I wasn't going to share this, but after speaking with many mothers, I feel it's the right thing to do so no one else goes through the same experience. If your child is entering the infant/toddler room, please read this.
First, this is not a true Montessori school. Any school can use the name, and I should have been wary when I toured while pregnant--on a rainy day, all the classrooms were just watching movies.
From the beginning, communication was poor. They have no cameras or apps to track a child's day, and in a year, I received only three photos. Pick-up updates were vague, ranging from "he had a good day" to "he was fussy all day." I never knew what he did all day. And they never followed the schedule that was posted for that classroom. And despite giving them a written schedule for my son's naps and feedings, they consistently ignored it. At "Back to School" night, I noticed it was written on a classroom whiteboard but still not followed.
Cleanliness was a major issue. Parents weren't required to remove their shoes, even though infants crawled on the floor. My son frequently came home with dried food caked under his neck and never had his nose wiped, leading to multiple cases of pink eye. When he had a 103-degree fever, they failed to administer the Tylenol I had provided, and the staff seemed unprepared to handle the situation.
Turnover was extremely high. Teachers lasted one to two weeks, creating constant inconsistency. When I asked who the head teacher was, I was told, "We all are," which explained the lack of structure.
Despite being there for months, my son remained reluctant at drop-off and cried every day at pick-up. I assumed this was normal. A teacher constantly told me he was the only child fussy all day, making me feel like a failure. When I asked if he could go outside as that might help, I was initially told only walking children were allowed. Later, the director said he could go outside if he had shoes, but he was often left inside anyway.
When he wasn't walking at one year, a teacher told me, "All the infants are passing him." I went home crying, doubting myself as a mother and bought many walking toys to help. Once he did start walking, things got worse. The director frequently told me he was "going after kids," but when I asked for specifics, I got vague responses such as he follows kids around. He had two biting incidents over months, and when I asked for guidance on preventing it, the director repeatedly said, "I don't know."
The worst part came in his final two weeks. The daycare got new toys which I was so excited for. However, one new item was a wooden playpen. This was supposedly for infants (according to the owner, it was for safety of the non walker infants to be in there) then why was my walking son isolated in there? Every day at pick-up, I found my son alone in the playpen, isolated from the other kids, without toys, pushed into a corner. After a the third day I was confused seeing him in there. When I questioned why he was in there and how long I got inconsistent answers--"not long" or "we didn't have enough teachers." The real answer is that they didn't want to deal with him, so they locked him away. I'm writing this part with tears in my eyes, remembering what horror my son endured at that place. These teachers thought my son was a monster and did not want to do their jobs and rather put him in there. He was in there everyday for two weeks when I picked him up! I know I should have pulled him out right away looking back.
On his last day, I was told he scratched another child and would be kicked out if it happened again. I realized this was a blessing in disguise and immediately withdrew him. I then asked for all evidence such as his 3 incident reports, video surveillance of his "bad" behavior and of him in the playpen, and never received any.
I called the owner with my concerns, she had the same incompetent responses as the director. When I reported the daycare, the officer investigated but found no conclusive evidence since the playpen wasn't visible on camera. Convenient.
After switching schools, his new teacher said, "I don't know what they did to him, but he has his guard up. Anytime someone gets near him, he tenses up." It broke my heart. I would constantly ask about his behavior and she was so reassuring that this is normal toddler behavior. Hes now thriving and they actually do lessons everyday which at norco infant/toddler, they never did.
I regret ever sending my son to this place, and I know Christi will respond to this with some bs message saying "I'm glad you found a new place but our safety is our priority." My child was not a monster. He was a baby trying to learn! But never given the opportunity.
Putting him in norco Montessori will haunt me for the rest of my life.
The only bright spot was Miss Erin--she truly cared. But sadly, that was the only bright light in this dark place. read more