Update to the Child Safety Issue

For those that are wondering the prognosis just was not good for Ms. G. It never was but they did placate me momentarily by telling me they would run it up the flagpole.

I was notified about the incident on Wednesday morning. By noon on Wednesday I sent an e-mail to the director asking her to please ask the district manager to reconsider. Wednesday afternoon around 3pm I called and asked for the director but was told she was not in the office and would return my call. Wednesday afternoon when I picked Hayley up around 4:30 I asked for the director and was told she was conducting a tour and unavailable. I was told she did receive my e-mail earlier in the day and also did speak with the district manager. I left a message with the two administrators that were present to please have her call me.

Thursday I left well enough alone. I did not hear from the director.

Friday I was fed up. I e-mailed her and told her that I knew she was busy preparing for Open House that night but that I wanted to speak with her. I asked what time I could come by. She did not reply.

Friday night at Open House she pretended nothing had occurred. I did not press the issue as it was neither the time nor the place. I figured I would give her until Monday to reply to me. While we were at the open house I had an opportunity to speak with Hayley's other teacher who confirmed what I already suspected- politics were in play and we were the unsuspecting victims. The reason she was even terminated was because there was another administrator in the building that took it upon them-self to run to the phone and call the director to report the violation instead of to run and check on the safety of the children. I had e-mailed the director on Friday asking if another employee was aware of the safety violation why did they not attend to the children and why were they not also terminated but of course there was no reply.

Monday I had no response whatsoever. Monday morning I called the customer care center and asked for them to elevate me directly to the district manager. I was told I would have a response from that person within two business days. Monday afternoon I toured another pre-school and committed to enroll Hayley the following Monday.

This morning (Tuesday) I called the customer care center and requested the steps to dis-enroll my child from their learning facility. I was informed I would need to write up my request and submit it with two weeks notice. I was halfway through my written request when I received a call from the director. It went a little something like this:

"Jenn? This is Miss Director. I'm sorry I haven't called sooner but I did not get everything cleared though HR until just last night. Unfortunately the termination stands."

"Well, Miss Director, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not surprised. Unfortunately I wish you had called me to tell me that you had no news on this or were still working on it last week when I sent you multiple e-mails and left you multiple messages. I regret to inform you that we are withdrawing Hayley from your school. I will be bringing her written withdrawal request by today."

Audible pause.

Miss Director "Well, I guess I don't understand. I feel like Hayley has really flourished here at our facility."

Umm, yeah. Under the teacher that you FIRED. My response was "Yes, well, there is no doubt that Hayley has been happy but I simply can't get caught up in your corporate bureaucracy. We have decided to enroll Hayley in a locally owned and operated school where if I need to speak with a decision maker I may do so in a timely manner. One week to get a reply that I knew was coming just doesn't work for me. Sadly if you had just called me last week to tell me you acknowledged my e-mails and messages this might have been different. That's too bad because we really liked you Miss Director, you have done quite a bit with the school in just the few short weeks that you have been there. It's nothing personal you see, it's just a business decision we are making."

"Well. I see. If you change your mind please let us know."

 

Right.

So for all those that maybe didn't comment, or may not agree with me on this issue- I want to state for the record- I am not withdrawing my child because I disagree with the teachers termination. I am withdrawing my child because the administrator does not know how to deal with conflict. Apparently I created too much conflict for her and she either didn't want to or didn't know how to deal with it so she swept me under the rug. Nobody puts Baby in the corner.

Also for the record I do know that I will not always have the option of withdrawing my child if I disagree with the teacher or the management style of the administration. However, in THIS case I do have the option. And in THIS case I absolutely feel it is warranted.

Why do I feel that? Because let's just say for example I disagreed with something the administration was doing. Let's say that I expressed my concern to the administrator. Do I think that she wouldn't do the same thing to me the next time around? Ignore me for a week until she was ready to talk to me? Run to the district manager for cover?

I am a manager myself. I manage in a corporation. Sometimes policies get handed down that I don't necessarily agree with but have to enforce anyway. If anything, I GET her position more than others. But also, as unpopular as it sometimes makes me I have to tell people the truth. I have to tell them things they don't want to hear, like, I don't have an answer for you today. I might not have one for you tomorrow either. I would hope that somewhere along the way this has earned me respect in my industry. People that work with me know I will tell them the truth. They know that I am working my hardest and that I really am on their side even if sometimes I have no control over the outcome of the situation. And because I happen to manage to this expectation I also have the expectation that I will also be treated this way. Unfortunately I don't have the confidence that this is an isolated incident and therefore I made the decision to remove myself from the drama.

Agree? Disagree? Your opinion will be respected either way, so you may leave a comment without fear of retribution.

Comments

[Mrs M]

I hate being fobbed off too!! I agree that if they are managing this facility in this manner I would also consider how they would treat you if you were the one issuing a complaint....

Hayley will flourish where ever she goes to school - she's your daughter!

Yup - will be on the lookout for cheap flights to vegas!

[Megan]

Amen! I love what you did! The one thing you are doing that I love.....is make an excellent example for your daughters of what a strong woman does when she belives in something! Your daughters will be oh so proud of their Momma! You lead by example and many, many more mothers should follow! I know I do! Great Job Jenn!