The Learning Experience - Hell's Kitchen — Local services in New York

As a parent of a child who has been attending this center for almost two years, I’ve seen this center undergo many changes, including a complete switch of administration and staff. I’m not sure that they’ve found the right people yet. There are only 2 of the original teachers. While my son had fun times and enjoyed attending with his classmates, I have been unsatisfied with the level of learning that actually takes place. The school promotes a curriculum that is not prioritized in the classroom. For example, they promote Spanish as a course, but the teacher does not speak Spanish, and his monthly workbook comes home incomplete, whereas when we do it at home, he can complete multiple pages in less than 10 minutes.

I’m also disappointed with how the preschool teacher runs the class and speaks with the children. From her tone, lack of enthusiasm, and disheveled appearance, she lacks authority and often needs an assistant in the room to help with a class that has fewer than ten students. She becomes overwhelmed with normal toddler behavior and has even left the room crying. In their words “she’s easily defeated”.

As the mother of one of the few Black children, I feel this school discriminates against little Black boys with big personalities and low-income families. I’ve heard teachers introduce students as "another voucher kid" and adultify childlike behaviors. Recently, my son was going through a tantrum phase, and they were not supportive of him. my son is very articulate and physically bigger than the other 3yo, he was treated as though he was older, and they had different expectations of him for his age. After 0 incidents for at least 6 weeks, my son had 2 intense days, which resulted in me keeping him home to hone in on the behavior. After he was regulated, he returned to school. After another 6 weeks of 0 incidents, my son started exploring profanity despite my every effort to minimize his exposure to that language. After 1 intense day of him using the words and acting out (he snuck candy before school) while a new family was on tour, this administration has decided to disenroll my son from daycare, completely abandoning my family.

I think their decision was rooted in money versus the support of a child’s development. They also have a 5 year old in the three year old classroom bc they rather the enrollment than to turn the family away since they don’t even have a preK teacher set up. They didn’t invest the proper resources into the preschool teacher and flat-out told me she’s not equipped to deal with normal toddler behavior like a temper tantrum because she has to give the other students attention. She’d focus on setting up the activities longer than she spent helping each child learn how to properly hold a writing utensil. She admitted to letting my child do whatever he wants if she felt he was going to be upset, which ultimately puts him in danger, i.e., climbing cabinets to reach his snacks. Because she doesn’t hone the skills to deescalate situations, my child has extended his frustration on other teachers who try to intervene, which isn’t like him outside of this center or with other instructors or caregivers. I’ve asked administration to give him more challenging work or to make sure he’s engaged since he is advanced for his age by way of language and his physical abilities. Ultimately, they’ve told me they can’t support his growth or needs and left me hopeless. Again, this is after one incident in six weeks. And a day after the incident he was fine while Anwar was out and when she returned he had more intense interactions. So instead of getting rid of this teacher they removed my son.

In conclusion, while there were moments of joy for my son at this center, the overall experience has been deeply disappointing and frustrating. The lack of experienced staff, inadequate curriculum implementation, and the discriminatory treatment have left me defeated. I hope this review serves as a warning to other parents and encourages the administration to make the necessary changes to truly support...

WE LOVE it here-thank you! I truly cannot say enough about your teachers, staff and the amazing experience my daughter, Aria, has had the TLE in Hell's Kitchen. We feel so lucky to have had such an incredible experience throughout our entire time at TLE. Every single interaction with all of your amazing teachers and staff has been warm, kind and welcoming- from the moment we walked in for our first tour when Aria was 1 to our last day at TLE. Aria began in the toddlers room with Ms.Lay (THANK YOU

The Learning Experience at Hell's Kitchen has provided my little one with exceptional early education. The entire staff and curriculum are just amazing. They absolutely care about your child in every way possible. My son has learned and improved so much since the start of his preschool program. Furthermore, the facility itself is brand new and well maintained. Security cameras are present at the location. The building is secure; only authorized parents or guardians with a key fob are able to enter through the main door. They have a sign-in log for all other visitors. My son has two teachers who are very attentive and intelligent. Grandma receives daily briefings from his teachers upon pick-up. They also have an app where photos of your child are uploaded throughout the school day. You will be able to track and follow your child's every activity. I want to give a special thanks and shout-out to both of my son's teachers, Ms.Bazrouk and Ms. Lassalle. You guys are phenomenal. Ms. Bazrouk, you take special care of my son, and he adores you so much. Ms. Lassalle, you are firm, and the children listen to you and learn so much from you. I would also like to thank the Assistant Director, Mark, who goes above and beyond with a smile on his face every day. I love your...