Scripps Exploring Academy

My daughter started at SEA as her first pre-​school experience to get more socialization and for the curriculum to prep her for kindergarten. I am a Director at a school-​age child care so when I heard from word of mouth that Scripps Exploring Academy was great, I knew I wanted to check it out. SEA did not let me down one bit. Starting from the tour of the pre-​school with the Director, Christine, meeting Theresa who will assist you with crazy schedule requests and is always there to greet you and your child by name as you walk in and out, to my daughter’s wonderful teachers, Ms. Taylor and Ms. Dianne in the Dolphin Room. My daughter adores her teachers and talks about them constantly. Even when she starts having a hard time listening at home, I threaten her by saying I’m going to tell Ms. Taylor and Ms. Dianne she’s having bad listening ears and she automatically turns her attitude around because she doesn’t want to disappoint them one bit. Crazy, right? Also, I professionally know their Assistant Director, Crystal and she is the best there is and will ensure the preschool is up to par with everything while also helping with the infant room.
My daughter goes for half days and she never wants to leave because it’s never long enough. They get homework packets every week and at first I thought that was crazy but it turned out great because now she was responsible for something tangible. The curriculum is challenging enough that I saw the improvement in every subject as she learned more and more with every month. They track every child’s creative and educational progress and do parent teacher conferences throughout the year so you can see something like how they simply drew themselves on their first month at SEA until their ready to go to kindergarten and the visual of progress is wonderful. The preschool itself has its own extra teachers who rotate through the rooms, give breaks, cover the main teachers when they’re sick or out, and that’s when you know it’s a quality pre-​school. This means when your child’s teacher is out, it won’t be a random substitute from a subbing agency that doesn’t know your child’s name, it’ll be a teacher they are already familiar with because they’ve seen them all over school.
They are a nut-​free environment which is totally understandable as multiple kids in my daughters class had allergies. I simply introduced my daughter to sunflower seed butter and she loved it the same as peanut butter. They can heat up your child’s lunch if needed which makes packing lunch way easier.
Each child has a huge cubby for their backpack and nap things and then a little cubby for daily art, worksheets, notes. The dolphin class has a great set up, lots of toys, imaginative play areas, and even a class pet. They do cute bulletin boards and projects with your child’s face which I’ve kept and hung up on my daughter’s room. The gifts that they make for holidays and special occasions are ridiculously cute and the greatest things, ever.
For discipline, they have a color chart and the kids move their pin according to their behavior so everyone starts on green for the day. I completely support and agree with their method because if the child misbehaves, they themselves have to move this tangible thing and it completely makes them realize they have to get back to green.
Enrolling my daughter was the best thing I ever did as she is leaving SEA after the summer for kindergarten but she leaves already reading, adding, subtracting, counting by 2s and 5s, and with better penmanship than she started. Ms. Taylor and Ms. Dianne have ensured me that she’s completely ready and I couldn’t be more thankful to Scripps Exploring Academy. So I hope you make the same decision for your children!

This is one of the best day cares in the scripps area. My son is on the wait list but it is worth the wait. They are reasonably priced as well.

My wife and I are both teachers and we can’t speak highly enough about SEA. First, the atmosphere is caring and nurturing. We had two daughters with very different learning styles and personalities attend, and they both loved this school. The staff is well-​trained, and of generally strong quality. SEA’s bright star is their newborn, infant and toddler program, but this staff as a whole is sensitive to the needs of working parents and children with special needs. SEA is seldom closed (Christmas, New Year’s Day, federal holidays, and one PD day a year) which is great. More impressive is that the preschool aides have more Early Chilhood units than many teachers at other schools we toured. My wife is a kindergarten teacher with five years’ experience as a preschool director, and she tells me that Christine, the director, is the best. There are some demanding parents at this school, and Christine is amazing. What’s even better is that they pro-​rate our tuition when we’re on vacation, so we’re not spending money over summer for days we’re not there. Bottom line, this place is worth every cent.

