San Carlos United Methodist Preschool

This post will probably end up in the «not recommended» pile of reviews as I rarely post on Unilocal,mostly due to the fact that it gives uninformed consumers a soap box. But I bumped into fellow SCUMP parent today that told me about a few parents that were blowing the director up due to «the incident» and I felt that someone should address it. Yes, there was an incident. Certainly not as bad as the 1 star reviewers would lead you to believe, but please know that the director was not legally entitled to release all of the information these disgruntled parents requested. This is a top notch facility, and I am in full support of the staff here including the front office and all of the wonderful teachers that taught both of my sons. Coming into Kindergarten my sons are and have been at the top of their classes, earning academic awards at monthly ceremonies, excellent social skills, you name it. I know for a fact that the front office acted on behalf of the children’s safety and that is all anyone needs to know. Parents are not entitled to information unless their child was harmed, and to my knowledge, no one was. These parents should be thanking the front office instead of using social media to try to damage this school’s reputation. Don’t let 3 uninformed parents keep your kids from enjoying this school.
Thank you, SCUMP. Keep doing what you’re doing!

I have now had two of my grandkids attend the pre-​school here. Generally, the only time that I show up is for their Christmas and other performances.
Everyone that I’ve met has been a joy. Not only that, but the kids love going there and are challenged by what they are taught. The oldest one just started public kindergarten and was extremely well prepared thanks to this pre-​school. (Of course, she also has fantastic parents and grandparents who also help…)
If I lived in the area and had kids of this age, I would definitely consider sending them here. I also like that they are not politically correct and are willing to celebrate Christmas with a nativity play! Hope that they keep this going.

This place is adorable, friendly and safe. They have cute little classrooms and smart teachers. The director, Wendy, gave a great tour and my kids loved the playground!

As first year preschool parents we couldn’t be happier with San Carlos United Methodist Preschool. My wife, a teacher, always raved about the kids who came to her class from this preschool. When our kids were old enough we knew we wanted to send our kids to school here. We have had numerous friends and neighbors share their positive experiences at the school with us as well.
The staff is amazing. You can tell they really care about all the children at the school. Our child has blossomed under the staff’s guidance. The curriculum is quite impressive and age appropriate. Our child loves going to school. She came home today saying, «today was the best day ever!» What more can you ask for from a school? We can’t wait to send our next child to school here.
I’ll continue to recommend San Carlos United Methodist Preschool to anyone and everyone looking for a great place to send their kids to preschool.

I cannot say enough good things about SCUMP. My third child is currently attending and we have been there a total of 6 years. My fourth is registered for next year and cannot wait! I am a teacher and was looking for a preschool that was caring, fun, and would prepare my children for kindergarten. We have received this and more from San Carlos Methodist.
The Director and Assistant Director are both former teachers at the school and are the best! Two of my children had the Director as a teacher and she was amazing in that role and continues to be an amazing Director… you can really tell that the teachers respect her and are happy with her as a leader. I have not had a teacher I didn’t like (we have had many teachers in our 6 years :)). My children have all been happy to go to preschool and ask to go on their days off. That tells me a lot. The school also gives the children «fun and fitness» for a portion of their day. This means they have both a physical education lesson and a music lesson at least once a week, depending on how many days your child attends. SCUMP also has several classes of «extended pre-​kindergarten». These are classes made up of the oldest children in the school and the hours are a bit longer. They definitely prepare them for kindergarten!
The safety of the children is a priority. The school has recently put in security cameras and also a front gate that is coded so strangers cannot get onto campus. The play areas are well monitored and there are many procedures in place that ensure the safety of all the children.
I am so happy we found this school and wonderful community of families!

I absolutely love this preschool! The staff is friendly and professional and you can tell they really care about the kids. I feel confident that my son is not only learning all the skills he needs for kindergarten but that he’s being extremely well cared for while he’s there. He always looks forward to going to class and I know if I let him he’d stay all day. I’ll be signing my younger son up for the fall. So happy we found this place!

I would NOT recommend this preschool. The director doesn’t take into consideration the children’s feelings and well being. My daughter was so sad about an incident that happened at this preschool. It was unfortunate that we had to pull our daughter from the school after the way the director and pastor handled a situation. Hopefully the director and pastor learn from their mistakes in the future, so this doesn’t happen again.

My daughter was in her third year at SCUMP when my husband and I decided to pull both her and her little brother (1^st year) from the school. An unfortunate incident caused by the unsympathetic director led us to this decision. While I won’t get into details, I will say that the classroom environment was totally disrupted and we had a very unhappy and confused child on our hands. And a preschool staff that was unwilling to answer any questions or confront the situation at hand. A group of parents ended up going to the pastor of the church with our concern and we were totally shut down. We had a really good experience with SCUMP prior to this situation, unfortunately we learned the hard way that at this particular school, parents don’t have a say in decisions that impact the well being of our kids. We’re really sad that our daughter’s last experience prior to kindergarten was a negative one. The teachers at SCUMP are great, I can’t say the same about the director. I would not recommend this school for the simple fact that your world, yes preschool was a huge part of our little world, can be rocked without any explanation or justification.

To all concerning parents… If your a lamb you will love this school, if your a free thinking responsible parent forget it! I recently pulled my daughter out of this school for reasons I cant discuss due to the fact a concerned parents not so 5 star review was pulled and staged pictures of the classrooms were posted in its place by the school. This is a classic David vs Goliath story. I can tell you this, Eight concerned parents approached the pastor regarding the incident and were met with a half-​wit smile and shrug, quite literally! Oh, by the way, did I mention that the original response by the pastor was and I quote «can’t we just deal with this over the phone.» This was a jaw dropping response to the parents and a devastating experience to the children of room 10, are you listening now pastor! Probably not… No surprise.
How appropriate, pics of a classroom with no teacher.

After my in home daycare said she was moving I started freaking out. They were like a second family to us… I literally cried… more than once. After finding San Carlos United Methodist Preschool (SCUMP) I now think my prior daycare moving was a blessing in disguise. My daughter LOVES SCUMP. She’s in preschool two days a week and daycare four days. She has learned so much, made so many friends, and adores all the staff. They are so nice, helpful, caring, and awesome! I like the daily structure, as my daughter thrives on structure, and honestly they’re pretty affordable comparatively. I would recommend them to anyone!

Great school, if your child is just entering as a young one 2−½ to 3 years old ask for Ms. Laman. She is the best ever! Very warm, loving and so amazing.

I am so glad I convinced my husband to let me take our son to a church preschool! This place is amazing and worth the extra $$$! Staff and teachers are amazing! They love their jobs and it shows! Great parent/​teacher/​child communication! They believe in positive reinforcement and it WORKS! My son is very huggy/​feely especially with the young ladies and teachers and staff do an amazing job with staying on top of hands to self rules. I just could go on and on about how great everyone and everything is here. The holiday events are super adorable too!
I have only used one other pre-​school. Charley Brown Pre-​School in La Mesa. It was a HORRIBLE experience! The disciplinary action was a total flop, children ALWAYS off the walls! Holiday event revolved around TONS of yucky junk food. With staff using playtime as there own personal trash talk time with horrible language right next to children. They treat the children like they can’t stand their job. 3 MONTHS WASTED!