Temple Emanuel Kensington

[Anonymous]

The posts about temple emanuel on this forum are pretty outdated. We are trying to decide between their two year old full day program and the jcc program. I'm very torn and am wondering if anyone has any newer information to share. Thank you for your help!

[Anonymous]

Anyone?

[Anonymous]

We're there. Some disadvantages, but overall pretty good..

[Anonymous]

Be ready to have a backup nanny on hand. They have a ton of holidays. Additionally they follow Montgomery county school closures and even an inch of snow is enough to keep them closed.

[Anonymous]

Members of the Temple and know many parents there, but have not sent our kid to the pre-school. All Parents we know or have ever discussed the preschool with love it. We have personal experience at JCC and thought the pre-school was a fantastic, supportive learning environment. The large facility gives them some added options that other preschools don't have - such as large spaces for indoor recess on rainy days. JCC also makes arrangements to cover some religious holiday closings with special Holiday care (often covered by Christian staff). It's nice to have that option when work does not cooperate with the Jewish holiday calendar!

[Anonymous]

Can the pp be a bit clearer on the disadvantages?

[Anonymous]

I had 2 kids at the JCC. The preschool is terrible. It follows a child led learning philosophy and there is very little structure. The classrooms are constant chaos. Given a choice I would not enroll my child there.

So why did I put 2 kids there if I feel this way? My oldest is in the after care program which he loves so it makes pick up a breeze. They offer carpool pickup for preschool at 6pm. As others have noted, because it's in the JCC, the facilities are great. I love that my kids swim 2x/day during the summer. The after school enrichments for preschool are also well run---karate, dance, sports, swim, gymnastics etc.

But if the preschool program was a stand alone program, I wouldn't consider it.

[Anonymous]

I've heard that the jcc can be disorganized and that the parents at emanuel can be a bit exclusionary.

[Anonymous]

We LOVED TEECC! We thought it was incredibly warm and our child LOVED it (in MCPS now).

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have an update on Emanuel? The website doesn't have up to date registration info and no tuition rates are posted.

[Anonymous]

The director and assistant director are awful.

[Anonymous]

Wow - I am really surprised at the negative responses here, which include a lot of incorrect information.

No, they don’t follow MCPS and have been closed once, delayed twice this whole year (much less than MCPS).

DS is currently enrolled here and we think it is an absolutely wonderful program. For context, we have attended two other local programs and so have a basis for comparison (although not JCC). I have found the administration thoughtful, warm, and competent, in contrast to the above poster. They have been flexible and helpful when the need arises.

Additionally, the teachers are truly wonderful from both an engagement and a caring perspective. DS started late and when we came for a brief visit prior to his first day, every teacher in the building greeted him by name. He was so excited and felt so welcome, and is indicative of the general atmosphere. The playground is awesome - huge and natural materials. The philosophy is Reggio which can sound a bit complicated out of context, but once you learn how it is applied in the classroom it is interesting and has kept my child engaged in extended “research” projects. They put a ton of time into teacher development and I think it shows. DS was previously lackluster on going to preschool and now loves it. You can read about Reggio online - I will admit that the initial explanation by the Director didn’t help me puzzle it out much, but as mentioned, seeing it in practice we like it a lot.

There are a decent number of closures in the Fall especially for holidays, but not worse than another center we use that follows the federal schedule. We have been able to trade some days off with other families in the school. However, I do agree that you should look at the schedule to see if it will work for you.

The parents I speak with at the school seem similarly happy with it. Happy to answer more specific inquiries if you have them.

[Anonymous]

We are a former family who have had 2 kids go through who are now in elementary school. We had a wonderful experience there. It's a warm, down-to-earth community. Most people are two parent working households. We felt the parents were warm and the activities in the school were interesting and educational. They also worked very nicely on every day courtesy, manners, etc. which was really lovely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a former family who have had 2 kids go through who are now in elementary school. We had a wonderful experience there. It's a warm, down-to-earth community. Most people are two parent working households. We felt the parents were warm and the activities in the school were interesting and educational. They also worked very nicely on every day courtesy, manners, etc. which was really lovely.

Any more current thoughts on Temple Emanuel? Tuition cost, and any input on the following?

04/22/2019 Complaint 13A.16.07.01 The complaint alleged on April 12, 2019, the director was seen dragging a child by their wrist down the hallway. The complaint alleged that the director on several occasions has yelled at students and grabbed them by the wrist and yanked them by the arm. Staff reported that they did not visually witness the incident on April 12, 2019, but some heard yelling at an inappropriate level. It was confirmed that on another occasion, a child was grabbed and pulled by the arm forcefully, due to the child's behavior; and at times, the Director does yell or speak in a way that can be intimidating. Specialist requests that all staff are reoriented to COMAR 13A.16.07.01. Corrected

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a former family who have had 2 kids go through who are now in elementary school. We had a wonderful experience there. It's a warm, down-to-earth community. Most people are two parent working households. We felt the parents were warm and the activities in the school were interesting and educational. They also worked very nicely on every day courtesy, manners, etc. which was really lovely.

Any more current thoughts on Temple Emanuel? Tuition cost, and any input on the following?

04/22/2019 Complaint 13A.16.07.01 The complaint alleged on April 12, 2019, the director was seen dragging a child by their wrist down the hallway. The complaint alleged that the director on several occasions has yelled at students and grabbed them by the wrist and yanked them by the arm. Staff reported that they did not visually witness the incident on April 12, 2019, but some heard yelling at an inappropriate level. It was confirmed that on another occasion, a child was grabbed and pulled by the arm forcefully, due to the child's behavior; and at times, the Director does yell or speak in a way that can be intimidating. Specialist requests that all staff are reoriented to COMAR 13A.16.07.01. Corrected

A thorough investigation was done with regards to the above allegation and the Director handed in his resignation shortly after the complaint. Many parent meetings were held for transparency purposes and parents and Temple staff played an active role in hiring a new Director. The new Director is actually the former Pedagogista who has been at the school for years and is beloved by both families and children alike. Her style of open and welcoming leadership changed the whole culture and atmosphere of the program and it continued to flourish before schools were closed. We left last year so I cannot speak to the current tuition costs, but they were very reasonably priced compared to other programs, with an even cheaper rate if you were a member of the Temple (we were not). The one issue that we had to contend with a s a family was the lack of racial and cultural diversity in the student body. We chose the program specifically due to the Reggio Emilia Approach which is woven into the the fabric of the program in an authentic and meaningful way, but diversity is sorely lacking (although all families are more than welcome). The lack of diversity is to be expected when looking at the the fact that the program is steeped in the teachings of Judaism, but just be warned that if diversity that is something that is high on your list, then this program might not be the best fit for your child and your family. It's lovely in all other ways.