trouble at the DC JCC again?

[Anonymous]

hi folks:

can anyone give me an update of what is going on at the J preschool? we were just offered a spot but i also heard that their head teacher resigned and they are going to be experiencing a lot of turnover. i know they had a change of director this year. have things gotten better? any parents want to give me their impressions?

thanks!

[Anonymous]

i have been HORRIBLY disappointed with the JCC. My child has been there, and luckily we moved on. The teachers are not well trained, or sensitive to the individual children. they are all very young, un-trained and unaware of what a child really needs. The activities are the SAME day to day...and honestly in the last year, I dont think my child did anything remotely interesting. The current director is a youing woman, and in my opintion is in way over her head, and lacks the necessary skills the job takes. It is similar to a very mediocre day care..AT BEST, and I know MANY of the parents feel the same way. the directors have no interest in the many problems that exist. if you have other good options, explore them.

[Anonymous]

i have some concerns about the J. namely, there isn't currently anybody on the staff who is an expert in early-childhood. with the departure of the head teacher, there is essentially a knowledge/experience vacuum. you can't run a preschool of that size without having at one person who has formal education and training in EC education or philosophy. if the folks who run the J are smart, they will throw some money at this problem ASAP and make sure that they can put together a good offer to attract a qualified head teacher. otherwise, i don't know how they could even dare to charge what they do for tuition. what on earth are parents paying for?

[Anonymous]

I recently visited mid-day and the place was a madhouse. I felt like I was at a frat party or something, with all these hip young teachers talking among themselves, not paying too much attention to their kids. But the kids were having fun, for what its worth. No order though, more of a babysitting than a preschool.

[Anonymous]

My DS is at the DC JCC and we have been very pleased since the change in director took place in January. She is very, very communicative and I feel so much more informed and in the loop. She has much improved things administratively (still room for improvement) and I think has boosted teacher moral.

I have a different view on the "repetition" PP referenced - I'd call it a routine. Which is what toddlers generally need and thrive on, isn't it? Personally I am quite satisfied that they have a daily arts and crafts project, daily reading, dressup, dancing and play, weekly music classes, water play 3 times per week (swimming for the older kids), and daily physical activity either outdoors or on the squash or basketball court (and of course snacks, naps and meals). All this, plus the interactions with the other children, teachers and members/staff of the JCC community seem to round out a pretty complete day, at least for a 2-4 year old, IMO. In addition, this past summer they have introduced several special days, including a "camping day" and a "carnival day", among others. The oldest class goes on a variety of trips during the summer with the kids from the summer camp.

It is true that they seem to have a good amount of teacher turnover year to year and it may be true that the teachers are not highly trained in preschool education (I don't really know everyone's credentials). But I have found the teachers to be attentive and caring. My DS's teachers pretty much potty trained him. They have taught him to count to 10 in four languages. Each day he comes home with some new learning or song.

I think it is also a terrific place if you are Jewish, as your child will celebrate the Shabbat weekly and learn about the other major holidays. We are Jewish and have not yet joined a synagogue. Having DS at the JCC ensures that he begins his Jewish education to some degree.

I do find it frustrating that the school does not have any access to meaningful outdoor space since Stead Park has been under construction. But, hopefully come this fall, they will have a beautiful playground just 2 blocks away.

Overall I find the DC JCC a nice, warm community fostering a positive environment for preschoolers to learn, play and socialize. That is generally what I want for my child. Of course, everyone's expectations are different, so you have to decide what you want and if this is a good fit. One other note: of the seven children in my child's class, all are returning next year except one who is moving. I am not aware that the school has been losing kids so I'm not sure about the comment that many parents are unhappy. Perhaps, OP, you can ask the Director what percentage of students are returning in September. And lastly regarding the recent "madhouse", make sure to differentiate the preschool with the camp. Over the summer there is a daycamp that meets at the J and that, the teachers and the "activity" you might see is very different that they full-year school.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

