I rarely leave reviews but wanted to in the support of the best teachers and care providers we ever…read morecould have asked for in our community. Erolynn in Room 4 has been an instrumental educator for our wild and very extroverted 2 yr old. He comes home having learned new skills, song, words, animals, good behaviors, etc that I know for 100% have come from her style of gentle nurturing and support. If it was possible to keep him in her class through his daycare years I would, and I've tried:) She has taught him how to interact "gentle" with his peers and others, giving him and his classmates so much love it's expanded his horizons exponentially. He rushes to see her every day and has meant so much. As we enter into the last week of a wonderful year, I couldn't imagine leaving a review without recognizing the amazing staff that greet every family with so much enthusiasm and vigor each day, Ms Patty and Ms Andrea bring the kids in pumped for a fun day where they feel so loved. Abby and Joan and Ally in the preschool class are exceptional at nurturing young minds and young big emotions with our 4 yr old, helping him articulate and express his interests, make friendships and be respectful to themselves and others. Finally the swim staff, Brendan & Danielle who have helped generate a love of the water, safety, fun and excitement are incredible. There have been so many wonderful people that are a part of this place, we are so grateful.

Pulled my kid from one classroom because she was being emotionally abused, and then I thought she…read morewas ok for a year, but come to find out she hasn't spoken all year in her class. She is basically mute, and they didn't tell me or ever once encourage her to speak. I told the director, Stephanie about the multiple OTHER policy violations I noticed and she did absolutely nothing about it, so I pulled her out, reported them to the state, and I'm sending my kid to therapy. Don't send your kids here, there is an investigation forthcoming. I have seen other small children being pulled up from the floor by their arms and being called names. This place is rife with abuse.

I was very disappointed with this discriminating daycare. My child never even went to this daycare…read moreand I will tell you why. I made an appointment with the owner of the program to check out the facility and to determine if this daycare would be a good fit for my child. When my husband, child and I arrived for our appointment, there were no signs to indicate that this place was even a daycare. I stood outside and looked around, a little unsure as to whether or not I was in the correct place. When I looked up to the house, I noticed two adults standing inside. Neither one came to door to invite us in or ask us if we were lost. Okay no big deal...so I rang the bell. A woman came to the door, she knew my first name and said that the owner was not in for our appointment . She blocked the door in such a way that my son could not go in. She never offered to give us the tour. When I mentioned that I never received a phone call to reschedule or cancel, this woman said, well I think the owner "tried" to call and leave you a voicemail yesterday. I never received a call or a voicemail. Something about this woman reeked of lies. She wasn't even apologetic about the whole thing and she had this silly grin on her face. We got in the car, drove two seconds down the road and my husband called the daycare pretending to be someone else looking for services. Guess who came to the phone? The owner, who supposedly was not there two seconds before to give us the tour. She was polite and very friendly over the phone, just the way she was when I originally called, until my WHITE husband asked her if she has a problem with African American children. Then she was completely flustered and began to ramble. Then he told her that she must have a problem because I and our son are Black and she knew this when she saw us standing outside for our appointment. The owner, Ellen, began to lie and say she just got back and that she "tried" to call me but couldn't explain why this "try" was not successful. She was completely caught in a lie and obviously was prejudicial and racist. She certainly is not interested in providing daycare services to people of color. Lastly when I looked up her license with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education I could not find one. Beware. A prejudiced person like this is not the kind of person who should be educating small children.

My experience with Ellen, Rosa and the team at SFCC was a very positive one. I had two children…read morehere, one for three years and one about a year. The kids looked forward to their time here and would be happy when greeted every morning with hugs and smiles. No better feeling as a parent to know and trust your kids are being cared for and safe while working. We communicated about schedules, developmental leaps and other things to make the transition in days in childcare and at home similar. The kids were taught manners, how to listen, and how to play independently with no screens. I'm often told how well behaved my kids are, how creative they are and how much they love books and music - again no screens! - my response is how wonderful my childcare provider was as I believe a lot of that has to do with the lessons they gained here. As with most relationships, communication is key. I did not find similar issues to past reviews. I didn't find issues with frequent closures due to weather outside what was reasonable. I do believe they deserve vacation as they earn it as we all do who work hard so didn't find an issue with that and the calendar is very clear ahead of time every year. Always felt welcome and would give a call or communicate if plans were changing and found the tram flexible and thankful for the communication. Given prices in the area for childcare also found the rate quite reasonable. And finally any guidelines are very clearly put out ahead of time while signing up for childcare. Ellen is fair, and a caring person who wants what is best for the children and Rosa is simply put an amazing person. I recommend SFCC.

Long time member using the new locker room until Men's is rehabbed. Needs a bench in the changing…read morerooms to put on pants and shoes. Someone is going to fall in one of these rooms especially with the wet floors, as the only place to sit is on the toilet seat to get dressed. An 18" bench right outside each shower would be a big help. Also, a small shelf in the shower for toiletries etc. Also, lockers are on the small side but I can live with Thank you, Paul Girard, Nahant.

Very disappointed with how things were handled today at the Marblehead YMCA. All last summer and…read moreeven this past week, our kids were allowed to go down the slide without issue. Suddenly today (July 13 around 1:30 PM), we were told our daughter couldn't use the slide without passing a swim test -- something we were never informed about, and something that's not listed anywhere online. What's worse is that the rules seem to change depending on which lifeguard is working. When I asked for a full list of pool rules (just like I previously asked for slide/indoor pool hours), no one -- not the lifeguards or front desk staff -- could give me any answers. The so-called "manager" on duty refused to give her name, was incredibly rude, and wouldn't explain why the rules had changed or where I could even find them. Her only explanation was, "New year, new rules." That's not an acceptable - she was extremely unprofessional, disrespectful and rude! For the record, I even called in June to ask specifically about the indoor slide and was told nothing about swim tests or new restrictions. YMCA members deserve consistency, transparency, and basic respect. Right now, that's not what we're getting at the Marblehead location.