University Avenue Discovery Center

Our two children age 3 and 5 spent the year at UADC and our experience was extraordinary. The staff at UADC really cares about children: always available, energetic and full of ideas. Everyday you get an e-​mail about the activities and events that took place. Both our children had a wonderful time there and I can only recommend this wonderful place!

We just started our daughter at this school a couple weeks ago, and we are so glad we made the switch! We’ve had all sorts of experiences with in-​home, bi-​lingual, Montessori, play based, etc. and the approach at UADC is the most holistic and fun! There are so many things we love about the place, it’s hard to list them all, but here are some of the highlights… I love getting a daily email recap of the types of things they do throughout the day. The teachers are consistent and experienced. Both teachers and the management are always very responsive and helpful. There is so much variety in what they do from day to day and the work is often small group based so it still focuses in on my daughter as an individual learner. Also, because they aren’t a «daycare» but rather a preschool/​4K they can really focus in and tailor the programs to that age group. Lots of outside play time! Behavior wise, our daughter has responded well to the structure and we find she is doing better listening at home now.
We highly recommend you consider UADC!

PROS:
Cost — after looking at a bunch of places, we found the center to be the best priced center for what you get. Tons of extras like language class, yoga, dance, art and music class taught by outside instructors and not the regular teachers. In general, tuition is one of the lowest in the Madison area.
Hot Lunch everyday — we were so tired of packing food at our prior center. Lunch is included in tuition and the meals are healthy and organic when ever possible.
Teachers — Teachers are great, qualified and very caring. Also, they all have a degree in teaching or education. Many centers we considered had one main teacher and the others just had job experience as care providers.
Class room — The rooms are spacious and well organized. There are several center areas for the kids to do different activities such as science, dramatic, music, art, books and sensory. This seemed to work well and keeps our kids interested.
Field Trips– It seems the schedule is always changed and kept fresh. Our kids love going to the trips and it is always the highlight of their week.
Cons:
Building Dated– Although not affiliated with the church, they rent space from them in their mezzanine level. I know the center works hard with the church to keep the space up to standards but still, the church is old and shows at times.
Turnover — Initially, there was a high turnover in teachers but over the past year, it has stabilized and there now seems to be a conscious effort to keep staff turnover down.
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Overall, I feel UADC is a great center and I would highly recommend it to friends and family. No center is perfect but as far as the quality of education and preparing our kids for kindergarten, it would be really hard to beat it at the same tuition level.