Both my kids attended Small World. This is part daycare and part tutoring center. They emphasize academics here, which is unlike traditional daycares. My son started off at two pretty big daycares. I even enrolled him in a summer academic program at one of them before he started kinder. At kinder assessment, he knew barely anything. Other kids were already very advanced. If I were to do it over, I would have sent him here. I sent my daughter here and she is way more advanced than he was at her age. There are mostly Korean kids but that should not deter anyone from sending their kids if you want some academic help for your kids. There are many nonKoreans and nonAsians. I absolutely love sending my kids here so I dont have to help them in school as it can be time consuming and frustrating. My kids enjoy coming here. They have a cook on site who cooks delicious Korean and American food. My kids always rave about the food. Other places charge extra for lunch and it's not healthy and pretty gross. Not this place! Definitely recommend. Check them out! read more

Abusive, deceptive, and actually traumatizing. Believe the multiple 1 star reviews, because they track & show that they've been doing this for years/continue to do this. If you care about your child, don't put them through this because they will remember. My husband went to this academy in the mid to late 2000s and he still remembers the abuse. I visited this yelp page after hearing his stories to see if his experience was unique and/or if they changed over time, but apparently not. I read the 1 star reviews with him to see if anything resonated and they all did. From calling kids "stupid" to physical abuse to their two-faced, cult-like behavior (evil to students/well behaved with parents), he remembers it all (even the styrofoam bowls and greasy seaweed soup!). Some of my husband's personal memories include teachers throwing things at students and punishing kids by tightly gripping their arms. He told me the principal was the head abuser (she's in one of the photos on this yelp). He told me it felt like the teachers were a part of the Stanford Prison Experiment. As a student, my husband was afraid of the teachers and absolutely hated being there. Even my in-law regrets taking my husband to this place. Without giving specifics, my in-law was given advice by the teacher to threaten my husband in order for him to do better academically. My in-law regrettably took their advice and this actually impacted the relationship between them and my husband. When my husband was an adult my in-law apologized and expressed they had regretted taking that advice for years. To me this showed that this place can have long lasting effects on your children and even the relationship you have with them (even into adulthood). If you take anything from this, it's that: 1. They are fake around parents/abuse kids behind closed doors 2. Their abuse will affect your child long term 3. You should believe the 1 star reviews 4. Their abuse may even affect yours and your child's relationship read more

This school made my child cry, and made them stress over nothing. After I took my child off the enrollment list, her grades got better. Some teachers were very obnoxious and would yell at the kids. Their was this one teacher that I saw yelling at kindergarteners. The middle school teacher is very toxic and treats the students like they are insignificant. read more

My daughter has been going here since she turned 3. Both Bunny and Giraffe class has been enjoyable and she likes it! The teachers are very friendly and warm. I like that the staff are very easy to talk to and sweet to all the children. Principal Yun is very hands on with the kids which I appreciate and she somehow memorized all of the kids names there! Overall, we love the school and its small but yet nurturing and warm environment that they provide the children. A bonus is that they serve fresh lunch that are made in-house! read more

I just read a review that this school favors Korean kids. Being a family that is white as they come, this is not true. I may actually believe the opposite. When my kids (2 white boys) started here they were the only white kids. Yes, ONLY white kids. One of my kids had a neuro disorder and they took him in with open arms, prayed for him daily and dealt with his medical issues so I could work. When we moved to Florida I have to say I was devastated to pull my kids out of the school. They thrived there and were very ahead academically. TA Anne is absolustely AMAZING. Teacher Mayra was great and Principal Yoon. read more

I can't thank small world school enough. Teacher Jenny, teacher Elise, principal yun, teacher Paul have done wonders, I don't know what I would have done without them. Thank you all so much, I will never forget what amazing experience both my children have had here. We will definitely be back!! read more

Both my children have been attending this school since they were 18 months old. They are now 11 and 17. The 11 y/o goes to a gifted magnet and the 17 y/o is a straight A student at GHCHS. Yes they focus on academics but they also inform the parents that extra curricular activities is secondary once the student can prove that their grades can hold up while managing other activities. YES my kids are with CCRC and they do support that program as well. They give me peace of mind when I don't need to help my kids with projects or homework because its already done. They work with you when the children's grades decline. My kids are of mixed race so the allegation they favor Koreans is not the case. Yes, the majority of the kids are Korean but that doesn't mitigate the fact they push the kids to be the best they can be. Yes they are stern but I consider myself to be stern as well but my kids grades are unbelievable. They help my daughter with her SAT prep and work with my son to gain confidence in everything he does. I've referred a few friends to this school and they also have nothing but amazing words!! read more