To start, I find it funny that out of 18 reviews, there are four 1-​star reviews (one made by someone whose child didn’t even attend this center) and (14) 5-​star reviews with none in between so I feel like the 1-​star review by someone who never sent their kid should be thrown out; and the other three sound like people with personal grudges and/​or agendas because my experience, like the other 14 5-​star reviews of people that actually sent their children to this center, was AMAZING… just my two cents on that but anywho… my story…
We moved from Florida in August 2013 and my daughter spent her Pre-​K year at SEA. Prior to moving, we visited several daycare centers while visiting and looking for a house. Of all of them, SEA had the friendliest, most hands on teachers, and I felt so at ease with their teachers. I loved that they had a garden for the kids to play in and get dirty; and that the children just seemed like they were having a good time on my visit. A couple of the other centers just seemed very sterile, and much more like an operation vs. the warmth the teachers at SEA exhibited to their kids. Once my daughter started there, I knew we had made the right choice. She came home excited and happy the very first day, brimming with news about the class fish; a special project they were working on; and her new friends and teachers. While her class had two teachers dedicated to it, she knew all of them and drop-​offs and pick-​ups were full of hugs by teachers from all the different classes because they all know all the kids. Her penmanship and creativity soared during her time there and she now loves art and will spend hours in her room, drawing pictures and making cards for my husband and I. She started kindergarten this past fall, and was easily ahead of 90% of her classmates in her ability, and to this day, we still go back and visit the teachers. This school made our move from Florida, and the four years she had spent at one daycare there, so much easier and much, much less traumatic than I thought it might be for her, and I would and have, recommended it to many people I know in the area looking for quality childcare and a place where their children will be loved and nurtured.

I am still baffled by Unilocal and why so many of the positive reviews about this place are filtered. I am a real person and was not asked to write this by any owner or employee of the center. In fact, if you want to see that i don’t just write positive reviews, you could see the scathing report I gave on my son’s prior preschool (what a joke)… Since he has been here at SEA for 6 months now, i feel that I’ve given it sufficient time to really evaluate the place. He ‘s 3 — ½ and has been in the same classroom with the same teachers the whole time (up until last week when he advanced to the next class us … so sad to leave his amazing teachers, Taylor and Melody)! The longevity of staff at this place is incredible. The front office, director and all the teachers have remained consistent which speaks VOLUMES to me, personally. My son is happy here, looks forward to every day, has been well cared for, made lots of progress and has most importantly been safe. He can even write his name all by himself! He of course has had scrapes and bumps but all within reason. The supervision and ratios always seem fine to me. Even the «covering» staff at the end of the day know all the kids’ names, say hi to every parent, and are always paying attention to the kids. There is an indescribable wonderful, positive, caring, relaxed and fun feeling about this school that I absolutely LOVE! You should definitely check this place out if you’re looking for a truly terrific preschool!

Absolutely love this place! Most importantly, my daughter loves her teachers and friends. Whenever I pull up to drop her off she gets so excited!

My son has attended SEA since he started crawling. I have always been happy with the teachers and curriculum. I toured several centers before choosing SEA and have even toured some since looking for something similar that is closer to home but have not found anything I would choose over SEA. With my second child on the way I just don’t like how a lot of centers put newborns through 18 months in one room with ‘sections’. SEA has 3 – 4 separate rooms for these different stages of infant to toddler progression. I love the separation by development stages and I love how ‘school’ has helped my son develop. He is a terrible eater and his teachers have helped tremendously. They also have a way of making him listen and follow direction like nothing I have seen at home!!! It would be cheaper to keep my newborn and toddler at home with a nanny, but I would never take my two year old out of ‘school’ because he loves it and it has helped him learn to play, share, dance, eat, nap, etc. I’m one of those moms that sees the benefit to early structure and interaction and would rather see my kids in this kind of environment than to be cared for at home.
I highly recommend SEA and I don’t understand the two poor reviews. In fact, I have never Theresa the office manager is excellent, as are my son’s current teachers, Tina and Michelle.

We are a military family so it was VERY VERY important that we picked a preschool that met ALL our needs! Scripps Exploring Academy is AMAZING! My 3 ½ is in the Seals classroom and has done wonders. Christine, the lead, is very helpful and registration was super easy. Teresa their book keeper goes OVER AND BEYOND to make things work out, everyone is super nice.
My daughter LOVES the animal pets they have at the school and we LOVE the class she is in. We get a progress sheet everyday and a week schedule to help continue the learning at home.
I cannot express enough how much we enjoy it and feel right at home. Trust me we researched and checked out 6 different preschools and Scripps was our pick.

