Everything here is wonderful. Kids will always have a great time.
Hannah M.
Place rating: 1 Chicago, IL
My experience with the early childhood center here has been totally frustrating and disastrous and I would never, ever suggest that anyone take a class here. I signed my 10 month old daughter up for a parent tot class, and it has all been downhill and infuriating since then. I got a call the evening before the class was supposed to start(she had been registered for the class for well over 6 weeks) telling me that not only would the class not meet the following day, it would not meet at all due to low enrollment. OK… This seems like something that could have been noticed and dealt with before the day before the program was meant to start, but whatever. The following week was a mess of back and forth phone calls and emails with the 2 education directors trying to consolidate the different sections of this class and figure out a time that worked for all the parents. This was a big mess— the 2 women didn’t seem to know what the other was saying to the parents, so there were a lot of crossed wires and duplicated conversations. Also, when I mentioned that it so happened that the day they were proposing to hold the class was when all the Jewish high holidays fell, meaning that we would miss like 5 weeks in a row, the director told me that it hadn’t occurred to her to check the calendar to see if there was any conflict with the Jewish holidays. What? You run an early childhood center at a JCC and you don’t know to check the September calendar to see when the high holidays fall? Anyway, a day and time were agreed upon and my daughter and I showed up at the class and waited and waited and waited and no other parents and kids showed up. The directors told me that there had been a «miscommunication» which I can only assumes means that they just forgot to get in touch with the other parents to tell them when the class was going to meet(i had to call to get this information– no one got in touch with me). By this point I was totally fed up and when they suggested we come again the following week to see if any other parents showed up, I was done with this program and had zero faith left in the directors. I said no thank you, I would just like my money back which they told me would be no problem, since realistically, the class was clearly not going to happen. Well, three weeks later and many unanswered emails to the directors, my $ 280 has still not been refunded. Total incompetence. Totally rude. Totally unprofessional. I’m beyond fed up and angry and if I have to go bang on the doors of their offices, I’m getting my money back. Ridiculous. I would never recommend this program to anyone. So disappointing.
Rachel C.
Place rating: 3 Lake Zurich, IL
I was looking for full time care for my kids and looked into the Bernard Weinger JCC. I was really unimpressed with the Director’s overall rude attitude towards each and every question I asked. I came in for the tour and thought it looked like a nice, safe and educational place for my kids. Once I saw the tuition, which would be over $ 600 a week for full time care, my tune changed. The JCC obviously caters towards only the wealthier clientele base, because I don’t know many people who could afford that much tuition on a typical American salary(what do they say it is? around 40k a year?) It’s a shame that it’s so impossible to afford quality, full time care for your children this day in age. Our search continues.