What a hidden GEM! I was a former teacher in SUSD- my oldest daughter whom is in 4th grade is…read morehaving trouble In math- we learned about AL&L from a friend- when we walked through the doors it felt like another home - they have made my daughter beg to go back daily- show support and have given confidence to my 9 year old who felt she wasn't doing well in school! No we have been there just a few weeks - and she already is improving greatly in her math and confidence / organization in all subjects- rose is my daughter favorite this far- she says she makes her laugh and enjoy learning - the owner Sydney is a warm- kind soul who truly wants the best for our daughter and family. THANK you Arcadia literacy and learning center - for giving hope and joy in our daughter again! Much lindsey M.

They cancel classes constantly and then they deny your refund. This company sucks! She has been…read moretrying to take this class for 6 months and they can't get it together. We want our full money back!

Adam is the best! His personalized help was extremely useful for me to identify my strengths and…read moreweaknesses. He gives specific strategies to practice with and think about while I'm taking the test. Adam's guidance helped me walk into the testing room feeling confident and ready! I was able to raise my SAT score by 150 points. Thank you Adam!!

I just wanted to review Miss Jean about her tutoring. My daughter Scarlett has been tutoring with…read moreMiss Jean now for quite a while. We have a set schedule online via zoon a couple time a week. She's flexible, but also appreciates notice if you can't make the time or need to move dates. She's very attentive, and can adapt to my daughters school needs for reading and math. I would recommend her for tutoring in the 3rd grade. She's seen a great turnaround.

Our son attended here and was bullied relentlessly. We pulled him for safety concerns before the…read moreyear was even up and found a great school in the area that was a good fit. The administration at JGS was pretty much useless at preventing bullying and put blame on victims when it did occur. Strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

This school has been the best change for me and my family! Jones Gordon school has helped me grow…read moreenormous amounts and be the best person I can be. I have made friends that will last me a lifetime and I know they will always be there with me through the happy times and the sad times. The principal Dana Herzber has helped me grow so much in my creativity and truly is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. Dana is so involved with her students that you can't tell she truly cares. Dana has encouraged me to follow my dreams and has a wonderful team that spreads the same message. The staff at JGS is one of the many reasons I love to go to school! The teachers are truly the definition of a team! I can honestly tell you that Jones Gordon is my home away from home. JGS is the best school experience you can give your child. JGS Is the best thing that has happened to me! This school truly embodies the culture of kindness!

I don't often leave bad reviews for businesses, but when the behavior of a preschool director /…read moreowner is this egregious, I feel compelled to share my experience. TL;DR - Lack of communication, unprofessional behavior, petty conduct, limited to the school's director Adam. Teachers are great. Long form: We brought our daughter to Global Minds in November of 2021 and things were great right up until two weeks ago. She loved the school, made friends, and we got to know many of the parents. There were some problems, like their seeming inability to answer the phone or call us back, but we were willing to overlook that for the sake of our daughter's happiness and the fact that she was learning both Mandarin and Spanish. Also, we really liked how the parents all formed a tight-knit community. Recently, my wife and I got COVID while traveling out of state (we are fully vaccinated). We attempted to contact Adam via phone on 3 separate occasions to inform him that our daughter would not be at school when we returned, and to receive guidance about what we needed to do before bringing her back. No one ever answered, nor did they return my calls. This lack of answering phone calls is a problem that goes back about six months, with only one of my phone calls being answered in all of that time. I was told multiple times by teachers that they would tell ownership about the problem. Adam finally responded to an email my wife sent several days earlier, telling us that we could bring our daughter back to school when she was feeling well. No other guidance was provided beyond that. There was no mention of a need for a negative test prior to her return. Current CDC guidelines are that children who are asymptomatic may return to school 5 days after exposure to someone who is COVID-positive. We waited until the 8th day to bring her back. She was never symptomatic. In the absence of any guidance from Global Minds other than the email we received telling us to bring her back when she was feeling well, we followed CDC guidelines and brought our daughter back to school. When I brought her back to school, I was told that I could not leave her there without a negative COVID test. I was a bit annoyed, since we had tried to call them multiple times for exactly this reason, and no one bothered to answer the phone or call us back. Adam's email also said nothing about a negative test. So, I said it was fine if she can't stay, but I was a bit annoyed that no one had bothered to give us any guidance before drop-off that morning. Chi (Adam's wife) called him and asked what to do, and he apparently said it was okay to leave my daughter there because Chi changed her mind and said it was fine. Fifteen minutes later, Adam called me on my cell. His behavior on that phone call was beyond the pale. As an adult, I have never experienced the level of disrespect he showed me over the phone that day. I could barely get a word in, in fact I think I said maybe 5 words in total. When he was done chewing me out, he demanded that I pick my daughter up immediately, and then hung up on me. I couldn't believe it. I went to the school and got my daughter and later sent Adam an email, addressing his disrespectful phone call, lack of guidance, sudden change of heart, and their habit of not answering phone calls or returning messages. One week later, Adam sent me an email and said he "found a lot of truth in my words" and offered to apologize in person the following day. I showed up to the school as he suggested, and was told by his wife that he was not there, nor was he planning to be there that day or the next. She had no idea about our meeting. I emailed him again, and asked what happened, giving him the benefit of the doubt. He offered no apology. He said, "My intent was to be at school on Monday and Tuesday, but I had some showings of properties and some meetings that popped up that kept me away." Obviously, he has more important things to do than follow through on a meeting he proposed with a parent at his school. Given the lack of communication, unprofessional conduct, and the fact that Adam seemed to be deliberately misleading me to waste my time, my wife and I made the extremely difficult to tear our daughter away from her school and friends, and enroll her elsewhere. When I informed Adam that I would be removing my daughter from his school, I received an email response one week later that simply said, "Turd." See the attached screenshot. This behavior is unbecoming any adult, let alone one who is entrusted with the care of children. I think it is important that anyone who is interested in taking their children to Global Minds know what they can expect from the director before enrolling. I don't know if any other parents have had a negative experience with Adam. Before these events transpired, I would have said that everything at the school was great. But, given what I experienced with Adam, I wouldn't recommend Global Minds to anyone.

