Oakcrest Preparatory Academy of Tega Cay — Local services in Tega Cay

Both of my boys go to this school and they love it as well as our whole family!

My oldest son went to two other preschools and we never felt he was reaping the benefits of the monthly tuition we were paying. At Tega Cay Children's the tuition is very cost competitive AND we can see the school spends money on making sure the children have the best possible learning experience.

One of my favorite features is the real Chef led kitchen. Chef Zac makes real food for the kids from scratch and the daily menu is enviable. My oldest son is eating foods I probably would have never dared to make for him over fear of him rejecting it. Previous schools all the meals were frozen and it was food I certainly would not eat myself...there is something wrong with that! I would not make my child eat anything at home that I would not also eat myself, his school food should also be the same and thankfully it is. They also have a new weekly take home meal for busy families and we have tried all but one dish and the food is better than restaurant quality. This allows us to have at least one night to spend a little extra time with our boys before getting them ready for bed.

TCCA also has a ton of weekly ancillary programs for the kids at NO EXTRA COST. Previous schools we had to pay extra for our oldest son to participate and we felt obligated because if he saw other kids getting pulled out of class we did not want him to feel left out. At TCCA all the kids get to participate. The current classes are Robotics and Engineering (where the kids have been making lego robots and learning how to program them on the computer), Mr. Music (fun and active dancing for the kids), Karate... and previously they had glasses like fitness, yoga and a gymnastics style class. They rotate these classes out quarterly (I think or maybe it is semi annually).

The playground is amazing and it is made to look like a tiny town. It is so much more than some hot plastic slides out in a small court yard. The kids get to play in a large area and run around tot heir hearts content. I do wish there was an accessible bathroom for the children outside but that is my only critique of the school.

The teachers and staff are wonderful and they actually tell us about our children's days... you can tell they are also proud of what is being taught in their lesson plans. They even have a classroom for kids ready to move up into preschool but aren't quite potty trained fully... Ms. Quilla was instrumental in potty training our oldest child; I really do not think it would have happened so quickly if it was not for her and that transitional classroom...what other school actively tries to help with potty training??? No place we've previously encountered.

I could go on forever with all the pluses at this school. I wish we had more friends with children so I could refer them all to Tega Cay Children's Academy. The owners, the Ott's are fabulous and have paid attention to detail to make the school a warm and inviting experience for the...

For the most part, we’ve had positive experiences with many of the staff and teachers at Oakcrest. There are some wonderful individuals who truly care for the kids, and I want to acknowledge that upfront.

That said, this review is not directed at them—it’s directed at the organization, leadership, and ownership behind Oakcrest.

We’ve had two children enrolled here since 2022 and have paid over $83,000 in tuition—never missing a single payment. We've supported the school, told other families about it, and truly tried to be good members of the community.

Recently, our youngest was accepted into a new program, and we gave 35 days' notice that he wouldn't be returning. Unfortunately, I missed the "re-enrollment deadline" by 12 days and was hit with a $200 re-enrollment fee.

I take full responsibility for missing the cutoff.

But what shocked me was the complete lack of empathy or understanding from leadership. No flexibility. No conversation. Just a cold response quoting a handbook. I wasn’t asking for special treatment—I was asking for basic human decency after years of loyalty.

To make it worse, the communication around this policy was minimal. We received only one reminder in March—no follow-ups, no texts, no push notifications through the app. And yet, they’ll call or message multiple times if your child has a mild illness. So it’s not a tech limitation—it’s a priority issue.

Oakcrest brands itself as a "preparatory academy," but at the end of the day—it’s a corporate daycare with a polished image. They're quick to run book drives and food drives (which families support), but when it comes to truly valuing long-term families—they’ve made it clear where their priorities lie.

If you're a family comparing child care options, I’d encourage you to look deeper than the branding. Our experience has been a harsh reminder that no matter how much time, money, or trust you invest—you’re still just a number on a spreadsheet to them.

Disappointed doesn’t even begin...

I wanted to allow for some time since our daughter's enrollment to pass before writing this review. She is our first (probably only) child who is a year old and has attended The Learning Experience (TLE) before transferring to Oakcrest.

In all honesty, I am blown away by the level of detail, attention, care, and compassion shown to my daughter and extended to me and my wife by the Oakcrest staff.

Compared to our previous experience with TLE where the teachers sat the children in a room and basically left them to their own devices, Oakcrest is on a completely different level. Oakcrest develops personalized lesson plans, constantly sends us home with art and sends us videos/pictures of reading time, arts and crafts time, play time outside, etc all day, every day. The children are consistently engaged and the facilities are extremely clean and secured. My daughter seems to be sick much much less and comes home everyday with new, positive behaviors e.g. she came home singing to herself for the first time yesterday.

Highly,...