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February 2024 by Lina P.
This is my experience as mom with a child in the infant room that still haunts me to this day . I witnessed on two occasions children being forced to go to sleep on the crib. Another occasion the teacher picked up the child and slammed them on her lap, because the child did not want to go to sleep. The infants are in a small room for more than 6 hours a day with no outside play which they lie to parents about . The only outside access is through the back door which is gated. All of these concerns which I immediately voiced to the director , all too which she responded " yes I have noticed the teacher being over whelmed by teacher turnover in that room" . " she needed to catch her in the act " . Please take the time to really look around and see what's really happening there. I pulled my child out immediately .
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September 2023 by Jay Hua
Not sure what triggered Marie Jin in one of the other reviews…. But my daughter loved the teachers she had for the past 5 years. Especially the TATOOED admins who would yell “Good morning ! Do you want a sticker?” every morning, like yeah how RUDE!! (This last part was sarcasm btw). Maybe that other parent shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover? Much love and respect for my daughters teachers!
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April 2022 by Ashley M.
We LOVE Good Sam! My son is 15 months old, and has attended GSP since he was 10 months old. A few things that made us choose GSP were that the infant/young toddler classes are relatively small AND they group the babes by age/ability rather than putting 6 week - 2 year olds in the same classroom. This really set GSP aside from other places we toured. That along with the super responsive and friendly admin folks + the glowing recommendation we received from a friend made this a no brainer. And what keeps us loving GSP is how happy my little guy is. When I say "it's time to go to school" in the morning he excitedly runs to the door and says "go go." He comes home with a bunch of new skills all the time - signing for "more" and knowing where his nose and other body parts are, etc. They use a sign in/out/billing tool called BrightStar, which allows teachers to post photos - I recently received photos of my little guy exploring a "sandbox" made of ground cheerios (taste-safe sensory play FTW!), and one with a live duckling in the class. The admin staff is clear in the their communication with parents, teachers are happy (they all know my babe by name, even if they don't interact with him every day), and other parents are friendly. I highly recommend GSP! Your babe will thank you. :)
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October 2020 by Elizabeth K.
My son started here when he was 6 months old - 27 months and the love and genuine warmth of the staff has significantly impacted his emotional growth and development. My personal belief is that from infantry to toddlerhood the most important factor is emotional awareness, understanding, and support of those unknown feelings. My son is so happy all the time, super social, and loves to participate in all activities. It may be personality, but the fact that he remembers all his teachers'/friends' names and fun activities he enjoyed with them reinforces the genuine warmth he felt from the staff at Good Samaritan. I love their intimate setting with the kids (not too spacious) so it encourages teachers to be more attentive to all the kids. They don't have big sized classrooms, so my son has always had lots of attention from his teachers and of course it helps improve his overall attentiveness. We moved from San Jose to Orange County which is the reason why we had to depart, but I would love to have stayed at the same school because he definitely considers the GS staff his second family. I've physically toured 6 different daycares in Northern CA and 6 different daycares in Southern CA, and I can't say that I've felt more kindness and genuine love for the kids than at Good Sam Preschool. I highly recommend to any parent!
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March 2020 by Angie Bush
My kids have both attended Good Sam Preschool and they couldn't be happier. My son was there last year and my daughter is a current student. I was concerned with my son's development last year after moving across the country. We worked closely with his teacher to make sure he was ready for Kindergarten, even though he has a summer birthday and would barely turn five before starting Kindergarten. Based on his teacher's recommendation and the recommendations of the director and assistant director, we enrolled him in Kindergarten this year and he has thrived! We appreciate that they took the time to watch his development and make sure that he was ready for Kindergarten.My daughter is currently attending preschool at Good Sam as well. Although she is only part time, she has made several good friends in her class and always comes home talking about what she did in school each day. We love that she is so happy there!
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March 2020 by Elizabeth Yin
My kids attended this school when they were just a few weeks old through a couple years old and loved it! The teachers are incredibly kind and caring and the administration is organized and fantastic! The GSP community overall -- through dinners and events -- is great.For my second child, I even commuted for about *2 hrs* each day just so that my kid could attend this school.Highly recommend!
