Navarre United Methodist Preschool - Navarre, Florida

Nicole

Let me start by saying that I wish I could give negative stars. Do not send your child here. I chose to enroll my daughter here due to excellent online reviews. We are a military family and moved here in 2019. My daughter is now in 4th grade and is telling me stories about the horrific experiences she had at this place. While trying to learn and build a foundation, she had “Ms. Tammy” and the administration screaming in her face and telling her she was a bad kid. She says she had her wrist grabbed and made to clean as a punishment for not understanding her work. Luckily my daughter is going to a quality elementary school in Navarre where she has NEVER before or after going to this piece of crap you call a VPK program, had any behavior problems. Not one. And an honor roll student. But to this day, she remembers the horrible experiences with these people. Thank you for ruining my child’s foundation and causing years of anxiety and self esteem issues. Parents—beware !

Laurie W.

This is a quality preschool program with exceptional teachers. The staff is well-trained in early childhood education and provides a positive and supportive environment for the students. The preschool not only focuses on academic preparedness but also emphasizes social development. The students feel welcome and safe in the school. Additionally, the well-rounded education approach, including Spanish, Godly play, chapel, and S.T.E.A.M. instruction, provides a diverse learning experience. Overall, the preschool offers a nurturing and enriching environment for the students.

Csar K.

Preschool Suffering From Heart Rot (Beautiful in Appearance but Rotten at the Heart)

This preschool was once the crown jewel of VPK programs in Navarre, FL. But it appears this may no longer true.

I am trying to resolve the difference between the praises by former parents of students and the more recent comments about the school and church. The teachers, appear to be trying their best to keep the problems from the parents and their students; but there is only so much they can do if management is not also trying to fix the problems. Don't believe me, ask the parents who left this in disgust over the past year and the capable teachers who fled this troubled program because of management issues. Not sure why Florida's Department of Children and Families hasn't checked into this school given what I've heard.

In 2 years, this program has gone through 3 directors and is searching for a 4th. Oddly and IMHO, last director of this school wasn't chosen for their ability and experience but rather because of the lack of these qualities. Most mature and thriving programs would place great emphasis on finding and retaining the best and most experienced directors but this program seems to have done the opposite. This usually occurs when a business is suffering and the owners of the program are trying to cut cost in a last ditch attempt to position the business for a quick sale. But given the past reputation of this program, the waitlist for openings (at least there was a waitlist at the end of last school year), and the fact that this program is tied to a church, the idea of cost cutting measures to enhance profits prior to the sale doesn't make sense.

During the past school year, the program has lost somewhere between a third and half of their highly praised teachers, many times with little or no notice. This usually does not occur in a thriving program, even one in a community

with a large number of military families. The reason this is not normal, is most businesses, to include the military, would usually give people notice beyond two weeks to move jobs unless the person is being fired with or without cause.

This has not been the case and many of former teachers are still living in the area and some are teaching in other programs. So why would teachers leave a thriving program in the beginning or middle of the

school year, most likely because something has happened or is happening that is contrary to what they consider best for the students and themselves. Teachers, by and large, are unusually caring and giving to their students, how else can

you explain why highly educated people would happily work for so little money unless they truly enjoyed their jobs. Most parents who've left the program apparently loved their children's teachers which leads me to believe the teachers are not the problem.

So what is the problem? I would normally look at management, except management, in this case, appears to be in chaos. Not surprising when you go through 3 directors in under two years and hire a director with no experience. So while the problem appears to be with the school's staff, the blame cannot be placed solely on their shoulders. Usually when a business is failing this badly, the owners are usually a big part of the problem. In this case, I had to dig around about Navarre United Methodist Church, the "owner" of the school. I found a surprising relationship between the church and the preschool. According to some, during the past year and half, the Navarre United Methodist Pastor and Children's Pastor or Minister have apparently riding roughshod over the school and their amateurish attempts to manage a delicate and complicated business has caused an unending amount of problems. Well as you will read later, this little tidbit of information may explain what I found after a little more digging.

Unfortunately, Google has a character limits so I shortened this review and will post elsewhere if people find this review helpful.

Lee S.

It’s a good school. A bit chaos, but nonetheless I can tell they’re trying their best to restructure. I saw a progress in my son (3yrs) in his vocabulary and academics.

Hannah P.