“Our daughter started mid year with Ms. McLaughlin and in just 6 months we've seen HUGE improvement in her speech development and overall education across a variety of topics including letters, numbers, math, science, penmanship and more. The activities keep the kiddos engaged and learning. The crafts they do are the MOST adorable things which we'll cherish forever.
My daughter loves going to school every day and talks positively about her peers and teachers (including Miss Margarita). Melissa puts in a lot of effort into her activities and the kids are well-treated.
I've only heard of positive things from the other parents. Our daughter will continue with Melissa this year. Go and support her small business. We 100% recommend other parents to consider The Heights Learning Academy for your child. You will not regret it.” - Sothea Keo
“Ms. McLaughlin individualizes her curriculum based on where children are at developmentally which feels really personal and helpful”
“I have had the privilege of knowing Ms. McLaughlin the past 4 years. My son was in her classroom ages 4-5 prior to Kindergarten. I can say firsthand that observing her teaching style and her approach to the children is one of passion. She truly has a gift to engage the children in both play and academic learning. She provides a warm, nurturing environment while also balancing structure and play which is important at this age. Ms. McLaughlin also individualizes her curriculum based on where children are at developmentally which feels really personal and helpful. My son Grant is at the top of his Kindergarten class in both reading and writing due to his schooling at the Learning Heights Academy. She is incredibly upbeat and positive which fosters great relationships with both parents and children. We are in kindergarten now and we still really miss the daily interactions at the Heights Learning Academy. Anyone who attends her schooling will be thrilled they did so. She is the best!”
- Beth Staethling
My husband and I had the opportunity to enroll our son in several “top notch” Pre-K programs in Long Beach/Seal Beach, and there is not a day that goes by that we aren’t immensely thankful we selected The Heights Learning Academy for our son, with Ms. McLaughlin at the helm.
Ms. McLaughlin’s energy is everything you could ever want for your child—kind, nurturing and vibrant—and most importantly, her enthusiasm and love for learning is absolutely infectious. Ms. McLaughlin sets clear, challenging (yet attainable) goals for each student, fostering confidence, trust, and a genuine eagerness to learn. While keeping the best interest of her entire classroom forefront, Ms. McLaughlin is simultaneously able to tailor her lesson plans to the interests of each individual child to help them progress and achieve in a manner that is meaningful and motivating to them —it is so magical to watch my son and all of his classmates excel with enthusiasm!
Her curriculum is well rounded and the perfect balance of learning, listening, moving, community, science, Spanish, confidence building and FUN (there were many days at pick-up I wished I was a student for the day!). The amount of planning and effort Ms. McLaughlin puts into each hour she spends with her class shows itself in spades. Her communication with parents is unparalleled—photos, texts, emails and continual evaluations of your young scholars progress!
I have every confidence that the Heights Learning Academy is the best choice we could have made for our son, from both and educational and emotional prospective.
Thanks to the incredible path Ms. McLaughlin has set forth for our son… Kindergarten, here we come!!
-Sidney and Steve Price
“We are so fortunate to have found The Heights Learning Academy in Long Beach. Our family was new to the city and Ms McLaughlin became a constant warm presence in our daughter’s academic and personal growth. Ms McLaughlin is very kind yet firm, and the days at school are filled with a lot of structured learning and fun. The school week is organized by different themes for the kids to really delve into certain topics and interests.
The school is expertly organized and carefully designed for students to work both independently and in groups. I love that there is a small outdoor area for kids to experiment with different activities.
At drop-off all the kids are happy to arrive at school and at pick-up they eagerly gather all the work they’ve completed for day: coloring, a variety of arts and crafts projects, counting and even writing and sounding out CVC words!
Ms McLaughin provides thoughtful feedback regarding each student’s academic and emotional and social growth. We are appreciative of her helping our daughter with the pronunciation of certain letters and even teaching her how to “use her words” to express frustration and to stand up for herself.