My son has been at SEA for 2 and a half years now. And we love this school.
At 18 months (when he started) my son was minimally communicative and a lone player. But he immediately responded to the animal theme of the school — especially the lizards and fish in the lobby. He also loved the toddler targeted indoor jungle gym.
I love that the teachers will hug your child if they’re feeling sad. In fact most of the teachers have children at the school and treat them with more love than I’ve observed at the many schools I checked out.
In these years at the school my son has moved through many phases and the school has been incredible all along the way. From his brief period with biting, his difficulty napping, the troubles of potty training. The teachers always had a plan and worked with me to help him improve.
Now my son has well beyond average communication skills, plays well with the other children, knows the alphabet inside out and backwards, counts to 100, and sings all the time. And he still loves the lizards and fish in the lobby.
If you’re considering SEA, please notice that the high ratings are from parents with years of experience with the school while the detractors had very brief interactions.

I am absolutely impressed with Scripps Exploring Academy and this is why.
Let me just say, before I even chose SEA I checked out 5 child care centers. Yes, I am one of those mothers.
I have been taking my little girl to SEA now for two years. She was three when she began attending SEA and she really looks forward to going there everyday. Sure, there are days she feels like staying with mommy, but for the most part she loves this place and that makes me and her daddy very happy.
This is why I take my child to SEA:
a. The children are happy.
If little children are miserable or scared at a child care, you can’t hide it. The children at SEA are genuinely happy. I can see it in their eyes, smiles and body language. That’s not to say it is perfect, there are the occasional crying children who are new and missing their mommy or daddy, but this is natural.
b. The parent’s are happy.
I don’t hear parents complaining or arguing with the staff. I don’t hear parents talking behind the staff’s back. I talk with the parents and they too are genuinely happy. They, like me, are comfortable leaving their little one’s there. From conversations I have had with other parents everyone pretty much agrees on the reasons for having our children at SEA.
c. The staff is professional.
They conduct themselves as professionals and not hired babysitters. The teachers are educated and either have college education in child development or are attending college for child development. The office and facility is organized and clean. This all tells me that my child is not in a chaotic environment.
d. The staff is caring.
The staff are both professional and they are caring, a unique balance. I really like this about them. As parents we understand nobody is going to care for our children like we are. We do our best to find the most caring people to entrust our children to. That being said, I can honestly say by personal observation that the staff at SEA are genuinely caring for the children. They display a real concern for them. This, for me is super important and I am so glad I found these wonderful people.
e. Child development.
Child development can’t be faked, either your child is learning or not, it shows. My little girl communicates to me what she has learned in my conversations with her. I hear her sing songs she learned in «school» that are educational based. I see her drawing and writing what she is learning.
To all you parent’s reading this review, I sincerely and highly recommend Scripps Exploring Academy.

I was recommended by a friend to Scripps Exploring Academy. It was the best move for my daughter. As a teacher, the daycare works with my schedule. I am not charged when my school is not in session. Every other establishment charges at a min. half price. My husband schedule is also constantly changing and Scripps is extremely flexible working with us. We had gone to another daycare that was extremely clean with the best toys yet gave us a terrible time when it came to our schedule even though they claimed in the beginning that they were ok with it.
The care: I am so extremely happy with the care that we receive. The teachers are playing and interacting with the children, they give daily feedback, and overall care about the kids. Everyone knows all the children’s names even if the kids are not in their class. The academics are top notch as well. By two, my daughter knew her letters and colors. The daycare also has daily art as the children are older and a potty training class to help with the transition.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the decision to send my daughters here.

One year at this facility for both my boys. The staff is great with them, and my kids love going to school. Great, down to earth people. Very helpful to me when my husband was deployed. We all have to adjust to someone else caring for our children, and the dynamics between children and their peers and children and staff. I have no idea why anyone would give this center one star.

