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December 2023 by Kathy L.
We love having our son at a daycare that feels like home. The maestras welcome him every morning and make sure to update us throughout his day with the activities that they do. They are always very creative and make sure everyday him and his amigos learn but also have a fun time. Gracias AMA!
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December 2023 by Kiera J.
This After-school programs is nurturing minds, fostering growth, shaping futures. Empowering children through enriching experiences.
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November 2023 by Sherelle K.
I joined the AMA family with my daughter over 5 years ago. My daughter continued with the program from the time she was 18 months until she aged out and now I am here again as a returning family with my 2 year old son. AMA has been a dream of a school. Both of my children learned and retained a solid foundation in Spanish despite coming from a solely English speaking home. AMA's director, Cynthia has been extremely accommodating to our family throughout our various financial seasons. When times were tough we were offered the ability to barter volunteer time or help around the school to make up the difference. The staff at this school care so much about equality and community that they have made so many different arrangements to ensure that we had access to quality education and childcare. The community at AMA is warm and welcoming. My son is loves AMA and his Maestras so much and we appreciate all that each of the staff members more than we ever imaged we could.
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November 2023 by Fordy S.
We absolutely adore this place. I'm a teacher and work at a Pre-8, and Academia is 30 minutes out of our way. And still, we choose this school. We've been here for a year and a half. While others might have the fancy toys or lush gardens, Academia provides a caring and consistent staff, community-building events, a diverse student body, and a balanced bilingual curriculum. Most importantly, our child is happy here, and the school helps encourage him to be a good person. The owner Cynthia knows her stuff, and is deeply engaged with children and parents. She has shown us nothing but compassion and grace. The maestras (teachers) are kind and inclusive, yet consistent and firm with expectations.Recently, a competing bilingual Spanish franchise pre-school moved in right above them (that's cold). It's a cutthroat move but Academia is sure to weather this because it's simply a better school. Every family there wants to be there and stays for the warm atmosphere and curriculum. Whenever a student joins, the students and maestras make a banner they display to welcome each new child. I can't imagine the other school above them doing it. Academia continues to remind me that the attention, teachers, and attitude is what proves truly important for my child and our family.
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September 2023 by Shiva S
Cynthia is the warmest sweetest most genuine care giver. I trust her fully. The facility is safe and the staff is attentive and warm. I recommend them to anyone looking for excellent child care.
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August 2023 by Great R.
Cynthia is the warmest sweetest most genuine care giver. I trust her fully. The facility is safe and the staff is attentive and warm. I recommend them to anyone looking for excellent child care.
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May 2023 by Bianka Lanoix
My son went to AMA and now my daughter is going. They both LOVE it!! The teachers are amazing, they truly care and LOVE the children. To me, this is what matters the most when you are sending your children for the first time to child care. I’m so grateful to them for being so considerate and loving for my children. Seeing my daughter signing all those in Spanish songs is so amazing !
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March 2023 by Sk M.
My son was a pandemic baby, born during that delightfully stress-free Spring of 2020. After a year spent sanitizing every surface and seeing family through the zoom, our little guy was busting out (and driving us absolutely crazy). Finding care for a 12-month-old in non-pandemic times is hard enough, but was basically impossible in 2021. Then I found AMA. Cynthia, the owner, was super flexible about when we could start, and helped my son transition from seeing basically no one but his parents into a bubbly, social, and extremely verbal 3-year-old.I had some reservations about the space, especially as he grew. Some of the other commenters are right on that count: there is limited outdoor space, and there is a windowless middle room. But I really don't think that ever mattered to my kid, and all areas are painted vibrantly and have lots of structures for play. But the real reason we kept coming back was the maestras. Every morning, they welcomed him with a giant hug and were genuinely happy to see him. They are incredibly warm and caring, and my son--who literally could not look a stranger in the eye without crying!--now doesn't even say goodbye, he just runs off and plays.We were there during the flea infestation incident; to be honest, I had no idea any of that was going on at the time, since my kid never had fleas. I can't speak to how the administration handled the issue with other parents, but when we were notified that the school would have to close their infant program, I was a little shocked at how little notice families were given (a week!). To be clear, that was something the licensing organization ordered, not the school itself. But, as a result, a lot of families left, some teachers left, and there were a few shaky months of classroom and staffing changes. Now, everything seems back to how it was, albeit with a smaller enrollment (which, very selfishly, I sort of appreciate!)Academically, the school is similar to many preschools in that there are weekly/monthly themes (ie a season, a letter, a number, and a shape), and always lots of music! We don't speak Spanish at home but I've noticed that if we *really* want him to do something, he responds much quicker if we tell him in Spanish! They use Brightwheel and send tons of updates and photos.Overall, I would not hesitate to send my kid to AMA, especially if you're looking for a loving, Spanish-immersion environment.
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March 2023 by Meg L.
