Our first child attended BKA starting when he was 2 in 2018, with our second joining shortly after…read moreat 5 months. Our third has recently begun as well (at 6 months). Our first stayed through pre-k, the second stopped only because of the free local 3k, and our third is still happily enrolled. We've trusted this school for over 5 years with our 3 children, and have looked forward to sending each of our kids here. The admins are responsive, the teachers, for the most part, seem to love children and their jobs (we've had one over the years that wasn't great, but she is gone now). Many of the current teachers are the same as when my son started over 5 years ago. There is always strong communication throughout the day, they regularly post eating/sleeping/potty events as well as photos and videos so we can always see how our kids are doing. They eat healthy food and are given a wide variety of fun activities. As infants they help them learn to sit, walk, fine motor skills, even potty train them. As they grow older there is an academic schedule to help them learn their letters, counting, colors, etc. One of my sons went through a hitting phase, and the admins and his teachers sat with us to give us tools to help him, and made sure he wasn't endangering others in the class. When I bring my two older kids in to pick up the youngest, all the teachers remember them and there's always plenty of smiles and hugs. They do follow the DOE schedule, so are closed more often than I'd like (yeah, its annoying), but its worth it for the quality of care at a reasonable cost. As other reviewers have noted, Covid was not easy, especially on daycares. Yes, dropoff/pickup was inconvenient, yes it was hard to plan around cases shutting down classrooms, and yes it took a hit on morale and staff turnover, BUT these are all a direct result of them taking precaution and carefully following safety guidelines. I'm happy to say that none of my children got covid while at BKA, and I thank their thoroughness for this (these were pre-vaccine days, it was scary!). For the most part, all is back to normal now. I get that there's always an exception and some reviewers have had bad experiences, but we absolutely adore BKA, and most the parents we chat with do as well. It is a loving, caring, clean daycare (with outdoor space!) that we couldn't recommend more.

My son started in this school when he was 22months (1year 10months). He was diagnosed with autism…read moreand was non-verbal. His very 1st day my son was sent home in a soggy diaper, wet clothes, and shoes on the wrong feet. I informed the school of various triggers, and habits. This was completely ignored and he would come home completely distressed everyday. My son also has a texture issue so he is very selective with foods. The school had me supply his food/milk/snacks/diapers/wipes ect. and pay over $300 weekly. The entire time my son was there they allowed him to do whatever he wanted. He rarely engaged in class routine and wasnt encouraged to do so either. There was nobody there knowledgeable about his diagnosis thus making it impossible for anyone to work with him. I have since pulled my son out of school and have been home schooling him. In the 5months since we started my son says words can identify numbers and some colors and has been open to other foods.

Amazing place! My son loves attending each day. They care for the children and provide detailed…read moreinformation throughout the day. The park across the street is the best part.

KinderPrep is simply wonderful and one of the best things about our current lives in New York. Why?…read moreBecause our three year old daughter is so happy there and is thriving. The program is awesome, so enriching and diverse. The teachers caring and very good at what they do. Our daughter has grown up so much in their care and her language has exploded. Cannot recommend it enough.

Both my niece and nephew are enrolled at Stuyvesant Heights Montessori and I've heard nothing but…read moregreat things from the children and their parents! The kids always talk positively about their friends at school and their teachers (specifically Ms. Alana and Ms. Hawa). One of the major reasons my niece and nephew attend SHM is because of their French immersion program. When a French teacher speaks with the children it's only been in French and every time my niece and nephew have responded in French! I've definitely witnessed them speaking more French at home and feel like our family is getting our money's worth. The days when I do drop off the kids the Head of School, Ms. Tracey, has been nothing but sweet and respectful to adults and children. Ms. Tracey takes the time to have a conversation and check in with each adult dropping off a student. This staff at SHM have truly made my family feel like we're a part of their wonderful community. I cannot endorse this preschool highly enough!