Terrible place. DO NOT send your kids here. They physically and mentally abuse the kids. Everyone writing these 5 star reviews were either paid to do so or are all parents of little babies. Once they get older, your kids will change and if you are a good parent, you will notice it. This place is a literal cult. Most of the time, your kids won't be able to say anything because if they do, the parents will think they are just going through a phase or just being lazy and not wanting to study. Also, when they do complain and the parents confront the principal or staff, they'll do anything to shoo you guys away and then once you guys leave, they'll just bring hell to the kid and they'll make them feel shameful and treat them even worse for snitching and not wanting to be there. PARENTS, please listen to your kids when they complain about being at this place. Do your job as parents and hear out what they have to say without assuming and judging. The staff and principal here are liars and will gaslight the living crap out of you guys. Your kids are the ones that attend here, not you guys, so please hear out your kids and withdraw them from this cult-like environment. They also curse at your kids and call them names which discourages them and they even degrade your kids in front of every other kid in the classroom. Parents, I repeat.. DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS HERE. THEY WILL BE MENTALLY AFFECTED IN THE FUTURE. read more

I was a former student at this center and i was the only Hispanic there. I was absolutely traumatized at the age of 8 years old. i am 17 now and still can not forget everything they did. One of the teachers were playing a game and she told us not to peak and i peaked because i was EIGHT i was a kid. She kicked me out of the classroom. We were always served traditional Korean food and i was hispanic i was not use to eating those dishes as some of them were delicious and other i did not favor. I left very little of the food in the bowl and threw it away because i was no longer hungry. They made me go grab a new bowl and finish it all. I wanted to throw up because of how full i was. When my mom would leave they would turn into such evil people. I was not the brightest kid growing up so they would send me to the kindergarten classroom to embarrass me as a punishment. I did not know how to read a clock and they would laugh at me and call me names like stupid and idiot and so forth. They would tell the kids to shut up and would smoke vape pens on the property with the kids able to look outside the window. i was only eight. The list goes on. Please do NOT send your kids here. they will drain every drop of creativity and happiness your kid has. you do not know what goes on when you leave your kids!!! read more

Small World cares for the overall well being of the child. This is a very special school with special teachers. They work hand in hand with parents as well to help the kids do better in school and in social setting. Everybody in this school works hard, the kids and the teachers. I say this school is great because of its strong Christian value and because of their exceptional leader, Principal Youn. read more

I just read a review from a "former" student and am a bit surprised that she hasn't matured as an adult and decided to write a bad review for a place she attended many years ago. I also read another review saying that Teachers Mayra and Jenny are mean people. Please take those reviews with a grain of salt. Traditional Korean food is served often at Small World, but would you rather have your children eat a healthy meal that is cooked daily or the typical frozen foods that get microwaved at other preschools? If you don't like the Christian aspect, send them elsewhere. You always have a choice and don't necessarily need to write a negative review for that. Yes, the teachers can be stern with the students, but imagine being around hundreds of little kids all day and try to keep your patience. Even us as parents lose it on our kids (and we only have them at home for a few hours throughout the day). Teachers are humans too and I don't think they get enough credit for the great work they do throughout the year. Our children should absolutely respect their teachers because in the real world, our kids won't be respected if they haven't learned to respect others. I currently have a daughter in Teacher Mayra's class and she really puts a lot of work into teaching and caring for the children. read more

I'm very happy with this school. There's respect in every corner. Place is spotless. Time/school hours fits best to our schedule. Daily report for the first 5 days for my 2.5 year old is very helpful knowledge for parents to see how their child is doing. Principal Yun is at the school grounds at the beginning of the day, which is very important. Teacher Jenny is the best, very thorough, takes time to meet with the parents. Overall, this is a place to entrust children and you'll know they are in best hands when away from home. read more

