This place was a legitimate nightmare. I'm copying the letter I sent to the CFO below since it's relevant to anyone considering the school. I removed names and just included their titles. I received no response from the CFO (not even a denial of the request), which I think is telling. xxx Dear Mr. CFO, My infant daughter attended Explore & Discover from September - December 2018, at which point we pulled her from the program. I have dreaded writing this email because retelling this experience sickens me as a parent. I want to be clear that our early termination was forced based on the improper conduct of your staff. I am writing to request a refund of our $X,XXX deposit. My daughter had a tough experience at E&D. I was told at every pickup she was refusing to eat and yet the head teacher denied my request to come in and nurse her for meals (which is counter to what your Handbook encourages). I was also told at every pick up that my daughter was inconsolable and spent the day crying by the door, yet Head Teacher also denied my requests on 10/4/18 and 12/4/18 to come in to the classroom to help ease her comfort. Her responses ranged from "no" to "absolutely not". She denied me access even after I communicated that the director had agreed it was a reasonable request. As you know, this denial of access to my child violates Article 47 of the New York City Health Code as well as the New York State Day Care regulations. Frustrated by feedback that my daughter's distress was continuing (and having seen an increase in her anxiety at home - tantrums, hitting), I spoke to Head Teacher on 12/11/18 requesting classroom access again. She angrily responded that: - I had no right to enter the classroom - My daughter's poor transition to daycare was my fault due to my lack of scheduling, consistency, etc - My daughter likely wasn't a good fit for daycare - She could only offer my daughter so much comfort, she had other babies to take care of After this conversation, I reached out to Director and asked if we could have a joint meeting with Head Teacher. This was the third time I had approached Director about being denied entry to the classroom. I was told she had already spoken with Head Teacher and based on how well my daughter was doing, they no longer believed we had a problem and I would no longer need to sit in with the class. I found Head Teacher's report of my daughter's sudden turnaround alarming, given that it opposed what she had communicated to me earlier that day. Given Director's acceptance of Head Teacher's account, I could no longer trust my daughter's safety in the hands of your staff. As I explained to both the Director and GM, this is not an early cancelation as I attempted numerous times to make this situation work. I do not expect to be penalized for the bad behavior of your teaching staff and hope that you will agree to issue a full refund of our $X,XXX deposit. read more

After reading all these wonderful reviews from other parents we were really considering going to this school. However, after today we will seek else where. I happened to be at the park today wa group of kids from the school also happened to be at the park playing. Please take a look at the photos. Ever since they got there, one of the teacher or maybe TA sat on the bench the entire time, and was on her phone constantly, even with headphones on! Really? The only time I heard her discipline the group of students was when she literally yelled across the park...she didn't even bother walking over to them. If she's a head teacher for the classroom, I didn't know head teachers can relax during open door play time...that's a first for me. A little while after, I caught the other two teachers were also surfing on their phones....I was really surprised to see all three of them were busy looking at their phones. Considering this school is one of the most expensive school in the area I would think they have the best teachers...well...boy was I wrong. Another school also happened to be at the park too, and those kids were much older however they each had an adult with them and they were extremely engaging with the kids. Don't believe me? See for your self. A month ago, the owner did reach out to me and to let me know that the teachers in the photos will not be returning to work, however...I still see one of the teachers in the pic at the school yard just a week ago...On the other hand, I'm sure this was a wake up call for all the teachers there to make sure to leave their phones behind while at work. Either way, my son will not be coming to this school. read more

Explore + Discover - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - New York, New York

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New management starting Apr 2021. Any review from prior to Apr 2021 is no longer accurate. All different owner/teachers/managers in the space now. Ben Costa (Current owner of E+D) saved my butt. As a working mom, I value dependable and consistent child care. We called him on a Friday and he was able to accommodate us immediately the following Monday. Teachers -- A lot of the teachers at E+D came from our previous day care. Ben hired the best of the best. I honestly say, he hired the best and the teachers are so much happier here than at our old day care. SPACE -- Fell in love with the space 4 years ago while I was pregnant. It's a school with great indoor and outdoor spaces for kids to run around. At the time I didn't like the director (young and questionable competency) , the price or the holiday schedule. We disliked the management so much at the time that I was taking my infant daughter down to a day care in the financial district daily from Gramercy. Dawbacks -- they have a lot of spaces for infants, but fewer for PreSchool aged kids right now. I know and love the infant teacher there. Hopefully, they are going to expand soon! read more

