School Bell Early Childhood Education Center

Address:	6952 John R Rd, Troy, MI 48085, USA
Phone:	+1 248-879-8097
Site:	schoolbellchildcare.com
Rating:	4.6

Location

Photos 54

Reviews 4

Scott Timmreck

My wife and I have sent our children - currently ages 4-and-a-half and 6 months - to School Bell two days/week since theyve been alive. About six child care centers exist within a 5-mile radius of my home, so the initial choice of School Bell was made after a fair amount of research and visits. Ill talk about the positives in a moment, but its first worth noting why were leaving. Due to various staff changes/leadership morale, the PreK program has, to my eyes, become little more than a glorified babysitting service over the last year. My older child, to me, is smart and articulate and can do puzzles like a champ, so I like to believe the two days/week he spent here in his very formidable years were good for him, but now that hes at the point where reading, writing, and the things you need to have at least a passive understanding of to succeed in kindergarten are important to me, Im not seeing any of these things happening in School Bells programs. Theres no curriculum to speak of, theres no communication from the staff about what my child is learning, and there are no goals/expectations/milestones for him. In fairness, lots of education could be happening, but if it is, Im not being told of it; what I do see is my child, when he arrives in the room in the morning, scurrying to the child allowed to have a tablet in school to wait his turn to play Angry Birds. This is not what I pay for. Thats the big reason...the apparent lack of learning that has taken over the PreK room...but there are other small things: - On the occasions when signs are posted, its not uncommon for them to have spelling or grammatical errors. Not that the kids can read them, but it doesnt inspire confidence in me when a centers leader cannot correctly spell "mismatch." - This is a first-world problem, but you cant pay by credit card. I get that the center doesnt want to pay processing fees, but as someone who really enjoys the benefits of credit card points, Id really like to pay for the biggest expense in my life with a credit card. - My child absolutely loves Water Day, but its only on Fridays this summer. He doesnt go on Fridays; would it be tough to switch up Water Day once in awhile so he can enjoy it as well? Now, all of that said, there are a lot of good things about this place; in no particular order: 1. Its clean. Its bright. 2. Nearly every teacher in the Infant, Toddler, and Preschool rooms I met there truly cared about the kids (or if they didnt, they werent there long). Gone are luminaries such as Danielle and Georgia and Anne and a litany of others (as you likely know, the turnover rate in this industry is very high), but as of this writing, Denise and Allyson and Stephanie and Carly are there, among others, and they will take excellent care of your children. My kids have never been hurt, sunburnt, underfed, or suffered any neglect or pain (with the of-course exception of a fall of two on the playground) at this center, and for that, I am very grateful to the staff. 3. The price. The price fluctuates depending on how many days you enroll you child(ren), but in an industry with razor-thin margins, School Bell was reasonably priced, and the inclusion of snacks and lunch often made it seem like a bargain. For the older child, the price came out to about $5.90/hour, which, when you consider the work the women here do, is an excellent value. 4. Lunch is provided. Snacks, too. Not making lunches is a benefit I have learned to appreciate. In sum, if youre looking for a solid childcare center, this one is indeed solid. I wish we werent taking the kids out, but the lack of a good PreK curriculum has forced our hand. Hope this helps anyone looking for a place to give care to your kids. (Also of note: As of this writing, this is the ninth review on Google. I am certain at least three, and possibly five, of the positive reviews are from people who were staff members at the time of the writing. FWIW.)

Lori Taulbee

Since opening our doors six years ago School Bell in Troy has had two Program Directors and two Lead Pre-Kindergarten teachers, both with Bachelor degrees or higher in Early Childhood Development! Coming from 30 years in this industry I think that is quite an accomplishment. Our staff work very hard to prepare a developmentally appropriate curriculum that meets the needs of all children. We use the Creative Curriculum that is designed to enhance the whole child by implementing planned experiences that encourage physical growth, social and emotional growth, and cognitive development. We know that children that are three and four do not yet have the muscle control or eye-hand coordination for writing or calculating mathematical problems but through our enrichment programs such as art, exploration, literacy, investigation, dramatic play, music, dance, circle time, building blocks, language and outdoor play we are able to assess individual strengths and develop those skills needed for future milestones. It is our job to educate parents as well, did you know that the Block Center is actually developing large and small muscle control, improving eye-hand coordination and improving spacial relationships and problem solving! The Home Living Center promotes decision making, expressive language, and increased self confidence. The Science Center increases senses, helps children formulate and evaluate predictions and gather simple data. We cant forget the Art Center where children are able to express his/her uniqueness, feeling, and ideas. Learn to design and construct ideas, and experiment with form, lines, movement, shapes and spatial relationships. If you would like to hear more about our program please look us up on Facebook at School Bell Troy.

Kristen Kazelas

Our family is extremely pleased with our childrens experience at School Bell. The staff is professional, knowledgeable and caring. The directors Ms. Sonia and Mrs. Kristen are personable, accessible, extremely responsive and they make earnest attempt to know the families and children. Our childrens teachers are wonderful. They are pleasant, energetic and well trained in child development. We receive information about our childrens educational program and are able to reinforce the same skills at home. Our children love and benefit from the structure and content of the daily program. We receive daily communication from our childrens teachers on there eating habits, behavior/mood, instructional goals and what they experienced during the day. Our children our safe and happy. We like that our children have access to extracurricular activities like Tumblebus and Dance class. Additionally, our children have developed a love for books. Before coming to School Bell, they would not listen to a book. Our children love books now. What a change! School Bell is the perfect match for our children. We wouldnt go anywhere else. The Kazelas Family

Stephen Moran

THIS IS A WARNING TO ALL PARENTS THINKING OF SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO THIS CHILD CARE FACILITY. We sent our girls to this child care for a week to start their advancement towards pre-school. This was the biggest mistake. Within the week, our girls contracted Hand to Mouth, the stomach flu and pink eye that spread through our whole family. Their diets were also thrown way out of whack. We have been to Chuck-E-Cheeses and never even had a sniffle. This tells me the facility doesnt get cleaned properly. During the week, we overheard one of care givers yelling at a toddler and I quote, "Oh my God, why do you keep doing that! I told you to stop." We brought it to the Directors attention and her reaction was as if it had happened before. When we approached to the Director to express our concerns regarding these and other issues, she disregarded all of our concerns and seemed very disinterested in our questions. On the last day, when my daughters came down with stomach flu (before the pink eye), my one daughter said, "I dont like this school." Enough said - we wont be going back.