It took me a long time to write this review because a part of me wanted to just let it go. However,…read morerecently I was contacted by a parent I personally know who explained that they had pulled their child out of this school, and that pushed me to finally speak up. I became a teacher's assistant here in September 2022, straight out of college. Tracy Mina was actively recruiting new college graduates for positions at the school, and I applied and was accepted. When I first started, there were three classrooms. As time went on, I noticed a pattern: almost no teachers stayed longer than a year. Many would simply quit rather than deal with the environment. The longest-standing teacher there is Mrs. Tiffany. The only two teachers I personally saw who had actual teaching degrees and who were truly exceptional educators were Mrs. Stephanie and Mrs. Alana. Both of them eventually left as well. During my time there, I realized I was one of the only staff members who pushed back on some of the things Tracy allowed to happen in the school. Many teachers chose to leave instead of confronting her. One of the most disturbing issues was the way she spoke about race and ethnicity. It was blatant and uncomfortable. I had a student who was very fair-skinned but whose mother was from Mexico. Tracy would compare him to other students and say things like, "He's always going to get further because he's white." I also had a very intelligent young boy of African descent. Tracy once said, "He's just going to be another statistic because of how he acts." In reality, he was simply acting like a normal child--playful, loud, joyful, and full of life. At one point I had even considered sending my niece to this school because I trusted that she would be in good hands with Mrs. Alana. However, the blatant racism I witnessed completely changed my mind, especially since my nieces are mixed.Another major concern was the pressure put on teachers to lie to parents. I had a student who clearly needed behavioral support because she had never been in a structured school environment before. I told Tracy about my concerns, and she instructed me to lie to the parents and tell them their child was doing perfectly because she was afraid they might pull the child out and stop paying tuition.This situation happened more than once. When I refused to lie because of my integrity, Tracy told both me and the lead teacher that we were no longer allowed to speak to any parents unless she was present.There were also financial issues that directly affected staff. On after-school days, if parents picked their children up late after 6 PM, they were supposed to pay $2 per minute. Several times my co-teacher and I stayed until 6:45 PM waiting with children. One day a parent apologized and told us he had already given Tracy the late payment. We never received that money.When the head teacher later mentioned the situation to a parent, Tracy came into our classroom while students were present and began yelling at us, saying we were not allowed to speak to parents without her present.Another alarming situation happened one winter when the building had no heat for almost an entire week. Another teacher and I had to walk down the street to a store and purchase electric heaters ourselves so that our students would not sit in freezing classrooms.At the same time, Tracy would often cry to staff about not having enough money to pay us and would try to make us feel guilty for asking for raises. Meanwhile, she owns two brownstone homes in Brooklyn and a house in Martha's Vineyard. To be fair, after a year of me working there she did follow through on a promise to give me a $10,000 raise, bringing my salary from $35,000 to $45,000.Since leaving, I have remained in contact with several parents from the school (despite being told we were not allowed to have relationships with them). Many have since pulled their children out after seeing the constant teacher turnover, classrooms with one teacher responsible for 15+ children, and hearing from other parents about what was happening behind the scenes.For these reasons, I cannot recommend that anyone send their child to this school while Tracy Mina remains in charge. The last time I was there, the school had hired a new creative director who was wonderful and clearly cared deeply about children. Unfortunately I do not remember her name, but she was a French woman. If she eventually takes over leadership, perhaps the school could improve. Otherwise, I do not see this school lasting long.I originally got into teaching because I truly wanted to be someone who cares for children and helps them grow. After my experience here, I changed career paths entirely and moved into law enforcement. That is how negative my experience at this school was. She also turned off reviews on Google, because many people spoke out and gave a negative review.

Northside's teachers are outstanding. Really amazing, warm, progressive school. Northside taught my…read morechildren how to become thoughtful, curious, articulate, empathetic and engaged humans with a thirst for knowledge, who know how to problem solve and collaborate. My son is thriving in every way possible at Northside. Graduating kids get excellent placements typically at their top choice of schools. My daughter went to the High School of her dreams.

As another parent has noted below, this school is run like a business, not an institution of…read morelearning. While the administration pays a lot of lip service to the Reggio Emilia philosophy, that's all marketing and zero substance at this school. Reggio Emilia at its core is adaptive and flexible; the goal is tailor the educational approach to the learning style of each individual child. Contrary to that approach, the teaching staff (who, it must be said, are mostly very kind and caring) are trained to follow a single approach that is applied to all the children. My child attended the 2's and 3's program. When I observed that some of the classroom approaches were too rigid for her in some ways, and not challenging enough in others, and that the environment was in some ways not conducive to her learning style, I made suggestions to the administration about ways to adapt the setting to better suit her needs. My requests, which were trivial in scope and would not have posed much of a challenge from a budget or logistics perspective, were largely ignored. Instead, I was advised to hire an additional teacher, at my own expense, to work one-on-one with my child because her existing teachers were "too busy" with the other kids to handle my requests. Imagine that: after paying a tuition of over $15,000 per year for pre-school (which was more than I paid for my excellent private college!), I was told that in order to meet my child's educational requirements, I would need to pay for another teacher, an additional $120 per hour! Like the other parent below, we moved our daughter to another Williamsburg school, which has smaller class sizes, and an administration that cares about cultivating a healthy environment of learning. The people who run Williamsburg Northside care more about cultivating a healthy bottom line.

