The dedicated and caring staff at Giraffe go above and beyond to create a safe and supportive environment where children can thrive. They foster a stimulating and nurturing environment that encourages children to learn and grow in a variety of ways. Ms. Yin and her team are particularly exceptional. They treat the kids like their own, and their staff are kind, patient, and genuinely passionate about teaching. They put their hearts into nurturing my child's development, unlike other ordinary business-minded individuals. The principal always greets parents with a warm smile whenever we drop off or pick up our kids. Beside helping students with their regular elementary school homework, teachers @ Giraffe also provide extra math and English study materials and paperwork for students, which has significantly helped my child improve in academics. Beyond academic studies, the school also focuses on a variety of extracurricular activities, including Chinese language study, drawing and arts and crafts, games, and science lessons. This holistic approach provides students with a strong foundation and prepares them for a bright future. Teacher Vivian is kind and sweet, and she always keeps me updated on my child's progress. Summer camps are also a fun and engaging option. Besides English and Math, there are many professional teachers to teach classes in various subjects, giving children a chance to explore different aspects of learning, such as science, arts and crafts, cooking, Chinese yo-yo, and badminton etc. The school also assists with arranging and picking up/dropping off students for swimming classes. How fun!!! The extended hours of operation, allowing me pick up my child anytime before 7 pm, provide much-needed flexibility and convenience, especially for the days I may encounter traffic delays. Overall, I am more than satisfied with Giraffe Learning Center and want to express my sincere appreciation for the wonderful after-school program they provide. I highly recommend Giraffe to anyone seeking an exceptional after-school program for your kids. read more

I came across this Yelp page while I was reminiscing about my childhood, and I am shocked by the negative reviews that I read for this establishment. I attended Giraffe Learning Center years ago, and I only have good things to say about it. My experience was quite positive, and while I was there, they provided an array of extracurricular activities, as well as a conducive environment for me to learn. I do believe my academics improved because of the extra tutoring I got from the teachers and TAs. I also feel like the packets we had to complete were reasonable in terms of the workload and difficulty level. If I ever needed help, the teachers guided me in a patient manner. There were a few students who gave the teachers a hard time, but I can confidently say I have NEVER witnessed Ms. Yin (the principal) or the staff being mean nor abusive to the students. They might have seemed strict to some, but I saw it as tough love. Giraffe provided an environment to have fun, but they focused heavily on education. It's typically hard to get kids to do things like homework because they usually just want to play. This could be why some students might have not enjoyed their time at Giraffe as much. Now that I'm older, I am more appreciative of the structure and discipline Giraffe embodied because of the good habits that I built. You can definitely tell the staff cared about the students a lot and wanted the best for them. All I have to say is Giraffe deserves more credit and I'm sure this Yelp page is not an accurate depiction of most students' experiences. People who have had bad experiences with a business will typically find time to leave a negative review, most likely in hopes of seeing it fail. There are numerous kids who attended Giraffe over the years, and it's unfortunate that more students/parents have not shared their positive experiences. I hope this review provides some more context and reassurance to anyone who's considering Giraffe as a daycare/after school program. The facility is clean and they even provided snacks, games, and a bunch of activities. It's honestly a great place for kids to learn, grow, and make new friends. I actually still keep in touch with some of the friends that I made while I attended. I am truly grateful for my experience, as well as the amazing memories I made at Giraffe. read more

this place was terrible, teachers are so mean, you cant even chose where you sit, you feel sick? Oh dont worry, i mean do worry they dont give a crap abt u wether ur sick or dying with cancer. just dont go here (also if ur parents make u go TELL THEM TO READ THIS BC THE TEACHERS THERE ARE SO MEAN AND WHEN UR PARENTS ARE NEAR THEY ACT SO NICE read more

As a mother of two children, I'm happy with my children's experience at Giraffe Learning Center. Giraffe focuses on students' academic success and is close to a school setting during learning time. The practice packets are highly effective, striking a perfect balance between challenge and engagement. The environment promotes concentration, with well-organized classrooms and minimal distractions. The friendly environment also encourages kids to make new friends easily. The teachers are very supportive. They go the extra mile to ensure every child's success. I couldn't be happier with the big progress my children have made here. I strongly recommend Giraffe Learning Center to any parent seeking a nurturing and enriching after-school program. Giraffe Learning Center also has a wonderful Ai-Yoh summer camp program. It is my children's favorite. The two weeks are filled with fun activities and the kids learn new games and make good friends with both the students and the teaching assistants, who are usually high school students. Both the school teachers and assistants are very nice and helpful. read more

