We attended the school for 5 months…read more
PROS:
I love that this school is located in the middle of all things center city. The location makes it really easy to get things done.
I loved their nutrition program! It's one of the few in the city that provide nutritious meals. Foods my child wouldn't eat at home, he'd try since his friends at school would eat them too. They do not allow outside food in, which is a huge plus for families that have dietary restrictions.
CONS:
We weren't always given notice of staffing changes. There was a lot of movement while we were there. Our primary teacher left in December. Her replacement left in February. The other teachers/aides seem less experienced.
Communication is the primary reason we left. They conducted an observation study on my 4 year old without notice. They alleged there were behavior concerns, but did not inform me of any issues prior to them conducting the observation. I'd pick him up and they would say he had a good day. So you can imagine my surprise when they handed me a folder of notes (they called it data) that detailed the behavior of my child over a 15 day period, across 4 or 5 categories, in 30 or 60 minute intervals. Primrose did not inform me this was happening, what the goal would be, who was involved in taking notes, or how long the period would last. Primrose advised that I consented to such observations at enrollment.
After I reviewed their notes, I spoke with the teacher who said she wanted to tell me about it, but Primrose Center City said she could not. So instead she misled me for weeks. Leadership admitted her inexperience, but still tasked her to conduct an observation of this magnitude. Makes sense, right? (sarcasm). Her tenure at Primrose less than 3 weeks before the observation began.
The leadership team at Primrose Center City is the only group of experts I've spoken with since this was brought to my attention, that believe they acted in my child's best interest. I do not. I've talked to child psychologists, attorneys, child advocates, behavioral therapists, sex therapists, day care center directors, nurses, social workers, and veterans with 25+ years in education - they do not. Other parents do not. After I escalated the issue to their franchising company, the local team offered a handful of options that could've easily been deployed when they claim the behaviors began.
They defended their process. Shifted blame to inexperienced teachers. Did not apologize. Did not ask me what it'd take to keep us there.
Read the notes. It's the stuff of nightmares. If true, what parent would want to be kept in the dark about these behaviors for weeks on end? What about the other kids in the class, why would Primrose subject them to such disruption? What responsible educators would not want to work with families early-on? I'm devastated to withdraw my child under these circumstances.
Update: Shared these observation notes with our pediatrician. She said they were "unqualified" and "dangerous". So yeah, ummmm, be wary!
