I am going to ask ya'lls opinions on this but I really dont think I overreacted.

My son started Pre-K 3 this year and its the first time he's ever been in this type of setting. I, of course, was very nervous for him to be left to the care of strangers and thats why it took me till he was almost 4 to get him in school. There have been a few little things here and there that I got irked about like the vibe I get from his teacher and a sense that she is being rude to me, his extra clothes that are left at school missing (most likey due to his teacher either letting another student wear them home because of an emergency or her packing them into someone elses stuff as she has put other kids stuff w/ my sons) and him being made to feel like he did something wrong by wearing sandals to school and his teacher telling him thay are only for the beach and not to wear them again (parent handbook says close toed shoes are preferred, it didnt say mandatory and if anything she had no right to tell him that, she should have taken it up w/ me).

Anyways, Monday I noticed that an area of the fenced in play area has a slat missing (in an area that is to the back of the play area and not well supervised). I had my son see if he could fit through it and he did. I told one of the teachers about it and she said she has noticed it as well and it may have been broken over the weekend. He did not go to school today and since I planned on him going tomorrow I called and asked if the slat had been replaced. No, it hadnt. It would take me a piece of wood, two screws, a drill and two minutes to fix this yet their on site maintenance man hadnt been told to fix it. I said I did not want him allowed out to the play area till they fixed it (two other kids had been shown the area and once they tell the other kids who knows if they'll try to sneak out, as we parents know, 3 and 4 yr olds are sneaky little shits). I was told the director would call me to let me know if he could stay inside till it was fixed. I got a message saying that it would not be fixed, that it was not broken ??? and that he could not stay inside as there was no one to watch him (they have 5 classes that go out at seperate times so why not???). The fact that they are not immediately fixing this problem and leaving it a safety hazard pisses me off. I wrote out a nice polite letter to the director informing her that my son will no longer attend their school. I dont work days so I dont NEED a school and I have "learning time" at home so the only thing I am paying for is playmates. It is a brand new school at a church and they have plenty of students paying over $100 a week, why they wouldnt spend $5 to fix the fence is a mystery to me but I cant have him at school knowing that he could get out into the parking lot, get lost or kidnapped or even worse (tho he has been taught to stay away from the street) wander onto the extremely busy road that the church is on or fall into a nearby canal. See? That is the kind of crap I would think everyday that he was in school. I'm a lunatic but I think I did the right thing and maybe I can get someone to go to the school and make sure they do fix that slat to prevent another kid from getting out.

They have the responsibility for the safety of the children while they are there, so... http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif I wouldn't keep him at home (because that's not exactly good for his social skills) but I'd make sure the safety issue got worked out. Isn't there a parent's board or something? http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

I dont know about the parents board...its a private school at a church so I have no idea about a PTA type thing or who I would even talk to since I already spoke, well, got a message from the director. I have friends who have kids his age so he will still have play dates etc. but he only goes two days a week anyways since I am home during the day and miss him when he is gone so we are paying over $50 a day for it . I am just so mad about it and even if it does get fixed will I have to do a fence check everytime I drop him off?? See what I am saying? Neighborhood kids probably go up there when the school is closed and f'ck around on the play area and break shit.

I don't know how you all feel about "private" schools, but I can't see sending a child to them. I had a girl that I was "talking" to once, ask me if we had done the work that she was asigned, and if I could help her with it. I done the same work, almost 2 years prior. Why not try a public school, and see how he does there. If you have that much worry about something happening, why not go somewhere that has a PTA, so things can be fixed/worked out if there is other parents that have the same feeling about it. Just a thought.http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/burnout.gif

If your not happy with them, which I don't blame you. Take him out right away until you do find a school you feel comfortable with leaving him at. Just don't try to keep him at home...social skills are important for the kiddies these days.

