The Learning Experience- Hudson Yards — Local services in New York

Hello Parents,

*they keep deleting so parents won't know.

My name is Caeley, my son attended The Learning Experience Hudson Yards for 3K with a free seat from the DOE and just ended school here 2 days ago. We were so excited for Onyx to start his first school year here as it was super close to our apartment and our dream school. We went into the school year so optimistic and excited, unfortunately the experience quickly changed, it became the most horrific and sad experience for my entire family.

4 days into us attending this school I recieved a call from the Regional Director, Shelby Weiss. She informed me Onyx was having redirection issues such as turning off the lights in the classroom. Running around the classroom. Closing doors etc. We knew from the very beggining Onyx would have some hardships adjusting to school because we had never put him in daycare in the past. This was his first time in a classroom setting and he was also nonverbal at the time which I let the school know of before he started to attend. Shelby then proceeded to tell me and this is word for word "that maybe my child wasn't ready for the classroom setting". My stomach dropped, as any parent knows this is hard to hear especially after just 4 days in. She then started to talk about early intervention and CPSE stepping in. Little did she know I had already been on top of my son and had him assessed twice by Early Intervention in the past and he never received services based on his scores.

Of course I wanted to do anything to appease the school because I didnt want him to lose this opportunity and be disenrolled. Whatever I had to do as parent to make sure my child was able to have this experience and to keep the school happy is what I did. I quickly started reaching out to CPSE and trying to get him services for school to help him throughout the day.*(Read their registration packet carefully!!! There is a paragraph saying they have the right to disenroll your child at any point at their discretion)

Things just started to get worse from here. One day upon picking my child up from school his teacher, Ms Ruhala handed me an incident report stating that my son had been bitten by another student. I was in a RAGE because everytime my son did any minor thing I was being called by the school during my work hours to discuss it. Something as big as my child being bitten I should have immediately recieved a call!!! I emailed the school that same day and expressed my concern and how upset I was about not being called about this in advance and Shelby the Director just apologized and brushed it off. Why is it that whenever my son did something minor I was getting constant calls but when something horrible happened to my son no one informed me at all?

After my child got bit at The Learning Experience by another student he then started to constantly bite others as well. He had learned this terrible behavior from the classroom and it became a nightmare for us. Onyx then started to bite daily because he couldn't use his words and had learned something new in school. This was so sad for us because Onyx had never even dared to bite anyone before EVER. We then started to recieve calls EVERY SINGLE DAY about Onyxs behavior and now biting. I expressed to Shelby that this was a behavior he learned at their facility and it was hard to correct it at home because he wasn't doing this at home. She had no recommendations for us except getting him a chewtoy necklace to bite on.

The absolute worst part is she was very condescending at all times and even corrected my child in front of the parent my child bit one day. So he knew exactly who I was. It got so bad that this parent even would greet us and say "so no biting today". This is not that way to handle situations as a Director and it was absolutely uncalled for.

I have email threads trying to reach out to Shelby Weiss and her not getting back to me for days. As a Director, the professionalism was not there and honestly you could tell it was clear that the parents who paid tuition were being...

PART 2: On December 16th I got an email confirmation from the Regional Director Shelby saying she would be at my sons CPSE meeting. Attached to this email was a seperate document when I opened it up it was a letter stating my child was being suspended until his meeting happened. There was no phone call, no meeting. Shelby just literally sent us an attachment saying our child couldn't attend school anymore.

This broke our heart but of course we just left it alone. Onyxs meeting finally happened and he did recieve some services for the classroom but very minimal because even the DOE agreed these were very typical 3 year old behaviors and maybe the Learning Experience just wasnt equipped to handle it!!!

If your child has any type of behavioral issues be prepared to get calls everyday!!!

After the meeting happened I got no response from Shelby. I kept him out of school for another 2 months because she told me she had to speak to the higher ups and make a decision on Onyx coming back.

Eventually I got tired of the wait and sent an email in telling the school to just disenroll my son because he hadn't been into school for 4 months.

I got an email back from THE MOST AMAZING PERSON IN THIS SITE NAMED FRANCIA. Francia was the new Center Director and changed our whole experience and gave us the chance as a family to do better. She agreed to allow Onyx to come back for half days and work with us from there. Francia this review is not about you at all!!! You are amazing and have the best heart. You are exactly what this place needed and thank you for loving my son and giving us grace. You are the reason this place will thrive and I hope you know that.

We finally got our amazing SEIT named Yari in the classroom 2 hours a day and the biting did improve drastically. Onyx finally has an IEP so it helps alot. Of course my son is no angel and still had behavior issues. He is now verbal and testing the limits. Hes in his no phase and figuring things out.

Even on bad days Francia talked to me and had open communication with me and helped me feel as ease. Before Francia I would dread walking into the school. I would cry daily for my son and was at a loss. Thankfully we didnt have to see or communicate with Shelby for almost the rest of the year. I ran everything by Francia and she handled everything with professionalism and grace.

Now that Francia is the Center Director things are so smooth. She is the success of this school.

Shelby Weiss ,the Regional Director could learn alot from Francia. The lack of professionalism was truly sad and I know my child was a free DOE seat but we deserved better. We understand the biting was excessive but this was also a behavior he learned in your school.

Hopefully no one has to go through something so tramatic like this again. Like I said Francia is amazing and works with everyone. Thank you Francia once again for actually trying and being such an amazing Director. I know my son wasn't easy and of course struggled but you never gave up.

Please if your a free DOE seat just keep this all in mind. Wishing all the parents new to this a successful and easy year. Always vouch for your baby's as I always...

Update: Our son attended 3k, 4k and summer camp at this location and I'm so sad we have to move on to Kindergarten to a new school! Francia, the director, has fostered a wonderful community where parents, teachers and students can get to know each other during various school events. Francia is also an excellent communicator, responds to emails right away, and is receptive to any concerns and finds solutions with ease. She's also just lovely, and plays joyful music at the front desk to set a good vibe the second the children arrive.

Cynthia, the manager, goes above and beyond to help families with anything that comes up. Somehow she always has extra snacks for my child when I forget to bring one. She's never made us feel silly about any anxious concerns, always has taken action and made us feel good about leaving our child in their care. She makes sure to give a big welcome to every little student, and is genuinely happy to see us.

Ms. Shaniece, the 4k teacher is an ABSOLUTE rock star. If you can get her for 4k, your child's learning will sky rocket. She's big on active learning, meaning that if she's teaching children about plants, they are physically exploring the root system, watching seeds grows, etc. She implemented a student schedule for show and tell based on the letters of the week, so every kid gets their turn in the spot light while teaching their friends. If you have a quiet child that needs encouragement, she's the one you want! She's done a tremendous job boosting our child's confidence and love of learning. The 4k co-teacher is new to school but just as fantastic, we love Ms. Sam! Both her and Ms. Shaniece make sure to work with the children in small groups that address different skill levels or learning needs. They will also regularly asses each student's progress and keep you inform, even something as simple as my child (a picky eater) trying a new food.

The rest of the staff is equally caring and devoted. This truly is a fantastic learning center.

Our son attended TLE Hudson Yards for 3K, and he's currently attending their summer camp as well. We couldn't be happier! The staff is caring, kind and committed to helping each child thrive. His teachers have gone above and beyond to make the classroom a fun learning environment. Every week there are different decorations and activities pertaining to a specific topic that the children are learning about. Last week my son came home with a toddler size cardboard spaceship that his teachers had made to teach the kids about space. We are planning to stay at this center for 4k and highly...