Community Update

I was referred to The Brightwell Center (formerly Blocks & Bridges) by a trusted friend in the community, who had her own children go through the center. Although the facilities were not impressive, I was comfortable enrolling my children as babies and continuing services. My husband and I liked the teachers. The teachers loved our children. The Director said I was the easiest parent at registration. She lowered the tuition when she knew we were struggling – she said she liked us and wanted to keep us. I told her I would go back to the normal rate when I got a better job. She told me not to worry about it. When my husband and I were hit with intense car repairs, I needed to pay late one time in 4 years (Note: TBC does not take credit cards). I told the Director the week before the payment was due to let her know in advance. I asked about the late fee. She told me not to worry about it. … Believe it or not, the Director is the reason we left TBC.

When our youngest son went through a brief biting phase at TBC, which is typical 2-year old behavior, the Director asked us to come in to discuss the issue. In the meeting, the Director told us we were “going to ruin him” if we did not “scare him” to make the behavior stop. She also stated she has been able to pinpoint which child ends up in jail, when speaking about our 2-year old son. He is in no way a perfect child, but that was outrageous! He was not biting often at home. We asked about having more consistency at TBC, as his classroom was constantly changing teachers and each teacher responded differently to him. The Director stated that was not the problem – it was all about parenting – but that she already decided to move him to the Pre-K classroom. My husband and I were appalled by what the Director had to say during this meeting and thought about taking the children out of TBC then. Our oldest, however, has extreme difficulties with any kind of change. Since our children were happy at TBC and the issues were not related to their care, we decided to hold off on changing providers until our oldest transitions to Kindergarten next year. The biting also stopped when he changed classrooms and had a consistent teacher.

Most recently, our youngest has been using the potty. TBC does not help with potty training, which was discussed at registration. I took time off work to be home with him. He was ready! We were home for 5 days. He had a total of 3 accidents during the first 2 days. The rest were accident-free! We even took the kids to the movies and to the diner – no diaper and no accidents! I emailed the Director and his teacher about what we did at home. I sent him to school in underwear and brought extra clothing in case of accidents. I also had an in-person conversation with his teacher. I simply asked that they only use a diaper for naptime and to please check in with him, as he may need to go more often than the class’s scheduled potty time. TBC was not supportive. He had one accident on his first day at school in his underwear – none the rest of the week. The Director sent home a page-long note, insisting he stay in a diaper and said changing clothing and diapers takes away from the program’s schedule and routine. It was at this point that we started looking at other centers. Putting him back in a diaper is confusing to a child and not helping him transition. And changing clothing and diapers is part of working at a day care center!

As soon as we found a center we liked, I immediately notified TBC with a letter, thanking them for the 4 years of service to our children and stating the children’s last day would be the end of the next month, which I had already paid for. I also wanted TBC to have as much time as possible to fill their slots. As the Director was not present, I handed the letter to the children’s teacher, who is also the Office Manager (so not just any teacher). The following day, I received a letter from the Director stating she thought it would be best if their last day were this Friday, and not the following month. She also included a reimbursement check for the following month. This meant our children’s last day was in 2 days! I was so upset. Why would she do this to our children? They had 2 days to say goodbye to their school friends and teachers that they have seen every day for 4 years. We had planned for the children to visit the new center on Monday, which was now their first day. Thankfully the new center was able to take them sooner! I was truly shocked that the Director would do this to us and to our children.

As there was no exit interview, I sent a short email to the Director after the children’s last day to again thank her for 4 years of service to our children, as well as to communicate my goal to transition smoothly from the program and end on good terms. I also expressed my sincere disappointment that the children were not able to stay the final month – to have more than 2 days to say goodbye – and also because TBC is fully aware of how difficult transitions are for our oldest child. The Director responded with a long email, saying that I am a young parent and I need to learn to control my emotions. She said she did not want an unhappy parent in her establishment, even though I always smiled and wished her a good day. She was upset that I did not hand deliver the letter of notice to her, even though she was not there. (It was delivered to the Office Manager.) She was also upset that I did not give her teachers holiday gifts this past year. (Please note I am a full-time employee, graduate student, intern, and mother of 2. We usually give cards and a small gift. This year, I just didn’t. Not because of anything going on with the day care. I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t even send out holiday cards to my family this year.) She also said in this email that I was arrogant and unappreciative with poor decision-making and that the termination was my own fault. She ended the ranting email by stating that we will now have another center with which to compare TBC and I will then appreciate the service we had.

I was so nervous sending our children to the new center on such short notice. Thankfully, it went beautifully! Just in the first 2 days, the children worked on letters, colored, painted, used scissors to cut shapes, sang songs, and played games. They also participate in Zumba, Yoga, and Kung Fu. They are doing gross motor skills activities that they never did at TBC – and they are having so much fun while doing it! The new center also has no problems with either of our children or with the potty training. After the first week, they even wanted to start trying him without a diaper at naptime! They are so supportive and very involved with parents, including sending daily emails about what the children are doing and what to ask them at home. Also same tuition and level of diversity. The comparison is no contest! We absolutely made the right decision for our children!
I apologize for the long review. I want to convey my efforts as a parent and willingness to work with the center. We had many good memories at TBC, but I would never recommend anyone to this center because of the outrageous comments made by the Director and because of this final experience, which was not made in the best interest of my children. The Director’s reactive response was detrimental to my children’s transition and final experiences at TBC. It was petty, unprofessional, and bad business practice.