I'm reviewing the ILC as a volunteer teacher. This school is fantastic! I have been volunteering…read morehere for a few months and absolutely loving it. I am so impressed with the staff and students. The main focus of the ILC is their intensive English program for immigrants in the community. Students of all backgrounds can join the program (I believe there is currently a waitlist) and be placed into the appropriate level. I help out with the lowest level, where students started from basically zero English. The main teacher is amazing and I am truly impressed with how much the class has learned, all while having fun and creating a close community. There's also a computer lab where students do English practice while also learning computer skills. The ILC also offers other services, like an in-house social worker, workshops to teach other skills, etc. So happy we have an organization like this in Malden!

i'd definitely say that ILC is the best school to go. Awesome teachers, awesome staffs. ILC is GREATread more

Best school ever!!! Having shopped around at almost all the preschools in camberville, we are so…read more thrilled to have found this Haven! emphasis on social and emotional development, yoga, and music, lots of outdoor time, community engagement with tufts and the town. Just wish they took toddlers too!

I got a little behind with work on the Teacher Appreciation Month (May) and wasn't able to leave a…read morerequested feedback on their website, so I am going to the Yelp masses. I cannot say enough of great things about this location of BH! My 3 year old daughter absolutely thrived in this school! The teachers are very well trained and educated in their jobs, and give a lot of individual attention to kids. Mine is sometimes a dare-devil, sometimes is defiant and stubborn, sometimes sweet and energetic, and they find the way and approach to deal with all her moods. Yoshanna (preschool lead teacher) is especially good at her job. Not only that she fosters good habits and behaviors in kids, she knows how to channel their (otherwise annoying) personality traits into a productive and useful actions and uses those for a healthy kids development. For example, my kid loves to talk and sort of argue why she should or shouldn't do something, like nap. I find it frustrating that she won't nap, but Yoshanna is very patient and while she still works towards the goal of having my kid to nap, she appreciates my kid's brain working ability to "reason" in her own way. Ally is another wonderful and patient teacher. Kids just gravitate to her. She is young, but very knowledgeable and experienced care giver and very, very good with kids. When my kid has a hard time, Ally comes to the rescue. Other teachers come and go, and there are a lot of shared staff between the groups. But I have learned to trust the directors, because they seem very dedicated and experienced. Betty, Stacy and Jane, these ladies know what they are doing! They are always available for any concerns or advice, or just a chat, and it is very comforting to see that they will stop whatever they are doing to hear you out. It has been very re-assuring support for me as a parent. I highly recommend this school, and I know a lot of parents who feel like this center is a big extended family, myself included!

I'm torn about this location. What they do well: they take on incredible feats of organization to…read moreget coverage for long hours, so that parents can work. We were also fortunate to have two very loving and dedicated teachers in the toddler class that stayed on together, despite the pattern of high turnover in other classrooms. What they need to do better: -Invest in teacher trainings on the social emotional development of children. This includes improving the book selection, some of which are backwards and downright scary for young kids. I've personally spoken with the regional manager about the curriculum, and she admitted to me that everything, from toys, to books, to what gets posted on class bulletin boards, is centrally controlled. If you are looking for a school that espouses child-led development, this is not it. -Hire people who want to be educators, not who are doing this for a day job. I was surprised to see a former teacher waiting tables in East Boston. She claimed the teacher pay was too low and many of her colleagues were making the choice to leave. Note: this is a publicly-traded company and they are for-profit. They cut back on salaries for teachers, though they charge the same amounts that not-for-profits do. -Be more open to parent feedback (it's heard but not always incorporated by management). BH has no core educational philosophy (I thought BH was Montessori based but that's not the case in practice). The teachers in the Pk class are clearly stretched thin and not able to plan effectively for activities. I hear a lot of reprimanding children for not sitting still and listening instead of engaging them. We ended up moving to an independent PK with a smaller class size.

We have had nothing but an amazing experience at Bright Horizons. The staff is amazing and they are…read morealways as flexible as possible! The center is extremely welcoming and warm and each staff member is incredibly loving towards the children. Can't say a negative thing about here!

My daughter reported to me that she got the bruise on her right cheek at daycare from a teacher who…read morehit her. She has reported the same thing to me on separate occasions The daycare has terminated my daughter enrollment at this daycare as retaliation

Our 12mo old has been going to Diki for the past 6 months, and she squeals with delight when we…read morering the front door bell every morning. Amongst our children this has been our third infant room experience (we've been at two other child care centers), and Diki has been the best. The teachers in the infant room are so enthusiastic, energetic, and kind, and take advantage of being in such a central location with frequent visits to the amazing nearby playgrounds, green spaces, and the children's room at the Cambridge Library's main branch. We appreciate how the head of the center fosters a sense of community through teacher appreciation and parent/teacher/child events. The teachers in the infant room (and other rooms) have been at Diki a long time and seem very committed to the center's future.

Truly awful. Every time I try to call or email, no response. I've tried all weekdays, at various…read moretimes of the day. Is this a real place?

I took several classes about wild animals, which all took…read moreplace at Franklin Park Zoo. Each was informative and fun! CLASSES: BACE offers Adult Education Classes, taking visitors behind the scenes of zoo exhibits. MY FAVE CLASS: GIRAFFE SCHOOL... You get to feed "Beau" the giraffe by hand! Gorilla School was not nearly as exciting, but you do learn a lot about the personalities of each gorilla resident of this Boston Zoo. They also offer a Big Cats Class as well. THE DEAL: Go with a friend, so you can take photos of each other, and video your "behind the scenes" experience.