A few years ago I did much in researching the Giraffe Learning Center and decided to give this place a try. I am so glad we did it and now both of my kids have been for more than four years. Everyone there is very responsive and extremely attentive treating kids as their own, from looking after small details such as making sure our boys drink their milk to paying attention to the weather. They are also reliable in picking up our kids from the elementary school, albeit nearby. What's also very helpful is that sometimes we run late in picking our kids with everyone being so busy, they are very patient and easy to work with when we are late. The teachers make sure to go over their homework (packets) from the school before other curriculum and let us (parents) know of anything needing our attention. After a bit of getting used to the environments and teaching methods, I can wholeheartedly recommend this place to any parents. The programs are diverse, and the teachers are excellent and patient! There's a certain familiarity to how we grew up before coming to the United States and it gives you almost a homey feel. This is a super nice school located in Mission San Jose area. Ms. Yin and the Principal Mr. Lo are the best! read more

The third grade teacher worked very hard to prepare the students for the GATE test. When going through the process, my daughter didn't quite liked it and complained about how tough the training was all the time and there were so many packets, she finished 20+ with each 10+ sheets. I was impressed. But after she aced the GATE test and became a GATE student, she became very proud of herself. This experience now gives her so much confidence that whenever someone says she's not smart, she would immediately tell them "smarter than you...at least I'm a GATE Student" Whenever she faces a difficult problem, she would say "I can do it, I'm a GATE student. If I can't who could?" I'm very grateful to the teachers and Giraffe Learning Center. read more

After trying out other places, we came across Giraffe Learning Center in Fremont. Started taking our older son there and never looked back! Our younger son is now going there as well. Excellent environment and the one thing that stood out to us was the teachers with their knowledge and patience! They also provide other great programs. We highly recommend this place to any parents who are looking for a learning place to take their children! read more

This place is horrible. I would not recommend it, I went here a few years ago and they would yell and threaten kids. They are very unprofessional. Their service and their snacks are horrible and cheap and they are so verbally abusive to the children they yell at you for the smallest things like not finishing your work or even talking to other kids. The staff gives a lot of threats to the kids (like they say they are going to hit you or draw on your face or pull your hair out ). Also, there have been multiple reviews stating that they used to physically abuse kids and it still happens. The place is small and everyone is forced to take off their shoes and wear socks on the dirty floor which is DISGUSTING and unclean. They pulled a kid who was crying and sitting at the main office on the floor and dragged her out, pulled her hair and caused her to scream and fall to the ground in a lying position, then her hand to put her out of the office to a classroom. A girl also told me that they pushed her to the side of the road because she did not listen to them and this behavior is unacceptable. My parents have called them and they cussed them out on the phone. It was very unprofessional. Teacher Yin and Teacher Tori are very very malevolent. Yin is very abusive. I still cannot fathom that this place has been open for so many years and that people are paying the staff for this type of behavior towards students. read more

I have three children at the Giraffe Learning Center. My oldest son has been studying there for seven years. The teachers are very conscientious and responsible. I never have to worry about their homework. read more

I was one of the first students at Giraffe, back when it was run from the the owner's home. Before the church, before the windowless learning center at 1916 Driscoll Road. I attended the after school program from approximately 1997-2005. I understand this is over a decade ago and I'm hoping that things are different now, but this business is built on abuse and intimidation from the owner, Ms. Yin, that has not been forgotten by its students. Ms. Yin was physically and verbally abusive to the students, who were mostly elementary school aged. She hit kids on the head using rolled up newspapers and rulers, she locked kids into the dark garage, she singled kids out and berated them for the smallest things. I recall she singled out a boy who had speech issues and he, sadly, was her favorite to abuse. I have a vivid memory of her yelling at this boy, slamming his head onto the table, and then dragging him by the ear to continue the physical abuse from out of sight. Unfortunately, this was a common occurrence. Giraffe is one of the darkest parts of my childhood that I try to minimize because I don't want to accept how unspeakably horrible it was. Things did get better when Ms. Yin legitimized the business at 1916 Driscoll Road. Things became more professional, planned, and structured. I am hoping that things have only improved from then as children only deserve the most positive, encouraging, and supportive learning environments. At the end of the day, I finished my homework but did I develop into an amazing 4.0 GPA student in high school that graduated cum laude from college, all thanks to Giraffe? Of course not. I just got my homework done and got horrible, dark memories of my childhood. Please keep in mind my experience is from years ago and I do not know how things are for its students now. If you elect to enroll your child in the program knowing this information, that is your prerogative. I do not recommend this business due to its abusive foundations. I do not believe the owner is an appropriate person to run a childcare business. read more