My sisters two little ones were just taken out of their daycare last week to be sent to a new one. (I used to babysit on Fridays, my father on Mondays and mother on Tues. I stopped about a year ago so they were only in 3 days a week and still paying $250 something a week I believe for two kids) Now that my parents cant babysit anymore they couldn't afford it and went to a new daycare. Long story short she went to pick them up on Monday and Caelyn the oldest of the two being 3 ½ came RUNNING out into the parking lot to say hi to mom...WITHOUT any supervision. They did not even know she left!http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif She pushed her way right out that door. So who knows that my sister is doing with that... all I know is that she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving them there now. If anything happened to those two due to lack of supervision, I’d have to hurt someone! http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/cussing.gif

If they can't provide a safe environment then they are in the wrong - period. You did the right thing and I would have done the same.

Wait till something happens and THEN see what the fuck they say.

Idiots...

JB

No you didn't overreact.

I don't know how you all feel about "private" schools, but I can't see sending a child to them. I had a girl that I was "talking" to once, ask me if we had done the work that she was asigned, and if I could help her with it. I done the same work, almost 2 years prior. Why not try a public school, and see how he does there.



As a kid I tried both private and public schools and I'd take a private school any day, provided it has a good reputation. Here, the best teachers get employed at private schools, the public schools get what's left... http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/plthumbsdown.gif

I went to the school today and got all of his stuff from his cubby and let the teachers aid know that it he wasnt coming back and why. She is nice and said she understood. (Shes not the one that I get an attitude from) I dropped off the letter to the directors office and then took a few pics of the gate just in case they tried to take me to court to pay any remaining tuition for the weeks left in the school year.

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See how its at the end of a hallway? Noone would even notice the kids if they snuck into there.

im glad i dont have kids, the dogs will do for now

I don't think you're wrong to be concerned. Maybe they should have a gate at the nearer end of the corridor....keeping kids in an area where they can be supervised better.

Check with your local DHS, DCS, CPS, or whatever they call it where you are. Usually, there's state laws that regulate the facilities that must be kept for ANY daycare or school that keeps over a few kids. I think in my state, the limit is 8.

You seem to have more drama in your life than a soap opera.

Why didn't you fix it? You said you were home days. 5 bucks worth of materials, screwdriver, and drill would have saved all that drama. Your little guy is probably heart broke he cannot attend that school anymore.

Local news station would gobble that up Amy.

Whew...yea!

Just cause I am concerned about my sons safety doesnt mean I have a lot of drama in my life, tho I do tend to have more than others it seems but I tend to blow things out of proportion.

If they would let me I would have fixed it myself but I figured they were going to do it. I thought they would have it done by their on site maintenance man. Its the fact that they are not concerned about it that makes me wonder if I would have to be checking every slat in the fence and every lock on every door every time I dropped my son off. If they would have said, ok we see it is a safety concern for you and have seen that the kids can fit through it so we will fix it asap and until then we will block that gate off to prevent the kids from getting to it... Then I would not have had to take him out of the school.

Yes my son was sad about not going to school anymore. This morning I told him that school was out for the summer and he cried and said he would miss his "school friends". I let him say goodbye today when we picked up his stuff, told him he was good for doing so and bought him ice cream. He's fine now. He would have been the same if it really was summer time so all I did was save him from getting more attached and getting run over in the parking lot. I also saved myself the stress of worrying about him at school and whether or not he was safe.

P.S. Good idea about the CPS. I didnt even have a clue of who I should call to have go over there and fix the problem before a kid does get out of there. At least they will be able to tell me where to call.

Don't stress over it dude. You did what you thought was right. You cannot be too careful with your kids these days. It sounds like the school is a little too laid back for my liking.

Fuck that place Amy, you did the right thing. Take the little guy to a public school, pre-school deal where the people aren't doing it for the moeny but because they actually love kids. Fuck those church groups. http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/cussing.gif

I am just going to keep him home with me and when we move to NC around March to May I will go ahead and get him registered (prob. have to wait till like July tho) for kindergarten in whatever school district we are in. The b-day cut off dates are later in NC so he can start kindergarten in '06 instead of here in FL he would have had another year in preschool. It will be a public school so it'll be free to, WOOHOO!

I went to the school today and got all of his stuff from his cubby and let the teachers aid know that it he wasnt coming back and why. She is nice and said she understood. (Shes not the one that I get an attitude from) I dropped off the letter to the directors office and then took a few pics of the gate just in case they tried to take me to court to pay any remaining tuition for the weeks left in the school year.

