About Shining Stars

Shining Stars has been serving the community since July of 1994 under the direction of owner and president Stella Penizotto. Shining Stars Daycare, Inc. has three convenient locations: East Syracuse, Liverpool and Manlius. We serve ages six weeks through twelve years. In East Syracuse and Manlius, we are open from 6:30am to 6:00pm.

We are dedicated to the nurturing and learning of every child. We accomplish this by employing teachers who share the same philosophy as you do and through daily contact with the parents and/or guardians. We believe that children learn through play and doing their own hands-on activities. We use a Pinnacle Curriculum that has monthly and weekly themes.

Shining Stars has a very low turnover rate for teachers because we know children need consistency. Most of our teachers have been with us from two to eleven years.

Most teachers at Shining Stars have Early Childhood and Bachelor’s Degrees in Education, and all staff receive fifteen hours of training every year including CPR and First Aid.

Our curriculum is based on planning developmentally appropriate activities through an integrated approach. All activities are hands on and provide for frequent opportunities for their own child-initiated experiences. Teachers prepare the day for children to learn through active exploration and interaction with adults, peers, and selected materials within the weekly and monthly themes. Each age group has their own goals and objectives which are discussed at parent/teacher conferences on a yearly basis.

Shining Stars Daycare, Inc. is a New York State licensed business through the Office of Children & Family Service. They were named a Child Care Program of Excellence, were inducted into the 2007 New York State Small Business Hall of Fame, and was also the 2001 Onondaga County Entrepreneur of the Year.