I had a very bad experience with Soule and I had to withdraw my toddler daughter after 3 days. In…read moreshort, the problem is management and, perhaps, its culture. Before I explain what happened, I should note that Soule was the only school that did in-person tours in the peak of the pandemic in February whereas every single school/daycare was doing it remotely. I think that says something...
After I enrolled my child, I was told that a week before the official start day, she will come in everyday for an hour with me accompanying her in the classroom. Third day of that transition week, I was told to wait outside as she seemed to be doing fine alone. I left briefly to go to Starbucks to pick up a cup of coffee. When I returned, I found her crying, and I was told that I should stick around because it is the transition period. At week 2, which is the official start week, on Monday I did stick around whole day, because that is what I assumed I was supposed to be doing. Nobody gave me any instructions or explained me any plan. At 10am, they took her out since she was crying asking me to take her home. That did not sound right to me, because she will never get used to the place if I take her home after each cry. So, I gave her some food and I let her go inside again. They had a tendency to say goodbye throughout the day, eager to send us home. I stayed and assisted her to nap there. I thought this was weird as I cannot spend my days like that sticking around whole day, so I asked them to come up with a plan. They said I should leave her in the morning and go home because when she knows that I am outside, she will try to go out and cry. I agreed. The plan was that I was going to leave her half a day for two days and on the third day we would try full day. This plan was reasonable to me, because she was not doing terribly bad at all: she loved the toys and the school, but she needed to learn to stay there without me. Btw, I should note that I did not even do sleep training with her since I am not ok letting her cry for long periods of time. But, our original plan was good, because she seemed to be doing fine. An hour later, the director calls me and says, they decided to switch her enrollment to half day for that month because it is too stressful for her. When I said let me think about it, she says, no, that is what we decided! So, they are making a decision by themselves without thinking about my personal circumstances. I am a single mom who needs to return to her full time job. This was very disturbing for me. I talked to some friends with kids. They all found this whole thing very strange. They all thought that it is their job to entertain/distract her so that she does not cry; they thought that it should not be up to them to make a decision unilaterally. I needed them to do their part so that she gets used to the place as soon as possible. "She cried, take her home" is not a solution. Plus, this created extreme anxiety for me as I could not rely on them to organize my life. I decided to try one-two more days. I found myself calling/texting them to see how she is doing. The second day, nobody even replied to my texts. Somebody should have explained me how the communication was going to work (e.g., they would check with me in mid day, or just reach out to me only if there is an issue). None of that. No explanation of the processes. I talked to the director and explained her all my thoughts. (Oh, btw, the director also said the center is getting rid of all the Covid rules which prompted her to resign.) She kept saying that I am right. But, I don't think that she cares, as she is leaving anyways. Where does the process break? I think the lead teacher has as much responsibility as the director in making sure that there is proper communication with the parent, educating the parent, and setting the expectations of the parent. After we made a plan together, what did she say to the director which made her call me and tell me that they are changing her enrollment without my consent? Plans, of course, can change. I was not going to torment my child if she was not adjusting well, but it should not be up to the school to make a decision without my consent. I am the customer.
I eventually decided to cancel her enrollment (which the director offered me), because I could not trust what kind of uncertainty and unreliability was waiting for me in the future. I need reliable care.
I do not recommend this place. The core of the problem perhaps is that they have a state institution mentality, which they are. They are employees of the city of Brookline. Private daycares care so much about customer satisfaction and their ratings; the directors seem to be hovering around to make sure that the place is functioning properly. I got the impression that the director of Soule was jaded. Not sure if the new one can change the culture because incentives most likely are there to stay.