There are also wonderful school trips and gatherings for parents to meet. I can’t say enough great things about The Heights Learning Academy.” -Jennifer Tran
“She sees them, and listens to them, making them feel understood.”
I didn’t plan to send my son to a private pre-school, but with the Covid situation, I fell in love with The Heights Learning Academy, because I knew my son would be safe with the pod. When it comes to the foundation of academics, the program truly transforms a child on their journey throughout the year. At the end of the year, my son not only can read, write, add, subtract, think critically and creatively, etc but also develops a love for learning and exploring new ideas.
Ms. McLaughlin is a gift for each child. She sets her students for success in their next steps and beyond. Her teaching methods and creative activities engage each child at their independent levels and truly make them flourish. She pours herself into every activity that she creates for the students. Incredibly, the genuine belief she has in each student motivates them to take on new challenges and conquer any obstacles. Ms. McLaughlin transcends the definition of a teacher as she develops incredible little humans. She sees them, and listens to them, making them feel understood.
Lily and Trung Ha
“Her skill level to teach, communicate, and create the most wonderful classroom and learning environment is very rare..”
Laura Adams—
Every now and then, and sometimes only once in a Child’s life, does one meet a teacher such as Melissa Mclaughlin. Her skill level to teach, communicate, and create the most wonderful classroom and learning environment is very rare. Needless to say, we are beyond grateful Dylan was able to have her as his teacher for his Kindergarten year. She will meet the child to where they are at, and find the way that child learns and run with it. Dylan has excelled and been so motivated because of her! We are so lucky to have had Ms. McLaughlin!
“The world would be a better, kinder, and more loving place if every 4 year old got to start their education journey with The Heights Learning Academy, where they learn to build confidence in themselves and foster meaningful relationships with others.”
Ms. McLaughlin is the most incredible educator we could have ever dreamed of for our daughter, Remi. She makes learning FUN and her individualized approach to teaching really meets each student where they are and keeps them engaged and interested. We have seen incredible progress in our daughters academic achievements but especially in handwriting. Ms. McLaughlin has a way of keeping the kiddos interested and excited to learn through the many fun art projects, movement activities, field trips, Spanish class, and science experiments! Our daughter has learned SO MUCH academically it is amazing to see her progress from week to week. She even comes home and teaches my husband and I a thing or two… :)
While academics are important to us, the thing that drew us in to The Heights Learning Academy is the trust I have in Ms. McLaughlin. From the moment I met her I knew she was invested, caring, genuine, and compassionate…. All traits very important to me as I would be trusting her to care for our daughter for a big chunk of the day. As a mama, we hope to find a space our children can thrive and feel safe in and she provides just that. Remi feels free to be herself and Ms. McLaughlin helps further foster the qualities we value in our home: kindness, inclusivity, active listening, and confidence! Remi continually asks to stay for aftercare because she truly loves Ms. McLaughlin so much and wants to spend time with her. The relationship she develops with her students is one of a kind and the small class size makes that possible!
Her commitment to teaching the kids the many things they need to learn to be prepared for kindergarten while allowing them to grow into the individuals they were meant to be is remarkable to witness! I wish I could shout from the roof tops the positive impact she is not only making on Remi but on all her kids… if you have the opportunity to be a part of Ms. McLaughlin’s school… DO IT! The education has far surpassed any expectations we had for our daughters learning and we are so happy we chose Ms. McLaughlin to help shape our daughter into the amazing little human she is becoming!
THANK YOU Ms. McLaughlin- we are FOREVER grateful to you!
-Lauren and Logan Ross
“Melissa's passion for education is simply contagious.”
Mandy Johnson—
I cannot imagine the last year of our life without Melissa McLaughlin. She provided the inspiring, nurturing, positive energy that our daughter needed to transition into Kindergarten, grow and succeed. Melissa grew a love of learning in our child into blossomed joy. Mae now wants to challenge herself and improve. Subjects that used to intimidate her, I now find her genuinely excited to practice. Melissa's passion for education is simply contagious. Under her care Mae has learned everything from Writing to Math to Spanish and we have learned what our girl is truly capable of.
