Looking for current feedback on YMCA Bethesda Ayrlawn

[Anonymous]

We are considering moving our 3.5 year old and heard good things about the Y from an acquaintance. I searched the forum and found some mixed results, but most of the posts seemed a little old. Looking for feedback from folks with current or very recent experience, and especially any comparisons you might have to other centers in the immediate area. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I'm also looking into Ayrlawn for my twins for next Fall and would love to hear some feedback. I have been taking a toddler gymnastics class with my boys through the YMCA at the facility and have poked around a little bit and it looks like a fairly nice place. The outdoor play areas are very nice, and in the morning they take the kids out into the adjacent field to excersize and run around.

[Anonymous]

My daughter attended Ayrlawn as a new student last year. She knew no one in her class and entered as a pre-schooler. Although many of the children knew each other from attending the school during previous years, my daughter felt welcomed and easily transitioned into the school. The teachers were warm, welcoming, attentive and kind. Furthermore, they really taught the children. My daughter (and other children in the class) finished the year reading well above a second grade level! Additionally, they also learned math skills that will advance them beyond their kindergarten classmates.

I will say that I felt that her teachers were slightly better than the other preschool class. However, changes have been made for 2011-2012, and some of the teachers have been moved around.

The other advantage to attending the Y is that the children can participate in the added programming such as ballet, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, etc. This can be done during the school day, freeing up weekends for family fun!
I can not say enough wonderful things about the YMCA!

[Anonymous]

My daughter attended Ayrlawn as a new student last year. She knew no one in her class and entered as a pre-schooler. Although many of the children knew each other from attending the school during previous years, my daughter felt welcomed and easily transitioned into the school. The teachers were warm, welcoming, attentive and kind. Furthermore, they really taught the children. My daughter (and other children in the class) finished the year reading well above a second grade level! Additionally, they also learned math skills that will advance them beyond their kindergarten classmates.

I will say that I felt that her teachers were slightly better than the other preschool class. However, changes have been made for 2011-2012, and some of the teachers have been moved around.

The other advantage to attending the Y is that the children can participate in the added programming such as ballet, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, etc. This can be done during the school day, freeing up weekends for family fun!
I can not say enough wonderful things about the YMCA!

[Anonymous]

I have heard mixed reviews the turnover and not all families have seemed that happy. My neighbor did last
More than a week and pulled their 2 children out. I would definitely get some more feedback from other families.

[Anonymous]

My neighbor also pulled his son out. He kept getting out of the gated areas - several occurences.

[Anonymous]

My child's teachers last year were awful. They were both new and lacked creativity with the kids and could not communicate information to parents. When I complained to management, they made it appear that I was the only one complaining and that I had a problem - not them. There are some really great teachers there, but management is atrocious. The directors have no management skills, it is clear why the new teachers had trouble communicating to parents (example: we are having a bake sale tomorrow please bring something - TOMORROW!), the communication problem is from top-down.

I know of two incidents that truly frighten me. 1) A pre-k teacher was completing her grad school work on her personal Apple laptop during class time and one of the children accidentally bumped into her while she was holding it, the computer dropped and broke. The parents ended up feeling somehow obligated to give her money towards buying a new one. Another incident involves their camp. A child was taking gymnastics camp and broke her arm. They did not call the parents (who are doctors) and when the parents came to pick the child up, she was holding an ice bag. So, the parents learned of the incident at pick-up. Also, don't be fooled by the wonderful green-space - I was. Not all of the teachers even take the kids outside on a regular basis.

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I just want to jump in here with two comments.

First, I am the parent who felt "somehow obligated to give her money towards buying" the replacement computer. The circumstances behind the incident were more than my child "accidentally" bumped her. We did what we did because when we thought about the situation outside of the classroom, say same events occurring at your house, we would have wanted to make restitution in some way to you. I am not saying that everyone should do the same thing or that it was an easy decision for us to come to, and certainly not saying that the teacher should have had her computer out (though she was leaving the classroom to go home at the time), but I have no regrets about how my husband and I handled the incident.

