Our family has been part of the South Mountain YMCA ECLC for decades, and now our grandson attends. We love the strong sense of community, the opportunity to make new friends, and seeing dedicated staff members who have been there for 20 to 30 years.

The teachers and staff are all so loving and caring for the children. It warms my heart to drop off my kid every day knowing he's getting all the love and attention.

The Y has become a second family from The 2s program to aftercare - the staff goes above and beyond - my kids love it

We have loved everything about our Y experience. The staff members are very caring and our children have always been happy to go there. We have seen them learn and grow so much at the Y. It's a warm, friendly, nurturing place. We also love that almost all of the staff members who were there a decade ago with our oldest child still work there now that our youngest attends. The ability to maintain consistent staff speaks to the quality of the program and workplace for adults and the children who attend benefit from having experienced teachers.

Untimely and unorganized communication.

Being a Y family has positively impacted each member of our family, espcially our children who have excelled in their social, emotional and early learning and development. We truly believe we have found a strong supportive community base in being involed with the South Mountain YMCA.

The South Mountain YMCA has the best creative curriculum; I love that the children are learning while having fun. Also, the staff are welcoming from the time you walk in the door and as you walk throughout the building. My children have blossomed here, and I am grateful for the staff members that brightened their days and grew their minds.

Great teachers

We feel our child is safe and well cared for

somewhat more structured daily activities. more music/singing.

My child is not in preschool so I don't know why I'm getting this survey.

The teachers and the times the centre is open

Warm environment, diverse student body and teachers

More support at the administrative level - I've had several incidents where I've had to follow up multiple times to get support on something or I've been contacted several times to submit a form I already submitted.

First of teachers get a 10/10! I've been a bit disappointed with communication mainly from higher ups either with responding to my messages or just communicating regarding class changes. I also felt like the response to the snow was really poor. We walk and I am still not able to use the sidewalk on the Jefferson side which makes it dangerous trying to navigate with a 2 year old. I would drive but there is never any parking it's absurd.

The teachers are caring, the facility is clean, bright, happy and a great place to learn

Hours

As a mom of two boys who have been at ECLC for the past three years, I really can't imagine these early years anywhere else. We've always felt that our boys are not just looked after, but truly known and loved. Their teachers care for them as if they were their own children and every day when we walk through the doors of the ECLC for drop off and pickup, it feels like a family atmosphere. We've watched our boys grow in confidence and kindness, and they've formed such genuine friendships along the way while learning new skills that they're more than excited to tell us about when they get home! We're so grateful for the communication and support of the ECLC. It been such a special part of our family's life, and we are incredibly thankful for the staff and teachers that look after our boys.

You can tell how much the teachers pour into their students and are truly invested in their learning experience and growth. I also love the creative lessons that give our child new language and encourage thought.

Caring teachers

In general, I think the YMCA provides a loving and nurturing environment for the kids. However, both of my boys have been placed in very crowded classrooms that seem to have a disproportionate amount of boys to girls. When the boys get rough, it's very quickly brushed off as "boys will be boys", but really they are just acting like normal toddlers/preschoolers regardless of gender. The result is very noticeable though. The boys are ending up really rough and the behavior is out of control. The teachers look exhausted and I believe to my fullest that they are trying their best, but a classroom of twenty 2.5-3 year olds, even within ratio, is chaotic. Ideally, smaller classroom sizes, even if it means less people attending the YMCA ECLC would benefit the children and staff. I also strongly feel that the YMCA should have more closures for holidays, such as MLK Jr. Day and Juneteenth. I appreciate that the Y allows the staff to take off because they deserve those days off. It does put the parents in a tricky situation of keeping our kids home those days or sending them in with strangers.

It feels like family. We have been supported, not just our daughter, as our lives have shifted and morphed over the last 2 years. I genuinely don't know what we would have done if I didn't have the peace of mind that my little girl was thriving. It has become an incredible source of community to us in our time of need and we will be forever grateful to the entire staff.

The teachers and administrators, diversity, curriculum, activities. Teachers go above and beyond!

There are times where I have seen less than 4 teachers in the room which is slightly concerning given the # of children in the class and their age.

Teachers and the community!