Altadena Progressive Mntssr

I truly love this school. I am so sad this is my daughter's last semester. All the teachers are excellent. My daughter had the privilege of having been in all the teacher's classes as she started there when she was only 18 months old. Ms. Sati - the teacher to the youngest is the sweetest person you could ever meet. She calls her kids ""sweethearts."" She is very patient. She starts to teach them discipline in a nice way and introduces them to coloring, basic shapes, basic numbers, etc. Ms. Lola is to the point. She is a straight shooter person and will tell you like it is if your child is a problem. I love that! she is very patient with the kids but also enforces discipline. She picks up where Ms. Sati leaves off and moves the kids to the next educational level by introducing them to more complex stories, drawings, math. Ms. Luz is such a nice teacher aid! she teaches the kids Spanish and is very kind and patient. She is there to assist all the teachers when needed and you can always ask her anything. She will be very helpful. Mrs. Suzanne is the director and teacher of the Pre-K2 and KG. She is the most amazing woman I have ever met. She is kind, patient and super educated! She has a masters degree in education and began her teaching career as a college professor. I noted a parent saying she was too strict. That is not true. All kids need discipline and I have never seen her treat any kid bad. In the contrary, when she disciplines them she lets them know why they are been discipline. The discipline is basically pulling the child apart form the group if the child is causing trouble (believe me - I have seen some kids start trouble) and having them sit with her or another teacher while the other kids play. The child is allowed back out as long as they are calm. If you don't like a teacher to tell it to you like it is then don't waste your time here and allow a parent that really wants their kids to blossom take your place. All kids need discipline and it is the parents responsibility to be the primary disciplinary and not the teachers. This school promotes self confidence and the kids that graduate from kinder easily pass entrance examinations to private schools. My daughter is going to a local catholic school during the fall and will start first grade. The director told me she passed the admission test with ""flying colors."" My daughter is reading books! adding 3 digit numbers, coloring excellent, even writing small book reports on the books she reads! She is also doing such things as carry over, subtracting and can count to 300! I don't think you can say that for many other schools. The advantage at the school is that the class sizes are very small and the kids get one on one teacher time! I ask you to attend their open houses and you will see for yourself what a great little gem this school is. They have end of the semester school plays by the kids. My daughter opened the last one and memorized a long speech thanks to Ms. Suzanne. Again she is the best teacher ever! Go check it out. Spaces are limited and your child will thank you for this great opportunity. more

Susanne is not all that bad. She may come across as a bit diffident, but that is with stuck up adults. And I think that also comes with dealing with kids all the time. With kids she does an amazing job. Academics are top notch. Oh yes she is strict but you know something, maybe we need some old school strictness because frankly some of the kids these days are so rude and don't know anything. Watch Nanny 911 on youtube to see what I mean. I have some friends who teach at public schools and and they tell me the kids are out of control and the parents are even worse, too demanding on one side or totally could not care less on the other side. So old school works for me. Pros: Discpline, academics Cons: Old building more

The recent change in ownership and directorship is cause for concern. My dealings with the administration have been less than positive. Additionally I have concerns about the teacher to student ratio at times. Monthly rates have been inconsistent from family to family. My child is now addicted to juice because there are nutrition standards here. And finally, the teaching methodology is very strict and uncreative, not based on modern learning theory. I do love the young toddler teacher, Sadik, however Susan Ifft (of Pasadena Progressive) has horrible manners, and lack of sensitivity to the family and their needs. We left because we do not know what to expect. Pros: cleanliness, lunch program, great 18 month -3 yr old teacher, potty training Cons: disorganized administration, greedy, no creative curriculum, strict, developmentally inappropriate discipline, no trees or nature on playground more