We are sharing our experience below in hopes that the owner of Global Minds will seriously consider…read morehow unpleasant and unprofessional he can be with parents . After seeing some of the prior reviews and speaking to other parents regarding their interactions with him, we learned that our extremely negative interaction was not isolated, but rather part of a toxic, dismissive, and volatile behavior set. Before we talk about our experience with the owner, we would like to praise the teachers and support staff. We found them to be energetic and polite. They were engaged and nurturing with our child. We'd like to compliment them. Now we will continue with the owner. First, we started to notice something strange when we wanted to speak with our child's instructors via text or email. This is prohibited. Strange. Our intention was to glean feedback and/or insights how to best help our child progress with Mandarin. We were told communication with instructors was only possible in person and after the owner personally set the meeting up. That raised a red flag. Due to our jobs, our family has lived in multiple states over the past few years and we've accumulated a fair amount of experience with preschools. Let us tell you, this is NOT the norm. When we were told that, it made us think that something is being hidden. Why in the world could we not speak with our child's instructor unless it was 'pre-vetted' by the owner? We got suspicious so we started asking around. As a member of the Chinese community and native mandarin-speaker, I reached out to the community only to find a strong negative narrative about the owner. At first, it seemed odd that he was described as angry and volatile as we never really observed that, but, then again, we had never really interacted for more than a couples minutes with him at any given time. Only after a shocking, and, frankly, disturbing meeting with the owner did we realize this is a very accurate description. This all started because we had a question about a school policy. The owner, instead of answering the question over the phone, insisted on meeting at the preschool to talk. Honestly, we didn't think anything of it and came to the preschool very casually. Our expectation was that our meeting was going to be pleasant and informative as the owner arranged it. You can imagine our surprise when the owner started to shake with anger and speaking obscenities to us. We were literally stunned, and, honestly, scared. We had absolutely no idea that such a volatile and unprofessional person was running the school. That day was our child's last. Again, we don't want to bash the school as there are many capable and caring teachers, but we do hope the owner will mature as a person. It is completely unacceptable to us to enroll our child in a school that is ran by someone that struggles with anger management issues. We had a simple question about a policy that could've been handled with maybe two or three sentences, but instead blew up into an owner meltdown. Please grow in professionalism and learn to lead in a respectful and dignified manner.

We started my son Wyatt in this preschool and it has been so amazing ! It was a great first…read moretransition for him , small class size and in home setting. Teacher Danielle is so kind loving motherly and patient ! It's a great balance between different teaching styles . They really focus on experience , hands on play and learning with a lot of outside play. All the kids just love it. My son has really flourished here. Such a great great preschool!

Ms Karina and Ms Evelyn in the infant rooms are incredible! Nicole and Erika foster such a positive…read moreenergy and it is so clear to me how much love the school has for the children. My 8 month old has been in the school for two months and I can already see the social butterfly coming out in him. He is so excited to see his teachers every day that I know he is in good hands. I can't wait to watch him grow in this environment!

