About Us
Smart Start Academy is a one of a kind preschool that provides contemporary learning along with traditional love and compassion from a diverse group of teachers with a powerful educational commitment to our children. SSA is a year-round educational program. The focus during the school year is academics, however, summer is about FUN with Review.
Our Mission: to assist parents in the development of their child ages 6wks to 5 yrs old by providing cognitive stimulation and exposure to activities of daily living during hands on learning.
Our Vision: to allow each and every child to refine their intelligence and achieve their developmental goals at their own pace while learning respect, responsibility, and reassurance.
Our curriculum is Zoo-phonics, you can read more on our curriculum page. Each student is encouraged by our staff to excel at his/her own pace to obtain individual success. Our facility is very unique by its design of working centers focusing on math, language arts, science, dramatic play, art, international awareness and music. Our infant and toddler rooms are designed to prepare our early learners to explore and develop their own likes and dislikes and to express their opinion and personalities in a respectful manner. We will also teach our students and early learners the importance of health, nutrition and fitness as this will be demonstrated daily and will be a part of our curriculum.
We continually seek teachers and student teachers to become a part of our team and we encourage you to call and set up a time to visit us. We also welcome partnerships from Early Childhood Education Programs for internships as well. We actively recruit lead teachers and teacher assistants. We welcome anyone with a passion for teaching as well as learning from our students and early learners as they will be guiding us through their developmental success!
Thank you for taking the time to read a brief overview of our preschool and please feel free to email any questions or inquiries! ssadirector1@gmail.com
Hello!
We understand that choosing a licensed child care center in Columbia, SC is a very crucial decision, but be confident that our academy staff has been well trained (many with special degrees, experience and background) to develop, love and care for your precious, intelligent little learners.
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Parent Reviews:
"Smart Start Academy is truly a wonderful place to send your children. They will learn and grow so much. They loved my little one like their own and I never had to worry about his care. They prepared him for Kindergarten with love and kindness."
- Ashley
"My family's experience with Smart Start Academy has been very positive. The staff is incredible, caring and very knowledgeable regarding the childcare industry. Parents are always informed on upcoming events, staffing updates, or any new adjustments that may or may not affect the child. Highly recommend this facility in search of childcare!!!"
- The Ashford Family
"Smart Start Academy's Staff are angels. They helped my child adjust after moving to the area. Their calm demeanor and compassionate way of dealing with with our children always made me feel safe and trusting leaving my toddler each day. Moving into Kindergarten my little one is more prepared both socially and educationally then I ever anticipated. The recommended skills his new school provided were topics he learned two classes ago. SSA Staff encouraged our children to be kind, use manners, greet each other with respect and understand consequences, all while learning and having fun. I will truly miss everyone at SSA, and will forever be grateful for the love you have shown my family and your help growing our amazing human."
- The Perry Family
"I would recommend Smart Start Academy for your family because... Smart Start is really amazing when it comes to learning. Your child will feel very loved because all of the staff there are really loveable. But my favorite part there as a parent was the learning. I say this because when my daughter started there she learned so much! Mrs. ANita and Mrs. Maxine made sure the children had everything they needed to learn and to have fun. I loved receiving pictures of my baby girl doing her sensory bins and more. Thank you Mrs. ANita and Mrs. Maxine, and SSA for being so amazing to my baby girl and I. We love you all."
- The Jenkins Family
"The staff helped develop my son's education. He was highly prepared for kindergarten when he left SSA. During his first meeting with his teacher at his elementary school it was mentioned that 'wherever he went to preschool they did an excellent job'. The staff always remained professional. they ensured that my son was safe and communicated exceptionally well if any of his needs had to be addressed. I would wholeheartedly recommend SSA to any future parent!"
- The Bowen Family
"Smart Start Academy begun to care for our child during his mid two-year period. He has had challenges during his transitioning as most children do and the facility and staff at SSA were very caring and loving to our child. He fell in love with all the teachers and their patience with helping him shows today. He is now 5 years old and attended SSA until he was 4K ready. He is now a rising Kindergarten and has been on track academically. We love SSA and appreciate the love shown back to our family. We recommend any family to make Smart Start Academy your place of child for Early Child Development."
- The Coleman Family
"Smart Start Academy is one of the best childcare services around. Your child will be in the BEST of care with teachers and staff who take pride in their students, faculty, and school. Our now 1st grader has learned so much from them and it showed. He was able to write his name, name letters, identify colors, and he even had a step up on some sight words. I would highly recommend sending your child to Smart Start Academy. You will not be disappointed."
- The Burke Family