Lehman College Child Care Center

This place is full of “workers” who don’t work with honesty! Supposed to star at 8:30am but workers are just getting ready to get breakfast at job! Also….. the main office has people who has a face for the parent abut other face totally different for the staff. You think your child is treated as a kid and that when you leave them there your kid is going to be treated like a kid…… wrong you kid will be with people unprofessional staff who has no patience and has not desire at all to treat your kid with respect once you leave,…….. yelling at kids, forcing them into a situation where a kid of 2 years has to use the bathroom by themselves because the potty training they offer is sociological punishment. Staff is very unpractical and uneducated people full of tiredness, sadness and visibly poor academic preparation to deal with kids. It is sad that a college like Lehman had that situation at their daycare center. (My kid was in 2 years old group) and is not especially need!

My child attended this program for Pre K and had some amazing teachers! Ms Daphne goes above and beyond for her students and evidently prepares them for kindergarten. She is truly amazing. Her co teachers Ms Keila and Ms Destiny were also very great and attentive to the students. I have absolutely no complaints about her teachers and the education system they have created for our littles. However, the administration team seems unorganized and very unprofessional starting with Ms Kathy. Ms Kathy always has a snappy demeanor, she comes off sarcastic or as if she’d rather not deal with new parents. And to me that is very unfortunate as she is the first person you see at the front desk when you walk in and seems to be the face of the administration team, she is also the point of contact for every and anything. Next, is Ms Jaci she is the director of the program and knows absolutely NOTHING. She conducted orientation last year and what a mess. She tried her best I guess but definitely made the program seem more than what it actually is. She is absolutely clueless without Ms Kathy. Any time she has to hold down the fort of the program she is very frantic and confused all the time which is not very helpful to the parents. I genuinely don’t know how she is the Director of anything. Ms Tanya is ok, she doesn’t do or say too much kind of just there but I have no complaints on her. I enrolled my child into the summer program here and the only reason I did was because Ms Daphne would pop in and out during the summer program to help out. They charge you almost 2,000 dollars for the kids to do NOTHING. They keep them cooped up in a classroom and have “water play” twice a week which is just the kids going to the playground on campus and playing with a water hose and some toys. The summer program is not educational at all they take them on walks on the campus and to the playground that is also on campus that’s all. Nothing entertaining or educational happens for the children during the summer program. Overall I rate this center 3 stars as I wasn’t all the way satisfied but my child had great teachers who listened to me and my child needs and did their best to meet those needs as far as the classroom goes. Administration could use A LOT of work and hopefully the team changes over time. And I thank those people who try to make a difference there.

I wish I could give infinity stars to this school! Our son attended the 2s program this past year and summer. It was his first school experience ever and the staff and teachers at Lehman College early childhood center made his first moments in school magical. Everyone from the administrative team to the teachers at the school love their job and have such a passion for early childhood education. My goal this year was for my son to love school and they made him love school, but they made him love learning. Our son was also identified with the Speech delay during our time there and they truly helped him find his words too. As an early childhood educator and professional, I can’t complement this program enough. We feel so fortunate to have found the school and given our son such an amazing amazing experience with such an amazing group of people. This is one of the best schools I’ve seen in the northwest Bronx!

I don't usually write reviews, but if I do, it's either for an exceptional experience or an exceptionally awful experience. Unfortunately, this childcare center falls into the latter category. My expectations for the center were already low due to previous reviews, but it still managed to fall short of what I would've ever thought. Not only do they lack inclusivity for special needs children, but they're also experts at gaslighting parents and using every possible technique to force them to take their children out of the center, making it seem like it's their own decision. Teachers, for the most part, are great, but they lack support from the administrators. If possible, please avoid this center, especially if you have special needs children. However, if you can't avoid it and have a special needs child, here are some tips to navigate your time and your child's time there as smoothly as possible: - Have your child evaluated, get their therapies approved, and therapists ready to start before the school year/semester starts. - Do not let the school know about your child's disability/learning issue before the registration and contract are signed and finalized. They might attempt to deny registration specifically for the toddler classroom. - Keep a written trail of everything that happens regarding your child's experience there. Write every detail and concern in an email and send it to every person who plays an important part in your child's education, including administrators of the center. They have a tendency to ask for one-on-one meetings with parents of special needs kids and try to avoid using emails when discussing their concerns, especially when their main concern is trying to kick your child out of the center. They can even deny registration for future semesters (for the toddler classroom), but will quickly chicken out once you ask for written documentation of their reasons. - Don't be afraid to report them to the DOE as well as Lehman College higher administrative instances. I believe that the reason why this center has been getting away with doing this for so long is that most of the children there are the children of Lehman College students (like me), and most just want to get their degree and leave their awful experience with this center behind. Being located at Lehman College, the only senior public university in the Bronx, this center brings shame to the mission and values of the institution. Do better!

I am so disgusted with this center. I am a student at Lehman and when I toured I explicitly said that my child was autistic. She also does not nap. I was told they accept children with different needs. After three days the complaints of her not napping were rolling in. I am sorry she interrupts your "free time". I was told they would "keep her busy" with a story or games they obviously did not want to "waste time" doing that. I observed my child from a two way window each day. She did amazing! I was so proud. She was receiving Early Intervention services which meant the providers would come to the center and provide the therapies. I was also disgusted at the attitudes from the other parents. There was another child on the spectrum who's needs were much more evident than my child's. The comments of "why is he here?" were despicable. This center needs to be more inclusive and mindful of special needs children. Lehman has an early childhood education program that prides itself in training future teachers to serve the special needs population. I was further awestruck when I learned that the lead teacher graduated from Lehman with a Special Education degree. I can't believe my daughter has faced discrimination at the tender age of two. Update: My daughter is in an integrated classroom now. The classroom consists of 6 special needs children and 6 typical children. She is thriving! This is what inclusiveness looks like. Shame on all of you!