Great staff; crappy management…read more
The photo of the sign you see here is the only notification that Blossom Station was closed this morning. The other photo is of the "inclement weather" in question. We're about 1.5 miles from Blossom Station, lest you think the weather was wildly different between our house and the school. I also drove there, just to take a picture of the sign, because it's so unbelievable that that's how the "notice" was disseminated.
Three cars of parents + kids pulled up during the 2 minutes I was there taking the photo, and talking to another flabbergasted parent.
You see, Blossom Station uses the Acton school district as their "do we close" barometer AND notification mechanism. But during Christmas and February break, Acton doesn't cancel, because there's nothing to cancel. So instead of having a backup notification mechanism, a sign o the door is the only notice. No phone call, text, twitter, Facebook -- nothing. Just a sign.
Oh, and they don't answer the phones, so you can't call ahead to see if they're closed. Oh, and their website doesn't load. Not the homepage, not the "closings/delays" page, either. At best, you can call (why would you call on a rainy day?), but you'll get an answering machine. Getting an answering machine with a generic message isn't a very strong "we're closed" signal.
Now have a look at the rain. You decide whether you think their decision to close was reasonable.
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So that's a single day. Let's talk about their "not being open" philosophy in general.
Blossom Station's holiday schedule will NOT work for you if you have a normal job, unless your company is shut down from Christmas through New Years. They're just straight up closed.
If Christmas falls on a Wednesday, they'll be open that Monday the 23rd and the following Monday. Because apparently December 26, 27, and 31 are all holidays.
BS is also closed on every other marginal holiday, so you'll need to make alternative arrangements for those days, too.
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We've heard through the parent grapevine that when BS is closed for snow days, staff aren't paid. That suggests that their staff aren't paid for holiday closings, either.
As the customer, you WILL pay full price, no matter how many days BS is unavailable.
In October 2019 (a 31-day month), BS was open 20 days. Full time toddler parents paid $1780.
In December 2019, BS was open 13 days. Same price.
That means the cost per day in October is $89. The cost per day in December is $137.
This would be more acceptable if staff were paid for snow days and holidays.
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The staff, on the other hand, are great. Our daughter has been at BS since she was 8 months old. She's been in four rooms now, and has done very well in all of them She takes great naps, and is always happy when we pick her up.