I would have written a glowing review for this business up until recently. We loved it and thought the educational value was superior. As a teacher myself I really valued my kids being in this educational setting. Furthermore, it is a beautiful, clean facility with impressive outdoor play areas. 3 things happened over the past couple of months in our 3 year old?s preschool class that drastically changed my opinion. I will start with the most shocking:
1.) SCISSORS/SAFETY VIOLATIONS: I was usually in and out in about 2 minutes during pick up and drop off. One day about a month ago my son said he had to use the restroom when I was picking him up. While I was waiting for him I noticed adult sized scissors lying on the low counter where the children wash their hands. I am not an over-reactor by any means. It was brought to the teacher?s attention but I didn?t make a huge deal about it. About a week later my son was showing me something and I was shocked when I noticed the scissors lying out again. I informed the director about it this time. After checking it out, she thanked me for bringing it to her attention saying that the teacher was not aware that she could not leave scissors lying around. This actually scared me more. This means those scissors had probably been out just about EVERYDAY and I just was always in and out so quick that I didn't notice. She assured me that it would not happen again but I just kept wondering ?what else does this teacher not know that I assume (as the person I was trusting to keep my kid safe each day for 8+ hours) that she knows.? I wasn't willing to take any chances and wait to find out. We did not send our sons back to Primrose after this incident. I also contacted the ODJFS who oversees childcare facility licensing and they said that this is a reportable state safety violation.
2.) BULLYING: My son was being bullied by a group of 4 boys. When I mentioned my concerns about the ?bullying? to his teacher she didn?t seem to think there was a problem. Things continued that concerned us so we brought up our concerns with management who tried to smooth things over by telling us that 3 year olds are too young to have malicious intent and bully. I am a teacher and coincidentally we just had a professional development session about bullying for the staff at my school. The speaker said that bullying starts at age 2. Some quick internet searches yielded similar info. When I had concerns about my son getting bullied, management?s response was actually a denial of the problem and inaccurate information. If they were not acknowledging the possibility of bullying then how could I expect them to do anything about my concerns I shared with them?
3. TALKING BAD ABOUT STUDENTS TO PARENT OF OTHER KIDS. My son got bit by another student and I had to sign an incidence report at pickup one day. As the teacher was explaining the incident and asking me to sign she said to me that she thought one of the other students in the class had ?mental problems? and ?just wasn?t quite right?. I was completely bewildered at this unprofessionalism. As a teacher, I can?t imagine ever talking about one of my students to another parent. Not to mention that there are laws (FERPA) that prohibit the sharing of information about other students.
Primrose looks great on the outside. My sons spent 8+ hours there a day but I was only seeing a small glimpse of what happens during my quick drop off and pick up times. From what I saw I felt great about sending my kids there. Knowing what I know now, I would NOT FEEL SAFE sending my sons there. In fact, I decided to withdraw them immediately after the 2nd scissors incident. This was also an inconvenient decision financially since Primrose made us pay for 2 weeks worth of care we weren't using plus paying a new center's fees but my children are irreplaceable and far too important to me for me to take any chances when their safety is at stake.
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