The Spanish Advantage Club

I just stumbled across an article written by WRTV that depicted The Spanish Advantage Club (TSAC) as some kind of undisciplined or unregulated facility, and it really bothered me. As a parent who has sent my kids to TSAC for years, I felt like I needed to write a rebuttal to it. The stepmom who made the complaint clearly stepped into the place with little understanding of what actually goes on there. She described a situation in which her kid came home wearing clothes that weren't his, which is something I can relate to. Once, TSAC sent one of my kids home with clothes that were not theirs. Why? Because my child had an accident and I had forgotten to send them with a backup pair, so they lent me extra clothes that they keep there! When that happened to me, I washed the clothes they sent us, thanked them profusely, and sent them with the "lent" clothes plus a backup pair from our house. I'm not sure if that was the same situation that Ms. Wells described, but the implication that TSAC is a careless facility that mixes things up is simply not true. On the contrary, they have helped me out as a parent when I have dropped the ball.
Here's some more context: I have three kids who have been involved in some capacity at the Spanish Advantage Club for the past three years. My wife and I are VERY picky about what childcare providers we use. (To give you a sense of how picky we are, we went through three nannies during the pandemic before settling on one whom we felt was adequately meeting our children's needs.) By our estimation, TSAC is the best child care facility we've ever attended. They get to know each of them and make them feel loved. They have much less staff turnover and inconsistency than other daycares because they are a family run daycare. They have personal connections with teachers at the Lawrence grade schools and know how to set them up to succeed. Besides teaching Spanish, they are ethnically diverse and teach intercultural competence. And they go above and beyond to set up parent-teacher meetings, awards ceremonies, and personalized messages for each one. When this licensing issue came up, they told all of the families about it and fixed it as soon as possible. However, they never even mentioned the family who made the complaint; I just happened to find out about it when I stumbled across the WRTV article today, and I am still in disbelief over how terribly they misrepresented TSAC.
Don't let one disgruntled parent cause you to miss out on this wonderful opportunity for your children. Look instead at the 25 five-star reviews from parents who have really engaged there. This is not just an adequate daycare facility that meets state standards; it's an excellent school that goes above and beyond to care for your kids.

The Spanish Advantage Club is a wonderful way to supplement your child's learning. They are flexible and work hard to make sure that our daughter is challenged, supported and encouraged, academically, linguistically and socially and so much more. This is a family business, and they make us feel like each child and family who is part of TSAC is a priority to them! We are so grateful for and pleased with the development of our daughter over the three years that we have been part of the program. We cannot say enough great things! TSAC is the best of the best!

My son is in the after-school program and my daughter is in the all day preschool program and we absolutely love the Spanish Advantage Club. They have become like family to my kids and I and have taught my children so much over the brief period of time they have been teaching them. For the after-school program, they pick my child up from school and then help him complete all his homework assignments and then will do an organized activity or sports to keep the children active. When I pick them up, everything is completed so I am able to spend quality time with my children without any additional stressors. The preschool program is new this year and is incredible. It is at least 50% Spanish Immersion and my four-year-old daughter spends much of her time at home with me correcting me on my attempt at Spanish. She will include Spanish in her regular conversation as if it is natural to her. My goal is for both my children to be bilingual and I believe that the Spanish Advantage Club is their best opportunity to achieve this goal. An added bonus is that their hours are until 6:30 p.m. which is extremely helpful for working parents that have late hours and have difficulty picking up children from childcare. All in all, TSAC is a lifeline for our family and I am extremely thankful we found them!

My daughter has been attending TSAC via their aftercare program, which has been wonderful. This year, mid-school season, I decided to send my daughter to TSAC's preschool program and it has been a phenomenal decision. Sra Isonhood is incredible with communication and her understanding of each of the children. There are activities, learning, and my daughter comes home with a smile every day!

Both of my kids have been in TSAC afterschool program for a few years. My daughter’s grades improved drastically since switching to TSAC for after school tutoring, and our evenings became much less stressful as we weren’t having to help her with homework when she is tired in the evenings. The teachers are very receptive to feedback, so they can help the kids work on real-time struggles. Great program!