This is a good after-school. Parents can rest assured to send their children here and the environment is very clean and safe. They provide very good programs and the teachers are very patient to teach students. read more

Honestly, I dont understand why there are such negative responses to this place. it is actually quite a useful establishment. I was a student here in giraffes early years, back when classes were held at a church instead of the current location on Driscoll. Let me just say, i feel like this place was very helpful. I would finish my work faster than when i was at home because there was nothing to distract me. There were high school and college tutors there who i could ask for help on homework--much more reliable sources than my parents i should add. And i feel that Giraffe only got better with time as the Lo family learned how to run it better In my high school years, i also worked at Giraffe. First of all, they treat their employees so well. They are very thoughtful. I think what most people have a problem with Giraffe is that they feel it is basically some smart student machine and they crank them out one by one. The teachers aren't that nice (the majority are asian mothers, so what did you expect). If you dont like it, do something about it. The teachers are very open to suggestions, and if you make friends with all the kids there, they usually become less rowdy. It is not a torture chamber whatsoever, at Giraffe, they try to teach you to have a good work ethic, they try to get you into the habit of practicing what you've already learned, they try to teach you its not ok to act obnoxious to your elders, they try to teach you to be mindful of others. Do i agree with all their methods? No i dont. But for the most part, this is one of the better afterschool centers. On a side note, the people i've met here as a kid are some of my closest friends to this day. read more

I had a very poor experience when I was a student in the after school day care/tutoring program (from 1998-2001) at Giraffe Learning Center (now also affiliated with Eastern Chinese School). I would not recommend this tutoring center to anyone; the verbal, emotional and psychological abuse I endured from the principal, "Yin 老师", left me with some degree of PTSD. I am not opposed to the traditionally strict Chinese approach to parenting, but what I experienced does not fall under any "Chinese" approach to parenting. Being singled out and screamed at for two hours (for chatting with other students during homework time), rapped across the head with a stick, slammed against the wall face-first, or locked in a pitch black garage is not something any parent should expect or tolerate from a daycare provider. In most states (including California, ironically), this treatment would necessitate a child abuse report. Even if these punitive methods are not used on students anymore, it should still speak volumes to parents that the proprietor has the capability-- in her heart-- to treat children so poorly. Do yourself and your children a favor by paying for any number of great after-school tutoring programs in Fremont. I highly recommend Mill Creek Academy; not only will your children receive top-notch academic support, but they'll also be treated like humans. read more

Both of my boys grew up here and attended after school programs for many years. We visited many after school programs in the area and none of them gave us the comfortable feeling as this place. They are clean and have high expectations on behavior and academics. If you want worry free after school programs, this is the place to take your kids. My sons are now 20 and 18. read more

So, let me just say, if you want to have your child become smart, this place will probably work. However, the presentation fails on many levels. First off, the minute you step in, everything smells bad and children are screaming. At the place itself, many children may expose your child to inappropriate material, but it isn't really this place's fault. The teachers can be mean at times, but the female principal is cruel. She likes to mentally or even physically abuse children when they are noisy. I personally feel this is wrong. Finally, the way Giraffe actually gives information to your child is, well, bad. It can cause stress as they give many worksheets and work packets. Well, here is the verdict. Giraffe can help your child learn at a faster pace, but does it terribly, and the noisy area does not help. +Helps you learn at a fast pace -Noisy work environment -possible exposure to inappropriate material -terrible way of cranking information Thank you for your time. read more

My experience with Giraffe learning center was very positive. I really saw a big turnaround from my older son. So I sent my younger son there too. Both of them are good normal kids who have clear ideas of what they want to do. They also made lot of good friends there. Think about this... almost all kids need some push to get their homework and exercises done in time. I don't want my kids playing computer games for hours. read more

I still remember my first good impression with this school 3 years ago after went to several famous Fremont after schools, it is very clean inside and each grade students have their own decent classroom. Then later on I noticed the teachers and owners there are all very responsible and work very hard, they need to correct additional packages for student even after 7pm and some teachers bring students' packets home to correct and bring back to talk with student the next day .Both of my girls enjoy the time there with learning activities and also free art class(Friday afternoon) and Chinese class. read more