My first born has been coming to Small World since he was 18 months old and now he's 6 years old. A testament how great this place is! I'm very grateful that I brought my son here because Small World not only cares about education, attitude and child's well being they also make sure kids know God's word. They teach kids to pray and I like that a lot! They are not your typical daycare because even when they are infants/toddlers, they teach them academics and what not. I also like that they teach the kids to eat fruits and vegetables, the fee that they ask is worth every penny. They make sure the kids are well fed and if you have a kid that needs after school, they pick them up from the school and feed them lunch and give them snacks ensuring that the child isn't hungry. There are so many things that I can write here about Small World but one thing I am most grateful for is that they recognized my son to be a gifted student that prompted me to consult with a Psychologist that can test and verify if he was truly gifted and true enough my son was diagnosed by the Psychologist as not only gifted but a Highly Gifted individual with an IQ score of 141! If it weren't for Small World, we wouldn't have known or found out earlier which gives me the opportunity to hone his abilities early on. I'm so gratified and thankful that Small World is there! He literally grew up with them! As I have mentioned my son has been going there since he was 18months- for his daycare when he was an infant/toddler years, his preschool, Kindergarten and now his after school now that he's in 1st grade and I'm sure he will be there until he's in high school because that's how much I trust them to help me in my pursuit of my son's continued excellence in school! Trust me when I say, it's worth the trip to see and check them out should you need care for your kids! I wasn't paid to write this review, I am writing it because I want other parents to know how great this institution is! In fact, you will find this review wherever I can recommend them! That's how much I believe in this place! read more

They have so much hidden charges that you will be surprised after you enroll the school. Most of them are Korean teachers and staff. And their curriculum for preschool age or under is linked to Christian education. If you are not Christian believers, your kids are drawn to learn the Bible. Be always mindful on their saying in education. Because they like to say something they can't accomplish in reality. It is not a good private kindergarten either. Try a couple of months and you will know. read more

This place is second class to Elite Academy. If you want a real, personalized education go to Elite. They have teachers from Harvard to UCLA who are more than qualified than this dump of a place. Not only is the teacher extremely rude and unqualified, he has lied about going to UC Berkley. Instead he has only been to Berklee Community College. Normally, this would be ok, but this place believes that college defines a person although ironically the teacher did not come from a higher level institute. The SAT prep is terrible and not worth the money. Small World Education Center is not an educational institute; rather it is a day care that cannot live up to its expectations. read more

What a nightmare! Pulled my kids from the summer program after 3 days! I was concerned the first day when my daughter came home and said that she was uncomfortable how her instructor felt the need to use the word "hell" in every other sentence, for example "What the hell is going on?" My son also mentioned that his instructor told another student to "Shut up!" As a parent who would never talk to her children this way, I was horrified. I do not expect anyone else, especially not people who are suppose to be creating an atmosphere for education and learning to speak to any child this way!!! When we enrolled, I was told that the children are given breakfast, a mid morning snack, and lunch. I picked up at about 1:15 and my children were starving because that's the time lunch is served. (My kids eat a light breakfast at home but like most their age, are active and eat small meals/snacks throughout the day.) Kids were being given one item (e.g. nasty linguini noodles in a cream soup?) in a styrofoam bowl and eating while standing in the yard. No fresh fruit, veggies, etc... When I explained my concern to the principal, she told me that they always have fruit and that I must have missed it. Apparently I missed it all three days and both of my children missed it as well. Interesting that I watched probably 40-50 kids during lunch and did not see 1 child eating the watermelon that they supposedly served. My children both stated that there was no other breakfast or snack provided so the second day I packed a light snack with crackers and fruit. I was annoyed when I saw my 8 year old scarfing it down as his lunch because he was not given time to eat it earlier as a snack. I nearly lost it when I came in the following morning and noticed staff selling candy and chips for $1 to students at 8:30 in the morning. I sat and watched a 5 year old explain that he had not eaten breakfast and that he was hungry. The staff member asked if he had money and then asked him to move away since he didn't have the funds to purchase anything!!! What the???? This was the worst experience of my life and I feel awful that my children suffered through it for 3 days. To top off the entire nightmare, the principal is not an educator but a SHADY "businesswoman". I was shocked at the way she addressed my concerns. She was defensive and kept spinning the situation by stating that my kids are liars and slow to adjust to new situations. Anyone who knows my children would disagree. They are the type of kids who are happy to be around other kids in any situation. They have gone through camps and other after school programs before and we've never had issues. I don't understand parents who send their children to this place. Perhaps they are not aware. I would not send my kids back there for all of the money in the world!!!!!!! read more