Prospective parents: run away! This school used to be a really special place that was grounded in the RIE and Reggio Emilia philosophies of childhood education. We felt really lucky to have such high quality teachers and such a strong music program. But in the past year, this school transformed into a totalitarian dictatorship run by an alarmingly unqualified management team with no background in childhood education and no concern for parents, teachers, or most importantly, children. Rather than transparency and partnership with the families and teachers, it has become an environment with an air of secrecy, dishonesty, duplicity, and negativity. It has been shocking and dramatic, and we barely recognize the place anymore. It's hard to pinpoint whether the new management is incompetent or malicious -- most parents suspect it's both. The teachers are fearful every day. They ought to be, because many of the best, most knowledgeable and compassionate ones have been fired on the spot. There has been exorbitant staff turnover -- teachers getting fired or running away to new jobs. When there were not enough teachers to maintain the legally required ratio, classrooms suddenly were split up. This means children who built friendships over time and built trust with a set of teachers suddenly had to adjust to an entirely new setup in the middle of the year, all because of the school's poor management. When parents brought concerns or questions to the management, at best they received a dismissive response; at worst, their contract was suddenly terminated. Imagine having to explain to your child why they can't go back to school the next day, because you asked the school to address a serious concern about the classroom. It's all been one mismanaged debacle after another. Coinciding with the deterioration of the staff, the curriculum deteriorated as well. There used to be weekly classroom singalongs and monthly community singalongs; this has all disappeared since the music teacher left. The guitars hanging on the walls are missing strings, out of tune, no longer being used and just gathering dust -- a sad but accurate metaphor for how the entire place has fallen apart. At the end of this past school year, the art teacher left as well. A majority of the parents are fed up and are not returning because this is no longer a place we can tolerate. My trust in this establishment has completely eroded. I'll be shocked if the school survives this next year. I am taking my child to a different daycare where the teachers are qualified and treated properly, and the management understands early childhood education and puts the families first. read more

First hand experience a few years back Had to pull out my kid immediately. Do not enroll here! read more

My daughter has been at E&D since May 2018. Our priorities in a daycare were: #1 safe environment #2 a positive, nurturing relationship between the caregivers and our daughter. Other things (like an outdoor space, "philosophy", and whether we had to bring lunch or not) were not top priority in our criteria. I can confidently say that since September 2019 to present (Sept 2020), my daughter's experience has been great. The teachers build genuine relationships with the children. They do lots of activities and prioritize what's best for the kids (even when it's inconvenient for the adult). Management takes in parent feedback and often makes changes accordingly. They were very communicative during the pandemic and have adhered to all the required protocols. It wasn't always this great - the transition when new management took over was bumpy. We were on the verge of looking elsewhere. But we gave management and the new staff a chance (Sept 2019). We are soooo happy and thrilled we did. The classroom teachers are happy to be there. They love all the children and it shows. They do lots of active play and my daughter has thrived hitting all her milestones early and is a very happy kid. I would recommend E&D to other parents (or if I ever had a second child). read more

