Smart Start Academy — Local services in Hoboken

Start Smart Academy - A Truly Outstanding Experience As a working parent, finding the right daycare is a critical decision, and I am thrilled to say that Start Smart Academy in Hoboken has exceeded all my expectations. Both my children, now 3 years old and 1 year old, have been attending since they were just 4 months old, and I couldn't be happier with the care and education they receive. Start Smart Academy provides a well-balanced, nutritious menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, ensuring that my kids are eating healthily every day. Communication with parents is exceptional, with regular updates, photos, and detailed information shared throughout the day via their app and email. It gives me peace of mind to know how my children are doing, even when I’m not with them. One of the standout aspects of Start Smart is their commitment to safety. They stay on top of immunizations to keep the community safe and do so with genuine care and thoughtfulness. I’ve always felt that my children are in the safest hands possible. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to match age-appropriate developmental stages, and my kids are thriving under their guidance. My daughter loves the indoor jungle gym, which is a lifesaver during cold or wet weather. Watching her enthusiasm to learn and play every day has been so rewarding. Although there was a brief period of frequent staff turnover, it was temporary, and the team now feels stable and strong. The staff are nothing short of incredible, treating my children as if they were their own. I want to especially thank Ms. Kathy and her team for the amazing care they provide for the little ones, and a big shout-out to Ms. Myra, Ms. Barbara, and Ms. Ellie for the wonderful work they do with the toddlers. Every staff member we've encountered has been wonderful and truly invested in the children’s well-being. I wholeheartedly recommend Start Smart Academy to any full-time or part-time working parents. It’s a nurturing, safe, and stimulating environment where children are truly cared for and supported to...

Posting as a warning for other families of deceptive business practices.

We toured Smart Start Academy in March/April for a Sept start date and put down a deposit (over $1k) after the director strongly implied that despite the written terms of the contract the deposit was refundable if our circumstances changed. We were house hunting and not sure if we’d renew our lease in the fall, but put down a deposit for Sept at Smart Start in case we renewed our lease.

We specifically chose Smart Start over the 3-4 other daycares in the area because of the verbal implication of deposit flexibility during our tour.

In July, we confirmed we were moving and reached out several times—emails went unanswered while I know they responded to friends’ inquiries. Only after multiple calls did they reply, saying the deposit was non-refundable (contrary to what was verbally implied) and could only be used for single day drop in rates in August, which was useless since given their delays in responding we already sorted out childcare for our remaining time in Hoboken.

It’s especially frustrating that we had family friends who wanted to take our spot in the daycare but Smart Start refused to refund our deposit even when those friends enrolled.

I respect that they are following the terms of the contract we signed, but allowing their director to verbally imply the contract was flexible is a deceptive bait and switch.

I was compelled to write this review after connecting with other families in Hoboken and finding out they had similar experiences as ours. I can’t speak for the quality of the childcare, but this experience has left me feeling scammed and taken...

Words cannot express how much I love SSA!! My girls were students there for nearly 2 years, prior to us moving out of Hoboken. From the minute we walked through the door, we knew this place was home. Maria and Sapphire gave off the best first impression and were so genuinely committed to SSA's mission. Since then, every administrator we've met has been the same - so friendly and wonderful. To this day, my girls remind me on a daily basis that Ms. Ashley, Ms. Dulce, Ms. Karen and Ms. Nacera are their "best friends". Even on the weekends, they would immediately put on their school shirts and say they wanted to go to the jungle gym with their friends. I never worried throughout the day or felt like I had to look at the "ap" to know they were having fun, learning, and most importantly safe. I first signed them up at SSA purely to socialize and have fun, but the incredible education was indeed an added bonus! At 3.5 years old, my older daughter is already learning to write her name, whereas my 2 year old already knows her alphabet, shapes, colors, and numbers. Both the teachers and administrators there truly loved my kids like they were their own. You cannot put a price on that. The bar has now been set very high for our future schools - We will forever be grateful for the teachers and...