most mornings I can barely get a kiss out of him before he’s off to play with his friends. Excuse me mister, I was only in 40 hours of labor with you! Ha! Love this center!

I love St. Andrews Children Center, but more importantly my two and a half year loves it too! He never attended preschool or daycare before St. Andrews so it was a transition that the staff made very easy for my son and I. The teachers and assistants are nurturing and caring, and foster a fun and orderly learning and growing environment. My son loves to go to school to play outside, draw and paint, play with puzzles, cars, build train tracks, read books, play/​listen to music, and make friends. They have family events for holidays and other activities such as when the Aquarium of the Pacific came to the school for a show-​and-​tell presentation. This is a great school and I would recommend it to any of my friends or family!

Both our children have attended St. Andrews. The experience was such an important part of our children’s development that we wrote a ‘testimonial’ for their new website. Over the Christmas break, it occurred to me that if I didn’t get that testimonial out on Unilocal,interested parents may never see it. If you are researching pre-​schools, please take a look at our experience in their Resources/​Testimonial section.

I really liked St. Andrew’s Children’s Center. My daughter was previously enrolled when she was 6 weeks old until 2 years old. The facility is clean and secure. They have a play yard for each age range they serve. They have music Fridays and numerous family activities. She started out in Terry’s class (who I hear may have retired) and went over to the toddler class with Minoo, Maria, and Vanessa… all the ladies were extremely senstive to every childs needs in their care. My daughter flourished there. I highly recommend this center in comparison to other centers in the area.