The Learning Experience - Upper West Side — Local services in New York

Our experience at TLE has been incredible! I was anxious about sending our almost 3-year-old to school, but I am now confident that she is in the best hands possible.

The center director, Jenna, and the education director, Nicole, know every child by name and greet them at the front door each morning. They make the center feel like a community, and we feel right at home.

Jenna makes us feel safe with my daughter's multiple food allergies. Thankfully it is a nut free facility. Though for her sesame allergy, we developed a personalized care plan, there is a sign on her classroom door, and all of the teachers are trained to use an EpiPen. Her teacher, Ms. Sarina is also hyper-diligent in the classroom. I am so grateful for their care and attention to detail.

Nicole designs engaging curriculum that helps children learn about important topics like emotions, their community, and how to be courteous and polite.

We love our daughter's teachers, Ms. Sarina (head teacher) and Ms. Deshona beyond words. They are both incredibly loving and nurturing. My daughter runs through the door every morning excited to be in class. They create a fun and engaging learning environment where all of the children thrive. For example, yesterday they colored turkeys (for Thanksgiving) and Ms. Sarina turned them into calendars for us to take home. She shared that the children have all been really interested in days of the week and counting to significant holidays and events, so she followed their lead to create something they would love. This is just one example of the many ways that Ms. Sarina and Ms. Deshona go above and beyond for their students.

Other things we love: it is a ratio of 2 teachers to 10 students for 3K. They have an indoor playground for bad weather but on nice days they get fresh air outside at the playgrounds across the street. There is also an app that we get to see photos of our daughter throughout the day with notes about how much she ate, what projects she's doing, etc.

We highly recommend TLE to any parent looking for a high-quality...

After months of interviews and going back and forth, we decided to opt into daycare over hiring a nanny after noticing how much our daughter wanted to join other children at the parks/outside. TLE UWS is an all-around wonderful daycare for both parents and children.

Shelby really took time to thoroughly answer all of our questions and walk us through their COVID safe precautions and practices. All the teachers and staff are professional, caring, and responsive even when they aren’t directly in charge of our daughter. The facility is always bright, clean, and organized. Our toddler loves this place so much she kicks in excitement as we approach and she reaches for her teachers (Veronica and Krystal) as soon as she sees them. In fact, she reaches for Shelby and Amani too!

There is an actual curriculum that parents can follow through email updates and a schedule. The teachers introduce activities through a natural flow that is both purposeful and visibly engaging. I’m amazed at how much enrichment our daughter gets in a day. She’s picking up new skills quickly and seems to really enjoy her time with peers which is so nice to see given the amount of time we socially distanced our family in the last year+.

Thank you to the entire TLE team and especially to Veronica and Krystal for being part of our daughter’s village. It really is such a relief to see how our little one adores you all so much and to see her thriving even in pandemic times. We really are...

We love TLE!! My son is in 3K here and my daughter is in the infant room. We love ALL of the teachers and staff as they are all so helpful and professional, but I cannot sing the praises of Elizabeth Martinez in the infant room highly enough! We’ve worked with lots of daycare professionals over the last few years (including the great ones at TLE), but Ms. Elizabeth truly stands out. She’s so loving towards our daughter while also being a calm and professional presence in the classroom. My daughter clearly loves her and we feel extremely confident dropping her off every morning knowing she’ll be well cared for. Ms. Elizabeth’s passion for caretaking shines through every interaction we have with her. My daughter practically leaps out of our arms to go see her every morning at drop-off. That’s pretty special!

Overall, the facility is immaculate and brand new. My son loves to talk about going to the "inside playground" (yes an entire playground inside in NYC!) and Make Believe Boulevard where the kids get to play dress up and pretend to be in their own little town. We are also very happy with the participation with the DOE 3K for all program!

The admin staff is always so kind and helpful and really goes above and beyond to make our experience at TLE positive, meaningful and safe. We love Shelby...