trouble at the DC JCC again?

[Anonymous]

Who were the 4 teachers who came to Temple Emanuel from the DCJCC? Sarah. Jill, Gary....and who else?

As a Temple Emanuel parent I am pretty surprised by this discussion.

[Anonymous]

vas

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Were there problems with these teachers? They all seem good to me.

[Anonymous]

No, those were the good teachers...the one's who left.

[Anonymous]

i have posted before as i have not been happy with the school in the past, but i can honestly say that the teachers this year are a vast improvement over last year. i hope they will stay - not sure if the dcjcc provides them with sufficient support, and the schools seems totally out of funds, but the teachers seem to be much more involved and that fact makes the place a lot better for the kids. good, enthusiastic teachers make up for a lot of problems. i still think the reggio program is hardly visible.

[Anonymous]

Temple Emanuel is running a good Reggio program- maybe they have increased the training? I know that Madeline went to a week long workshop in Italy in the Spring (with a lot of other area directors).

[Anonymous]

I'm a DCJCC parent who's child started this September, after all of the hubbub of last year. Both of my daughter's teachers are new this year.

They are fantastic. Both are caring, creative, and completely interested in every aspect of the children's learning. At parent conferences, they provided a thoughtful, personalized, and constructive set of observations about my child, and worked with me to figure out ways to help her progress (she's not a problem child; they focus on all children's needs and progress).

To a child, the children in the class are well behaved and I've never seen a single incident to the contrary; the teachers keep them busy, happy, and focused.

Already this year, the children have done interesting field trips and projects.

Sarah has been lovely and accommodating.

The facility is excellent.

My daughter is happy. I don't see a ton of teaching the academic-y subjects like letters and numbers, but they certainly do teach thinking skills, such as how to describe and characterize types of objects, and how the body works, and about the election. The letter/number stuff is interesting, but it's taught in kindergarten. My daughter already reads and writes and they provide her with many opportunities to pursue those interests and sharpen those skills, including with a journal. They do a fair bit of outdoor and gym exercise, which is very important at this age.

We came from a preschool that had a better reputation but was in fact awful. The kids were far less stimulated than they are in her current class. The teachers were spotty-- a couple of good ones in her class, one downright nasty. The curriculum was skewed so far over to Jewish holidays only that all they presented in their little final "graduation" was like 10 Jewish songs, no sign of focusing on anything else. There were kids who kicked and hit and bit and the teachers did nothing to protect the more gentle ones from them, even after numerous pleas. I know what a bad preschool looks like-- it's night and day.

To the parents who were dissatisfied that their children weren't being "taught" anything: play IS learning. Any parent can teach the alphabet in spare time, but the learning that they do among their peers, exploring places and objects (I loved when they went to Whole Foods to learn about apples-- my daughter really did too) together, are important too. Look at the kindergarten curriculum for any school-- kids don't have to be reading when they get there. And they are very well served by a program that focuses on showing them how to do interactive projects with each other, focus on teachers, and get used to a school-style routine.

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm, is PP Sarah? If you think the kind of play that the JCC offers is "learning," then I don't know what to say other than I wish your child the best.

[Anonymous]

I am a parent who was VERY disappointed with the DCJCC last year and was going to take my child out of the school. Madeline was atrocious. In fact, she forgot to send me registration materials at the beginning of the school year and I had to find out from a parent at the playground that certain forms were due (even though I had called her many, many times to ask about it and she NEVER returned calls - and I had my DC in the school for pre-preschool activities for 18 months!) The administration was so bad at the DCJCC under madeline that when I had asked for a class list, I had received a list WITH credit card numbers, no joke.

Madeline also left the school and all of the students mid-year (rumor has it she was working to put the other school together while still having the semblence of being a director at the JCC) - she gave parents two weeks notice and left everything in - gasp, yes, it was proven possible - even more disarray.

Madeline may have had her golden years, but I missed them and only saw complete mess, irresponsibility, disrespect to the parents, teachers, and kids, and school - and total and utter unresponsiveness, while I was with her she had checked out.

We were fortunate to have two good teachers, but even they were dragged down in the lack of moral and disarray caused by Madeline's departure and lack of leadership.

The total turnover of teachers was also highly disturbing. All of the teachers that left to work with Madeline, followed her lead and left the kids before the year was even over, which created a difficult time for the kids, teachers, and the actiing director (Sarah). I was appalled by the unprofessionalism of the teachers that went with Madeline (and I thought some of them were good teachers, so I was shocked). Other teachers left to go to grad school, or to follow other opportunities.

