On all of the occasions, The Owner Kolleen Fischer was unbecoming. I was really disappointed in the…read moreway this woman handled my child who is mixed with black when she came to dance on Saturday. Every Saturday, I was reminded that yeah, it is definitely because she is black. I had previously assumed it was simply her personality and wanted to think that my child wasn't being treated unfairly because she is black. Like I said it would happen each and every Saturday.
I could think of a couple instances where I truly wondered if I should even bring my kid back. Once, when my daughter tried to give Kolleen a bag of goodies for the Halloween party, Kolleen held up her hands and "no, in there" as she threw her hands up. Instead of in a polite manner tell my daughter she can hand the candy to her teacher.
I would always say hello and good morning to her when I would walk in and I wouldn't get a response as she stood about two steps away from us and the moment another mom would walk in she would make it her duty to speak to the parent and child. Despite finding it unpleasant, I continued to wish everyone a nice Saturday morning out of fairness.
There was a time I questioned about what kind of costumes they will be wearing and what kind of event will be held, given that the dance school lacks recital materials and dance photos, unlike nearly every dance school we have been to. Kolleen said, "They have a little thing for the dancers in April, and they wear whatever I choose for them to wear." As a parent, I wanted to know what the charge covers, so I said that I was only inquiring because she was bringing up a payable fee. Her reaction, though, was a bit excessive.
Another memorable incident occurred when my daughter expressed interest in doing the raffle boxes that were arranged in the foyer. I informed Kolleen that I would return immediately, as I needed to run to my car and grab up more singles. She agreed, and I returned in about sixty seconds. She was standing at the table when I asked if we could possibly purchase some tickets to put in the raffle box, she answered, "I guess," rolling her eyes. At that point, I decided that enough was enough and that I was tired of this woman's attitude toward us. As I was helping my daughter choose which raffle box she wanted to partake in, a father came up to me and told me about a dance event that was going to be happening and the dance school was selling tickets. I assumed it was the nutcracker event she had told me about when I first signed my daughter up, so I said, "Aw, baby, would you like to go to the nutcracker event with your dance school?" Kolleen emerged from the rear chamber and clarified that it wasn't the nutcracker. I nodded and didn't inquire further, but she felt compelled to let me know that there would be African dancers. I chuckled, turned to leave, and never came back. My kid loves dance, therefore one day I hope to find her a wonderful school. You are valuable, so don't push yourself if you don't feel accepted.