Please do not send your child here. My 4-year old daughter was bullied on at least 5 separate…read moreoccasions between September-October 2018. The director was not at all empathetic with our situation and indicated that we were either exaggerating or manufacturing the stories.
My distraught daughter reported being:
(1) pushed down to which the assistant teacher, Maria, affirmed;
(2) spit at in the face to which the teacher placed the other child on timeout;
(3) pushed to the asphalt ground and sustained abrasions on her knee/shin, of which the school denied happening;
(4) slapped and clawed in the face with finger nails, of which the school again denied happening; and
(5) pushed off of an outdoor slide and sustained a large bruise on her triceps.
All these incidents were discussed with teacher and/or director. While the teacher showed some sympathy towards our daughter, the director had no empathy. Furthermore, she suggested that our child may have fallen elsewhere to sustained those injuries or that we may have asked manipulative questions to confirm our bullying suspicions. Such an accusation is a complete farce.
We had a pediatrician and a retired forensic police officer look at some of the injuries that my daughter had. Both said these injuries were not self inflicted and could not have been the result of simple falls. More importantly, the injuries indicate an altercation with another person/child. The scratches on her face showed a two-finger nail marking and clearly indicated that my daughter was attacked by another. The bruises on her arm, given there location on the tricep and near her armpit, suggests that she was forcibly hit in the area. We took photographs of these injuries and presented them to the director. Her only response was that the incidents weren't reported by the teachers on duty so there was nothing the school could do.
My daughter has been traumatized by the events at this school and their disregard for her personal safety. During these incidents, of which occured within a month of attendance, she has expressed a level of fear that no parent should have to see from their child.
We moved to California from Washington D.C. before the 2018-2019 school year. While there we had our daughter enrolled in the Goddard School for the previous year. The Goddard School took great care of our daughter and instilled a positive impression of schools. She was so excited to returned to school after her summer remission. However, that excitment was shortlived due to the negligance and poor care she received at MCH. Once these bullying incidents started at MCH, my daughter would beg us to not take her to school. She would say, "I don't want to go to that school. I don't like Harper. Harper hurt me. Harper spit at my face." For a weeks, all I would hear is the name Harper and everything that was said indicated that Harper was the harrasser/bully. She spoke of other names but with only good repore, e.g. "I like Isabella. Isabella is my best friend." She would speak this way of many of the other kids, but Harper. Each time the name Harper came up, it was always followed by some form of abuse, physical harm, or emotional trauma.
What's more disturbing is that the teacher or her assistant was instructing our duaghter to not report Harper to us as the bully. We know this only now. After withdrawing our child from this horrible institutuion for a few months now, she is only just telling us that a teacher told her to not speak foul of Harper... or in her words "Harper not hurt me. I fall myself. I hurt myself. Teacher tell me Harper not push me. I don't like Harper. She push me and I fall." Does that sound right to you? Why would a four year old child say that another child didn't hurt her and that she fell on her own or hurt herself. Then in the same sentence, say that the other child push her and she fell as a result of the push. It would appear to me that someone at the school was rehearsing with my daughter on what to say. Specifically, someone was telling her to tell me that she fell on her own, hurted herself, and the injuries she suffered were not from Harper. I'll tell you this school is full of deception and instructed my daughter to lie.
Please do not send your child here. This place is a nightmare. Beyond the bullying, the only activity my child really did was draw parallel lines within the outline of a shape. She knew her alphabet, numbers, and shape prior to attending this school (Thank you Goddard School). The progress she made while in the school was little to none.
If you are looking for a safe place for your child, this is not the school. There's no security and any person can just walk into the school grounds. Again, the director could care less if your child was being bullied or victimize in some way. If you are looking for a school that educates your child, challenges them, or keeps them safe - this is not that school.
