Shir Hadash Preschool

This is an amazing preschool. My son has been attending Shir Hadash since last September. In the beginning he experienced separation anxiety, but the Teachers did everything possible to get him excited about school, they brought books from the library specifically thinking about his interests, made projects based on his curiosity in collaboration with the rest of the class and helped him adjust pretty quickly. I know that they make every child feel special and unique by embracing their individual way of learning. Miss Martina and Miss Kim really care about all the children in their class, I don’t have enough words to thank them for doing such a great job. The Center Director is always on top of things, very friendly and approachable, I wish I would have found out sooner about this preschool, since this will be my son’s last year there.

Over the last few years, I kept hearing several of my very picky girlfriends speak of Shir Hadash. Last March, as I was preparing to give birth to our second daughter, I decided to contact Robin Adelman, the director, and get a tour, knowing I needed to realistically consider a drop off preschool with baby #2 almost here. What I noticed from the beginning is their ingenuity with Reggio (play) curriculum.
Let me explain… Our 4 year old has attended a parent participation, Reggio-​based school for several years. A fabulous school where kids master play, but in comparing the two, I’ve noticed how ingenuiously Shir Hadash weaves academics (math, physics, reading comprehension, etc) into every single activity. You wouldn’t know it, the kids certainly don’t, and that’s the magic.
So, I see a huge difference in the 4 year olds at each of our two schools, with Shir Hadash being leaps and bounds ahead when it comes to kindergarten readiness (without sacrificing the critical need for play). I’m so so glad we decided to enroll our daughter last year. She’s finally on par with her classmates that have been there for a lot longer than her.
We love this school, and I’m grateful I can do things differently with child #2 now that I’ve seen the «light.» This is a special, special school with a most outstanding Director, Robin Adelman, who has created and manages a team of truly amazing educators.

I can’t say enough about the program at Shir Hadash! My son has been there for more than a year now, and he loves it. He gets to work with many of the teachers, since he stays for the whole day, and I feel like each and every one of them know my child so well. The center director truly cares about each child and is always available when you need help.
From traditional learning, to working with his friends through sticky situations, and even to potty training, this place has been so important to our family!

My son spent three years at Shir Hadash pre-​school starting at age two including summers. He graduated in June of 2015. My experience was so amazing that I cried when we had our last day there. From the start the teachers were very warm and nurtuting always gave individual attention to my son based on his needs. The community is very warm and welcoming and my family has made so many strong friendships while at the school. The school spends a lot of time on social and emotional development and now that my son is in kindergarten I know just how important and and valuable these skills are. We just had our first parent-​teacher conference at his kindergarten and it was glowing. Especially the social and emotional review, which is the most important for a child to be open to learning. His academic report was strong as well. I can’t say enough about Robin, the Director of the school. She is extremely knowledgeable, knows every child personally and her door is always open for any concerns or advice or just an ear to listen. The teachers are absolutely amazing. They are warm and creative and offer many varied opportunities for children to learn through play. The outside yard does not have your typical jungle gym but a more natural environment that fosters opportunities for children to be creative, use their imaginations and of course run around have fun. My son had a wonderful experience and was very sad to leave the school, but the testament of his experience is how well he was prepared for Kindergarten. I strongly recommend the school!

My son attends the Bumble Bee (2 year old) class at Shir Hadash ECC. I spent a lot of time visiting other schools and interviewing staff, and I am so glad to have chosen the right place for me and my family. The teachers (Angie and Sylvia) are very warm, loving, and willing to cooperate and work together with me about everything from how to handle crying to what foods to eat and how. The open communication and down-​to-​earth approach at Shir Hadash are very refreshing in the local preschool landscape that can be very strict and rule-​based from what I have seen. At Shir Hadash I feel my individual concerns are addressed and I feel confident that my son is well cared for and thriving. My son has become more confident, more social, and interactive with his peers since starting school only one month ago. I would be happy to connect with any parent who would like to hear more (I was there!!).

I can only say one word about this school: support, support, support ! I was a stay at home mom for six years and I was in transition to go back to work this past year until now. My 2 year old loves school and her teachers Angie and Silvia not only are affectionate but also great listeners. Robin, the director, is so great! She always fulfills my needs in relation to child care. I come with my 6 year old and she is always welcomed and made to feel part of the school. The outdoor area is so fantastic, Nature is in every part. The curriculum is also great and she has been learning a lot. The are so many extra curricular activities includes yoga, music, ballet and more… and I don’t have to worry about running around with her after school to others places. My transition to go back to work was smooth because of the support of this great school! I highly recommend ! Some people drive from far away to attend this school because it’s so good! I feel like they are my family and they want the best for my kid!

My daughter has attended Shir Hadash preschool for two and a half years. She will be «graduating» and moving on to Kindergarten at the end of this year but I couldn’t let the time pass without writing a review here on Unilocal.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about this place. The classrooms and outdoor play areas are purposefully filled with natural elements and materials that inspire inquisitive play and opportunities for learning. The director, Robin, is a very seasoned and caring administrator who greets every single child and parent by name every day and her door is, literally, ALWAYS OPEN. There are many opportunities to be active in the parent community or classroom but also understanding that it just isn’t possible for some. There are also many fun «extracurriculars» for the children (dance, soccer, martial arts, yoga) and a number of family events each year.
Beyond anything else is the outstanding quality of the teachers at SHECC. My daughter’s teachers are honestly among the warmest, most intuitive and caring people I have ever met. They truly appreciate each child in their care and have helped my daughter tremendously during major life transitions (for a four year old :) such as adapting to her father’s increased work travel and the arrival of a new baby in the family. They provide never ending, in depth learning and always stress the importance of the «sense of community» in the class with an emphasis on treating classmates with respect and kindness. They also cultivate self reliance in the children while still warmly addressing their emotional needs. My daughter has developed strong friendships through school and so have I. BOTH of us will miss Ms. Veronica and Ms. Martina very much.
FYI– we are not Jewish and have always felt very warmly received and included at Shir Hadash. The community there is extremely welcoming and respectful of all religious backgrounds and we have enjoyed the opportunity to learn about others faiths.