“Under Ms. McLaughlin’s tutelage, we have watched our son’s confidence skyrocket.”
Julia and Stephen Wucetich—
Ms. McLaughlin has a gift. Her passion for teaching and love for children shines through her classroom.
When COVID-19 shut the world down and we were approached to join a learning pod for Kindergarten, we were skeptical. We wanted some sort of in-person social interaction for our son, but weren’t sure more learning was what he needed. However, what he has learned is much more than math and literacy and is most definitely invaluable.
Under Ms. McLaughlin’s tutelage, we have watched our son’s confidence skyrocket. Ms. McLaughlin encourages kindness and community in her classroom which fosters learning on all levels. She sets clear, high, attainable expectations for her students and believes in her students’ abilities to do more. She is warm yet firm, enthusiastic, dedicated, and authentic and we would recommend her to anyone one looking for a safe, welcoming, fun and challenging environment for their young student.
“Braxton came home daily excited about the art projects he did and what him and his friends learned.”
Ryan & Rachel-
With Kinder starting this past fall and no word about in- school learning, we were very stressed out that Braxton would fall further behind with his reading and writing skills. We were then invited to be a part of the pod where Ms. McLaughlin was teaching and we really were not expecting much. We went into it just wanting Braxton to get the social interaction he was missing, but this past year with Melissa has exceeded our expectations in so many ways. She has academically helped our son gain confidence in English and math, getting him to the level he needs to be. She has also taught him so many wonderful things about history and science. Braxton came home daily excited about the art projects he did and what him and his friends learned. Given the chance all over again we would 100% put Braxton in a classroom with Ms. McLaughlin
The Heights Learning Academy is an incredible find!
“The Heights Learning Academy is an incredible find! Melissa has such
warmth paired with a dynamic teaching style and deep pedagogical knowledge.
This year, our daughter has made huge gains with reading
and writing as well as socialization, particularly important coming
out of the pandemic. Livia begs to stay for extended day and has
developed great friendships with her classmates.”
Emily & Matt Miller.
“Ms. McLaughlin is so nice! She helped me with my reading and math and
now I am a good pro at it. I could be a class helper and there is an
outside play area, where we could play outside. And there are cool art
and science projects, like when we made unicorn hair, volcanos, and
crafts on the water cycle”
Livia, age 4
“For anyone hoping to do a little more for their children, putting them in Melissa’s orbit is a sure-fire way to give them a love of learning and challenge them to do their best. We could not have asked for more.”
Janelle and David Senden-
Melissa was our pandemic savior! After interviewing several teachers to lead a learning pod for 9 Kindergarteners, we selected Melissa to create and implement a program to supplement the online “learning” that was to be provided by the Long Beach School District. It turns out hiring Melissa was the best thing we could have done. She killed it!
Our kids are far ahead of where they would have been, even without the pandemic. She developed a perfect syllabus that challenged the quick learners and encouraged those that needed a little extra. Five days a week, the kids met and learned in a caring, challenging, socially connected classroom that made learning fun and rewarding. Math, reading, and science combined with a big dose of fun kept the everyone engaged and looking forward to what the next day would bring.
Melissa was a great communicator with the parents. She shared lots of pictures of the goings on in the POD, sent home tons of “graded” work to help us see the progress, and regularly talked individually to parents to help them understand their children’s areas of strength and weakness.
We weren’t sure what to expect when we started this POD experiment. What developed was a tight knit group of kids with a sweet, smart, and talented leader. Soooo much better than we ever dreamed. When Long Beach school returned to in-person learning and vastly improved, we continued the POD as a supplement. Honestly, the kids think of POD as their “real school”. These kids will not only be ready when school starts in the fall, they’ll be ahead.