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March 2020 by Jen Marable
I left them an honest 1-star review on yelp and they left me a voicemail saying it had false information. The whole purpose of yelp is to voice your experience and opinion of the business. I called to confirm they were just calling me about yelp, they called me a liar and that I was slandering them, and they seem to believe that it was entirely appropriate to call me personally about my review. (It’s not, it’s a violation of privacy rights).They also seemed to discuss the whole ordeal with other parents/clients so they could create yelp accounts and leave 5-star reviews to spite me. (As you can see “Yelping since May 2019” on their accounts or you can tell who the cyber bullies are.) That goes against the yelp guidelines as well.As for their service quality: the teachers are really great with kids, I feel sorry they have to work under this particular management and their poor business practices.
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June 2019 by Marc M.
We've recently received a letter from Good Samaritan Preschool. They sent us a reimbursement for the rest of the tuition we payed them. They wished us well, and wished for a bright and loving future for our son. Although there were a couple of things that they could have done differently before, this gesture was much appreciated. We hope that Good Samaritan Preschool continues to improve, and continues to help more children.
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May 2019 by Elizabeth Y.
My kids attended this school when they were just a few weeks old through a couple years old and loved it! The teachers are incredibly kind and caring and the administration is organized and fantastic! The GSP community overall -- through dinners and events -- is great. For my second child, I even commuted for about *2 hrs* each day just so that my kid could attend this school. Highly recommend!
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May 2019 by Jenny M.
Update: I received a voicemail from Stacey basically defending herself for name dropping in my original review. My review is is based on my own experience and opinion, which I'm entitled to just as anyone else. I'm not denying they can probably provide quality education but now this is based on my personal interactions with them. I called back to see if there was an actual resolution to the main problem. It's a matter of principle, my husband and I asked multiple times to make sure we'd get a full refund, Janette kept saying yes so we thought they were being nice enough to give us time to make arrangements. That's what we were expecting. Stacey calls me back saying I put false information in my review, and I'm slandering them. I don't have foggy memory and everything I wrote is actually what happened and my opinion of it (again I'm entitled to it just as anyone else). She kept insisting that I was being unprofessional, but what do you call it when an administrator makes a personal call to the client getting emotional about a yelp review? And evidently talking to other parents to counter with a 5 star review (case and point Mark H's "response"). I am so disgusted with this place! Again: this 1-star is based on their quality and handling of this situation. ===================================== If you don't want to read my rant/review, to keep it simple, the program enforced by this preschool is meant to filter out children that don't meet their standards. By that, 2 year olds are already expected to sit still, stand in line, wash their own hands, and master any other skill BEFORE enrolling. If not, they will slap a label on your child and try to use any means necessary to give them the boot. As a parent warning other new parents, you know your child best and don't let anyone tell you what "normal" is. They'll use their "policies" as reason to alienate your child and make you feel that your child is different. Let's just be real, every child is different and there's nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn't be used to deny quality learning. The teachers are passionate about kids, but the administration is very small minded about this. Just my opinion, but if you want more details keep reading. Good Samaritan also has 12 children per classroom with 2 teachers each. I wanted to work closely with his teachers so we could help my son progress and grow. I told one of his teachers, Miss Nazia, that my 2 year old may need some time adjusting because home daycare isn't as structured as preschool, he may still be jet lagged, and it's a completely new environment all together. He also has a speech delay so he can't communicate well. About 4 hours into his first day, Stacey, one of the administrators, called me, which immediately put me in panic mode that something bad happened to my son. She actually just wanted to chat about my son's development, said he was a special needs case, and that they were understaffed and unable to provide that kind of care. Note that my son was not even diagnosed for anything other than delayed speech, but he is able to communicate by sign language or gestures. My husband and I spoke to the director Janette the next day, because it seemed they were already wanting to kick him out after a rough first day. We asked if kids are given time to adjust, but they already labeled him special needs and they're not able to provide the care he needs. We asked for a refund in full, to which they agreed, but as of now they only want to give us half. We wanted to give him time to adjust, and time to make arrangements with other daycares, but my husband works full time and it's also the last few weeks of the semester for me. We decided to pull him out, because most of the teachers didn't want to deal with him (nor did they know how to work with him). Keep in mind that most of the teachers do not have education or child development degrees, but just experience and passion for chi
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May 2019 by Mark H.
This is a response to Jenny M. We have been bringing in our girls to this daycare for the last 3 years and the staff all do a great job. Our girls learn a lot and love going to class. We feel like the staff is part of our family and anyone reading this should know you can trust bringing in your child to this daycare.