We could not be happier with this day care. We changed from one to another abruptly and from the beginning they have been nothing but helpful and kind. My daughter is so happy when we pick her up and wants nothing to do with us when we drop her off because she is so excited to go explore her room and see her friends. The teachers have all been there for a long time, which shows me the kind of business the owners run. We truly could not be happier and only wish we would have started here from the beginning. I highly recommend!

My daughter has been attending SEA since she was 6 months old (she’s now 3 years old.). The teacher ratio seems adequate and she has been developing really well. Within a month of being there (7 months), she was using sign language to communicate what she wanted; using «more», «milk», «all done», «eat», and «drink». She’s learned all primary colors, recognizes most letters and number, counts well beyond 10, as well as achieving several other age appropriate milestones.
At 8 months, my daughter had open heart surgery and returned 2 months later. If we had any concern for her safety, we would not have taken her back. Kids in social settings sometimes get hurt. I would recommend SEA to anyone of my friends or family.

Before enrolled my 3 years old daughter at the time at Scripps Exploring Academy I did several researches in all pre-​school in the area. My checklist was, 1. environment, 2. teachers 3. price. in all criteria Scripps Exploring came out first. I look around some other «really» good and pricy pre-​school. All offer pretty much the same but way more pricy. The teachers, Mirs Taylor, Mrs Steffy, and Mrs Sue are awesome, and they really bond with the kids, even the way they discipline them it is in a way that helps the kids to become a better person. Now my Daughter is going to Kinder garden and it is a bitter sweet. Not just her but also I will miss this place and staff. Teresa who works in the front desk and all around is an awesome person and always willing to help.

My 4 year old daughter is currently enrolled at SEA and I could not have dreamed of a better environment for my child. They have different classes for different age groups. They have children there from 6 weeks old to 6 years old. There are nannies there that care for infants and the setting is so calming, with cribs behind sound proof glass, my daughter is in the sharks group which is Pre-​K. She started off in the dolphins and was moved up to sharks. Her teacher has a masters degree in child development. I have learned so much from her teacher in regards to how to teach my daughter patience and empathy for other children. My daughter now knows how to write her own name and was just sent home with a Valentine’s day card that she wrote all by herself, It said «Dear Grandma, I love you very much, Happy Valentines Day»! I was so impressed. They treat each child according to their learning styles! I feel so confident everyday I drop her off that she will be treated with love and will feel unique and safe. My daughter never wants to leave. They have a daily schedule that they follow, it is nothing like a daycare where a bunch of wild animals are running around. they have free time but they also have learning time and share time. My daughter is learning things that first graders are learning, and I would highly recommend this place to any parents who are dealing with the anxiety of who to trust with their precious children everyday. thank you SEA for making my daughters childhood have meaning and substance and for caring for her as much as I do.

I don’t know what this Alyssa person is talking about. She must have had a bad day or something because S.E.A. is amazing. I love the infant class and it’s teachers. I always see the teachers interacting and taking good of the children. They document everything and let you know how your baby did during the day, The infant classroom is always clean and organized and the teachers are friendly and know what they’re doing. I have never seen 7 children alone with one teacher, and I go into the facility a lot. I am happy I send my baby here and I highly recommend S.E.A to other parents. Especially if you’re a new parent. You are always welcome to come in whenever you want and spend time with your baby. This daycare is absolutely amazing. The baby room teachers and environment cannot get any better!

I am so upset I let my child go to this daycare. The morning shift may care for the children but the afternoon shift was like having my 17 year old sister watching her. I just didnt trust them. I have walked in and seen 7 children to 1 worker. The toys look old and look like they came from a garage sale. The kitchen if filthy. When you do the tour, they put on a great show but I only had my daughter in there for 2 weeks and I just couldnt let her go back. They say they are «play» oriented but thats aka im too lazy to read to your children or educate them. I just did not trust this facility at all.

I’m still mad at myself for sending my son here. This place needs to be shut down. They do not adhere to the teacher: child ratio’s and as a result the kids aren’t supervised and hurt each other. It’s really sad. Parents have let the CA child care law center know and the state is constantly evaluting them. Hopefully they get it together.
But parents don’t risk it!