Our two children started here in pre-K and we had an absolutely wonderful experience. One is now in…read morehigh school -- he left for a different school and returned to SJWCA where they welcomed him home with open arms. Our other child attended from pre-k through 2nd. SJWCA has a warm and supportive atmosphere that teaches children what they need to learn academically, as well as how to behave properly and be kind human beings. There is a real sense of community connection also -- not just to the parish but to the neighborhood at large and our local heroes. Issues of bullying were addressed and resolved. Concerns about grades were addressed and resolved. Support for transfers to other schools and high school admissions (even non-Catholic options) was provided in the interest of what is best for the child. If you're looking for a school who will know and love your children, care for them, teach them, inspire them and keep them safe, you should definitely look into SJWCA.

This is unacceptable me and my daughter or on a trip for summer vacation which is a bad time…read moredifferent, tell me why this school assigned my daughter 14 math assignments and its due tomorrow!!!!!'

My son started at Two by Two when he was 23 months (he's in Pre-K now) and everyday I'm glad for…read moreour choice in care. When we were exploring local options, we knew our decision would be based on where we felt he would be 1) safe, 2) healthy and 3) loved. Everywhere we toured, we felt like he'd be safe and healthy. What set Two By Two apart was that we felt like he'd would be cared for by professionals who created genuine, authentic connections - as aunties, as kin. He was so little and our care priorities were more about him feeling seen, heard and addressed. Now that he's approaching Kindergarten, he's getting the same care while also getting support with socialization, learning emotional regulation, and the basics of academics (letter and number recognition, phonics). He has a group of close friends, uses feeling statements and is reading sight words and writing his name. All huge wins without robotic structure or impersonal instruction- which while inevitable in our school systems can wait until the elementary years. Two By Two continues to make progress in communication, family engagement and facilities. We've seen growth here and have been grateful for their request for feedback and impressed to see it implemented. Considering our care priorities and the experience that our son and we have had here, we will continue to recommend Two By Two to our neighbors and friends.

Daycare means so much to our family, and we are so grateful to have found 2x2. The genuine…read moreattention they give my daughter makes me so happy. I truly love both drop-off and pick-up because of how kind and welcoming the staff are to me. Most importantly, I know it's the highlight of my daughter's day.

Our family loves imagine daycare. We have 2 boys at the daycare, we love dropping them off with…read morepeople that we know care about our little ones. Our babies are the most important aspects of our lives and it is crucial knowing that they are safe and cared for by Imagine's fantastic staff. We receive regular updates of the boys days throughout the day, well planned out learning and activities and they are always having fun with their teachers and little friends. We love Imagine Daycare!!

Imagine DUMBO has been a part of my family for five years. Our oldest started here at three months…read moreand she's now a rising Kindergartener. My youngest is 13 months old and also started at three months. The teachers and administrative staff are wonderful. They're very caring and I always know my daughters are not only in a safe environment but a fun and educational space. Also they have an amazing director Lia who really cares about the center and takes parents wants and needs into consideration when making decisions. I cannot recommend Imagine DUMBO enough!

Our older son spent his 4 year old year at this school and we are now very excited to be sending…read moreour younger child when he is 2.5y/o. This is a special place. The founder and head teacher is an educator who combines extensive training in various holistic child-development and teaching philosophies/practices with an amazing intuition for how to connect with and nurture young children. She supports the children with exploring their interests, challenges them gently and helps them in their relationships with each other. My son would often come home messy from painting or gardening and tired but not exhausted or overstimulated. We're so thankful for this little gem of a school.

I was looking for a daycare, that will feel like home, with lots of fun like jumping in dirt and…read morepainting without trying to keep clothes and surroundings clean, and without learning alphabets (this school is for kids 2-5 y.o.) This is how I found Crayon Power Playschool! My kid is visiting it for over 2 month now, and I am just happy - that's what I was looking for. The teachers are very nice, always giving a feedback, and a ratio is 1 teacher to 3-4 kids. This is our first daycare and I was scared that I would be nervous while my kid is away. Turned out I am not :) Feeling safe. One other topic which was important to me is food, I'm not a fan of those basic school lunches served in a single use plastic, neither of lunches taken from home (small kids always want food from the other plate). In this place parents themselves give lunches to the whole group in an order (so not that often), the rule is "a main, a veggie and a fruit". I like that system, cause parents always want the best for their kids, so there is always some good stuff, fresh fruit and veggies. I would certainly recommend this place to anybody who is sharing the same values!