My DS is in the DC JCC preschool as well, and I am also very pleased. My DS's education has truly grown greatly from the experienced staff and administration. I know for a fact (because I actually asked) that the teachers are all college graduates with a Bachelors and/or Masters in/or relating to early childhood. They are all on the younger side, but have been out of college for a few years since they need to have experience to teach there. As far as I'm concerned, I prefer the young staff, they can keep up with my DS all day!
As the PP added, the 'Madhouse' you saw must have been the camp because the preschool is napping in the middle of the day.
My advice to anyone interested in the DC JCC, go take a tour, and ask around for yourself. The director and teachers are very open to questions about their school and style of teaching.
Good luck with your preschool search. I do hope you find a place you are happy with.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the first few responses. I have been extremely unhappy and the administration simply does not give any support to the new director. Plus the director has myriad other responsibilities that keep her busy and away from the kids. Frequently the individual put in charge of the school in her absence is a young staff assistant who does the payroll. The loss of the lead teacher for next year is quite a problem, but the administration seems to be unwilling to do much of anything about it. The fact that almost every single teacher is leaving or left already mid-year (approximately 10-12 out of about 16) is a true indication of the lack of support. This is the same teacher turnover that happened the prior year. Ask current parents how many teachers their children have had over the past year - many classes do not have any of their original teachers. The teachers are nice, but untrained and it is as if you are paying for a babysitter as opposed to an allday preschool. We follow the "reggio" approach is the response given to parents every time they question the lack of activities and fact that the kids spend all day playing with playdough etc. There is a huge difference between repetition of fun activities and hours of "free time" because of the rarity of planned activities, and it completely depends on the specific teacher as to whether the class does much of anything. Perhaps this is fine for parents of 2 year olds, but when your child gets older, it becomes problematic. There are many parents keeping their kids at the school basically due to a lack of any other full-time option. Parents who talk about the amazing yoga and other activities available have obviously not been sending their children to the school over the past year.

[Anonymous]

to today's 11:09 poster -- I am curious if you are moving your child this September to another program?

[Anonymous]

In fairness, I think that they recently removed the other responsibilities of the former assistant director when they made her officially director, to allow her to focus completely on the pre-school. I agree with some of the posters that at times the "project" curriculum seems to get lost, and I would love to have more communication about what the short term and long term projects of the class are. I dont think that the "Reggio" system should be permitted to devolve into simply not having a plan, the idea is really a structured plan that still allows for child-based direction. That said, I get the distinct sense that the new director is very motivated to address parental concerns and have it be a pre-school, not merely a safe environment, more so than the previous director. I have talked to a couple of the departing teachers and their complaints, to the extent they have shared them, do not have to do with her. Most simply did not intend to be in child care for long. They had a one year contract and they fulfilled it and are moving on . . .

[Anonymous]

what happened at the J is that several (4 or so) of their teachers left to take positions at another school that was offering them a better salary. the former director of the J (Madeline) is now the director of a new school. these teachers are all going to work for her at her new school. my understanding is that the J did not make any counter offers to these teachers, which is a shame because they were all really great. i guess whoever is making these kinds of decisions at the J doesn't really care about the kids, the families, and the long-term health of the school.

[Anonymous]

where is the new school?

[Anonymous]

The new school is at Temple Emanuel in Kensington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what happened at the J is that several (4 or so) of their teachers left to take positions at another school that was offering them a better salary. the former director of the J (Madeline) is now the director of a new school. these teachers are all going to work for her at her new school. my understanding is that the J did not make any counter offers to these teachers, which is a shame because they were all really great. i guess whoever is making these kinds of decisions at the J doesn't really care about the kids, the families, and the long-term health of the school.

I don't think its fair to say the DC JCC "wouldn't" counteroffer (especially because they don't care). My guess is that they "couldn't" effectively counteroffer. We're talking about comparing a DC community non-profit organization with an affluent Kensington private synagogue.

I will be very interested to hear how the new program goes. I would imagine the parent's of those preschoolers will demand much more time, perfection and attention of Madeline than she seemed willing or able to give to the DC JCC parents.

[Anonymous]

Madeline was completely ineffective at the JCC and had very poor communication skills. I would find out about issues a week or more after I should have been told (if I or other parents were ever informed at all.) The current director is better with communication but to tell you the truth, I don't think she is very experienced although I'm sure she tries hard.

As for the teachers, it depends on the classroom. My child is lucky to have attentive and thoughtful teachers. On the other hand, I have personally witnessed situations where I felt children were being ignored and not properly supervised. In the early drop-off classrooms, I have noticed teachers who seem much more interested in discussing their activities of the previous evening rather than paying attention to the kids. I witnessed one snap at a young child who was politely trying to get her attention because she was interrupting her gossip session. There is one teacher there who has the warmth of a stone and I feel really sorry for her classroom. On another occassion when picking up my child at the end of the day there was a notice that the children were in the gym. When I entered the gym I saw my child in the corner absolutely sobbing, it was only when one of the teachers clocked me in the room did she get up off the floor to go over to my child to see what was wrong. My child was bright red and had obviously been crying for quite some time. This is unacceptable.

I could go on and on.

The JCC is great if you want a full day daycare, but that's really all it is...daycare.

[Anonymous]

I am one of the previous posters, but wanted to add/agree with some of the previous posts:

The teachers really seem to have no idea what is age appropriate, what inspires kids, nor are they willing to even think of one creative activity. Truly...the place is a mess. There is SOOO much better out there!

Good Luck