duPont Family YMCA Youth Development Campus
Overview
Expert Summary
Detailed Insights
The duPont Family YMCA Youth Development Campus offers robust summer, winter, and before/after-school programs focused on engaging activities, learning, and physical development for children. While many praise the caring staff and the sense of safety provided, critical issues regarding child supervision and management professionalism have been reported, making it a highly polarized choice for parents.
Key Highlights
- ✓Dedicated and passionate staff who genuinely care for the children and strive for positive experiences.
- ✓A variety of facilities including a large pool, outdoor field for soccer/football, and an indoor basketball court.
- ✓Engaging and energy-expelling activities all day long, including water activities.
- ✓Promotes a positive social environment where kids make friends and are treated with kindness and maturity by teachers.
- ✓Offers engaging and interesting learning experiences in addition to fun.
- ✓Provides a significant sense of safety and security for children, particularly noted by a guardian of a child in a sensitive situation.
Standout Features
- ⭐Large swimming pool for water activities.
- ⭐Spacious outdoor field suitable for soccer or football.
- ⭐Indoor court suitable for basketball.
- ⭐Engaging activities that help children burn energy throughout the day.
- ⭐Staff's commitment to creating a wonderful experience for kids and parents.
Perfect For
Ideal For
💡Pro Tips from Reviews
- →Parents should inquire specifically about child-to-staff ratios and active supervision protocols for classes and activity areas.
- →Consider discussing the YMCA's disciplinary policies and management's approach with staff prior to enrollment if this is a concern.
- →If safety and supervision are paramount, seek detailed information on their procedures beyond the positive general statements.
Things to Consider
- ⚠Serious and explicit reports of unprofessional management experiences.
- ⚠Critical failures in child supervision, with an incident where a child and another managed to leave their class unsupervised.
- ⚠An unattended office where unsupervised children gained access and interfered with items.
- ⚠Harsh disciplinary actions, including a year-long expulsion, for children involved in supervision lapses, reportedly accompanied by an unprofessional attitude from the director.
- ⚠Potential for children to wander out of the building completely due to lack of active supervision.
Price & Value
No specific pricing information is available in the reviews. The value proposition is centered around the quality of programs and staff, contrasted by significant safety and management concerns.
♿Accessibility & Special Needs
- •No specific accessibility accommodations mentioned in the reviews.
🍎Food & Drink Policy
- •No information regarding outside food policies, snack availability, or dietary restrictions is provided in the reviews.
🚗Parking Info
- •No information about parking facilities or ease of drop-off/pickup is mentioned in the reviews.
👥Crowd Levels
- •No information regarding typical crowd levels or busy periods is provided in the reviews.
🛡️Safety Features
- •Very careful and strict ID verification process for pickups and drop-offs, requiring ID daily even after multiple weeks.
⏰When to Avoid
- • If absolute, continuous, and highly visible child supervision is your top priority.
- • If you have low tolerance for potential unprofessional management interactions or harsh disciplinary actions.
- • Families who are uncomfortable with facilities where there have been reports of unsupervised children accessing restricted areas.
What People Say
What's Great
- Friendly and helpful staff (mentioned in 4 reviews)
- Fun and entertaining activities (mentioned in 3 reviews)
Recent Reviews
Yoana Arma
4 months agoWonderful place for summer and winter camp ,amazing staff caring and passionate .the place is huge has a big pool and a field for soccer or football , a inside court good for basketball . In the right hands and financial help can became the best camp in the whole city , and a mayor development for the community.
Steven Ison
4 months agoManagement was unprofessional in all of my experiences. I wouldn't join this organization or recommend it.
Kinjal Patel
7 years agoThis YMCA is beyond exceptional! The staff here is absolutely wonderful and are always working over time to make sure the kids and parents have a great experience. I am not sure where some of these bad reviews come from but everyone I have met here at the Y is extremely friendly and always helping one another out. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a before and after school program. The kids here are not only having a fun time but are also learning in ways that are engaging and interesting. Even their winter and summer camp program is amazing, they make sure they do everything they can for these kids to have wonderful experience.
Angela Cintron
2 years agoBEWARE!!!!!! This place is terrible at actually watching your kids. My daughter managed to somehow get out of her class with another kid because NOBODY was watching them actively. Then they ran into the office where NOBODY was at all. Locked it and were messing with stuff on the desk. The director told my daughter she doesn't even want to see her again in there and expelled her for a YEAR. I'm am just glad these kids didn't wonder out the building. They aren't even worth 1 star but Google made me do it.
Brandi Gindy
7 years agoMy nephew (whom I have guardianship of) loves this place. They expel his energy by doing engaging activities all day long, including water activities. He is in the middle of an awful custody dispute and this is the only place he feels truly safe. They are very careful about pickups and drops off and even after four weeks of me picking him up, they still make me show ID every single day. He is safe and healthy all day long and it brings me comfort knowing that. He has finally made friends again and his teachers treat him with such kindness and maturity. I'm so thankful to have found this place at a time when he needed a safe haven most. Thank you YMCA Dupont!
Contact Information
7373 Old Kings Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32217, USA
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