YMCA Early Learning Center | University Place Campus

Reviews

• AA

  Anne Althauser

  Jan 15, 2026
  5.0
  My 5 month old son just started attending the YMCA ELC in University Place a few weeks ago and I can’t express enough what a positive, welcoming, and reassuring experience it has been for us so far! His teachers are wonderful and my son smiles at them as soon as we walk in the classroom. We get great updates throughout the day and photos of him playing and smiling. Every time we walk in the door, we feel comfortable and confident leaving our son in their care. All of the teachers that support his classroom have said wonderful things about the connections they’re making with my son and put in the effort to connect with me as well. I’m so happy my son got into the ELC and that we are a part of this community!
• AA

  ApplelordMarksmen AppleLordMarksmen

  Mar 3, 2024
  5.0
  Nope nothing error noting for me about this place.
• CB

  Chanda Bartholomew

  Jun 27, 2022
  1.0
  My children attended here since it opened. It was amazing at first but things went downhill after Christmas when upper level staffing changes happened. Communication with parents became nonexistent and the school age program was treated like an optional afterthought that left me, a single mom, often scrambling for alternative care that doesn’t seem to exist. I didn’t know on any given day whether I would have childcare because I was often given little to no warning. In addition, accommodations I had established with the senior director for my child with a physically disability were removed when that director left which created a physical barrier to my child’s interactions with their peers. I simply can no longer recommend this facility to other families. Save yourself the stress.
• CA

  Cassie Ajer

  Jun 13, 2022
  1.0
  I am not one to write poor reviews but we had a series of negative experiences that seemed worth sharing with other families seeking child care. Based on our experience, we do not recommend the YMCA Early Learning Center in University Place Campus as it lacked professionalism, consistency and overall communication. It genuinely seemed like staff members were unhappy to be there - my husband mentioned hearing arguments between staff members in the hallways a number of times, we were rarely greeted or acknowledged when entering the building to drop off or pick up our son and I can’t count the number of changes in staffing (teachers and directors) that we had in about 7 months time. Primarily because there were so many, but also because we would often hear from our 4 year old before we heard from the school, if we heard from them at all. Then, one Saturday morning we received a voicemail from someone we had never met confirming our observations about staffing issues. We were told that care for our son would be unavailable, indefinitely and beginning immediately due to staffing shortage. We were later informed by the director that the school had been operating with a student:teacher ratio exceeding Washington state license requirements for an undetermined amount of time. We had no idea this was the case and were caught completely off guard by the news. There was no transparency regarding the decision-making process at any stage. Several months have now passed without a single word from anyone, aside from an email inviting us to join the pre-K graduation. We were so incredibly lucky that our previous daycare accepted us with open arms, but I can’t stop thinking of how many other families were left scrambling to find safe, quality care for their children on such short notice. Lastly, our son did experience a bullying incident while in the pre-k program and we were not thrilled with the schools response. Several days following the incident, the director decided to share an “observation” that our child was shy and not socializing with other children. She made this observation after several kids had broken his favorite baseball hat. Whether it was her intention or not, it felt like she was justifying what happened based on my child’s personality and not actively acknowledging the shortfalls of her own program (including staffing shortage and inconsistency with teachers). I did, however, want to acknowledge Ms. Autumn Nored and note that we wish to exclude her from this review. She went out of her way to look out for our son and let us know how he was doing in her classroom after the incident. Your thoughtful consideration and hard work did not go unnoticed - thank you. In the end, we were disappointed with the care we received here. While we genuinely wish we could say otherwise, realize our experience with this campus may be unique and that there is a shortage in staffing nearly everywhere right now, we feel it is our responsibility to share our experience so that you can make the best possible decision for your family. I also really hope management will focus on fostering a more positive environment for staff and families. I believe the teachers worked very hard for our children and if they were happy, appreciated and proud of where they work, it will increase the quality of care everyone deserves.
• ED

  Esprit Dunn

  Jan 29, 2021
  5.0
  The center is super clean, staff is great, and they are super cautious with COVID! I'D RECOMMEND THIS CENTER TO ANYONE! The center is new (01/2021). Looks like the pictures on here are not up to date with what the classrooms actually look like. They are so bright and engaging!