Owned by Denise Statlander, Greengate Academy is a preschool and daycare serving children ages 12 months to 12-years-old in the Spring community. What sets Greengate Academy apart is its commitment to making education accessible to as many children as possible.

Making education accessible

The school strives to keep tuition rates affordable, with weekly rates starting at $159. Greengate Academy caps off its tuition at $350 for the weekly program, regardless of how many children a family has.

“We keep our tuition low,” Statlander said. “I can’t have parents paying more for daycare than they're making on their paycheck.”

Greengate Academy also offers a private kindergarten and private prep school. The school's cutoff date for kindergarten is Dec. 31 instead of Sept. 1. This allows the school to accept children who are ready to enter kindergarten, even if their birthdays fall after the traditional cutoff date.

In addition, Greengate Academy offers transportation to and from all the local public and charter schools.

“We are here to meet every child's needs whatever level they're at and make sure that both the parent and the child are comfortable knowing that their child is safe and being cared for,” Statlander said.

Preparing children for the future

Greengate Academy prepares children for academic success by emphasizing phonics at an early age. The phonics-based program starts introducing letters and their associated sounds to children as young as one-year-old. This makes the transition to kindergarten easier.

“We use a phonics-based program even in our younger classes from age one and up,” Statlander said. “When it comes to reading, they’ll already have all the experience they need and they're ready to go.”

Building lasting relationships

Statlander said she makes relationships with parents a priority. She said she wants the parents to be as comfortable as the children at her school. This dedication to building relationships with families is part of why Greengate Academy has continued serving families for over 30 years. As a result of this, Statlander said she is seeing second-generation students attending Greengate Academy.

The staff at Greengate Academy plays an important role in its success. Many of the teachers have

been with the school since its founding, reflecting the school's reputation as a family-oriented workplace.

“We're a small daycare that treats our parents like family,” she said.

Greengate Academy is open Mon.-Fri. from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. It is located at 18490 Kuykendahl Road, Spring. To learn more about Greengate Academy, visit their website or call 281-288-0880.

The above story was produced by Multi-Platform Journalist Mary Katherine Shapiro with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.