My daughter has been at AMA for the past 3 to 4 years. She has truly thrived there as a preschooler and enjoyed the Spanish immersion, play based care!! The Maestras are so loving and have treated my daughter like their own! I was super impressed by how the school handled the COVID pandemic and felt safe sending my child there. The school is so clean. Our kiddo is still at the school for aftercare which has been very helpful.
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December 2022 by Brittany F.
We spent many hours searching for a preschool for our child. Being first time pandemic parents, we had little experience with safe outside childcare and were limited in how many in person visits we could make to check out facilities. AMA offered us numerous visits (virtually and in person) that allowed for a slow integration for our kiddo. Both my partner and I work in education and seriously appreciate the attention to supporting the kiddos during a major transition. Overall, all of the staff have been kind and loving to our child as well as every other child in the classrooms. The maestras focus on positive reinforcement and taking the time to explain appropriate behavior over punishment. The curriculum is thoughtful and the focus of everyday is learning through play, music and dance. My child comes home happy with new skills and concepts everyday. The maestras are communicative about any issues that the kiddos may be experiencing (in our case a lot of throwing toys was happening) and look to collaborate with the family for best responses. We live in Albany and travel to AMA because of the curriculum, care and community. Would absolutely recommend.
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November 2022 by Lizette M.
I can't believe I have to write this type of update but I hope this helps a parent in making the huge decision of who to trust with their children. Cynthia, the owner, has recently shown her true colors. Over the summer there was a flea infestation that she chose to blame on parents (me and another student). After I provided evidence that the issue was not at my home, she failed to tell me that my son was not the only one getting bites. Turned out that several children were affected. All I got in response were texts and emails with lots of words but saying nothing. She likes to use her status as a woman of color to her advantage and poses as some kind of social justice advocate. In reality, she is not involved in the school very much and she is completely unethical with her teachers. Mind you, there have been 2 teachers that my son has had that have been amazing. I recently found out that they do not get paid for the days the school is closed (56 days this school year!!), but she still collects full tuition. After months of many parents requesting she remove the infested carpet, some parents complained to the licensing board, which triggered an investigation. She was given 7 deficiencies and after a 2nd or 3rd inspection, she lost one of her licenses. Last week at morning drop off, she let me know that she was going to have to close my son's classroom permanently because the board was making her eliminate the age group and that we only had care for ONE MORE WEEK. The kicker is that they didn't eliminate his classroom. She has simply kicked out all the kids that have been involved or affected in this situation with the fleas. She acts as if she is a victim in this process, garnering sympathy from some newer parents at the school. Why is no one outraged that she gave our children expired food, had sinks out of order, had an extremely high number of kids to teacher ratio?? The current situation constitutes retaliation because she has targeted only those people she believes have brought her issues with the licensing board. She lies and said that the subsidized families were allowed to stay, but I have several friends who do not fit that criteria and were not removed. Even the teachers have dropped like flies because of their outrage at how she is treating families. I'm now frantically trying to find a new preschool for my son in the middle of the year. I trusted her with the most precious thing to me. My son still hasn't gotten rid of the dozens of scars from the bites all over is body. Please look elsewhere for childcare.
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August 2022 by Laura K.
My son loved AMA when he attended in 2021. He was just 15 months but came home all the time showing off his dance moves he practiced at school, saying "Tortuga" and making a T with his fingers, bringing me his beautiful artwork, etc, etc. It was amazing to watch him learn and grow. I think it only took three days for him to eagerly jump into his teachers arms at drop off. One other big factor of why we chose AMA is that the school is effortlessly diverse, and it's so cool that our son was exposed to Spanish at a young age. Any small complaints I have would apply to any daycare and aren't the managements fault... My son caught a couple colds when he first started and couldn't attend school for a while. The location is in a basement with stairs (maybe less than ideal), but I guarantee the kids don't mind that one bit.I appreciate the love, attention, and curriculum at AMA and am so glad to have found them.
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January 2016 by Gabriela Thomas Fitch
When I toured schools and day care centers for my 2 year old boy, no place seemed to have everything I was looking for. That's until we came to Academia de Mi Abuela. Surrounded by woods in the Montclair area, AMA has a play-based style and offers lots of outdoors time. It's a mix of daycare with preK, so they're very flexible with age but still have a structure that kids can rely on. The groups are smaller than in a school setting (10-12 kids at the most). And having a bilingual immersion environment was a must for my family but at AMA, more than just Spanish, they have a multicultural immersion program with access to many international cultures and diverse lifestyles: kids play soccer, dance capoeira, practice yoga, celebrate St Patricks day and they were the ones with the most cultural mix of students (not just white kids wanting to learn Spanish, but Indian, middle Eastern, Latinos from many countries, and gay/bi and single lifestyle families). When my boy did his first tryout week, I saw another child who had just started and, of course, was crying missing his mom. But he never cried alone: he was always being held lovingly by the teachers who reassured him that mom would be back and that made me feel great. A week later, he had integrated just fine. The love the teachers have offered my son is second to mine and he loves his maestras and going to escuela. They helped me potty train him and they're part of the team that makes it all possible for my kid. It was the best choice for our family. We can't be happier!
