Child Care Center
✓ Licensed
A Step Ahead Preschool
North Bergen, NJ
· Hudson County
610-76th Street,
North Bergen, NJ 07047
Quick Facts
Capacity
40 children
Age Range
0 - 13 years
Subsidized Program
Participates
State Rating
1
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Contact Information
📞 (201) 679-0110
Licensed Child Care Center
Active License
License Number
09AST0001
License Issued
Jul 29, 2026
Active Through
Jul 29, 2029
Issued By
New Jersey Department of Children & Families
District Office
New Jersey Dept of Children and Families - Office of Licensing
Reviews
Gretter Hernandez
2021-07-13 15:43:16
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I have used this provider for more than 6 months
Amazing place, kids learn so much and love it there.
128 out of 231 think this review is helpful
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About the Provider
We at "A Step Ahead School" believe that if a child is in an environment where he or she is happy then that child will thrive. The first five years of life are the most important, here a child develops physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. We will provide an environment where the child will feel safe and secure and where he or she will develop a positive self-concept. Our atmosphere will promote independence, self confidence, creativity, questioning, development of the thought process, respect for self and others and we will build the foundations needed for the basic skills of learning. Our curriculum will develop the areas of Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies (Multicultural) Music and dance. We strive and work hard towards maintaining a warm and loving environment individualizing the lessons whenever necessary to meet your child's needs.
Hours of Operation
- Monday06:30 AM - 06:30 PM
- Tuesday06:30 AM - 06:30 PM
- Wednesday06:30 AM - 06:30 PM
- Thursday06:30 AM - 06:30 PM
- Friday06:30 AM - 06:30 PM
- Saturday Closed
- Sunday Closed
Inspection/Report History
Where possible, ChildcareCenter provides inspection reports as a service to families. This information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. We encourage families to contact the daycare provider directly with any questions or concerns. Reports can also be verified with your local daycare licensing office.
| Inspection Date | Type | Reinspection / Rule | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-24 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2026-09-03 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2026-07-15 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2026-06-09 | Re-Inspection,Phone Call | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2026-04-20 | Renewal,Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2026-03-13 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2026-02-13 | Phone Call,Email | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2025-12-05 | Re-Inspection,Phone Call | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2025-10-16 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2025-10-15 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2025-09-10 | Monitoring,Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2025-08-08 | Life Safety Modification | No | Center Inspection |
| 2025-01-28 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2025-01-22 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2025-01-17 | Phone Call | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-12-17 | Monitoring | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-10-01 | Phone Call | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-09-17 | Phone Call | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-07-02 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-05-30 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-04-29 | Phone Call | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-04-23 | Complaint | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-03-04 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2024-01-08 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2023-11-14 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2023-09-15 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2023-07-31 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2023-07-11 | Phone Call | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2023-07-07 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2023-07-07 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2023-05-09 | Renewal | No | Center Inspection |
| 2023-05-09 | Renewal | No | Center Inspection |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.3(c) | Ensure that adequate staff/child ratios are maintained at all times throughout the center. Room 2 had 9 children 18m-2 with two staff. One of the staff members was also cooking the children's lunch and was in and out of the classroom. - The following staff/child ratios shall apply, except as specified in 3A:52-4.3(d) through (f):Age Staff/Child RatioUnder 18 months - 1:418 months up to 2 ½ years - 1:62 ½ years up to 4 years - 1:104 years - 1:125 years and older - 1:15 |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(q)(2)(ii) | Ensure that the center complies with the licensed capacity of the classrooms at all times throughout the center. The 2nd floor is licensed for 10 children and 11 children were present. - Space and room requirements are as follows: at no time shall a center allow more children in attendance than the licensed room capacity. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-6.1(g)(3) | Ensure that there are at least five different activity areas and that each area contains at least five different types of supplies and equipment in room 2. - For early childhood programs, the following shall apply: centers serving children 18 months of age and older shall provide at least five types of children's daily activities including, but not limited to, language; science and mathematics; manipulative; large muscle; building; art; music; drama; or other comparable activities; and at least five types of supplies and equipment for each daily activity chosen by the center. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-6.4(b)(2)(iii)(4) | Ensure that all sleeping mats in room 2 are stored so that there is no contact with the sleeping surface of another mat or that the mats are disinfected after each use as required. - The center shall provide sleeping equipment for children over the age of 12 months and under the age of five years, the center shall provide for each child a crib that complies with the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC), Federal Safety Standards for Full-Size and Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs; 16 CRF 1219 and 1220, which is incorporated herein by reference, and can be obtained through the CPSC's website at http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr11/cribfinal.pdf, playpen, cot, mat, or other Office of Licensing-approved sleeping equipment that meets the following requirements: each mat used for rest and sleep shall be stored so that there is no contact with the sleeping surface of another mat, or disinfected after each use, as specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-7.7(a)1. