Top Day care centers in Jersey City, United States

Our son has been at Early Beginnings since he was 3 months old. He’s now 10 months and we are so incredibly grateful for this staff and their director.
We moved a few mo this ago and we’re considering switching, but once we began the process it started eating away at me and my mother’s intuition kicked into full gear.
Just the thought of leaving these women would bring me to tears. They love him like he’s their own. I know he’s cared for and nurtured for.
He’s so happy with EB and has grown so much. In the 7 months he’s been there, he’s started waving, clapping, holding his own bottle, using his sippy cup, rolling, and we’re on all fours, rocking back and forth getting ready to crawl. I can’t say enough about them. We absolutely adore them and look forward to seeing Mrs. Yorleny, Mrs. Josefina, and Mrs. Marcia everyday!! (And Ms. Queen when she comes back!)

My daughter loves her Smart Start Family! Smart Start has exceeded all of our expectations. We love all of the classroom activities and our daughter has learned/grown so much since she started attending. Her teacher (Ms. Eli) has also been with her since she started at the Central location and our daughter LOVES her. We also love that they have a vegetarian menu and supply 3 meals/day which is included in the tuition. We moved out of Jersey City but still make the commute in so that our daughter can continue to foster her relationships with her classmates and teachers. I recommend this location without hesitation.

Never send your kids to Smart Start, local parents FB groups for horror stories about this location.

“This unfortunately doesn't surprise me. This is one of the MANY reasons why we pulled our son out. It was 5 years ago, but the same ppl are still in charge and clearly implementing the same shady rules. And they own ALL the locations, so this doesn't just apply to the Central Ave one. They were constantly looking for reasons not to pay teachers, such as mandatory training days, many told us they were still in school yet the owners told us all teachers had graduated (who's lying, the teacher, or the owner?), and turnover was SO high and my kid cried being handed off to new people every week. Again, among many, many other issues. I also love how you wrote a very well thought out email about your safety concerns, and the reply only addressed your pay, which you didn't even ask about. I wouldn't be surprised if "HR" was one of the owners. They lie through their teeth and then try to blame you to cover themselves. I've seen and heard countless stories like that”

UPD: The response from the owner is bizarre, as I never worked as a teacher in any schools, I work in IT. Second, I didn't post any other reviews, a simple search can prove it. Surprised with such aggressive and nonsense response.

How do you not have a background check done when someone is around the infants!!!! Not only that you make people work for free for a week with children whose parents paid tuition!
You have strangers who could easily pick up a baby and do something terrible and walk out and have no information to give to the police ect . Not only are you scamming workers during this very tough economy but endangering babies ????
Crazy

We moved to New Jersey when the world shut down during Covid. Many daycares were shut down or not taking any new students. Luckily, we found Smart Start.

From the very beginning, the staff was pleasant to work with and gave our son a very loving and exciting environment. He loved going to school everyday, seeing his teachers and his friends. We were impressed with what he was learning daily.

Then, some time later, we had our daughter. Once she was old enough and we enrolled her, they reminded us why we loved Smart Start so much. When we dropped her off, she would throw herself off of me to go to her teachers.

With my wife and I both working full-time jobs, Smart Start has helped us more than they know. By providing meals, it meant we could spend more time with the kids at home instead of meal prepping. Closing at 7 meant we can pick up our kids with peace of mind after commuting from NYC.

Thank you to all of the staff who have worked with Grayson and Olivia through these years, they miss you all. And a special thank you to Ms Cynthia, who always heard our concerns and worked with us to resolve anything.

This is an awesome preK3 preschool. Our son loved going here, he loved his teachers and made great friends. The classes were engaging and we received a lot of wonderful projects home made by him. I will be sending any future children here.

Hello all, I am glad I chose this pre-school for my daughter's very first year of schooling, it was an amazing journey and experience for my daughter and me, principal and all the school staff are very caring, kind and encouraging... I am very thankful to Ms. Jameelah, Ms. Olga and Ms. Juana for all your love , support and encouragement you all gave to our kids... Thank you so much🥰

Being a new mom finding a school is such a scary experience. However smart start academy has provided me with reassurance and confidence that my child is in great hands. I can’t thank you guys enough for making this transition easy for me as a new mom to get back to my norm. Very clean, well organized and staff is so well mannered thank you.

I can’t stress enough how much I love SSA Central location. I’ve been looking for a daycare for my son for months and speaking with the staff I just knew this is the daycare for my son. He has an awesome time & the staff are very caring and nurturing. He's always excited to go in, and getting daily updates through the app puts me at ease. Can't recommend enough.

I love Smart Start Academy ! If there's on place I can recommend any parent to put their child in for proper child care is this wonderful place. The staff there are always on top of things, and they really care about the children. My daughter has been going to SSA since she was 13 months old and now she's almost 2 and a half! She's learned a lot since she's started going their and even made some friends. I couldn't be amore happier for her. The best part is that you can also check in with your child with an app and they have cameras to make sure everyone's safe. Could not recommend them enough!

Love this place! Teachers and admin staff are respectful, friendly, competent and responsive. They really care about their students. My son is at the preschool and they provide different activities each day, he loves it! Shout-out to the amazing staff at SSA central, you're the best thank you!

Mi bebé está muy feliz, excelente personal, lo recomiendo al 100%

I can see magical improvement in my son. I would definitely recommend this daycare. Teachers are very polite.