Now that I have that off my chest, my second comment is that despite this incident, I have been very happy with how my child has grown and learned through our 2+ years with the Y. All of the staff (from Program Director to the Maintenance Crew), know my child by name and care about how our family is doing (or they all do a darn good job pretending). In the classes my child has been in, we have had an issue with one teacher, but have been overwhelmingly happy with the 5 other teachers (the room are co-taught with 2-3 teachers, so even if you have an issue with one of the teachers, there is someone else you can talk to about your child). I have gotten calls about bumped heads and paper cuts, so I know that for the preschool program (the camp has different staff seasonal staff) they are diligent about keeping me informed about anything that could be an injury. And I know they love to get the kids outside when the weather permits - but even if they can't get outside, they have a gym where they can run off all of that energy. My child will be back next year (December baby), and my baby will be enrolling next January.

So, I sort of rambled here towards the end, but I just wanted to give a firsthand vote for the Y.

[Anonymous]

I joined this facility while working in DC for a 6-8 week period. The workout room is OKAY (small and not too much in terms of variety of equipment.) People are friendly enough. The treadmills are GREAT, top of the line. And the cycling teachers are lots of fun.

Why the negative rating? Because of the deceptive membership practices! (In fact, I plan to contact the Better Business Bureau).

I explained to them that I would be in DC for only 6-8 weeks. (In fact, I chose the YMCA b/c so many clubs have deceptive policies and if you can’t trust the YMCA – Young Men’s CHRISTIAN Association, who can you trust?) I was told that there is no long term commitment – I need only give 2 weeks notice before I leave to cancel the membership. I did thi s- and was contacted by the membership coordinator and told that they do not pro-rate your last month, so I have to pay for the entire month. (Sounds to me then like I had to give a month’s notice – which I would have been happy to do had this been explained.)

So – BE CAREFUL. “Christian” in the name does not mean they are any more honest in their dealings than any other fitness facility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I joined this facility while working in DC for a 6-8 week period. The workout room is OKAY (small and not too much in terms of variety of equipment.) People are friendly enough. The treadmills are GREAT, top of the line. And the cycling teachers are lots of fun.

Why the negative rating? Because of the deceptive membership practices! (In fact, I plan to contact the Better Business Bureau).

I explained to them that I would be in DC for only 6-8 weeks. (In fact, I chose the YMCA b/c so many clubs have deceptive policies and if you can’t trust the YMCA – Young Men’s CHRISTIAN Association, who can you trust?) I was told that there is no long term commitment – I need only give 2 weeks notice before I leave to cancel the membership. I did thi s- and was contacted by the membership coordinator and told that they do not pro-rate your last month, so I have to pay for the entire month. (Sounds to me then like I had to give a month’s notice – which I would have been happy to do had this been explained.)

So – BE CAREFUL. “Christian” in the name does not mean they are any more honest in their dealings than any other fitness facility.

This person is obviously referring to the main BCC YMCA athletic center. The YMCA has a separate center a half mile away called Ayrlawn which houses the preschool.

[Anonymous]

Anyone know what the tuition is for a 2 year old and 5 year old, full day? They have no information on their website, and I have called and left a message.

Any more recent feedback about this facility?

Can the kids enroll in activities at the Y a couple of blocks away in the mornings/afternoons?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I'm also looking for feedback. A big concern of mine is the quality of food they serve for "snacks" at the school. Canned peaches in heavy syrup? Lorna Doone cookies? Dino nuggets? We are very healthy eaters and vegetarian. We don't have these items in our home and therefore not a fan of her eating them at school . Even if we send her own snack....how tempted will she be when she sees everyone else in the class being served cookies? I feel school should be teaching healthy habits and serving healthy snacks. This makes me very hesitant but I don't know how to get them to change their practices. Any ideas? Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I am interested in responses too. How did you find out about the snacks?

[Anonymous]

I visited about a year ago and wasn't too impressed, which is too bad given the location and the price (but perhaps you get what you pay for). The teachers weren't engaged and weren't even really paying attention to the kids in the class. I'm surprised so many Wyngate are opting for this as after care vs. Bethesda Country Day School - any idea what's so bad about the latter?

[Anonymous]

My daughter goes to Ayrlawn and loves it! To me, the snacks seem fairly standard. They aren't exactly the healthiest, but they aren't the worst either. It makes sense that you want your child to only be exposed to healthy foods. But once he/she enters school full time, it's sort of hard to control that. I saw the lunch menus at some of these public schools and it's amazing how unhealthy they are. Even though I will pack my DD's lunch everyday, I know she's going to want what everyone else has.

I've been very impressed with Arylawn in general. The teachers are great and there are a lot of programs available to the kids (gymnastics, soccer, ballet, etc). I think it's definitely worth you taking a visit. Talk to the teachers and the director; visit the classrooms. Don't let the snack thing deter you too much!