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May 2019 by Kellie G.
We have been sending our kids to Good Sam for a little over 3 years. I am a working mom that wanted to send my infant to a place that I felt was safe and loving and where my child would learn and grow her skills before going to kindergarten. I looked at several daycares before choosing Good Sam and it was a no brainer when my second child was born that she would go there as well. I liked the fact that they had a classroom environment and that my child would be in a room with kids of the same age and skill level. I feel that my children are learning age appropriate things if not learning things even faster than usual and advancing at an appropriate level. My oldest child seems to catch on to things quickly and when the school has felt that she is not being challenged anymore they have recognized that and together we all made the decision that she may need to move up to the next classroom where she may be challenged a little more. I like that they know my child well enough to know what is best for her and while they have a system in place for when the kids should go to the next classroom, ultimately they will do what needs to be done based on what is best for the child. The teachers at Good Sam have been wonderful and are so loving. I love coming to get the kids and hearing from the teachers all of the interactions of the day. The under 2 year olds get daily reports sent home of how the day went and when they sleep, eat, etc so that I know what to expect when I take them home and I can keep them on a similar routine on the weekends. The older kids have set themes and lesson plans for the school year which have been great. I can look at the calendar and ask my child about the topics of the month which I can usually figure out myself based on what she is singing or talking about at home. They also usually have a weekly calendar posted in the rooms of what specifically they are doing every day that week. We can't say enough about the awesome office staff that is the glue that keeps this preschool together. You can tell that they genuinely care about these kids and help to take care of the teachers that work for them and show their appreciation for the hard job that they have. We have to factor in an extra 15 minutes during the morning drop off so that my kids can go in and say hi to the office staff before I take them to their classes. We love this school and the staff so much and it feels like they are family to us. My kids are excited to go to school and see their teachers and friends everyday and nothing makes you feel better about the decision you have made for your kids than hearing them say "I want to go to school/I like going to school!"
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March 2019 by Ivana Heang
5 stars is not enough for this preschool! It's a hidden gem, and I can see why. The staff are all so welcoming and respectful of everyone, no matter who you are, or where you came from. They don't judge you by your outer appearance, what your are wearing, or even if your english speaking skills are limited, and I truly commend them for this. I love that this is an outreach of the church, and to know that there are some faith based elements, that can help contribute to building good characters in children. The Directors and staff really take pride in their classrooms and space. I admit, I was upset to find out that there was a waiting list for my 1 year old. But finally, a spot opened up when he turned 2, and was able to enroll. The teachers are absolutely amazing with all of the children there, especially the ones in Day Care. You are always greeted with a smile, even by the church staff. I admire how all the teachers are actively interacting and playing with the children during outside play-time, and not just standing around. I am grateful that I made the decision to be patient with the waiting list, because I see a huge developmental progress with my child. The biggest milestone, is that he is playing better with others and willing to socialize more with other kids.
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March 2019 by Marie Jin
I am very surprised that this preschool got above two star rating because you walk into the preschool and know the quality. Pretty much everybody is tattooed, nose pierced, and rough. I have seen some of the teachers being really mean when a girl from one of the classes asked to go to bathroom. Then the teacher told the assistant that "she didn't want to pee earlier and now look at her dancing." Just walk in and spend time there..you will know. This is one of the reasons you can get in without being waitlisted. Oh also fyi, go to the bathroom. Unbelievable place. I think low quality comes from the fact that there is no owner. They are all employees even the directors. No one cares because this is not their business (operated by the church). Would like to give no star but google does not let me lol. Just walk in and spend a few hours before you make a decision.
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March 2019 by Courtney Enriquez
My husband and I enrolled our daughter at Good Samaritan Preschool when she was 4 months old (January 2018). She's our first child so we were very nervous about taking her to daycare. We absolutely loved this daycare. The front office staff is amazing (Stacey and Janette are fantastic). The infant daycare instructors are very sweet and very accommodating. From day one we felt completely comfortable with our daughter being there - we knew she was safe and very well taken care of. In a very short period of time, our daughter was enjoying her time there and would even get fussy when we came to pick her up! She'd rather be there to play with her new friends! Unfortunately I got a new job and was no longer close enough to this daycare to keep our daughter enrolled. It was very sad for us to leave as we wish we could have kept her there for years. I highly recommend sending your child to this daycare.