So I want to start with a disclaimer: This is my first Yelp review. I am one of those people who actually like a place/venue/service/restaurant and have a good time but do not leave a review. I have always felt that nowadays, most folks who leave reviews are in the business of leaving reviews or have had a particularly negative experience and would like to record it. However, such a practice skews ratings for businesses that actually depend on such reviews, therefore, I have decided to post this review so that the assessment of parents that maybe considering E+D ALSO takes into account all those parents who are very happy at E+D but have just not posted on YELP about it. So here goes: Our son has been at E+D for two years now, and he will be continuing for atleast another 8-10 months. As new parents we considered several factors when we chose a daycare center - location, convenience/flexibility, price, learning philosophy, teachers/staff and the space, and so far we are happy on all accounts. We were also concerned with the recent changes in staff/teachers that some of the others have noted in their reviews. We thought about changing schools twice and visited other schools as well, but what I could not find in the other schools we visited was the overall warm atmosphere I have come to like at E+D. My two year old feels loved and cared for at E+D which is the most important thing for me right now. He comes home with new words and new ideas and always surprises and delights me with the things he has already learnt. Thus, I am also very grateful for E+D and his (both new and old) teachers as I am not able to spend as much time with him as I would like (work long hours as New Yorkers do), but I know he is learning and excelling. Now I have never been dogmatic about a particular childhood education philosophy (I have no idea what philosophy I grew up with) but my wife did the research and went back and forth with RIE, Reggio Emilia and Montessori and chose this school. While I have not been able to assess the impact of a particular learning philosophy on him, I can tell you that he seems to learn something new everyday and tells me about it too. In interviews for other schools (and for when he is three next year) he is found to be excelling and those evaluating him are impressed. As parents, we would ofcourse took all the credit (including for choosing E+D). Then there is the convenience/flexibility with the hours 8-6 (with the 7pm late pick-up) which is a godsend (so many of my colleagues have to rush out early as their daycare are quite inflexible). This way I finish my work and don't have to bring it home with me and can spend quality time with the family. Lastly, I understand that the recent shuffle and changes in staff spooked some parents, which is only natural. After speaking with management I understand why they did it and also in the manner they did it. You cannot have someone who you just let go watching over the kids for another week or two. What is an issue however is that management did not communicate this well enough to the parents (infact did not communicate it at all) and that had resulted in the recent uncertainty. However, that is settled and management has been more engaged and receptive since, and some of the new offers (including optional weekend daycare) seem to be very enticing. Thus, we are happy that our son goes to E+D and recommend it for your child as well. read more

I would highly recommend checking out their space! Their team and staff seem very friendly and knowledgeable, and the facilities are beautiful. I love the natural elements incorporated throughout, the outdoor space for the children to play, and the strong sense of community. read more

My child attended Explore and Discover this past year for its innagural year. We were drawn to the school for the high-quality of the teachers, the play-based philosophy and various amenities, including music and an art room. In the first few months, the director quit and the school went without one for six months or so, hiring a replacement in the last three months. The period without a director was chaotic. Since hiring a new director, things are falling back into place, but problems remain. All of the teachers my child started with last September have moved on. The newer teachers do not seem as experienced or educated as those that they replaced. The teachers are also all quite young, as is the staff in general, and it does feel like they might benefit from hiring some more experienced educators. The bottom-line is that for children under two, it's a unique environment that doesn't have too many competitors in Manhattan. For children over two, where there are more options, Explore and Discover isn't as competitive. It's a new school, with new teachers and new administrators. I'm sure in time the school will live up to what it promises or hopes to be, but there's some work to do in getting there. read more

Such a beautiful space for kids. So much to do. Super caring and supportive staff. Highly recommend!!!!

My husband and I both work full time and have spent lots of time researching the best care for our infant son. We spoke with numerous friends and family and interviewed a few nannies. We came across Explore and Discover late in my third term of pregnancy. The concept really intrigued us. I am a child therapist and really understand how important it is for infants to interact in a warm, nurturing social setting to help them develop communication skills. My biggest fear was the lack of interaction with a nanny could hinder my son's development. The cost of the Explore and Discover program is in-line with the cost of a full time nanny. My son has been enrolled for over a month. So far my husband and I are extremely pleased with the program's responsiveness to both our son's needs and our needs. read more

Eh. This place is okay, but I have seen much, much better. My daughter has fun sometimes, but honestly, there are many place out there that are affordable and better quality. Explore and Discover is okay. I would look somewhere else. read more