The Jewish Community Center of Syracuse

We relocated to Syracuse after living and starting our family in Southern California. Child-care was a huge concern for us until we were welcomed by the Early Childhood Development Program. We did see a number of staff changes, but this also occurred at our former childcare facility. My daughters have learned a tremendous amount in a nurturing environment. We have been pleased by the high degree of professionalism, dedication to honest communication with all families and, most importantly, the level of care and affection that has been shown to both of my daughters. I have and will continue to recommend the ECDP to anyone seeking a safe, clean and caring environment for their children. more

As the Director of the JCC's Early Childhood Program I would like to comment on the fallacies in regards to our program. We are regulated by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. Our center is very clean. We have a maintenance team that goes through each of our 10 classrooms every night, sweeping and mopping. I require the staff to spray their classrooms with a bleach and water solutions regulated by the state of New York every night. Our toys that are mouthed are put into the sink to be disinfected, dried and reintroduced. All of our toys are soaked in a bleach and water solution weekly, which is again regulated by New York State. My teachers take great pride in their classrooms and how they look. As far as the qualifications of the staff, New York State has regulations for that as well that we follow rigidly. All lead teachers have to have at least 9 college credits in Early Childhood/related field. Many of lead teachers have Associates and/or Bachelor's Degrees in Early Childhood and/or Education. New York State requires Assistant Teachers to have a high school diploma. Many of my Assistant Teachers have Associates degrees, Bachelor's degrees or their CDA which is an equivalent to an Associates Degree specifically in Early Childhood. I do encourage all staff to earn a degree as I myself value education. Every family is treated equally at the center. As far as fundraisers go, yes we do fundraisers on a semi-bi-monthly basis, as all preschools/schools do. I would not rate this however you must give a rating. We do currently have a waiting list in many of our classrooms. I do encourage prospective families looking for child care to come in and tour the center for themselves. more

This is a wonderful place to bring children! I""m greeted everytime I drop off and pick up, the staff are very warm and welcoming! My child comes home with ""toddler grams"" everyday which let me know how much she ate, how her nap was, what she needs, and any other information I may need to know about her day. The teachers and staff have wonderful communication with parents, and all classrooms have whiteboards outside the room, which keep parents informed of the daily activities in each room. My daughter never wants to come home, she loves to play at the ECDP with all of her friends. She comes home and tells me wonderful stories about what she has done at school that day. She recently told me about how water freezes into ice when it gets really cold! I highly recommend the Early Childhood Development Program! Pros: excellent communication,educated staff, caring teachers more

After reading the other reviews, it is obvious there are a few isolated people feel the need to write negative statements about the ECDP program at the JCC. Please keep in mind that you do not even have to be a parent of this program to submit a comment. Anyone with an email address can comment. As a former elementary teacher, I was thrilled with my family's experience in the early childhood department. Please sign up for a tour and let the program and the director speak for themselves. There is a reason that this program has a waiting list! Pros: high standards, warm and inviting more

I would like to warn people away from this school. The current director is a nightmare (the previous one was much better). She is rude, unwelcoming, does not have a handle on how to run the school, and is far more interested in advancing her own agenda than in fostering a positive learning environment. In addition, if you are a working parent, this is not the place for you; forget it and find someplace else. After a very difficult year last year my daughters are happily enrolled elsewhere and it has made a wonderful difference to our quality of life! more

My husband and I love this program! Our kids always come home happy, they never want to leave. The teachers and the director are so warm. Our kids come home with new songs and even new ""big words"" like modulation!! We couldn't be happier, I recommend this center to everyone! Pros: clean, friendly nurturing staff, great curriculum, involved Cons: availability in toddler rooms; they are always full more

The center tends to be dirty. The playground is unsafe. It is not a warm and inviting center anymore. more