School of Imagination

We lucked out living so close to SOI, having enrolled here without much research and receiving priority based on our proximity. It was later that I heard of their stellar reputation and waiting list. And it's no wonder -- the owner Charlene and staff are warm and welcoming, and the kids are well supported in their social/emotional development as well as their learning. I believe their advantage is that they also have occupational and speech therapy services, so the instructors are generally better trained in that respect. For example, last month I got a call that my 3-year-old had unfortunately kicked a boy. Instead of the standard "here's what happened and how we handled it," they wanted to understand more of his behavior at home and also created a plan to support him at school, such as through puppet role-playing during circle time and books specific to his behavior, which would help the other classmates stand up for themselves as well. Good thing it was a one time incident, but I know that the teachers helped him learn his lesson. I'm happy to be able to send my son there for another upcoming school year!

Let me start off by saying that we have liked and appreciated the time my son has spent at school of imagination. He started in the step 1 program at 2 years old and competed the step 2 program. Once my son was 4, we were contemplating step 3 vs TK with the school we have chosen for his elementary years. Nearing the end of his step 2 year, we realized the school was no longer the best fit for us.
Pros:
-Inclusive environment for kids with autism or additional needs. My son also had very specific nutrition needs. They were very accommodating and this was a huge deal for us.
-Low ratio of kids to teachers gives each child (special needs or typically developing) lots of individual attention. Your child won't be lost in a group of 25 + kids.
-If all the stars align, your child may be able to get occupational therapy and speech therapy during the school day as well. So the fact that my son was able to have OT in the morning and then go straight to his classroom was so nice! OT Ms. Shruti is 5/5 stars, we love her.

Some of the reasons we decided not to enroll in step 3:
-The program runs year long, the number of days "off" are high. Holidays of course, but also a spring break, winter break, summer break and this year they added in a week long "pre summer break". I counted about 30 days off plus some random minimum days. I'm a working mom, and do not have flexibility with my job. So this was really hard for us. I would need to schedule days off work or try and find/pay a sitter. If you have a WFH job or have family help, this might not be a problem for you. In addition the school schedule can be changed at any time. This last year Spring break was changed an entire week. Thank goodness that we didn't have an actual trip or vacation booked! The plans we did have I was able to move.

- Field trips sound like an amazing way for the kids to experience different activities and places outside of school. I have no issue with field trips. My issue is the way field trips are planned and implemented. During my son's step 2 year, they had 2 field trips. One to the pumpkin patch and one to the fairy Garden. Here's where it becomes a problem: field trips are 2 hours long, a parent must drive and attend with the child. The rest of the school day, including before and after care is canceled! There is NO refund to parents who pay for "early birds" and "late birds", nor for half of the school day that's not used. In order for me to take my son on the field trip, I have to lose an entire day of work pay, pay for the field trip, gas, etc to the trip and then find childcare for my son for the rest of the day if I wanted to work. If you chose not to bring your child on the field trip there is no option for them to attend school!

Although Charlene the director provides ESDM intervention plans, this is a separate service and comes at a separate cost. We thought (given the information on the website and tour, etc, that the teachers were all trained in ESDM practices.)We quickly realized that was not the case. Some had behavioral strategies, but the training varied between teacher and therapists. (Side note: if you are not familiar with ESDM, I recommend you buy the book and start implementing the recommendations. You can also go to helpisinyourhands.org this is a free resource created by Sally Rogers, creator of the early start Denver model.)

Cost. The expense became prohibitive for our family. It's about $25k/year for full time. This is from 8:45am-2:45pm (approximately, each class is staggered by 15min). Extra for before/after care. A $285 materials fee I found to be excessive. That's about $4k of money for "materials" per classroom. Parents are often asked to bring in extra stuff such (pumpkins for Halloween, Easter eggs filled with goodies, shirt for tie die are examples) as well as Amazon donations. Solicitation for donations/money and publicity with the city of Dublin- It's overkill. Almost every single event at the school is connected to raising money. It's very unclear where this money is going to. One example- an envelope came home with my son for their "share the love" event in February. The envelop stated that $25 could cover such and such services for a child in need. One of the services listed was music therapy. SOI doesn't even provide music therapy! There were also no opportunities for parents just to enjoy their child's classroom without the pressure of donating more money.

If you are reading this and your child has autism, and you are stressed because of the cost, or the long commute, or you are #50 on the waitlist - it will be OK. There are other options. In hind site, we sacrificed a lot: driving 30-50min each way, spending a huge chunk of my income because we thought this school was the only way our son could thrive in school. Was it worth it? For the first year, yes. After that we are not sure. I had more to add but yelp has a character limit :D Feel free to message me with questions.