My son LOVES Small World Preschool! We've been sending him there for about 6 months now and he adjusted very well. He LOVES the Korean food served there and always eats two servings. Things like japchae (glass noodles with vegetables and beef), curry with rice, Korean seaweed soup, bibimbap, and other delicious things are served there for breakfast and lunch unlike other preschools that serve "finger foods" which can be re-heated frozen peas and carrots (bleh) and chicken nuggets. My son enjoys the Bunny class and was recently promoted to the Giraffe class. He loves all the teachers for both and it helps that the TAs are bilingual so he can speak Korean and English to them. The main teachers of the classrooms are English speakers and teach the kids very well! We recommend sending your child here for preschool because they have such a great time and the food is great! read more

Would not recommend this day care. Teachers Jenny and Mayra are incredibly mean. Easy to smile at the parents but after you go their evil spirits come out to the kids. After all these years my child is still disturbed by their names. The cleanliness of this day care fools you into thinking its a good place but the owners have been seen smoking on and near the day care which I personally don't see as a positive. If you're on the fence about it I'd stay away. There are quite a few children there so might be a good fit for some. I personally wish we'd listened to the recommendations against going here. read more

Good and Bad. There are some great things about this school and some other things that are not that great. The good news first. The hours of operation are much longer than most daycare centers, which makes it much more practical for busy working parents in Los Angeles. The teachers are good, and they seem to care and know what they are doing with child development and that sort of thing. My kids were basically happy going there, and they showed signs of behavioral improvement after attending for a couple of months. The bad news isn't terrible, but there are some annoying things that happened to me. One thing is that one day a week they have a "dance" instructor come in to the school and cherry pick kids out of the class (the ones that can afford the class) and take them on a special class for the 'elite'. There's nothing so bad about a dance class, except for the fact that if you can't shell out another $50 per month for the class, your poor daughter is going to be very heart broken once a week every time the lady shows up, and she gets left out in the cold, especially if her favorite thing in the world is dancing. boo hoo. And then when they put on a big show for the parents once a year, I guess they have to lock up the 'left out' kids in a closet somewhere to cry their eyes out for a few hours. That and then when they take a bunch of photos with a professional photographer, your kids are pretty freaking upset when you don't have the money to pay for a bunch of prints. And then of course the required uniforms for field trips weren't exactly priced at the normal standard for even expensive clothes these days. Well, I guess my gripe is about paying out extra monies for things above and beyond the second mortgage that needs to be payed to begin with for two kids in preschool. I guess I wish that they would include these things with all the money I am paying already. This is not a big surprise, because after all, this is LA! But the way that they handle it with the kids is not exactly fair either. And, also, the security measures at the school seem to be a bit lacking. read more

The students (and teachers) were packed into the room like sardines. I had to pick up students everyday in my own car, traveling over 20 miles each day, and was not reimbursed. I was told to give students answers to their homework more than once. In the 2 1/2 years I worked there I did not see fruit as a snack. The healthiest food served was a small salad served over white rice. Often there was food like too-sweet chop chae (Korean crystal noodles) or greasy Miyeok-guk (Korean seaweed soup). I came into a classroom once and saw a student with a food wrapper in his mouth and he was crying. When I went to ask him what was going an older teacher pulled me outside and said he was being punished for littering by the principal. I said that this was not appropriate and that I was going to talk to the principal. The other teacher told me that I did not understand Korean culture and that it was not ok for an employee to tell an employer that something was wrong. I said that this punishment was abusive. The other teacher said that I could be fired and she couldn't protect me. I said fine but I'm going to say something. The other teacher said fine but I don't want to be a part of it, I don't want any responsibility, your on your own. I was shocked by this humiliating punishment and the selfish attitude of this teacher who cared about her own job more than the student. The vice principal who also taught the pre-school class would sometimes wear sweat pants with a word on her backside. I think the word was "juicy". Needless to say very inappropriate. On their Yelp and Facebook pages it mentions teaching about God's word but this is not a godly environment. I had students tell me more than once that they were afraid of some of the teachers. read more