My teenage son and I have had a really rewarding time volunteering for FACES SF. First off, it’s a cause near and dear to me. Childcare in this city is out of reach of many working families….I remember when we got our first daycare bill and we didn’t know how we would do it! It truly takes a village. Volunteering for FACES SF puts you right into the heart of helping the community…..working directly with families and their children and impacting their lives so much.
Our child attended and graduated from pre-k at Faces Bayview and is currently attending their Base Camp.
To say we have had an amazing experience here would be an understatement!!! As an intentional mom it’s always been important to me, for my kids to be in a school environment where not only their brains are being poured into, but also their hearts and minds! Faces Bayview took that and ran with it! They are intentional about meeting all children where they’re at and providing individualized instruction so that those who may be a bit advanced are not stagnated and others aren’t pressured to keep up with the more advanced children’s pace. In addition to fostering a safe and loving learning environment, they also take care to address the children’s emotional needs and teach effective communication which spoke to me immensely as I am one who believes effective communication and self expression are imperative to a child’s growth. The staff and faculty are wonderful and work really hard to create a safe space for our babies and foster community among staff and families. My only point of discontentment is that our child can’t stay another year, as we have built beautiful relationships with the staff/faculty. The silver lining however, is that our child is more than ready for TK and will enter elementary school as a confident, self aware, outgoing and outspoken student who loves to learn!
-K. Cunningham
My name is Vanessa Gamez I am a mother of 4 kids. I have been part of the FacesSF family for 7 years. What I love most about FacesSF is the fact that everyone is treated like family. I want to give a special thanks to Mrs Robin!!! for being amazing at what she does!!! Last year with so many different activities my kids where able to show there personalities the rock party was amazing my kids were able to be creative with painting rocks and displaying them in the garden area. This year was above and beyond!! Where do I start my kids have been exposed to be strong and independent and explore there city from swimming, to field trips to the zoo, the exploratorium, the beach, a boat ride, having carnival, water day, having quiet time for reading and math you name it she has kept them so busy there is not one day they complain about not wanting to go to school. Knowing that my children are treated as family gives me piece of mind to go to work and know they are well taken care every child is treated as if it were there own. Also greatly appreciated that parents are always welcomed to join in field trips and events so that we can see them grow and learn new things. Thank you Mrs Robin and all the staff at FacesSF for letting every child find there own personality and guiding them for a bright future a strong foundation starts from the bottom and you have done a great job! Thank you!
FACES SF is amazing! They continue to provide key services in our communities to support vital needs in addressing multiple inequities. During the pandemic they went over and beyond to support the city's covid response efforts. They continue to be a shining light of dedication and service, they are true definition of what community hub looks like!
This is a great non-profit that helps empower kids and allows them to have access to a better future.
I walked into the FACES SF Enrollment office in August of 2017. I came in looking for child care for my 3-month old baby, but instead I found a warm and loving family! I was kindly greeted by the Enrollment Team who helped me find the right Family Daycare for me.
Fast forward to after COVID (2021); I came back to the Enrollment team because my daughter was ready for a Preschool center. This time around, I had some concerns for additional support. I was introduced to the Family Support Team, who values every family, and their individual needs. I found the support I was looking for (both inside the classroom and outside of the classroom).
Today my daughter has happily Graduated from the FACES SF Preschool in Bayview, and looks forward to coming back in the summer (for the School-Aged Summer Program); and I am an enrollment counselor at the wonderful agency that gave me my first embracing child care experience.
Thank you so much for everything FACES SF!!!
-Erika
My daughter has been with faces since she was 2 years old, now she's in kindergarten but attends the after school program. Faces has truly been the best experience, all the staff are so welcoming and really care for you child. The teachers are so involved and are helpful when needed. I love that my son is now is in the program and I don't have the nerves about new teachers or a new school. For him it's new since he transferred from a daycare but being experience with the program I know he is in good hands. Thank You all Faces SF (Bayview)
I started off my experience with FACESSF as a student intern working at the Bayview Site. It was my first year of college and my internship was the very first time I worked in the early childcare field. I worked closely under the mentorship of two nurturing teachers who taught me so much about providing quality care while also being there for the children. Fast forward two years later, I now work as a Toddler Floater teacher at the Hayes Valley Site. I am so appreciative of all the amazing guidance and patience I have received while working with FACESSF. FACESSF has showed me time and time again that they care about my presence there and that they genuinely want to see my succeed as a teacher, student, and person. I've grown a lot in my past three years working with FACESSF, it is an organization that grows everyday and I cannot be more thankful to be a part of the process.
Faces SF has been part of my family for years now. My younger sister attended the Hayes Valley daycare center and pre-school and now my daughter is part of the community. I am grateful for all the hard work the teachers put into caring for my daughter and the other infants/toddlers. The staff is very friendly and supportive. Dropping off my daughter was never an easy thing to do, but the staff always reassured me of the safe/loving environment they provided my baby while I was at work. My daughter loves the staff and is always happy to see them. Her reaction alone tells me they're doing amazing work caring for the infants/toddlers.
Faces is and exceptional outstanding organization who cares about its children and their future. I am very grateful to have such amazing people from Reception,to Teachers ,Teachers aids etc. For my 3 year to have transferred from a daycare to a whole new setting was overwhelming to me as to him Everyone at Faces took him under their wings and made him more comfortable each day I went from carrying him in the classroom (A big 3 year old) to him running in and telling me see you later Mom. Thank You all Faces SF (Bayview)
My daughter attends toddler school at the FACESSF Hayes Valley center, she loves her teachers. They have been so thoughtful, nice, caring, and nurturing towards my daughter. It feels so securing to know that my daughter is in the hands of people I can trust to take care of her and help her grow. I have a son currently attending preschool at the FACESSF Masonic site. He loves his teachers and there have been so many times where my son does not want to come home from school! I appreciate all the support I have received from the staff members. FACESSF has played a huge role in the development of both of my children and I cannot be more thankful.
My child and prior children have all attended FacesSF and I love it. They have Taught my child some amazing things like friendship potty etc. a extremely appreciate the love they have for my children my 2 year old currently attends FaceSF the little campus on Buchanan and he love it. THANKS MUCH
This review is for the Bayview FACES site.
While the children were a joy to work with and the preschool teachers were really nice, the upper management staff were the primary people I worked with and will be discussing the main issues within this review.
First, there is some disconnect between management and the families being served at this facility. This site serves low-income families and many Latino families that are primarily Spanish speaking with varying levels and abilities in English. There is only a few Spanish speaking staff, but there are even fewer resources for them to take advantage of.
When approaching upper management and HR with ideas for improvement, there was no interest on their end to hear these ideas or they were satisfied with the way things were going and there was no way that upper management wanted any new or fresh ideas.
If you're a new employee, there is little to no guidance from supervisors and you are expected to know exactly what they want even if they don't communicate to you what they want.
While the work they're trying to do with children is important, any staff that is not management receive less than the short end of the stick.
jonathanwangfacessf 04/17/2019
HJPA, I am glad you had a good volunteer experience with the teachers and children, but am sorry to hear that you experienced a disconnect with management. We have had several management changes in the last year and are certainly focused on improving issues you mention. Please reach out if you would like to give more feedback and help us improve. -Jonathan Wang, COO