DO NOT SEND YOUR KID HERE.
The reason I gave this place a two star instead of one is because of some of the good teachers who are/were there (not sure if all of them are still there).
Negatives: I had issues with two staff members: Ms. Kyra (one of the teachers) and Ms. Maggie (the director).
Good luck if your child isn't on their favorite list. They think it's funny or you're "too much" when parents share their concerns. In other words, they don't like it if you advocate for your child. If my kid is being mistreated, like any parent, I'll say something. Honestly, we (some other parents felt the same as me) wouldn't be "too much" if you followed through and did your job correctly. Why would any parent need to bother a staff member if they are doing a good job and feel their kid is in good hands? You may hear from us to see how our kid is doing, but that's about it. When my son had Ms.Chami and Ms. Zena, I backed off because I knew he was in good hands, but then after Ms. Chami left and Ms. Zena went on vacation, he was put in Ms. Kyra's hands. Hence my review (I'll provide a specific example towards the end of this review).
Also, if your kid wears glasses, watch out. There were 5 incidents that I was aware of where my kid's glasses were messed with. However, it was the last 3 incidents that upset me (there were follow through with the first 2 incident with the good teachers). The last 3 incidents involved the same kid messing with my son's glasses and that kid eventually ended up damaging his frames. If there were follow through with the director (her talking to that kid's parent) when it happened the first time and also the 2nd time, maybe my kid's glasses wouldn't have been damaged. My insider informed me that Ms. Maggie brushed it off each time. By the 5th incident, when the frames got damaged (btw, they were BRAND NEW FRAMES AND LENSES), I was done speaking with Ms. Maggie so I reached out to her boss, Ms. Harshi. Once this happened, some things that should have been done were getting done. For instance, Ms.Harshi reached out to me and confirmed Ms. Maggie spoke to the parents and Ms. Harshi said the school and the parent will take responsibility for the cost of the new frames that we were forced to get since the kid at that school damaged it. It's ridiculous how I had to go this length.
Now about Ms. Kyra. Not sure if she had any training, but the way she handled two incidents that I know of, it sounds like she needs training. The example I will provide is to show how transparent I am, just in case they offer the same example and twist my words around if they respond to this review. In the most recent incident (end of July), when I went to pick up my son pretty early one of the days, he was crying. My son got in trouble for pushing another student (yes, I admit, he was in the wrong for this), but like any kid, there is a REASON why he did this. Don't get me wrong, I don't condone that type of behavior but shouldn't a teacher find out why the behavior occurred instead of putting the complete blame on one child? (I heard from other parents, and an insider (person who may or may not work there still) confirmed this is common practice at this place). In other words, even though another kid started the situation, if your child reacts with a negative behavior (like any other toddler would who is learning how to manage big emotions to another negative behavior trying to stand up for themselves), your child will be the one who will receive all the blame. There is no follow-up after the kids calm down about what caused the situation or teaching proper behavior. There is only yelling at the kid who responded to the first kid's negative behavior (and this staff member proudly showed that this is appropriate behavior). Also, if your child cries, your child is called "too sensitive." I only know this because Ms.Kyra said she saw my kid push another kid, so she yelled at him (in other words, saying she was in the right to yell), and then go on to say it's not her fault that he's "too sensitive" for crying because she yelled at him. Regardless of her latter comment, I stayed calm and asked her if she did any of the above (the part about the follow-through with the kids) like any trained educator would do. However, she admitted that she did not and still bothered NOT to follow through with both kids and walked away. I get it. Sometimes the teacher might yell because of the heat of the moment, they are human, but other steps should have been followed up with after the incident.When I informed Ms. Maggie that I thought the situation was not handled properly, she said she'd talk to the teacher, but an insider (a person who may or may not work there anymore) told me that they were laughing at the fact that I was upset my kid was yelled at. UH NO. I was upset at the fact of how the situation was handled. There was no follow through on the teacher's end.
Unless there is a staff change, I wouldn't recommend it here. read more