Learning Land II

DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE:
The teachers are awesome, but the management sucks. They do everything to skimp on spending money, even when it comes to taking time away from children. Here are the reasons I have gathered over the 3.5 years we went there:
1. Kari, the director, is not really who runs the place. She is subservient to Sara (another office manager) and of course the owners. Kari tried in the beginning to make things right, but was then bullied by Sara and management, from what I can tell. Sara, in particular, rearranges things in the school so her daughter (who goes there) gets the best of things and gets to come in slightly sick while she sends every other kid home for anything on the edge. I have even heard of her sending kids home so that the teacher-​to-​kid ratio was better so they could save money on not having an extra teacher there sometimes. Other teachers have confirmed how Sara bullies teachers into getting what she wants, or for pushing the owner’s agenda (I can’t tell which one happens more since I only have seen a small slice of things there).
2. The management FORCES the teachers to start cleaning 15 – 30 minutes before the kids leave so that the teachers can leave the minute all the kids are gone. I have had this confirmed by over 5 teachers that have worked for Learning Land II. This takes time away from the kids who remain at the end of the day and does not give the teachers enough time to adequately clean.
3. All daycares get sicknesses from time to time, but this one has had a few bad ones that they did NOT handle correctly. One case in point is when foot-​and-​mouth disease was going through the toddler room. They never posted signs on the doors to notify parents that it was occurring, but chose to just «tell people» instead. I have heard this is against state laws, but I haven’t confirmed that yet. Moreover, I was told by Kari that if my child got a doctor’s note to say she was not contagious (since she had already contracted it and was treated and it went away) my child could come back to school. Upon bringing my child back to school, I was told by Sara that she was sending the kids home. See #1 for the bullying and #2 for the reasons why the place stays biologically dirty. Again, and I can’t emphasize this enough, the teachers are awesome and they do EVERYTHING in their power to make it right. Management just doesn’t let them spend the time and doesn’t give them the tools to be successful.
4. They have recently hired a disabled person to watch after the 3.5 — 5 year old kids. While I am all for equal hiring and fairness with laws, I don’t believe a disabled person can adequately care for the children or provide them with the same care as an able-​bodied person. The particular teacher is VERY sweet, and seems to be a truly good person who cares for the children very much. It’s not about that though, for me. I bring my children to daycare for two reasons: to keep them safe while I am not there to watch them, and to teach them and prepare them for school. I don’t believe that a disabled person can do EITHER of these things effectively. If a child was in danger out on the playground or even across the room and was dangling by their neck (from clothes on a jungle gym for instance), someone with a physical walking disability could not get there fast enough to help them. Seconds are of the essence when these situations arise. Also, a disabled person who cannot speak sentences clearly cannot teach children how to sound out words or learn how to speak, which is the other reason I want my kids at a learning daycare. At a minimum, it just impedes their growth potential. Whether the state has «certified» this person for daycare is irrelevant, for me. I believe (and this is JUST MY BELIEF, not verified in any way), that it is cheaper for Learning Land to hire a disabled person because of some monetary kick-​back from the state and therefore would rather have that person there than another person.
5. Breakfast is RIDICULOUSLY early (6:30 — 7:45 AM). Almost half of the kids have not arrived until AFTER breakfast is over. Again, I think this is so Learning Land can save on money by not having to feed half of the kids who go to their school. What’s even worse about that is that this is a Head Start Program where some kids may not have good nutrition because of poverty reasons and meals at school may be even more important to them. I think it’s terrible. They were always pretty good about saving breakfasts for my daughters if I called ahead and was only a few minutes late, but this is because of the great teachers not the terrible management.
6. I have heard from teachers that they only make just enough food for each kid at lunch, and if something drops on the floor they were told to wash it off so the kid can actually eat. I have heard that they considered the ketchup on a half of a hot dog the «fruit» for a meal.
Stay tuned for more…