La Jolla Preschool Academy

Our son has been at LJPA for close to 2 years. He loves it! Ms. Karen has been accommodating, responsive, and really does her best to help families with young children. Our son started in the infant room and it was a wonderful, warm environment — and I’ve always felt very comfortable leaving him with the excellent teachers up at the La Jolla campus. He moved through the early toddler class and is now in the «Panda Bears.» He’s thrived in this class, too, and the teachers have fostered a loving, supportive environment. The kids greet one another in the morning and say goodbye to each other in the afternoon, and our son talks about his day and his friends nonstop. They seem to have a really good time together, and they’ve been really helpful with potty training and the other hurdles of toddler-​hood. They really make an effort to integrate learning (visits from animal people, holidays, some Spanish, etc) with a lot of free play time. Oh, and the playground at LJPA is the best around.

I can say only great things. My daughter has started last October and since then we have only seen great and wonderful people surrounding her. Ms. Karen and her team are very professional, knowlodebgal and very caring. I highly recommend.

I have had my infant here for 3 months now and have been very happy with the care she has received. The caregivers in the infant room really seem to love her and give her lots of attention despite having 3 other babies to care for. I’ve come unannounced to pick her up multiple times and shes always being held, played with, or sleeping peacefully in her crib.

My kids went to La Jolla Preschool academy from 2011 — 2014 and thrived in their environment. We went there after good friends had sent their two children and had such a great experience. The teachers and staff were caring and dedicated. The facility is perfect for all pre-​school kids the way the classrooms divide out.

We selected La Jolla Preschool Academy for both of our daughters and they have attended since they were babies. We’ve now been parents of the school for 5 years. LJPA is well-​run, starting from the top with Karen, the Executive Director. The school does a GREAT job with all the teachers knowing all the kids, regardless of class. That’s a big deal when your child moves up a classroom. The kids rotate classrooms (ie at beginning or end of each day) and ultimately they spend time in each room with each teacher. The teachers have long tenure, which I take as a sign of good leadership and stability. The teachers truly love the kids (we’ve adopted a few as babysitters). The art projects the kids bring home are thoughtful, and I can tell each teacher takes the lead with planning projects in their respective classrooms. I REALLY APPRECIATE how the school takes a proactive approach letting parents know the stuff that’s hard to hear (ie diseases going around). I can’t say enough good things… we’d go to LJPA again and again and have referred many friends who now attend with their children.

This was an amazing place for our daughter. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. The staff really seem to love working there, and it is reflected in the great care they give the children. All interactions we had with both the teachers and management were very friendly while remaining professional. You really get the feeling your kids are well treated and happy here.
Sadly we are relocating away from San Diego, but would otherwise have kept our daughter at LJPA all the way up to school age, no question.

Be very, very careful about sending your child anywhere near this school. The laziness and negligence of the staff here is astounding, and it starts at the top, with Karen Slizgi. I would recommend any one of the many other schools in the area before subjecting my child to this kind of environment.
Karen Slizgi’s profile on the school’s website states that in the last 14 years she has directed at «4 different preschools»; don’t interpret that as a commendation; transience in a preschool director is NOT a virtue. There’s probably a reason she hasn’t held a steady job. If I could give a rating of zero stars, I’d use it here. I’ll have to settle for one star, which is far more than this school deserves.