I was a student here for 10 years, and recently I was a counselor here
They offer After School, Summer School, and Sunday School. They have recently changed principals which have resulted in a much more boring, strict and less fun Summer school program
Negatives: They mostly apply to the Summer and Sunday school program which are much weaker compared to the after school program.
1) They are cheap. They still use the same box fans and VCR (who still uses those?) from 15 years ago when I was student. Trips during the summer are cheap. They are all to public places like the park. Forrest Park, Cunningham, Alley Pond, Kissena, Central Park, etc. It's so repetitive and boring.
Their bbq is cheap. They use burgers and chicken from the school cafeteria. And what's worse is that they charged parents for the food. They used to serve chicken wings, ribs, and hot dogs as well, but now they are much cheaper.
2) The school is HOT during the summer. Like I said they are cheap. Still use the same old box fans from 20 years back. Won't even upgrade to tower fans or anything. This contributes to a lot of nose bleeds, stomach aches, and headaches during the summer.
3) The teaching is mediocre in the Summer and Sunday school programs. I completely agree with the above comments. I took their Chinese classes for maybe 6 years. Didn't really learn much past the basics (numbers, date, etc)
I would say half of these teachers don't speak English very well. This is crucial because the Chinese teachers generally can't translate or communicate effectively. This is also sadly true of the English language teachers. Even they have poor English. This contributes to bad pronunciation habits for the students and also to the already weak communication.
There is very little individual attention in the Summer and Sunday school. From my own experience as a student and my recent experience as an employee, I know for a fact that they don't go over the homework at all. ZERO. They don't go over tests either. And since they don't go over homework they don't know who is doing good or bad. They just check to see if it is done and grade it but NEVER do the go over it. It's pretty much the smart kids will learn and the rest won't benefit at all.
4) Their "Summer Camp" isn't really Summer Camp. It's more like summer school. It is quite boring. Lunch time is very boring. The kids sit in a lunch room for 1 hour, and they can't get up or do anything. Just eat lunch and talk with their friends. No time or place for recess or anything like that. This wasn't how it was back then though. I remember they used to recess after lunch.
Anyway the trips are also terrible. They are cheap. 4 out of 5 are to the park, which are of course free admission. Alley Pond park, Kissena, Central Park, Cunningham, Forrest Park. I've been to so many parks so many times during my time as a student. It is so boring and repetitive. Every summer they have 1 good trip to the Bronx Zoo or the Museum of Natural History. But for the most part they are just the same old boring park trips.
Their barbecue is very cheap now. They used to have a lot of choices like ribs, chicken wings, hot dogs, burgers, pork chops. Now they just take burgers and chicken from the school cafeteria, and buy some pork chops to serve in addition. They are are so cheap it's unbelievable. Give the kids some good food for once for crying out loud.
They also took out the fun of the trips. They used to have a very fun game where kids tie balloons to their feet and try to pop the other kids balloons by stepping on them. This is one of the many fun games they took away in addition to water balloon fights and relay races all for 'safety'. Trips are meant to be fun and a little more loose. They are way too strict now. Let the kids have some fun just once a week.
5) Administration is weak during Summer school. The two principals are pretty weak. They aren't on top of things at all. So many things happen and they aren't even aware. They are truly a step down from the from the former summer program principal
Ok, positives now
1) The staff is generally VERY kind and respectful. There are maybe only 2 teachers in my almost 10 years as student that I didn't like. They are all very nice and caring. They really care about the kids that's for sure.
2) The Summer program is very balanced. You get education (even though it's mediocre), culture classes, and recreational activities.
3) The culture classes are excellent and have great teachers. The Kung Fu, Art, and Keyboard teacher are all excellent.
4) The kids are GREAT. Very friendly, and morally sound. Very few bad influences or bullies.
5)EXCELLENT After-school program. Lots of individual attention and supplementary work. The teachers are great and I learned a lot from this program.
Overall it is fun, but the education is lacking in their Summer and Sunday programs read more