Beth Shir Sholom

We LOVE the preschool at Beth Shir Shalom. Both our daughters attended the school. They recently hired a new director, Randee Norwood, and she is FANTASTIC. The families that send their kids here are all very down-​to-​earth which can be hard to find in LA. The kids go to a very musical Shabbat kids service on Friday mornings where Rabbi Neil introduces them to the Jewish community in a wonderful way. One of the great things about Beth Shir Shalom is that the kids can transition to the religious school once they enter Kindergarten and then stay connected with a lot of their preschool classmates. We’ve been at many Friday Shabbat services where the Bar/​Bat Mitzvah was a teen who had attended the preschool! It’s hard to find a sense of life long community these days — but you really get that at Beth Shir Shalom.

My daughter went here for 2 years. Overall, I think it’s a safe, decent place for kids. She had no problem with it, aside from not really bonding with many of the other kids. Part of that I blame on young age and personality, but I also blame the school for not making an effort to foster her connections to other kids. The real problem I had was with the staff. It felt like the staff favored certain parents, and if you weren’t one of them it felt VERY cold. The teachers have very high turnover and after walking into the class unannounced several times it seemed that they didn’t always have adequate coverage given the number of children. That said, none of the issues I had with the school seemed to affect my child. Only now that she atttends another Santa Monica school and I can compare the two. She herself tells me she doesn’t miss her old school, and she’s made tons of friends in her new school. As a parent, the new school just feels more inclusive and warmer. As with anything, you just need to see what works for your particular child and family.

Beth Shir Sholom is an OUTSTANDING pre-​school. The teachers and staff are charming, bright, interactive and fantastic with children. Their staff is high energy, inventive and a pleasure to interact with. We have sent all three of our children to Beh Shir and rave about it to all of our friends (many who have sent their kids to Beth Shir as well). Our kids have learned so much from the experience, and developed excellent social skills.
The school is truly amazing and the teachers are awesome. A true five-​star experience.

Beth Shir Sholom ECC is a great place to have your children! I have met and spoke with many of the neighbors as I walk my child in, and they have never mentioned anything about parking and also have been nothing but kind. The school is amazing (you will have to see for yourself) and the teachers are one of a kind! I can hardly get my son to leave every day, he would rather be at school than going to the park (his next favorite task). The teachers work with you on anything and everything (including toilet training) and have great skills in working with both the children and the parents! You don’t have to be Jewish to have your children enrolled, and if you want to be a member of the temple, you can get that for practically free when your child goes there. If you are a member, the temple provides many services such as beginning Hebrew, intro to Judaism, etc. as well as your regular temple services. We love this place and everything about it. I honestly couldn’t imagine the Temple committee ignoring the neighbors.
For one, the review below should be placed under «Beth Shir Sholom» and not Beth Shir Sholom Early Childhood Center, as the thread is specifically for the ECC. And I can say that although I don’t live within three blocks of this neighborhood, I have never had a problem finding parking, and that usually when the streets are at peek parking it is pickup and/​or drop off for the ECC. The temple does encourage us to use the parking down the street, BUT if you have children, you may understand how hard it is to lug a baby on your arm, your toddlers backpack, lunch, and bedding along with your toddler down blocks and across streets, especially when you will be parked there for a total of 4 – 5 minutes. Also, there are three different times that parents do pickup, making it less crowded (12,3 or 5). Personally we pick our son up at 3 and I never have a problem finding parking, and in 5 minutes when I leave, there is always adequate parking. As well as the fact that many of the children that attend here live in walking distance, and walk or bike to school daily. The ECC does not generally hold any special events late as these are toddlers and preschoolers. ;)
I think the comment below may have been refereed the the Temple services, which are held on Friday nights, and the attendees are encouraged to use the overflow parking lot (the ten space one refereed to in other comment is used to temple employees such as the Rabbi.)
I can see how one could be upset about the parking if it were a problem, but no offense to the person who wrote the other review… there is another school (gardge on Angels) on same block, as well as a Church so I wouldn’t put the blame on one place more than another… but all in all, I never have a hard time finding parking.