Sammy's House — Local services in Austin

A sinking ship for prospective parents and employees. From what I understand, this place was founded on and earned a reputation for its dedication to special needs children regardless of ability to pay. Unfortunately, this is not the same institution that earned those accolades.

The agency has been struggling to reinvent itself in the midst of the changes that Covid and a shortage of minimum wage workers have wrought. This and the fact that the director has fired at least 5 employees in one summer lead to constant understaffing issues that hurt the remaining staff and most of all the children. The children are crowded in classrooms above the claimed teacher-student ratio, and get less attention and care as a result. Teachers are untrained in an effort to put adult bodies in a room, as well as not given time to plan schedules or create curriculum, so children are bored and learning very little.

The classrooms are disorganized and unclean, in one case there is no running water in a classroom expected to provide diaper changes and potty training, and other rooms have strange smells that resemble mold and mildew. The lack of time due to the understaffing means that the staff is forced to cut corners when cleaning and children are often playing on surfaces where food waste and human waste have barely been wiped away.

It saddens me that a place that has so much potential to serve special needs families is facing so many problems. This agency needs more accountability and needs to be honest about the problems it is facing so that they can be solved rather than struggling to stay afloat at the expense of the...

Sammy’s House was my sons first daycare experience. My partner and I were very anxious to enroll him in daycare due to his severe food allergies, and wanted to make sure that where he went was knowledgeable about allergies and using epipen. We felt Sammy house was the place since they are use to caring for medically fragile children. His teachers Ms. Sophia, Lexi, and Quinn were amazing with him, showed so much patience with his big feelings. But we decided to go with another school that we had been on a waitlist for due to feeling like the facility was poorly managed.

-We knew we made the right decision to move our son when we picked him up on his last day and we’re told that they could not find his Epipen, and had no record of it! He couldn’t even be in the facility due to his allergies without us completing his medical paperwork. To imagine if he would have had an episode and no one knew where his Epipen was is terrifying, especially after I was reassured that every teacher was trained and would be able to get his epipen if anything were to happen.

-It was hard speaking to someone about tuition, it took months for my first check to be cashed, it actually didn’t get done until after we gave notice that we were leaving, then we received a notice that we owed from our first week (2 months prior). After I proved that we paid what we were quoted they said we were quoted wrong but did acknowledge the quote...

A place for kids who have no where else to go. This warm & caring environment serves the children who can't attend a standard daycare. The kiddos who's parents need to work so they can pay the overwhelming medical bills. The reverse inclusion so you can bring all children, fragile or typical, to the same place. A place that offers respite care to give a much needed break to parents who never get rest worried about their special babies. Isabel and her team have created a model that has won awards and many have come to learn. Curriculum designed to meet each students needs. Outdoor time to calm and learning opportunities. Serving the poor, those who are without homes & families of their own, and those who just want the very best care for their kids all in a place to learn from each other. Sammy's House is a magical place, where so many have grown into their full potential after leaving...