I cannot say enough about the teachers who met her at her developmental level and saw her as an individual who would do things in her own time. They worked with her to help her go from rolling to crawling, and then finally walking. The signs they taught my daughter were invaluable for us being able to understand what our infant wanted and as she has become a toddler she speaks and signs at the same time. It is such a comfort knowing that my daughter is learning new skills and being well cared for and loved while I am at work. I highly recommend The Young School to all of my friends and to anyone in search of a high quality early learning center.

The enthusiasm and creativity of the staff have created a true desire to learn for our daughter. She wakes up everyday and can't for her next adventure at school. She loves her teachers, classmates, and the engaging learning environment that The Young School has created. We appreciate all that the school has done for Maddy thus far and look forward to her continued growth.

For Emmys first two years, her third favorite person in the world (besides her mommies) has been Ms. Lissa. In addition to Melissa and Pam, we want to recognize our positive experience and interactions with other teachers in the cottage, including (but not limited to) Sam and Lindsey. Chatting with Melissa and Sam at drop-off was always a great way to start our day, and something we miss now that Emmy is in the Garden Room. The Young School does not conduct customer satisfaction surveys, but if they did, we would give the highest marks to Melissa and Pam and their peers in the Bear Cottage Infant Program.

Sincerely,
Christina and Tami

She's already showing so much growth as far as being able to play independently. I am so impressed and elated with how you and your staff talk with the children and respect their feelings as well as respect them as individuals. I can tell that Audrey is going to love coming to The Young School, and I am so glad I went with my instincts and sent her to your caring school.

Thanks again!
Katie

When I arrived to pick my daughter up, Ms. Jennifer was sitting alongside her, reading a book with her, in the front of the class so as not to disturb any of the other napping kids. Ms. Jennifer got her dressed in her hat and coat, had her meal bag ready to go, and even thought to provide the blue bag just in case we would have a snow day the day after. As always, Ms. Jennifer took everything in stride and with a smile. We arrived safely home that afternoon, in advance of a rush hour that did, in fact, turn out to be horrible. Ms. Jennifer's thoughtfulness in having everything ready to go made the afternoon less stressful and a lot easier. This is just one example of what she does on a daily basis. We really appreciate her kindness, her work ethic, and her dedication.

Thanks!

Dear Young School,

As the school year winds to a close, I just wanted to thank you all for the work you have put in to help with our daughter. I am grateful that the school offered her the preschool grant to help with tuition, as she was able to get a quality preschool experience that she may not have otherwise had. She has had such a wonderful time and made so many friends and memories. As the school year winds down, I am confident that she is better prepared to enter Kindergarten after having attended The Young School.

Thanks,
Apryl M.

Dear Young School,

Thank you so much for the wonderful progress report that you sent out regarding my daughter. We really appreciate the feedback and want to continue to foster the relationship between school lessons with work we do with her at home.

I was very pleased to see that she made progress in her math and science areas. We focused on those activities after her last report and it appears to have made a difference. I was very excited to read the detailed examples of her performance that your team added to help me understand her progress. Please express my appreciation to the team.

You are amazing! Thanks for everything you do!

Ashlee D.

Dear Young School,

Three years ago, my son graduated from the Young School. I wrote you then to express my gratitude and appreciation of his then teachers. It is now my other son who is graduating, and I have the same warm feeling and gratitude towards his teachers.

They have given him the attention and love which helped him to grow and enjoy his school. One teacher in particular understood him better than anyone else. She knew that he didn’t like noise, certain food smells, or too much attention. She appreciated the fact that he had high sensitivity towards many things. So she gave him the space and time to feel comfortable, and only when he was ready she engaged him in activities. She and I agreed that it was important for him to enjoy school and learning at this early stage of his life. She has shown lots of patience, love, and kindness.

Another teacher is a no-nonsense teacher. She knows how to get the attention of her students and how to get them busy learning. I have watched her tirelessly teaching the children the alphabet through different games, making sure their time at the school was spent learning and growing. On the other hand, the children understood her discipline and were always on their best behavior during her class.

Last, but not least, I am very impressed with my son’s knowledge of sign language which would not have been possible without yet another teacher. The team worked very hard on this, and they should be commended. The sign language teacher also has a soft and kind heart with the children. He has been giving my son high fives since he was a few months old and could barely understand. My son and I will miss the teachers, the staff and the children whom we have known for years, and we wish everyone the best future.

Thank you for providing my two boys five rich years of fun, learning, and wonderful memories.

Hanan M.

Dear Young School,

I wanted to sincerely thank you for the care my children are receiving at the school, and to let you know how much we value and appreciate the teachers in the Beach Infant and Sky 3/4 rooms.

Our infant daughter is always happy to see her teachers and the teachers constantly communicate with us effectively. It is obvious that they care for every infant in the room.

