My child attended this center for 4.5 months. He was 4months old when he started in the infant room. Their handbook says that each child is a precious gift from God, and they strive to show children the His love and forgiveness. Unfortunately, this would be the farthest thing from the experience he had.
Despite the Center having an "open-door policy" in their handbook, parents were not allowed in classrooms to see their children, even at drop off and pick up. There were lapses in communication about my son's diapering, feeds, and naps during the day. Often, what was written down in the app they use to log daily activities did not match what we were told at pick up.
One day, my son, who was 6 months at the time, was struggling to nap. His teachers took a photo of him crying with an index card taped to his stomach. It read: "No nap (Child's name)". The caption in the app was "(Child's name)'s mugshot". He needed to be comforted, not bullied.
We reached out to the Director to try to remedy issues like missing items and lack of communication. Things would improve for a while and then go back to the same. It was frustrating and made us feel powerless as parents, since we couldn't get him in at any other centers.
The Director frequently asked why my son couldn't come to work with me, and once made disparaging comments about my breastmilk making him sick, which was not the case at all. I have never had a positive interaction with her.
Despite these problems, we were told every day that he had a good day, other than sometimes struggling to nap, or general fussiness, which is to be expected at this age. Multiple times, we asked how he was adjusting, and were told he was happy, silly, snuggly, a joy to be around. This matches our experience at home.
The center has a policy against providing over-the-counter or prescription medication to children, so we missed work for mild illnesses that were easily managed by Tylenol/Motrin. However, when he was teething last week, neither of us could miss more work, so we had no choice but to send him in. I had to ask the Director to let me to stop by during the day to give him Motrin and Tylenol as recommended by our pediatrician. She allowed me inside, although not in his classroom. He was carried out to me in the lobby. I did notice that there didn't seem to be another teacher in the infant room from what I could see through the door, so I suspect they were out of ratio, putting every child in there at risk.
Two days later our care was terminated with two weeks' notice. We were told that our son had been inconsolably crying during the day. This is unlike him, and it broke me to hear. I was also shocked - why hadn't we been told sooner? When I called the Director to follow up, she said that staff have quit because of my son. This shocked me; I expressed that it something should have been communicated sooner. She insisted it was, but I have gone through every piece of communication I have from CRCC, and nothing about inconsolable tears or his position being in jeopardy was ever brought up.
She has refused to write any reasons for his termination down, or give me contact information for the higher-ups at the Center. I was also told by former staff that they left because of the Director, not my baby.
I emailed the Director regarding this. She first said that NH is an at-will state and she can kick a child out at any time without a reason, then backpedaled on her prior statements about losing staff because of my child. I again asked for further clarification and contact information of the owner or Board of Directors. She has ignored my email since then, so I am left thinking that she lied.
Based on what staff have said and what I observed, I think the Director is abusive and creating a toxic workplace, resulting in her being understaffed. She would rather blame a child than own up to the problems she has created due to poor management skills.
I do not think children are safe at this Center. read more