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-6.4(f) | Ensure that each child's bedding and sleeping equipment are labeled with the child's name in room 2. - When cribs, playpens, cots, mats or other Office of Licensing-approved sleeping equipment are stored with sheets, blankets, or other coverings as single units, at least one item of each unit shall be labeled with child-identifying information. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.5(a)(3)(i)(1) | Ensure that the center has a table of organization that illustrates lines of authority, responsibility and communication. - The sponsor or sponsor representative shall designate individuals with the authority and responsibility to develop and implement written policies and procedures for the operation of the center, including a table of organization that illustrates lines of authority, responsibility and communication. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.6(a) | Ensure that the center completes and maintains on file a Staff Records Checklist designated by OOL. - The center shall maintain on file a Staff Records Checklist designated by the Office of Licensing, as specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.1(b), indicating that the center has obtained documentation of the applicable staff education and experience, as specified in 3A:52-4.6(b) through (d). |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.10(b)(1) | Ensure that all staff submit a CARI background check upon renewal. - When the center applies for a new or renewal license or Certificate of Life/Safety Approval, the sponsor or sponsor representative shall submit to the Department the completed CARI consent forms for all staff members who are or will be working at the center on a regularly scheduled basis. Within two weeks after a new staff member begins working at the center, the sponsor or sponsor representative shall submit to the Department a completed CARI consent form for the new staff member. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.11(a)(1) | Ensure that all staff, the sponsor and/or the sponsor representative complete a CHRI background check as required.Ensure that all staff, the sponsor and/or the sponsor representative complete a CHRI background check as required for the center's license renewal. - As a condition of securing a license or Certificate of Life/Safety Approval, the sponsor or sponsor representative shall ensure that a Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) fingerprint background check is completed for himself or herself, and for all staff members at least 18 years of age who are or will be working at the center on a regularly- scheduled basis, to determine whether any such person has been convicted of a crime, as specified in P.L. 2000, c. 77 (N.J.S.A. 30:5B-6.10 to 6.17). The sponsor or sponsor representative and each staff member shall complete the electronic fingerprinting process through the vendor authorized by the State to conduct CHRI background checks through the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.6(b)(1) | Ensure that the director meets the required qualifications as specified in the manual. - The director shall meet the following qualification requirements for early childhood programs licensed to serve more than 30 children, the director shall meet the qualification requirements as specified in N.J.A.C 3A:52-4.6(b) for education and experience. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.6(c)(1) | Ensure that the head teacher meets the required qualifications as specified in the manual. - For early childhood programs, the following shall apply: for all centers, the head teacher or consulting head teacher shall meet the qualification requirements specified in one of the seven options set forth in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.6(c) for education and experience. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.6(d)(1) | Ensure that the program supervisor meets the required qualifications as specified in the manual. - For school-age child care programs the program supervisor shall meet the qualification requirements specified in one of the applicable options set forth in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.6(d) for education, training, and experience, based on the center's licensed capacity. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.8(a)(1) | Retrain all staff on supervising, ratios and tracking children. - Topics of orientation training shall include supervising and tracking all children, as specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.3(a). |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.5(c)(2)(ii) | Ensure that the director designee completes the Understanding Licensing training provided by OOL. - The director or his or her designee(s) shall be on the premises at all times when the center is operating and the designee shall complete staff development in understanding licensing rules as provided by the Office. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.8(a)(2) | Ensure that all staff complete orientation training within two weeks of hire and annually, including understanding center operations, policies and procedures. - Topics of orientation training shall include understanding center operations, policies and procedures, as specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.5(b)3. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.8(c) | Ensure that all staff complete 12 hours of staff development annually. - The center shall ensure that all staff members who work at the center complete 12 hours of continuing staff development each year. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.8(d)(1) | Ensure that all credentialed staff complete 20 hours of staff development annually. - In lieu of the child care staff development specified in N.J.A.C. 3A:52-4.8(b), the director, head teacher(s), group teacher(s), and program supervisor(s) shall each complete 20 hours of staff development each year. Recommended topics of training for these staff include educational and physical activity. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-4.5(e)(8) | Ensure that all staff working with children under 2.5 years of age have training specific to this age group initiated within 90 days of hire and completed within one year. - For early childhood programs all staff that work with children under 2 1/2 years of age shall have training specific to this age group, which may include, but is not limited to, the New Jersey Infant/Toddler Credential administered through Professional Impact NJ, the Infant-Toddler Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential, or other trainings specifically related to the care of infants and toddlers. Each employee shall initiate this training within 90 days and complete it within one year. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(o)(1) | Ensure that at least two staff have current first aid and CPR certifications and are present at all times at the center. - First aid requirements are as follows: at least two staff members who have current certified basic knowledge of first aid principles and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), as defined by a recognized health organization (such as the American Red Cross), shall be in the center at all times when enrolled children are present. