Ranked among the top 10 childcare centers in Stow. Fewer than half of all centers in the city reach this level across our full 11-dimension scoring.
Best Teachers
Earned the highest teacher quality score in Stow. This dimension weighs staff tenure, qualifications, warmth reported in parent reviews, and consistency of care across classrooms.
Best Infant Care
Earned the highest infant care score in Stow. This dimension focuses on caregiver ratios, responsiveness, feeding and sleep routines, and parent feedback specific to infant rooms.
Best Management
Earned the highest management score in Stow. This dimension reflects director responsiveness, communication, operational consistency, and the overall tone families experience from leadership.
Full Ranking Detail
childcare
Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care is a locally owned, Gold-rated provider in Stow, OH, serving infants through school-age children (6 weeks to 11 years) with locations in Stow and Munroe Falls. Recognized by Ohio's Step Up To Quality Rating System for enriched programming, educated teachers, and lower ratios, the center emphasizes a "Learning Meets Play" developmental approach across age groups. It offers infant care, toddler and preschool programs, and school-age services including before-and-after care and summer camp, with extended hours (6:30 AM–6:00 PM, Monday–Friday) and federal meal support to accommodate working families. Public child care vouchers are accepted, expanding access across the Stow community.
Safety5.0
Curriculum8.0
Art / Music5.0
Infant care5.0
Kindergarten readiness6.0
Teacher quality8.0
Compassion6.0
Management8.0
Culture6.0
Extracurriculars6.0
Programs & curriculum
Curriculum & approach: Structured childcare curriculum featuring an indoor gymnasium with bikes, scooters, climbing structure, and soft mats, plus outdoor playground equipment.
Programs & activities: Infant childcare, toddler childcare, preschool childcare, school-age childcare with busing to nearby schools, summer camp, and microschool programs.
What sets it apart: Federal Food Program participation; modern equipment for meal preparation using locally-grown products when available; 24-hour surveillance, surrounding fencing, and locking buzz-in doors; brightly-lit, warm facilities; located at intersection of Route 59 and Fishcreek; 9 classrooms serving over 150 children; GOLD rating on Ohio Department of Children and Youth Step Up To Quality.
Recognition of Excellence — Website Badge
🏆 For Center Directors
Your center has earned independent recognition based on verified parent reviews. You are welcome to display this badge on your website. Paste the snippet below into your site's HTML — it links back to this verified recognition page.
Top 10 in Stow
<!-- Recognition of Excellence: Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care -->
<a href="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/ohio/akron-canton/stow/small-steps-big-strides-child-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="display:flex;align-items:flex-start;gap:16px;padding:18px;background:#FFFBF0;border:1px solid #EDD97A;border-radius:10px;max-width:420px;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">
<img src="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/badges/rank-10-city.jpg" alt="Top 10 in Stow - Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care - Stow, OH" width="80" height="80" style="border-radius:8px;flex-shrink:0;" loading="lazy">
<span>
<strong style="display:block;font-size:15px;color:#1A1A18;margin-bottom:5px;">Top 10 in Stow</strong>
<span style="font-size:13px;color:#4A4A46;line-height:1.5;">Ranked among the top 10 childcare centers in Stow. Fewer than half of all centers in the city reach this level across our full 11-dimension scoring.</span>
</span>
</a>
Best Teachers
<!-- Recognition of Excellence: Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care -->
<a href="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/ohio/akron-canton/stow/small-steps-big-strides-child-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="display:flex;align-items:flex-start;gap:16px;padding:18px;background:#FFFBF0;border:1px solid #EDD97A;border-radius:10px;max-width:420px;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">
<img src="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/badges/dim-teacherq.jpg" alt="Best Teachers - Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care - Stow, OH" width="80" height="80" style="border-radius:8px;flex-shrink:0;" loading="lazy">
<span>
<strong style="display:block;font-size:15px;color:#1A1A18;margin-bottom:5px;">Best Teachers</strong>
<span style="font-size:13px;color:#4A4A46;line-height:1.5;">Earned the highest teacher quality score in Stow. This dimension weighs staff tenure, qualifications, warmth reported in parent reviews, and consistency of care across classrooms.</span>
</span>
</a>
Best Infant Care
<!-- Recognition of Excellence: Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care -->
<a href="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/ohio/akron-canton/stow/small-steps-big-strides-child-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="display:flex;align-items:flex-start;gap:16px;padding:18px;background:#FFFBF0;border:1px solid #EDD97A;border-radius:10px;max-width:420px;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">
<img src="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/badges/dim-infant.jpg" alt="Best Infant Care - Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care - Stow, OH" width="80" height="80" style="border-radius:8px;flex-shrink:0;" loading="lazy">
<span>
<strong style="display:block;font-size:15px;color:#1A1A18;margin-bottom:5px;">Best Infant Care</strong>
<span style="font-size:13px;color:#4A4A46;line-height:1.5;">Earned the highest infant care score in Stow. This dimension focuses on caregiver ratios, responsiveness, feeding and sleep routines, and parent feedback specific to infant rooms.</span>
</span>
</a>
Best Management
<!-- Recognition of Excellence: Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care -->
<a href="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/ohio/akron-canton/stow/small-steps-big-strides-child-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="display:flex;align-items:flex-start;gap:16px;padding:18px;background:#FFFBF0;border:1px solid #EDD97A;border-radius:10px;max-width:420px;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">
<img src="https://creativemindsmontessori.com/US-wide-childcare-preschool-rankings/badges/dim-mgmt.jpg" alt="Best Management - Small Steps - Big Strides Child Care - Stow, OH" width="80" height="80" style="border-radius:8px;flex-shrink:0;" loading="lazy">
<span>
<strong style="display:block;font-size:15px;color:#1A1A18;margin-bottom:5px;">Best Management</strong>
<span style="font-size:13px;color:#4A4A46;line-height:1.5;">Earned the highest management score in Stow. This dimension reflects director responsiveness, communication, operational consistency, and the overall tone families experience from leadership.</span>
</span>
</a>
This recognition is awarded independently by Creative Minds Montessori based on publicly available parent reviews and public records. Centers do not pay for or request these rankings. Scores reflect editorial synthesis of verified parent experience — not center marketing materials. Rankings are updated periodically as new reviews are analyzed.
