Smart Start Academy — Local services in Jersey City

I sent concerns that were never acknowledged a few years back. Still no response. Maybe it will be noticed here. This is for the Jersey ave location only. My email went like this: (character limit exceeded, there was more to my email): “While training there, I noticed that the teachers would yell at the students in the toddler age group. I completely understand that there is a schedule to follow but I disagreed on the way the students were treated most of the time. It made me very uncomfortable to see teachers yelling and being angry with the students instead of practicing the “positive discipline” that Smart Start Academy promises parents in the registration form. The positive disciplinary guidelines given by SSA reads “Positive discipline is different from punishment. Punishment tells children what they should not do; positive discipline tells children what they should do. Punishment teaches fear; positive discipline teachers self-esteem” and it was very disappointing to not see any of this taking place. The form also encourages love, hugs, praise for positive behavior and advices caregivers to overlook small annoyances and to ignore provocations. I witnessed the absolute opposite of what the form read. Teachers definitely did not overlook small annoyances. It seemed that any small thing a toddler did, angered them. Toddlers will drop food, not all of them will sit at once during circle time and not all will color inside the lines. They are under 2 and the teachers were far too strict for their age. Teachers would completely ignore the new students and let them cry it out without approaching them once. Those children miss their parents and it is a caregiver’s job to fill in that hole. I managed to help a toddler feel comfortable even though he would cry for his mom for the longest time. It was definitely worth it because it gave me peace of mind to finally see him feel comfortable and happy which is how all children, especially the new ones that have never been in a daycare facility before, deserve to feel even when away from their parents and in the hands of a care facility. New students have only been with their parents before and will not adjust to a daycare environment right away. At least for the first 2 weeks of their arrival, caregivers should focus on making them feel at home. There is no need to scream to a child under 2 “That is enough!” for missing their parents. Toddlers do not control or hide their emotions as well as adults do and I expected the teachers to know that. When I would try to comfort a toddler by hugging and carrying them when they wanted to be carried from crying so much, one teacher would tell me not to and that they aren’t babies anymore. Any student under 2 who wants a hug and to feel safe should not be neglected just because they are not infants anymore and they are most definitely not too young for hugs or to be carried when they are missing their parents. There was a crying student who was wearing a female polo shirt one of the teachers made a comment that she thought was humorous saying “He is crying because he is wearing a girly girl shirt”. Not only is that hurtful but it’s degrading and demeaning whether they could understand what she said or not. A certain assistant from a different class would also point out some waddlers and say “He looks like an old man” or “He has a big head” and a couple of employees had no problem spewing out swear words in front of the children just because they don’t speak yet. Smart Start Academy is a beautiful facility with clean spacious rooms but I am concerned about the quality of the teachers. I also have a small comment on the gross motor skills activities where teachers get the students to do something quick like painting, but it’s solely done for a picture to send to parents since the activities are done in less than 3 minutes. It loses the authenticity of the project done by the child when it’s actually done by a teacher trying to take a quick...

Terrible Experience - Avoid This Daycare

My experience with SSA has been incredibly disappointing, and I strongly advise parents to steer clear of this daycare. Several concerning issues have arisen during my child's time there, which have led to my decision to withdraw my child from their care.

Diaper Rash Problems: My baby suffered from recurring diaper rash throughout her time at SSA. Despite numerous conversations with the staff and promises to change the diaper more frequently, the rash persisted. Interestingly, when cared for at home during weekends, the rash disappeared. It became evident that the issue lay with the daycare's handling of diaper changes, as the same diaper cream and diapers were used elsewhere without any problems.

Lack of Safety Measures: The first time my child came home with scratches on her face, I immediately reported the incident to the daycare. Shockingly, they had no accident report and dismissed the matter as normal playtime behavior. However, my child continued to sustain scratches on the face for the following days, and the daycare made no effort to implement measures to prevent such incidents.

Frequent School Closures: SSA has a peculiar habit of frequently closing the school, causing disruptions in parents' schedules. This constant closing policy is particularly inconvenient for working parents, and it disrupts the children's routine.

Suspicious Reviews: I must caution readers to be skeptical of the positive reviews.

Overall, my child's experience at SSA has been distressing. I have withdrawn my child from their care and would strongly discourage other parents from enrolling their children here.

It is my sincere hope that this review will serve as a cautionary message for other parents considering SSA. Every child deserves a safe and nurturing environment, which regrettably, I found lacking in this daycare. As my experience has been nothing short of distressing and...

I transferred my daughter to Smart Start Jersey Ave from another daycare she was attending and it was the best move yet . My friend told me all about Smart Start Jersey Ave and her great experience. I couldn’t wait to move my daughter there so she can experience such a wonderful school. From the first day she loved it they have a jungle gym she couldn’t wait to play, running in there which she looks forward too! They provide healthy meals that opens my daughter to healthy food choices. She enjoys all the activities they do like painting,circle time, listening to a story, and even her walks around downtown she absolutely loves her time at Smart Start Jersey Ave she always reassures me of how happy she is when I show her the app of her progress of each day and photos I can honestly see her face light up. They show her independent care. Miss Vanessa and Miss Jesamyn are always very welcoming and friendly to greet Aimee in the morning and evening when she is going home. They are so helpful in anything you ask of them. They have been so awesome in the transition for my daughter. Her teachers miss Natalia and miss Natasha are very awesome and sweet and show my daughter the same love I would she loves her teachers and her new class and absolutely loves school now. I can see a difference in my daughter from Her confidence going up to asking more questions and being more inquisitive about everything even her work for the week they send home shows they expose her to all forms of art letter tracing and numbers and I can say it’s the cutest to see her look at the...