School of Imagination was a blessing sent to us as we explored various schools for my preschooler. He had just started talking, and we struggled to find the right fit. Special thanks to Ms. Lupe, Ms. Amanda, Ms. Kate, Ms. Alisa, and all SOI family services who helped my son feel safe and happy. He loved them so much that he cried leaving the school at the end of the school year and he still misses and asks for them. My son showed tremendous growth emotionally, academically, and behaviorally. I highly recommend them.

This review is long overdue. This school is a dream! My daughter is attending their infant development program through Regional. From our initial consultation to her current enrollment, the entire process has been seamless, organized, and professional. Big thank you to Aye, Ms. Nicole, Ms. Charlene, Ms. Amy, Ms. Jonni, and Ms. Theresa. My daughter is doing well in their little sunshines program; afterwards, we plan on enrolling her in their preschool program. You couldn't find a school with a more caring, experienced, professional, and invested staff. So grateful and thrilled with our experience.

This school shows genuine love to the children and dedication to their craft. My son loves coming here. He loves all his teachers and enjoys all the activities they do.

we received speech therapy here and they are out of network other than Kaiser. so it's on the expensive side. There was not even a small improvement after 6 months. we had sessions with Ms. Evelyn, she always arrive 5 min late to pick up the kid and drop the kid 5 min earlier. I didn't see any dedication from her. Even we can't enter the premises and need to be at the parking all the time. They are more of money minded. The Zoom link won't work and they say there is 20 min parent-staff session, we never had that.

My son attends School of Imagination via their speech and occupational therapy sessions. He has Ms. Kate for Occupational Therapy and she is phenomenal. She's absolutely the perfect person to work with little kids. Her positive attitude is infectious and my son loved her from day one. She's a godsend. Then there's Ms. Christina, his speech teacher, and the introduction to the wonderful place of School of Imagination. I sought speech services when my son was delayed in speech and she is AMAZING. When you get a gut feeling about a person and you just know they are great -- that is the feeling I had when I first met her. She's knowledgeable, thorough and tailors her sessions for my son. She's always willing to change tactics and gets excited about any little bit of progress just like I do. I seriously don't know how I would have made it without her encouraging words. She's THE BEST. I simply adore her. I love her. I really and truly do. There's no one else I would trust with my son but her. She's amazing. Then my son qualified for early intervention -- and here he got the introduction to the Little Sunshine's class. Hands down, the best class ever. My sons personality finally emerged through that class -- his receptive learning flourished and those teachers are absolutely amazing!! I love each and every one of his teachers and the highlights of my day are getting to speak with them about his progress. I don't know where we would be without this school. Currently trying to get him in the preschool but the waitlists are long so if this review convinced you to take a look at their website, please do yourself a favor and get on a waitlist now!!!!

Everyone wants a piece of you".. your time I mean.. it literally feels this way when you are trying to juggle your younger kid's Occupational therapy, Speech therapy, daily ABA sessions, school support, parental training, swim
lessons, doctor appointments PLUS your teen's school pick up's & extracurriculars.. while working full time! Everywhere I go, all I hear is" looks like you aren't keeping this a priority" ..so while I am running like a headless chicken working through the ultimatums & forever changing schedules .. I do meet few kind people along the way.. who want to do their bit to make someone's life easy.. one such sunshine in the rain is "Rebecca Reece" at school of imagination.. I had to change my daughter's OT & ST schedules multiple times .. thanks to the erratic scheduling of ABA providers but Rebecca is always there..quick to return your call/text, listening with an empathetic ear & big heart.. recalibrating effectively every time, giving you ideas/options on what may or may not work.. never judging you, being disrespectful or dismissive. -Priyanka
Thank you Rebecca, know you are doing a fantastic job and parents like me appreciate all that you do.

This school has been a God send. While my little one does not start until August, the enrollment process and the communication with the school has been outstanding so far. We did the Open House tour and were immediately sold on enrolling our son there. The teachers seem amazing and the fact that he can do his speech and occupational therapy there makes it even more perfect. I would recommend this school to any parent who is looking for a school to send their children who needs a little extra attention in certain areas of development!

This is the best school for kids who need that extra support and help in their developmental needs. Ms. Charlene, Ms. Tanya, Ms. Kathy and all the specialists changed our child's life. They provide the best support system and go out of their way to support kids. Mitch is also awesome. Great place and highly recommend