Testimonials

Great teaching is so much more than mere education. It’s about a community. It’s about multicultural equity and understanding. It’s about building safe spaces. It’s about social justice.

And for…my 3-year-old, Joyce is a safe space. In Joyce, my daughter can embrace her language. She can embrace her culture. She is not afraid of coming every day through that door and being herself. Speaking whatever words that she learns about, or singing her songs, or wearing her cultural attire. She can be herself.

There was a time when we couldn’t do that. I know what it is to be in a classroom where you’re fearful of what your history is, of what your stories and your family mean. My daughter doesn’t have to feel that fear in this space.

My daughter is the first one who came to preschool. I see her language acquisition, I see her social interactions, I see her playful, I see a lot of things that she can only learn because she has been part of this great community that is Joyce.

He observado como [desde mi niña empezó en Joyce] que me habla más, como que está mas abierta, como que está niña esta muy avanzada — porque a ella le gusta cantar, leer, ella le gusta los libros día y noche. Con los libros, se duerme con sus libros en la cama.” Ella dice, ‘Si, yo quiero que me leyes libros. Yo quiero que me ayudes escribir.’ Entonces, todo eso es bueno, porque ella es la que… nace de ella la que quiere aprender.

It was really important to [my family] to live in the city. We chose an urban life. We want our boys to see a global world, to have two languages, to know other cultures, to not be so myopic, to get out of their parents’ zip code. We want to open the door for them.

Joyce is a great beginning for other parents thinking about that. If you’re toying with it, it’s a great way to see how that will fit, to try that on you kid, on your family, and see how that fits. For us, Joyce has been a great fit.

I think that something is happening at Joyce that doesn’t happen other places. [In] any institution or any organization you can run into anyone who’s really qualified and really caring just sort of randomly. But, I think it says something broader when there’s all that…in every interaction no matter where you turn. That quality and caring and respectful type of interaction. That says something about what’s happening from the top down, and all the way down to the children.