In my profession, and particularly as a graduate student, I work closely with a lot of native…read moreChinese speakers. Even my advisor is Chinese. At the place I work here in Boston, the majority of my group is native Chinese or Chinese American, including one of my bosses. Thus, I decided that it was about time that I learn how to speak Mandarin, so that I could understand better the language and culture of my fellow students and co-workers, and so that I could help those who have difficulty or are reluctant to speak in English. I looked at the Boston Language Institute, but their high prices suggested I look elsewhere. Thanks to Lauren S.'s review, I found this place, the Chinese Institute of Language and Arts. Their prices are more than reasonable - I paid $220 for 20 hours of class in beginning Mandarin, as well as the workbook and CDs. The owner/manager, Peter, is very friendly and welcoming. Classes are amazingly small - I think the most I saw from any one class was 5, and my average was about 3. This means that you get plenty of individual attention and practice with the language, including drills on character recognition, help with pronunciation of words and tones, and conversation practice. The teachers are typically native Chinese or Chinese American college students or recent graduates, which is more than enough to teach beginning Chinese. They might not have tons of experience teaching, but they all seem to follow a general lesson plan, and they're quite willing to help with problems or questions you have. All in all, I think that going to CILA was a good move on my part, as it helped introduce me to the Chinese language and gave me some tools that I can use in everyday conversations with my fellow classmates and co-workers. While I need more practice (and indeed, practice outside of class helps a lot), I feel I'm sufficiently prepared to take on more studying of the language in attempts to become semi-fluent. I would definitely recommend classes here to anyone interested in learning Chinese.

Since traveling to China three years ago, I've become obsessed with all things China; I will read…read moreany related book or magazine article I can get my hands on. After a lovely breakup and many months spent shunning all my interests, I decided to finally get off my ass in late '08 and pursue two of my longer-lasting loves: learning and languages. I scoured the internet for a class offering Mandarin Chinese and found a couple of schools located in Chinatown that had decent prices compared to the go-to linguistic center in town, the Boston Language Institute, whose prices were more than double these other two places. The Chinese Language Institute offered a course breakdown with joining dates for new classes (limited to 6 people!) along with a prominent guarantee of satisfaction. A 10-week course, two hours a week, cost only $180, compared to the $450+ offered by BLI, so I warily but cheerfully submitted my interest online, promising to show up on the date of the first class, scheduled for 1/12/09. I dutifully showed up at 6pm that night but was informed that class began the next week (even though the website had not updated the schedule). I didn't consider this a big deal, so I came back the next week and enrolled with four other people in Beginning Mandarin. I forgot my checkbook that night, but they were really cool about it, saying I could pay them next week and letting me take the textbook and CDs for the class (these were not included in the online price; it added $30 to the total class fee). A little bit about the space-- it's a small area of a couple classrooms that are in, uh, dilapidated condition. This, I imagine, is probably quite unlike the BLI, which probably has gleaming whiteboards and spanking new desks. However, I cannot praise CIL enough. This is the kind of place where you get as much as you want out of the class-- you're not there to pay to have a teacher clap their hands and hand you a fancy certificate at the end of the class. You're there because you want to be there, and the teachers will give you two hours of their best work each week. The first night I had a different teacher than the one I have now-- she was very good, but the teacher I've had since the second night is amazing. She is firmer than the first girl and throws in so many different teaching activities in two hours that I'm really impressed (I work in textbook publishing so I know a little bit about teaching styles). We sometimes sing songs, work off picture charts, practice conversation with each other... in terms of the environment, it's bare bones essentials, but Wen Laoshi (Teacher Wen) has taught me a hell of a lot in only a few weeks. She sends us emails in Chinese and English with song attachments and is always fetching us tea on breaks. She's smart and makes the class challenging and enjoyable at the same time. In short, I love CIL and I am very glad I signed up for a class. If you want a language class that has an official syllabus and nice classrooms, then this isn't the place for you. But if you want to learn Mandarin or Cantonese in a supportive, engaging environment, then CIL is your best bet. Cheap classes, fantastic instruction-- one of the best things I've found in Boston. Wo hen mang. Zaijian!

I took one session of classes with Isabella, but would not take another class with her. Her style…read moredoesn't work for me. In our on-line classes, we took turns reading a simple story out loud. When we mis-pronounced something or made another mistake, Isabella pounced on us, instead of letting us finish and then correcting us. Since we were not taught the sounds of Italian and since we were beginners, it's to be expected that we'd make mistakes. I'm not objecting to being corrected--I want that--but it's very jarring when she interrupts and speaks over us. I got very little from the class.

I've been a student of Isabella's for about a year. Unfortunately, due to COVID the courses were…read morevia Zoom. Isabella's enthusiasm and creativity really shined through to make the courses still entertaining. I absolutely love having her as a teacher and strongly recommend taking courses with her. She is very good keeping students engaged, and you feel part of a family when you take courses with her. Grateful to have found such a lovely school!!!

-Wonderful school that teaches India's culture, languages…read more -Run entirely by dedicated volunteer staff and their devotion is amazing. -Classes are held every Sunday and are run on par with the regular school calendar. -Free yoga class for parents or bring your laptop or a good book to read while your children are in the classroom. -A great way for parents and children to connect to their India heritage. -Other locations in Nashua and Norwood.