temple rodef shalom preschool - reviews please!

[Anonymous]

Looking for any experiences with this preschool - my son will be in the 2 year old class - TIA!

[Anonymous]

Had a good friend who loved the camp and the regular school. They were a 1/2 Reform Jewish couple and they said there was a whole range of religions in the school. They really liked the teachers.

[Anonymous]

We know people who have loved the preschool and those who were not pleased. A lot depends on the child's personality and whether it's a good fit with a particular teacher. Ms. Welland teaches in the 2s program and she's wonderful and patient.

[Anonymous]

Hi, this is the OP thanks for the responses - what type of personality do you think best fits?

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who does the Mommy&Me class and her daughter will start the 2s program in the fall. She is really happy with the school so far.

[Anonymous]

IMO Ms. W can handle just about any personality and she's accepting of high energy boys, etc. I cannot speak from experience about other teachers in the 2s, but IMO it seems that compliant, eager to please and mellow kids with good circle time behavior and evenly developed average to advanced skills do best are most welcome. May not be an ideal environment for a kid with any quirks/child who marches to own drummer, although I have heard that certain teachers are terrific with all types of kids. They are adding a speech therapy program so I assume the school is changing and trying to be inclusive-perhaps moving away from what some call "advanced placement preschool."

[Anonymous]

Just looked at the rates for this school why is it so much more expensive than other schools? $365 for 2 days a week for toddlers (6 hours a week)? Looks like other schools are around $160-$260?

[Anonymous]

I was wondering the same thing.

Does anyone else have info on this school? We just moved here and it's one of the few preschools we could find closeby with openings. Our neighbors love the school, but their kids attended over 5 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anyone else have feedback??

[Anonymous]

This is a really top notch preschool - great facilities, qualified teachers, excellent reputation, we're quite pleased with it as our our child's classmates and their families.

Re: the cost -- I'm not sure it really is more...it may be that the 2/day week program is high compared to similar programs, but for 3 or 5 days it is actually less expensive than many other preschools in the area with good reputations like Brooksfield, Country Day, a few of the nearby Montessori programs. I'm certainly not suggesting it is inexpensive - it's not - but I think it is a very well regarded program. My pediatrician actually highly recommended the school.

I'm not sure there is one personality that is best for the school. It's a very play-based preschool. Different teachers do have different strengths and weaknesses and there are pluses and minuses and they may have a better fit with some kids than others I'm sure, but I suspect that is the case at any school.

[Anonymous]

"compliant, eager to please and mellow kids with good circle time behavior and evenly developed average to advanced skills do best are most welcome."

I absolutely agree with this. We did the Mommy & Me class and it really turned us off Rodef Shalom, even though we are Jewish and the school is actually the closest preschool to our home. It actually broke down pretty evenly along gender lines in our class. The little girls in the class cooperated very well and really seemed to thrive in that environment. Meanwhile, the little boys simply seemed to annoy the teacher.

That said, the facilities are nice and there is a low student/teacher ratio. I suspect this is what you are paying extra for.

If I had a lot of extra money to burn and a very mellow, cooperative child, I would absolutely consider Rodef Shalom. But otherwise, I'd keep looking.

[Anonymous]

Wow...I could have written the above post. Our Mommy and Me class had more boys than girls, but otherwise it fits. We did it a few years ago. Do they still have a psychologist come observe the kids? That wasn't mentioned in the form I filled out to join Mommy and Me and we never consented to it. Do they still charge over a thousand dollars for the program? Definitely wasn't the place for my son. I'm glad we got out before preschool. I thought he was going to hate preschool because he disliked Mommy and Me so much by the end, but luckily I was wrong. You just have the find the right place.

[Anonymous]

The teachers there tend to cover up behaviors to, When you go into a class and ask if this is going on such as is my child hitting they just push it off. I didn't get the whole picture until I looked into the window one morning to watch my child was hitting and pushing. I thought it was something she just did when I was with her. They made me feel like a bad parent. My child didn't start that aggressive behavior until she started there. Her teacher seems to be the one everyone loves.

[Anonymous]

Previous poster...what did they do to make you feel like a bad parent? Is your child happy at the school?

[Anonymous]

For those of you who posted that you have active boys and passed on Rodef, what preschool did you end up choosing? And is it a good fit?