YMCA of SF NP

★★★★★Paul Moraga

This review will be a little unusual because my son attended the Gateway Center when it first opened. This was back in 2004. He was a member of the first group of graduates. (Today he is a high school senior and taller than I am. Where did the time go?) We were fortunate enough to not have to put our son into preschool. He had grandparents who were happy to watch them while we were at work. This was in ideal situation for his first few years but as he reached the age of 2 or 3 we began to notice a few things. He wasn't talking very much and he was starting to act a little bratty. We traced this back to his care during the day. With his grandparents he was treated like a little prince and given all the food and snacks they knew he liked and he didn't have to share any of his toys there. We realized he needed to be around other kids. We tried a few other places but their programs seemed unstructured and not very well designed. They were more like day care centers. The kids would just run around and play--this is great, but we wanted to be sure he would be ready for kindergarten when the time came. By the time he was 4, we really wanted him in a true pre-school program that was designed to prepare him for kindergarten. We had nothing but good experiences at the Gateway Center. The facility is beautiful and well-designed. Not only were the staff who were there onsite very good, we knew that they were part of a larger organization that were there to ensure that the program was run using the latest knowledge in child development. I remember having meetings with the staff, other parents and more senior people in the YMCA childcare center management who were there to make sure that everything was running smoothly and to address any questions and concerns we may have had. I was just thinking about our experiences there because I came across some observational reports that our son's teacher had written up for us. They described things that they had seen him do there at school. They were funny at the time (and even funnier now) but they demonstrated how he was learning to get along with the other kids socially and to use his imagination while playing. I'm glad I held onto these. In conclusion, anyone looking for excellent preschool education should look into the Gateway Center. The YMCA does a great job in preparing children for the road ahead.