For anyone hoping to do a little more for their children, putting them in Melissa’s orbit is a sure-fire way to give them a love of learning and challenge them to do their best. We could not have asked for more. Melissa has become one of our favorite people and we’ll be forever grateful for the path on which she has helped us put our son. In our son’s words, “Ms. McLaughlin is AWESOME!!”
“Miss McLaughlin’s additional expertise and certifications in speech therapy have been a godsend for my daughter’s development and confidence.”
Ryan and Lisa Fogg-
It has been a joy to have Miss McLaughlin care and instruct my child. Melissa embodies the perfect blend of love and kindness intertwined with discipline and expert teaching skills. My daughter started a Kindergarten POD with Miss McLaughlin, shortly after being treated for a correctable case of hearing loss. My daughter was both “developmentally behind” and lacking confidence in her own abilities. In short time, Melissa has been able to elevate my daughter’s abilities. Miss McLaughlin’s additional expertise and certifications in speech therapy have been a godsend for my daughter’s development and confidence. This dual ability, to control and care for a full classroom, while simultaneously attending to my child’s special needs, has earned her my greatest appreciation and admiration. Any child and his/her family will be blessed to have Miss McLaughlin as a teacher or tutor.
“The techniques that Melissa uses are amazing”
Chris and Dianne Livingston-My son Preston is 6 years old and we have been using Melissa for speech therapy since March. It is now June, and he says words that I can understand. The techniques that Melissa uses are amazing! For example, she plays games that help him learn and he has no idea he is learning at the same time. She has patience and always has a smile on her face. Thank you for being amazing!
The time, attention and creativity she puts toward every lesson, every day, consistently goes above and beyond.
Maura and Jason Salata
I cannot say enough good things about Ms. McLaughlin , her classroom, and her teaching style. What she created with our Kindergarten pod exceeded even our best dreams for what we could provide Sammy for his Kindergarten year. After 5 months of lock down and schools officially online, we had hoped to give Sammy some semblance of a normal, live Kindergarten. However, he got so much more.
Ms. McLaughlin’s passion for teaching was evident in our very first meeting. The time, attention and creativity she puts toward every lesson, every day, consistently goes above and beyond. Each and every week, the children experience cool art projects, exciting science experiments, engaging activities and lively conversations. She truly gives them a hands on, fully interactive learning experience.
We were also very impressed in how she tailored her lessons and activities to the interests and personalities of the children. She figured out quickly what motivates them and used those to the benefit of the class.
The community – the tribe- that was created with these 8 children is something to witness. They care about each other, root for each other, genuinely enjoy each other. Ms. McLaughlin is also helping to shape them to be kind to each other, good citizens and lifelong learners. She created a class of kids who are passionate about their own learning – and who leave each day wanting more. Sammy doesn’t want to miss even a day.
Our experience has been so wonderful, so magical, that as the end nears we are filled with such a sadness that this class cannot continue on indefinitely.
Now that it’s time to find a Pre- K for my 4 year old, it was a no brainer. I told Melissa to sign him up immediately because there is no one I trust more than Ms McLaughlin to prepare my next child for Kinder and to foster a joy of learning.
“We are indebted to Melissa and what she did for Frankie, and I am beyond grateful.”
Pam and Phil Mazzocco-
Ms. McLaughlin was the ray of sunshine and hope Frankie needed to have a happy and healthy Kindergarten experience. Aside from the fun and happiness she exudes with these kids, the educational experience fostered Frankie to thrive in school. Her math, reading, and Spanish skills are far beyond what I ever would have imagined they would be at her age. We are indebted to Melissa and what she did for Frankie, and I am beyond grateful that my younger daughter Maggie will have the opportunity to experience her excellence.
“She was thoughtful, considerate, encouraging but disciplined with him.”
Mary Barton Mayes-
Melissa really knows her stuff! She helped tremendously when my grandson needed a boost to catch up on reading in first grade; she was thoughtful, considerate, encouraging but disciplined with him. His reading improved dramatically. She also helped Christopher with his speech, and now I can really understand him, too. She made it a wonderful and fun experience!