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-6.8(a)(1) | Ensure that the center completes and maintains on file a children's records checklist, including the child's name, address, birth date and date of enrollment. - The center shall complete and maintain on file for each enrolled child a Children’s Records Checklist, signed by the director, sponsor, or sponsor representative and designated by the Office of Licensing, indicating that the center has obtained documentation of the child's name, address, birth date, and date of enrollment. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-7.3(a)(2) | Ensure that the health forms contain all of the required components. - For early childhood programs, the following shall apply: for each child not enrolled in a public or private school, upon admission, the center shall maintain on file at the center a Universal Child Health Record (Department of Health Form CH-14) or its equivalent, updated annually, along with an immunization record, and a special care plan, if applicable. A 30-day grace period is permitted in N.J.A.C. 8:57-4.5(e) |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-3.4(a) | Ensure that the center has a current comprehensive general liability insurance policy and maintains the documentation on file. - The sponsor or sponsor representative shall secure comprehensive general liability insurance coverage for the center and shall maintain on file a copy of the insurance policy or documentation of current insurance coverage. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.2(a)(5) | Provide a current fire certificate as required. - The center shall be permitted to obtain a valid fire safety inspection certificate issued by the municipality in which it is located, based on a fire inspection conducted within the preceding 12 months, and submit a copy of the certificate to the Office of Licensing in lieu of a CO or CCO, if the center serves only children 2 ½ years of age or older and is located in a public school building that is used as a public school. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.2(a)(8) | Provide a current life/hazard use registration certificate applicable to the center's licensed capacity and ages served. - The center shall obtain a Life Hazard Use Registration certificate applicable to the center’s licensed capacity and ages served pursuant to the Uniform Fire Safety Act, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-192 et seq. The center shall post this document in a prominent location within the center. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(n)(1) | Ensure that the center conducts fire drills at least once per month during each session provided at the center, including one fire drill annually that is conducted during nap time. - Fire prevention requirements are as follows: the center shall conduct fire drills at least once a month, as specified in the NJUFC. The center shall ensure that fire drills are conducted during each session provided at the center and that one fire drill per year is conducted during nap time, if applicable. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(l)(4) | Ensure that the center conducts at least two lockdown drills per year during each session provided at the center and maintains records of the drills on file. - Emergency procedure requirements are as follows: the center shall conduct two lockdown drills per year and maintain on file a record of each lockdown drill. The center shall ensure that lockdown drills are conducted during each session provided at the center. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-6.6(e)(3) | Post the center's discipline policy in a prominent location. - The center shall maintain on file a written policy on the disciplining of children by staff members. The policy shall be posted in a prominent location within the center. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.6(b) | Ensure that the children cannot lock themselves in the bathrooms. - Doors in all interior rooms designated for use by children shall remain unlocked. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(i)(5)(i) | Complete and submit a DCF Drinking Water Testing Checklist and Statement of Assurance and a copy of the center's water testing completed by a laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental Protection. - Environmental condition precautions are as follows: at the time of the initial application, any renewal application, relocation of an existing licensed center and, in the discretion of the Office of Licensing, any other time, the applicant or facility operator shall certify in writing that the center provides a potable water supply provided by a public community water system. If the facility is supplied by a public community water system, the applicant or facility operator shall provide documentation of water testing conducted by a laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental Protection for water testing for lead and copper from all faucets and other sources used for drinking water or food preparation and at least 50 percent of all indoor water faucets utilized by the center. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(a)(19) | Complete radon testing in every room on the lowest floor used by children and post the results in a prominent location. - Indoor maintenance and sanitation requirements are as follows: the center shall test for the presence of radon gas in each classroom on the lowest floor level used by children at least once every five years and shall post the test results in a prominent location in all buildings at the center, as specified in N.J.S.A. 30:5B-5.2. |
| 2023-05-09 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(b)(1) | Remove debris and overgrown vegetation from the outdoor play area. - Outdoor maintenance and sanitation requirements are as follows: the building, land, walkways, and outdoor play area shall be free from hazards to the health, safety or well-being of the children. |
| 2022-05-27 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2022-04-26 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2022-03-23 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2022-03-23 | No Selection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2022-03-15 | Age Change | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2022-03-15 | Monitoring,Age Change | No | Center Inspection |
| 2022-03-15 | Monitoring,Age Change | No | Center Inspection |
| 2022-03-15 | Violation | 3A:52-5.3(b)(1) | Remove debris and overgrown vegetation from the outdoor play area. - Outdoor maintenance and sanitation requirements are as follows: the building, land, walkways, and outdoor play area shall be free from hazards to the health, safety or well-being of the children. |
| 2022-03-07 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2022-01-27 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-11-10 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2021-11-05 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-10-07 | Increase | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-10-01 | Yes | Center Inspection | |
| 2021-08-12 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-07-02 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-06-17 | Re-Inspection | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-05-21 | Renewal | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-04-20 | New Sponsor | Yes | Center Inspection |
| 2021-02-04 | Monitoring | No | Center Inspection |
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