**For the Temple Kol Ami ECC**…read more After the last two years that our daughter attended the ECC, witnessing the new leadership of Nicole Stokes, we've left and moved on to another school,. We are not the only family. We experienced a toxic environment and culture of concealment where the ECC systematically ignored or subrogated known physical safety, emotional and security issues. To be clear, I have nothing but accolades for Rabbi Schneider, his executive assistant, Erika, as well as Cantor Shaashua. For example: -Was dismissive of the behavior of two boys towards my daughter, including biting, hitting, and pulling her hair.....(I found this out *not* from the school, but from my 4 year old daughter). Nicole finally responded (via email) in part, "I'm wondering if we could change the narrative for her and instead of (your daughter) "reporting" a peer name or negative behaviors, each of you could ask her one game she played or book she read, or what special art project she worked on?"; -Another parent and I witnessed a boy walk up to three other children (2 of them girls) and shove them hard. The two staff supervising did nothing. I brought this up with Nicole, she responded with, "we address these issues in due time. And parents aren't supposed to be back in the playground around the children."; -Dismissed concern for the presence of a known toxic plant, that the Phoenix Botanical Garden stated that "small children and pets should not have access to this plant"; -Has done nothing for a year after being advised that the front gate sticks open during warmer temperatures (sometimes left unattended); -Repeatedly kept sick children in school (including heavy discolored nasal discharge); -My daughter expressed that she was happy when her teacher was absent one day, that she had a good day at school, "Because Miss XXX screams at us". Amplification: In response to my concern that a boy had been engaging in behavior that made my daughter increasingly upset, Nicole first responded with, "we don't have bullies in our school". I asked, "bullies?" She said, "yes, you said bullies". I replied, "no, I said that it sounds as if a boy has been bothering her" (my daughter had become increasingly anxious about coming to school, finally bursting our crying, calling out one boy's name). To which she said, "Well, Ian, children need to learn to navigate the social structure." -Nancy Drapin, Executive Director, on responding that she is aware that a toxic plant, Euphorbia tirucalli (pencil cactus), is in the front courtyard where many of the ECC children play after class gets out, "I ask you to please watch your child carefully when you allow her to play in the front ....It is definitely your responsibility to supervise. .....There are a number of parks nearby or, I am sure, near your home, that may have playground areas for children." Nancy stated that they have no intention of removing it. Furthermore, regarding Nicole Stokes' leadership: While she mostly presents a pleasant demeanor and maintains a smile, she can be very dismissive. Several times, I observed her not actively listen and seek to understand a situation and immediately become defensive; Multiple times, she failed to follow up and it took me several times engaging her to get a response or resolution on even small administrative matters. I learned to ask her, "when should I expect to hear back?" After speaking with several other parents, this is the pattern of behavior that they experienced. -She would refuse to discuss the behavior of the other child or whether and how they would also discuss the matter with the other parents "because of privacy issues". -Nicole often attends Shabbat services, however she typically spends much of that time face down in her cell phone. -One day when my wife picked up my 4 year old, the 11 year old saw an open box of cookies at the admin desk as you enter the school (everyone walks by this station), the 11 year old asked if she could have a cookie for herself and her sister. Nicole, standing there, flatly stated, "Absolutely not. These are for the staff."

My daughter started this location since last summer. She has been excel in math ever since. She was…read morefrustrated with math in first grade. As a second grader, she is more confident and accurate with math. She goes 5 days a week one hour each day and never complained about going to Mathnesium. She actually enjoys going there which makes everything 100x better as for parents. I have two more kiddos at the age of 5 and 4. When they are old enough, I am definitely enrolling them to Mathnesium. Hopefully you guys have some sort of family discount because it gets pricey, but well worth the money. You will have our business until all my 3 kiddos finish high school.

When the state changed over to Common Core, my daughter was going into 4th grade. The new…read morestandards were applied differently for grades. Ideas that were previously taught in 4th grade, were now going to be taught in 3rd grade. At the time I didn't realize the change and the teachers she had didn't inform me that there would be gaps due to this change. My daughter, who previously had loved math and got A's, went down to C's that year and then started dragging the next years. I thought it was due to her not wanting to do homework. I had no idea that she was working blind because Common Core changed not just when subjects were taught but also how they were taught. Her grades continued to plummet and we were all frustrated as she was barely making D's. It wasn't until mid year in 7th grade talking with her teacher I found out how bad the gaps were. That day, I made my appointment with Mathnasium. Rachel was fantastic and worked with me and a payment schedule to include assessments. We decided on a 6 month contract and reevaluate my daughter's progress at the end. What I liked: -My daughter liked going. She was enjoying it and the incentives really had her working towards goals. -Rachel was terrific! She was very easy to communicate with and open to discussing any issues that came up. -The schedule was incredibly flexible. I never had a problem getting the time I was looking for -Half the session could be spent on tutoring her homework. My daughter wasn't exclusively tied to the "plan" her assessment gave. This allowed her to learn as she was filling in gaps. What could be improved: -The online scheduling is clunky and awkward. There must be a better system. What I loved: -My daughter saw almost immediate improvement in not just her grades but also her attitude toward math. One month into the program and her grades when from nearly failing to high B's/low A's. 2 months and she was achieving A's. At the end of 6 months, she is now succeeding in math again and no longer dreads it. She is all A's in Math so far this year and it is the first homework she gets done now. I am not going to lie, this is expensive. For us, however, we decided the investment was worth it to get our daughter back on a successful path. If in the future, issues raise their head, we will be back.