Why Stepping Stone School is the Best!
We Believe in Customer Service!
Stepping Stone School is a place where the genuine care and education of children and exceptional service for families are our highest missions. Our extraordinary Administrators and educators provide the finest care and customer service by building lasting relationships with our families; by creating loving, nurturing and secure environments for children; and by anticipating, understanding, and fulfilling the needs of our families. At Stepping Stone School, serving your family is our top priority.
The Inspired Project
A recent project funded by a $1.2 million federal grant studied the pre-literacy experiences of children in Pre-K programs in the Round Rock, Texas area through the Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening test (also 
called PALS). The results of this study revealed that Stepping Stone School Pre-K children consistently scored highest on all criteria measured, including rhyming, beginning sound, print knowledge, name writing, ABC upper, verbal memory and concept of print. The success of Stepping Stone School's Pre-K children, as illustrated by the PALS results, affirms the strengths of our pre-literacy, research-based curriculum.
Accreditation
In our commitment to go above and beyond the highest child care standards, many Stepping Stone School locations are accredited by the following organizations, all of which require standards exceeding Texas Minimum Standards: NAEYC, NAC, Texas School Ready! and Texas Rising Star Provider Program. The National Accreditaton Commission (NAC) for Early Care and Education Programs is based out of the National Association of Child Care Professionals (NACCP). NAC Standards were developed for early care and education professionals by early care and education professionals. These standards promote professionalism and program quality while 
respecting individual program autonomy and philosophy. NAC Accreditation has been operational in schools across the country since 1992. The Texas School Ready! certification program, developed by the Children's Learning Institute, recognizes outstanding preschool education classrooms that effectively prepare students for kindergarten. WorkSource Child Care Solution's Texas Rising Star Provider Program is designed to provide families with the highest quality child care available by closely observing and examining child care programs through certification visits. This program differs slightly from NAEYC in the local consultant and training resources available through the Texas Rising Star Provider Program, which offer positive support for staff and administrators.
Health and Safety
Stepping Stone School adheres to all sanitary practices mandated by state regulations and set forth by NAEYC standards and we go above and beyond in many instances. We mandate that all staff members changing diapers must wear gloves and we also use fresh exam paper under each child every time a child is placed on a changing table, as well as disinfecting the mat under the paper between each diaper change. All soiled diapers are removed from the building immediately. Our cleaning crews use HEPA filtered vacuums while cleaning our buildings at the close of business every day. The sanitizing solution we use is non-toxic to children. We have installed UV light air cleaning systems in our classrooms with children 6 weeks old to 18 months old, 
which kills germs, viruses and bacteria in the air. We mandate that all employees working for Stepping Stone School have current first-aid and CPR training, even though the state does not mandate that all employees have these credentials. We also require all employees to provide proof of a negative TB test within two weeks of employment.
Parent Communication
Stepping Stone School communicates regularly with our parents via e-mail letters from Rhonda and Bill Paver and with monthly newsletters. Positive Parenting newsletters are issued to parents quarterly.
Stepping Stone was built on one mother’s persistent desire to make sure that her own children were getting the best possible early care and education. When she couldn’t find it anywhere in Austin in 1979, she took the bold step of opening her own school and Stepping Stone I was born. The organization has now grown to 18 schools, and Rhonda Paver’s passionate commitment to her core values – nurturing, loving care for each child; building trust and providing impeccable service to each family; insisting on quality and creating tools to measure it – has made Stepping Stone the clear choice for over 43,000 families who also want the best care and education for their children.
Just as a child goes through stages of development, learning and growing as she goes, the Stepping Stone organization has continued to progress and evolve. By keeping those core values as the foundation of the organization, Rhonda and her team of professionals have been able to expand to serve more families while maintaining the integrity of the original vision. Since opening Stepping Stone I, Rhonda earned her Master’s degree in Child Development, constructed an award-winning, evidence-based curriculum, implemented an exceptional employee training and professional development program, and designed a Quality Review system that insures the highest standards are met consistently on a day to day basis.
At Stepping Stone School your child’s experiences are at the heart of everything we do. Throughout every stage of learning, Stepping Stone School respects and values the individual child. Integrity and success are encouraged and supported daily. In every single Stepping Stone School, each and every day, we offer your child:
- The opportunity to feel secure by taking time to let your child know that he or she is listened to, cared for, and important.
- The opportunity to be challenged by promoting activities that will lead to problem solving in all areas (social, emotional, physical and cognitive).
- The opportunity to be creative by providing materials, activities, and guidance so that your child might develop his or her individual talents to their fullest potential.
- The opportunity to experience success and to be accepted by planning activities that are appropriate to your child’s developmental level, and by encouraging individual efforts.
Stepping Stone School is committed to nurturing and supporting children, families and the community that surrounds us. That is our daily pledge to you, and here are some other folks and organizations that will back up our claim of being the best!
Watch Me Grow Video Systems
Stepping Stone School has added video monitoring cameras in each classroom at eight of our largest centers. The video feed can be viewed from monitors located in the Directors’ office. The major purposes of the system are to ease anxiety that may surround transition times, to provide comfort and assurance for parents, and to allow Administrators to monitor and assist teachers by immediately responding to the needs of classrooms and individual children.