I'd like to share my experience from the 2020-2021 school year at Calahan Elementary when my daughter was in kindergarten with Leslie Levine.
While Ms. Levine presents herself as friendly, and I'm sure she's a good person outside the classroom, I feel strongly that her behavior toward young children is not appropriate for a teaching role, especially at the kindergarten level. In our time there, I observed several concerning patterns:
* She frequently belittled and humiliated students in front of others.
* She singled out certain children, showing clear favoritism.
* She would call kids out harshly for mistakes rather than redirecting or guiding them with care.
* She lacked patience for age-appropriate behavior, responding with audible sighs or annoyed grunts.
* When a child struggled or acted out (as kindergartners often do), she offered little support or redirection, often just frustration.
It was heartbreaking to witness, and it deeply affected my daughter's early learning experience. We eventually made the decision to switch schools for her well-being.
I don't know what the school environment is like now, but I feel it's important to speak up so other parents can make an informed choice. In my view, Ms. Levine may be better suited to a role that doesn't involve direct work with young children, perhaps in a support or administrative position.
This review isn't meant to be hurtful, but honest. I wish someone had shared this with me before we went through it. It was very upsetting for me to expierence this and you really never know what is really going on behind closed doors.
I did try to address these concerns directly. I spoke with Ms. Levine during the school year. While she did apologize, it felt more like a formality, nothing changed in her behavior afterward, and the issues continued.
There was also a teacher's assistant in the class who started out incredibly kind and gentle with the children. Unfortunately, toward the end of the year, I noticed that even she began to reflect some of Ms. Levine's behavior. It's heartbreaking to see how this kind of environment can influence others. I truly wish more teacher's assistants would feel empowered to speak up when they see things that don't sit right, especially when it involves young children. read more