I couldn't be happier with all the staff at Early Beginnings.. they are super professional, friendly and always smiling. My son is extremely happy when I leave him in school, he kisses and hugs everybody there. it's the perfect environment for him and makes me feel super comfortable that he is taken care like he would be with his own family at home. Thanks for making this Day Care experience smooth.

Great teachers- my child loves going to “school” here.

My 3 children have attended Little Smiles daycare on Beach Street and I have had a great outcome with each child. Their educational as well as social skills have developed well with their help. I recommend this daycare/ preschool without reservation.

My daughter has been attending Early Beginnings since last June. She has loved it since day one and is excited to begin the day when I drop her off. The teachers are caring and attentive. She has learned a great deal and I am pleased with her progress. I have peace of mind when I drop her off in the morning knowing that she is well cared for.

The staff at Early Beginnings is wonderful. They are very loving, supportive, and go above and beyond to provide exceptional care. Our daughter loves all the extra curricular activities they provide such as yoga and soccer. She enjoys attending school, which helps ease my worried mom mind.

Early Beginnings has been the perfect balance of all the elements we wanted in a daycare/preschool. Their staff truly cares about what they do from the teachers themselves all the way up to the owner. They have great teacher retention as a result.

They've worked with us to provide what both of our kids have individually needed from the moment they began and as they have grown. They have even created a class around our child's development, to satisfy her desire to learn more and begin to move towards more structured learning, while still having the all-important emphasis on play and discovery that is too often lacking in early childhood curriculum.

It hasn't been long since we started our son at Early Beginnings but we are so pleased with our choice. The director and the teachers are warm and caring and clearly very experienced. My son lights up when we leave him in their arms in the morning and is happily playing when we pick him up. They may not be as "fancy" or "high-tech" as some of the newer centers but this was not a problem for us as all we cared about was that our son receive the kind of love and care that he clearly does. The teachers share with me tips on everything from food to shoes he should be wearing, which as a first-time mom I am always grateful to receive. We strongly recommend this hidden gem of a daycare.

It's a very nice daycare/preschool. My son goes there for preschool. The staff is very supportive. My son always talk about kindness and courtsey of Ms. Olga, Ms. Zamila, Ms Becky, Ms. Juana and all other teachers. It's been extremely valuable experience so far with little smiles!!! The class teachers are extremely cooperative. They inform us about daily school activities and projects on regular basis. We have observed tremendous personal and educational growth in my son over 1.5 years. My son loves going to the school daily because of pleasant and fun school environment. He has learnt different activities including colouring, drawing, playing blocks and learning English letters and words at the school. My son has understood the importance of different festivals and their celebration at little smiles. We are really happy by our son's development and thankful to little smiles staff!!!

This is Jersey City Heights Hidden Gem of a Preschool. My Daughter attends Prek 3 Program. The moment I walked in with my daughter, she already made herself at home. The Staff are very accommodating, dedicated and knowledgeable about providing developmentally appropriate care/teaching. They treat my daughter as if she is one of their own children. She speaks wonders of Ms. Olga, Ms. Becky, Ms. Juana, and Ms. Jameelah. They keep us updated with school activities. Since she has entered the program, she has become more articulate, independent, less shy and responsible. Best of all she always tells me she enjoys it. I can’t wait for what’s in store for next school year.👍🏽👍🏽😊😊

This is a day care + Abott Pre-K3 . I would love to specify that this center is not just a day care business like others rather it's a kind of family home school where your kids learn and explore new things everyday. I have seen many positive changes in my daughter who went to day care here and now in Pre-K3 at the same school. The teachers and staff are really nice and humble and who would not like if kids admire their teacher and are fan of them . Ms.Olga , Ms Becky , Ms Juana , Ms Liddy are among them . The school environment is full of fun and joy with the touch of discipline and care. Teachers report about everything from your kid's behavior to their academics , personal and social skills and suggest area of improvements too. The weekly letters , calendars are all up to date. I wish they have Pre-K 4 classes too.

Regards,
Bandana and Shailendra

Mrs Olga, is the kindest most compassionate caregiver I could have asked for. I was very concerned with leaving my son with anyone , Ms Olga stepped right in and assured me he would be cared for. Upon my return from work , He was having a great time interacting with his peers and was eager to return the next day . Thank you Ms Olga and staff for a job well done! Javaads Mom

Our daughter loves her teachers at Early Beginnings. I had such anxiety about going back to work, but I know my baby is in good hands with all the teachers. I also love the effort the staff there puts into events, day to day activity. They do take parents suggestion/concerns/feedback positively. Its very clean and well maintained by all Teachers.

I would highly recommend Early Beginnings.

We decided to change our girl's daycare when she turned 14month, and we are glad we made a right choice. All teachers are very caring for each children. And I like the fact that there are not many kids at the center so everyone knows each other. My daughter seems like enjoying to go to daycare every morning. Overall, we are very happy with our decision.

My son absolutely loves going to school there. I've never known a child to be upset because the school is closed. The teachers are very caring when it comes to the children. 2 thumbs up.

My child went their his first year of school started in headstart and he loved it teachers were nice kind and very respectfull..

Yes i too give excellent rating to Little smiles!. My daughter is 2.5 years old and goes to Day care of this school. I can see rapid progress in her. And she enjoys going there. Ms. Lidy and Ms.Sandra rocks!! they are the best teachers. They take care of every kid as if their own! I also like the management. The owner Ms. Olga is too supportive.