We love(d) Zale for our older kid pre-COVID. It can be a really special place. It has some of the best communication of any school - where else would you get your teacher’s number and be ENCOURAGED to text during the day to check on your kid?? There are a lot of activities, sensory play, centers, playground, movement, music, and of course, Jewish education. They let the kids do their own art and don’t doctor it to make it look better. The staff all seem to care, are nurturing, get to know you and your kids, are always friendly, etc. However. If your kid is NOT a good fit, watch out. They do a lot of fun things, but that means a LOT of transitions. Carline for 20 minutes, free play 20 minutes, circle time 20 minutes, playground 20 minutes, then back inside for snack 20 minutes, and on and on. The kids are rushed from one activity to another. For most kids, it works great and they love the variety. My younger kid, though, bless his heart, beats to the beat of his own drum. Super independent and strong willed. Likes to spend an hour building with magna tiles. No can do at this school. We didn’t realize there was a problem until the first full week of school in the 3s, when we got a call to pick him up because he wouldn’t wear his mask. … What?? Yes, it’s COVID times, and I’m a doctor, so I believe in masking more than the average. But… he’s just turned 3. Figure it out. The next day, we got called to pick him up because he “wouldn’t listen.” … Again, isn’t this what preschool teachers should be adept at handling? At that point, still in the first full week of school, they told us we needed to hire a “behaviorist” to “nip this in the bud.” What that meant was hiring an ABA therapist and RBT to shadow my kid everyday for several hours. Let me be clear, they did not simply suggest a behaviorist. They told us that my son could not continue to go to school without one. This is EXTREMELY expensive - $45-85/hr. However, we were assured this was “temporary.” We did stop the ABA after a few weeks. However, come February, after break and a small family vacation, we were told he was having a “regression” and needed to get the behaviorist again. And they said “expect it to be indefinite.” Thus began a long and expensive road of constantly trying to please the school and fit my kid into their mold. Let me also be clear - my kid is not on the spectrum or disabled. And the things he had a hard time doing? Unpacking his bag when he gets in the classroom - and the teacher’s way of handling this was not to help him, but to repeatedly prompt and then not let him join the class until he completed it - 20-30 minutes or more. Sitting during circle time “criss-cross apple sauce” without wiggling or resting his head on the carpet. Etc. Do I admit my kid is challenging? Absolutely. But do I think they handled it the best way they could? No way. First of all, we felt totally ambushed when they told us to get the ABA. They have 3 teachers in a class! What are they all busy with that they can’t handle it??Secondly, they were very nitpicky and inflexible in some ways. The teacher would call and say we need to send in different masks. We can’t unstrap him from his car seat while waiting in the carline for 15-20 minutes. We can’t give him an apple on the way to school. We needed to send a bigger backpack. We can’t send him yogurt for lunch because it took him too long to eat it. On and on. Ultimately, we moved him to a different school, it’s a much better fit, he’s happy, and no complaints from the teachers. Zale did refund us our money for the rest of the year, which was very much appreciated, given how much money we spent while with them. Since this happened though, I’ve heard of countless other families who have been “pushed out” of Zale in this way. Whose kids did not fit their mold. So.. in summary. This place could be the best school, or not so much.. depending on your kid. It is not a very inclusive place. Though if we had another kid in the future, we may even try it again, if we’d be welcome back. Good luck!