We have had our son, in a few schools in the area, and your 3/4 program is by far the best. We appreciate the newsletters that include lesson plans and opportunities to join the class for fun activities. We also appreciate the level of professionalism the teachers exhibit. The teachers in the Sky 3/4 cottage have a talent for assessing each child’s strengths and using those strengths to target other areas to help the children grow to be well rounded. This was proven recently when my Joe was evaluated recently at Kennedy Krieger Institute, a well known center for children’s autism and related disorders. Last year, my husband and I suspected that our son’s was speech delayed, and we sought help through various resources. Evaluations from different professionals came back inconsistent compared to each other, some indicating we explore the possibility that he was autistic. My focus was to divert the energy and resources that AA county provided us with to target his speech and social delay instead of exploring the possibility that he was autistic. I eventually organized a team to aggressively target our son’s delays, and he did a wonderful job by stepping up to every challenge presented to him. A final evaluation from Kennedy Krieger Institute indicated he was fine overall, and he is certainly not autistic. We recently received a progress report regarding our son from The Young School team and I was surprised at the accuracy of the report based on my experiences this part year. After all, they’ve only known our son for a couple of months. Also impressive, was that I noticed the Young School’s influence when he approached some questions and activities at his final evaluation.

Most important of all, both my children are very happy and well adjusted. This would not be possible with quality care at school and at home.

Carleen E.

Dear Young School,

Just a quick note to let you know that of the five Kindergarten classes at Pointers Run Elementary school, artwork by only two students was picked to go on show as part of the Howard County Schools displays at the Columbia Mall. These two students were both last year’s graduates of The Young School! We picked TYS in part because of its wonderfully creative atmosphere and environment, and we are grateful to many teachers who nurtured our daughter’s confidence and artistic skills.

Thanks, Alison D.

Dear Young School,

This year I was blessed to receive a scholarship for my daughter at The Young School. I can’t feel grateful enough to be able to have her in this brilliant school. All of the time, I am seeing her skills, her development, and her internal growth like a flower, including her intelligence, her curiosity, and all the new worlds that she was able to discover with such special teachers and educators. I would never be able to afford to pay the school in the way that I know it was important for me to create this new life with so much care.

We went through a very hard time with our family and having our daughter assisted by The Young School has brought me a lot of peace and happiness. Every day, she was ready for school and I tell everyone to come to this school. For her teacher, I give my eternal thanks for her patience and friendship. The Young School will always be in our lives. Thank you for the awesome opportunity at this time when we had many worries. I was blessed with this scholarship and The Young School will never be forgotten in our hearts. The impact of this school was vital for our daughter to grow as a person and to be respected as one. My eternal and sincere thank you. Bless you for everything.

Thank you, Erica

Dear Young School,

Thank you so much for so many great years at The Young School. Both our children have thrived at The Young School with its’ wonderful, caring, and creative atmosphere. The lovely chaotic colors and many activities is what drew us into The Young School that first day. We loved seeing all of the families attend the Butterfly Picnic. We particularly thought this last year was wonderful. Everything seemed organized, stable, and very well run. You are all true professionals who make a wonderful difference in the world by caring so deeply for all the children over the years. Thank you so much! We will truly miss The Young School Family.

Sincerely, The O. Family

Dear Young School,

I would like you all to know that my husband and I think that our son has had tremendous development since he has been with his teachers. They are wonderful teachers, and we have seen our son develop more in his speech, manners, and social skills while he was with them. Good teachers can make such a difference in a child’s life and we are glad he had the chance to be with them.

Sincerely, Marilyn Luke

Dear Young School,

I appreciate the scholarship program that The Young School offered to my son. I find that this is a very useful program and I notice the progress in my son’s social activities and in the language too, since English is our second language. Thank you so much for helping us.

Reema

Dear Young School,

We are writing to express our sincere gratitude to you for making the scholarship to The Young School possible for our daughter. We have been thrilled with all the things she is learning and we are deeply appreciative of your support.

Through this wonderful opportunity, our daughter has been able to excel in key early childhood education areas. The teachers and staff are excellent with and really worked with her. We have no doubt that she will be thoroughly prepared for Kindergarten this upcoming school year.

We believe that The Young School is helping others and truly giving back to the community by providing this program. We hope The Young School will continue to do this and help families prepare their children for kindergarten, just as you are helping us. Once again, we offer our sincerest thanks for your generosity and support.

Sincerely, Deborah C.

Dear Young School,

Our child seems to have established a special bond with his teacher over the last year. She always has detailed feedback for us and really takes notice of his activities and accomplishments. It is easy for us to see how much she genuinely cares about him and that's a great feeling to have about your child's teacher!

Sincerely, Lauren H.

All very true. When people ask about where my son goes to pre-school… I tell them that Young School’s teachers are loving and caring, and that there is proof everywhere (on the floors, on the walls, on the ceilings, on the children…) that the program is engaging for children.

I then recall uneasy feelings at other child care centers I visited. One was just disorganized – the program looked inconsistent and I saw several safety hazards including heavy items stacked on top of a bookcase with children resting on the floor just below. I visited another child care center and walked right in, past the front desk, into a classroom without being stopped or asked questions. I visited another well-known child care center that was so sterile, clean, and tidy that it was difficult for me to imagine that there were any children there.

Then I walked into Young School. It was a challenge to find any area on the floor, wall, or ceiling that was not covered with artwork made by the children or themed designs. The classroom was bursting with color and bustling with children full of energy who were engaged in learning and creative activities. Children were free to be children, make messes, and play creatively. And in all of what might appear as an out of order classroom… I could see that the teachers were very mindful of the children and purposeful about the children’s activities. Looking closely, the structure was there… but it also enabled creative exploration and learning.

I know that you know this… because you are at the heart of making it all happen. I just wanted you to also know we have an incredible appreciation for Young School.

Paul K.