I have two children attending Shir Hadash, in two different classrooms. We have attended for about two years now and absolutely love it. The atmosphere is very nurturing, and the teachers are warm and inviting. My boys love to play in the two outdoor areas, both of which are full of a lot of natural toys, not the cold plastic play structures.
One of the many highlights of each week is the after school activities that Shir Hadash offers. These quality programs promote health-​living and physical recreation, very important for my active boys. My oldest often mentions that his heart is happy that he is eating green veggies and riding his bike.
The staff and family activities create a warm community for the parents, especially with the families in the older classroom who have been together for some time now. I can see those graduating into K next year staying in touch for years to come.

My son attended Shir Hadash for nearly two years. We had a lot of problems with the school and as a result I finally pulled him from the program. My only regret was that I didn’t do it a lot sooner.
Originally I wasn’t going to write a review, but since I’ve put my son in a new program and seen the difference, I felt it was important for me to do so. We only had one teacher while we were at Shir Hadash, so this post is only in reference to my son’s experience in her classroom. He had two teachers in the class and I found neither of them to be nurturing or warm with the students. When I was inside the classroom, interaction was rarely positive and friendly. Oftentimes the teachers spoke to the students in a tone that made it sound like they were bothersome and in the way. The environment completely lacked any sort of warmth one would expect to find in a preschool classroom.
As a whole, I felt the entire preschool to be unwelcoming. My son’s classroom door was always closed and it was very evident that although the school promotes an open door policy, the teachers were not exactly thrilled to have the parents involved. At my son’s school now, the door is always open. Teachers are always greeting the kids with a bright smile and telling them to come in, telling parents and siblings to come in. It’s night and day to Shir Hadash.
Additionally, and most importantly, I felt there was little if any emphasis on community building within the classroom, and the school as a whole. Bullying was tolerated and always referred to as age-​appropriate behavior. My son cried about not wanting to go to school every day. I spoke with the teacher repeatedly about my concerns and she kept telling me he was «pulling one over on me.» But now that I have seen a different program and how much he loves going to school, I have realized how wrong that teacher was. He wakes up and can’t wait to go to school — He participates and is happy when I pick him up — something I never saw him do at Shir Hadash.
And finally, I found the majority of the staff to be incredibly unprofessional and gossipy. Our teacher oftentimes spoke with me in a negative way about the other students/​parents/​staff. She did this very early on, which should have been my first clue that this environment was not for us.
Needless to say, I was not impressed with Shir Hadash. The place is new and looks lovely on the outside. But, I can say without question, it has a ton of growing up to do. I would suggest to other parents that if your child is coming home unhappy, to explore other options, because as I have learned, preschool (or any school for that matter) should be a place where your child feels safe, loved and eager to be.

As much as I loved this school in September, it is a drop in the bucket compared to how much I love it now. The teachers and director together have created a really special community of children and families. For my daughter’s 4^th birthday, I was invited to come in and do a cooking project (we made pancakes). The teacher had made her a crown of flowers. Then she read individual «wishes» that the other children in the class wished for her for her birthday and the coming year. They do this for every kid. Next week we are going «hiking» (i.e. wandering in the woods and eating bugs) at Sanborn.

It wasn’t until my twins’ 2^nd birthday was approaching that I started considering putting them in preschool at that age. They had a nanny up until that time, but it seemed like they were at the stage where daily interaction with other kids their age would be a good thing. So there I was in mid-​December, looking for an all-​day, 5 days a week program to place them in starting at the end of January. Sort of the other end of the spectrum from parents who start enrolling in preschool when they get the positive pregnancy test!
Suffice it to say, there were not many preschools in my neighborhood that had availability for twins in the middle of the school year, but in hindsight, I am really glad that was the case; otherwise, I might not have given Shir Hadash a chance. We are not Jewish, and I was uncertain at first whether this preschool environment would be a good fit. But after touring the school, and meeting Robin — the director — and the teachers, I was won over. Yes, the Jewish traditions are woven into the classroom experience, but in such a way that is fun and accessible to everyone. The teachers are wonderful — calm and engaging and loving, and the whole atmosphere is great — so many things to engage the kids.
My twins have been at Shir Hadash for 3 months now and they love it there. Their language has blossomed, their sensitivity to others is developing, and they are learning so much. I am so grateful to have found Shir Hadash!

My daughter loves it at the Shir Hadash Early Childhood Center! She gets so excited when I tell her it’s a school day! The Reggio curriculum is very stimulating and she always has something new to tell me about when I pick her up at the end of the school day. The play area is amazing, it has a hill slide, climbing rocks and stepping logs. There is also a huge sandbox.
I am very impressed with teachers and Robin the director. The teachers are very thoughtful about the curriculum and working with the children. The documentation is wonderful – they have pictures of what the children have been working on along with a written description and quotes from the children. It really illustrates what they’ve been doing in class.
I love the low teacher/​child ratio. The whole school is a warm, happy place.

My daughters (2 ½ & 3 ½) absolutely LOVE this school! Everyday when they wake up they ask me if they can go to school! Robin is a fantastic director and you can tell she really cares for each and every student. The teachers are terrific and the updates we get about each day illustrate how much time they spend with the kids actually listening to them. The facility is beautiful and the outside play area is great. We are not Jewish and have been welcome with open arms — it has truly been a great experience for our entire family.