So, with that description, ANYTHING would be better.

THis year I have been incredibly surprised and how the school has been night and day different than last year. In fact, I saw some previous postings where some posters asked Sarah how could it be that different in two weeks - and well - it sort of was. The school started off on such a better, positive note.

All new teachers actually created a new environment - a positive envirnoment - and Sarah was able to clean up shop and start off on a great note.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the desire to be responsive to parents concerns and to follow the REggio curriculum.

I do think that this is a good, but tranisitional time for the DCJCC. Next year will be even better. I think that as each year goes by it will be better and better. But, it is a transitional mess that Sarah is trying to clean up!

Also, about the money, how much does a preschool that goes from 7-6pm cost, I haven't done the comparison?

[Anonymous]

i'd wanted to stay out of this discussion because i firmly believe that contributing to these threads feeds the few very (probably all former) unhappy parents with an ax to grind about the J. there is one poster who often contributes to these threads even though her child is no longer enrolled at the J just so she can take any opportunity to express negativity. or just her seemingly inexhaustible anger.

to the 19:52 poster who accuses sarah of posting as a parent: you are just trying to stir up trouble and paint an inaccurate picture of a very dedicated and competent person. you should be embarrassed and ashamed of yourself.

[Anonymous]

I don't love Madeline (I am a Temple Emanuel parent) but she is running a good program at TE. What I mean is that I have had some minor issues with her and I wouldn't want to be friends with her, but those are my only complaints. The school and teachers are great. Do you think that there was a problem between Madeline and the DCJCC? It's odd that she would run such a poor program at the DCJCC when she is clearly capable of running a good program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmmmm, is PP Sarah? If you think the kind of play that the JCC offers is "learning," then I don't know what to say other than I wish your child the best.

No, the PP is a parent of a 4.5-year-old girl in the "Soosim" class. If your child is not in the Soosim class with Tal and Dena, then you are not qualified to say whether the class is a learning experience.

I don't "think" that my child is learning; I know it. In addition to being a parent who has done a passable job helping my child grow intellectually, I've been involved with education my entire adult life. I have undergraduate teacher training, have taught middle school English, 4 years of teaching people with disabilities age 3-adult, 3 years of ESL tutoring in Cambridge, MA public schools, I've been an adjunct law school professor, and I've designed a middle and high school curriculum about constitutional law. These are by no means prerequisites for evaluating a preschool, but I think that I know decent teaching when I see it, and I know when a child is learning.

I personally find it sickening that you would accuse me of lying simply because you disagree with me. From your tone I'll assume that you had a bad experience at JCC, and I'll go ahead and believe you, because I have no knowledge of the class that your child was in-- as you have no knowledge of my experience.

For what it's worth, both my cousin and my boss have their sons in the JCC right now, in two different classes than the one we're in, and both are very satisfied with the school. My cousin doesn't know anything about learning either-- he's a professor.

[Anonymous]

Just to chime in here - I think that all parents (both former and current) should be allowed to voice their opinion about the JCC or any school. Just because you had a good experience does not mean that negates a bad experience another poster has had. I am the poster who witnessed the teacher last year who allowed a child to cry in the bathroom for longer than a minute with her finger stuck in the door. That is inexcusable. I know at least 7 other parents who pulled their child from the JCC because it was poorly run. I do hope it has improved this school year with the new teachers and have no axe to grind. I just wish someone had been honest with me before I was locked in to pay monthly tuition for 12 months.

Also, I believe there are several former/current parents posting in this thread, not just one.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, my two children were at the DCJCC for two months this fall and we just loved it. The teachers and staff were all engaged and friendly and easygoing. My kids actually cried at the end of the day because they wanted to stay and play more, which they've never done anywhere else. We left the school because I was laid off from my downtown DC job and we live in the suburbs.

My daughter still talks about the projects she did with her teachers and the rock band that she was starting with her friends. She got very interested in writing stories and even now continues writing in her DCJCC notebook -- or dictating for me to write. Even our 2-year old talks about her former teachers and classmates by name. The DCJCC left a lasting (good) impression on us even with just a short time at the school.

Not every school is a good fit for every family. I'd encourage any parents reading this thread to visit in person yourself and make your own assessment. The things that drive someone else crazy might be the things you like.

[Anonymous]

Disgusting!