The Greater Ridgewood Youth Council @ Ps 60

Hi, I'm using an anonymous account to share my younger relative's experience with this particular GRYC location. As part of the after-school program, these employees are PAID to make sure the children are safe, learning, and fed. While the bare minimum is met, I can confirm that without a DOUBT, these individuals create a very toxic environment for the children. Granted, GRYC staff are teenagers, so they will act like teenagers. That much is understandable. However, these actions made by the staff go far beyond immaturity and display full-blown neglect. From ableism to body shaming to bullying… it is egregious, to say the least. Two particular teachers in that program would make fun of a student with a hearing disability through shouting statements like, "Are you deaf?!" And proceed to badmouth said student with the other staff. That's not even mentioning how hard they laughed at a kid with Down syndrome. That, or when they laughed and badmouthed a child with mobility issues. I cannot stress enough how biased the dance team is. They actively leave out chubbier children, as well as disabled children, every year. If a chubbier child IS accepted, it's because they're held to a higher standard and have outperformed the ones who were already accepted by default. The BODY SHAMING. That is especially a constant issue that I hear among the children. If your child is maybe just a tiny bit overweight, you can expect these awful people to badmouth and even bully the child's body. There have been many instances of these individuals talking ill of their bodies, actively speaking behind their backs, and laughing as if these children were high schoolers. More often than not, they're very shady about it through very scrutinizing stares. So, a common theme is how the young staff here are bullies. Sure, that's been established. Not only do they bully the children, but they actively perpetuate the problem by JOINING the child bullies. If a child is being bullied, these individuals will often join the bullies and target the victim together. And for what it's worth, they apparently don't discriminate by age, sex, or disability because these awful people also bully the parents of these children and the elderly. Overall, your child will not have a good experience in this particular GRYC location. Your child is not going to be treated with the care you SHOULD expect, since these hooligans are PAID to behave with them. This has been an issue for three years. Do NOT enroll your child in the after-school program. I am not exaggerating. This is all being swept under the rug and excused due to the staff's age.

Love all staff specially to Mr Clark Ms Cat Z and all working with students