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See how its at the end of a hallway? Noone would even notice the kids if they snuck into there.


On this pic, ur son has got that "Mission Impossible" look on his face. As soon as I saw it I could hear the music in my head.
Anyway, all BS to the left, ur that childs parent. And u obviously have some kind of BRAIN b/c u see a situation that has the potential of being not only a very big problem but it could lead to a TRAGEDY. Y are u even second guessing it? Overreatcing? Hell, the school is UNDERREACTING!!!! With all of the things going on in the world 2day, the last thing we need to do is make anything easier for some freak or some mishap. I mean come on, someone new is missing every day...literally. There is a flat-screen in my dept at work and I leave it on CNN or some other news channel all day for the patients to watch, so I hear it all of the time. And like u said, at that age they are very sneaky, only b/c they are curious and the world is still new to them. So if a kid gets out that gate there's no telling what may happen... cars, freaks, dogs, lost, u name it...ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!! Hell, if I were u, not only would I withdraw my kid, I would demand a refund of any money that I had to pay in advance, or any deposit I had to pay( unless u only paid for the time he was there weekly or monthly) AND I would report that school to the school district or some organization that would either assure that they fix it or how the school handled accordingly.Better yet, hit ur local news..they'll eat there lil private schooling asses up!!!!! Its ur "parenting duty" and responsibility to report it to someone, not just for your kids sake but for all of the kids sake PERIOD. U have already taken care of ur kid by taking him out and not bringing him back, but there are other kids whose parents no nothing about that plank missing and have no clue of the danger their kid is around daily.....Think about that. I know I would hate to turn on the t.v. and see something on the news about a child from that school. Especially after I knew about the problem and didn't even take any further or notify any other parents or school officials about it. Hell, look at it like this. How would u feel if something happened to ur kid and u later found out that some parent knew about the situation, but instead of being concerned aof all of the kids at that school and spreading the news, they were selfish and took care of their child only? I'm not saying ur selfish, or talking down or anything like that. Im just saying u know that u have to do something.....so like nike use to say JUST DO IT!!!!

Yeah, I am going to def. get something done about it so I dont hear about someone else's kid getting out. I am going to go onto the local news sites and see if I can call or email them about it and they can let me know who I should also call as far as like a safety "inspector" or whatever to get it fixed and let the school know it is their responsibility to take care of these safety issues as soon as they are brought to their attention. At least I have some piece of mind that my son is safe at home.

You're definitely not overreacting.
He should be removed, if they won't fix it.

On the other hand...sometimes you get what you pay for..
Maybe I just live in an expensive ass area...but I pay $900 each per month for my two boys. The lowest I've ever seen was $130 per week and the school really sucked.

Those who are saying public, must not realize...most areas don't have free all day public pre-K. (at least most in NJ don't).

The last thing I'll say is that at 4 he needs to be in some type of structured environment to prepare him for school, and dealing with other children. I have also found the teachers to be very different (3 yr old to 4 yr old). They expect a lot more from the kids and encourage independence. They talk to them as small people (instead of as babies) and they hold them responsible for (spare clothes, lunch box, blankets, book bags, homework, etc.)

I was paying $430 a month for one so thats about what you are paying and thats about average I would guess. Thing is, its a brand new school, clean, big, etc. but I couldnt let this thing slide. Yes, as far as anyone saying public school, there is no free public pre k that I have ever heard of. I am not too worried that he will lack the structure he needs to start kindergarten next August cause he is actually pretty good at adapting to his surroundings quickly.

I was paying $430 a month for one so thats about what you are paying and thats about average I would guess. Thing is, its a brand new school, clean, big, etc. but I couldnt let this thing slide. Yes, as far as anyone saying public school, there is no free public pre k that I have ever heard of. I am not too worried that he will lack the structure he needs to start kindergarten next August cause he is actually pretty good at adapting to his surroundings quickly.



http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/nono.gifRead it again...I WISH it was 450 a month, I would be http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/icon_rant.gif in the streets and buying a new car.

I pay $900 per month, per child. Plus field trip fees, and they take their lunch.
Comes to about $1900 - $2000 per month. http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif