Good Riddance Providence Academy

This post is going to be a long one...bear with me...the end is outrageous...

A few months ago, John and I decided that it was time to move Alice from the daycare center that she had been going to since she was 8 weeks old to a new, different daycare. Our reasons were numerous. For starters, Alice was typically not fed after 1pm even though she had at least two bottles in the fridge. When asked why she was not fed, we were routinely given an excuse like "I didn't look at her chart" or "I wasn't the one supposed to do it". The teachers (for lack of better word) also often gave Alice food that was not hers or put her in diapers that were not hers. One afternoon, I came to pick her up and was told that she ate some Gerber puffs. I mentioned to the teachers that I had not brought any puffs for her to eat. I was told that the puffs were for everyone and that they always tell the parents after they give puffs to the children. When I told them that I would prefer they discuss that with me before giving food that was not specifically brought in for Alice because of allergies, illness, etc., I got a blank stare. Now, I admit, Alice was eating puffs at home by that point, but my issue was that they were obviously doing things that the parents did not know about. What would we do if she got sick at home that evening and we did not know that she had eaten something other than what we had requested. On another occasion, Alice fell and hit her head. No problem, kids fall. Our concern was that it was a hard enough fall for the center to fill out an incident report but did not feel the need to call the parents to alert them of the head injury.

One of the other major reasons we decided to leave was the business practices of the center. I had to repeatedly ask for a receipt for my tuition payments - usually 3-4 times before I actually got one. One time I called the owner, Ms. Bo, to ask if there was something that we could do to work out a mutually agreeable arrangement for the receipts. I explained to her that I needed the receipts to submit to my employer for daycare withholding reimbursements. Ms. Bo said to me "I don't know when I will get to it but I am not responsible for your reimbursements". I could not believe she said that to me, a customer, who was simply asking for a receipt of payment for services. It was also Ms. Bo who decided with only 2 weeks notice that she would close the center on Good Friday and the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Luckily, I have an understanding boss who was OK with me taking the day off but I was very put off by the lack of information flowing from the management to the paying customers/parents.

The final straw was when one of the infant room teachers, the RN and the reason we went to Providence Academy in the first place left to go to a different center. The fact that she was gone was not the issue, her replacement was the issue. The new teacher repeatedly ignored requests from me and from other parents. Not a day went by without one parent or another having a 'talk' with the other teacher in the infant room about their issues. Upon arrival of the new teacher, the excuses started and the feeding schedules stopped.

So, after discussing the options with John, we decided it was time to move Alice to a new daycare center. I prepared a letter informing Ms. Bo that Alice would be leaving Providence Academy in two weeks - this was required by the school. After turning in the letter, I told a few parents that Alice would be leaving the center. When they asked why, I told that that I was unhappy with the center's business practices and with the care that Alice was receiving. When probed by a parent, I went into detail but I was sure to discuss it quietly and be completely truthful. I learned that quite a few parents were also having the same issues.

Alice's last day at Providence Academy was to be July 24th. This past Wednesday, July 15th, I went to pick up Alice at the end of the day. I got out of my car and started walking up to the door when one of the teachers came out to tell me that "we had to leave". I didn't understand what she was saying so I kept walking to the door. I punched in my access code and when I opened the door, Ms. Bo whipped around the corner and started yelling at me. She was carrying Alice (who was screaming) and another teacher was carrying a garbage bag full of Alice's belongings. I took Alice from her and here's what happened next:
Bo: Get out, I want you out!
Me: Pardon me?
Bo: I want you out of here. You are no longer welcome here and I want you off my property.
Me: Pardon me? What are you talking about?
Bo: You have been defaming me and my business to other parents.
Me: I have done nothing of the kind. Am I not allowed to speak to other parents?
Bo: No, you are not. I have you on tape.
Me: You have me on tape saying what?
Bo: I am not going to discuss that. If you do not leave now, I will call the police and have you arrested for trespassing.
Me: Are you kidding me?
Bo: Get out! Now!
OK, so I grabbed the garbage bag and walked out - stunned and speechless.

I got home and went through Alice's things to be sure that we had everything. Sure enough, I was missing a bottle. I called Ms. Bo and said that in her haste to kick us out, we did not get one of Alice's bottles. I told her that my husband would be there in 45 minutes to pick it up.
Bo: No, you will not come back on this property.
Me: Lady, I am not coming to your property, as I said, my husband will be there in 45 minutes and I expect you to have it waiting for him.
Bo: I'll see if I can find it...then she hung up on me.

45 minutes later, John pulls up to the center and enters the access code to the door - denied. He rings the doorbell - no answer. Rings again - no answer. He stands there and is finally let in by another parent. Ms. Bo comes out and tells him to leave. John tells her that he is very disappointed about the treatment of his wife and child that afternoon and would like to discuss it with her. She tells him that we are not welcome at the center and essentially pushes him out the door. She also refused again to tell John what I had apparently said about her and the center but does say again that she has me on tape. When John asked about the bottle, she pointed to the gate. She had put the bottle in a garbage bag and hung it on the entrance gate.

Amazing!! Now, I completely admit that there have been times that I have said things about someone or something that was wrong or rude, but I can tell you right now that this was not one of those times. I made sure that I stayed on the "right" side of this line because these people were still taking care of my child and I did not want to piss someone off and have it affect the treatment of my child.

So...Alice started her new daycare center today. We had a few tears in the morning but overall she had a good day. This center is very strict with their feeding schedules and has a much higher teacher to child ratio. They have webcams so we can peek in on Alice during the day. We are hopeful that this center will be a good fit for Alice and for everyone else involved.

The moral of the story....tell everyone you know (in Northeast Alabama)...Do not send your child to Providence Academy. Neither you nor your child will be treated appropriately....not even close.

I will end this post now. I have more to say about this weekend with my Mom but I will save that for another post. Thanks for listening to my rant.