I'm hoping this review will save some child and family the anguish that it has caused my child and my family.
My child did not have a great experience with Open Door Preschool. On the third day of school, a child pushed her. I spoke with the director personally and she informed me that since neither her or her staff seen the incident occur, she could not do anything as far as disciplinary action. We decided that this was a one time incident and that we would keep an eye on it but not let it deter her from going to the school. But, the past 6 months my daughter has been bullied. Several students in her class has pushed her, jumped line and said things to her that have been out of line. My child has had psychological effects because of this. She would often feel sick at school suddenly and have a headache which lead to her needing to leave school early. After I picked her up from school, she would feel much better. She also has had lots of anxiety and has been afraid to go to school because of this. Even her teacher has brought up how much anxiety she would have coming into class and it's no coincidence that she has anxiety about going to school because she's afraid of getting bullied. On one occasion, my daughter told her teacher of the children bullying her and her teacher replied, "If you tattletale again your Apple point will be moved from green to the red". On another occasion, it was actually moved from green to red because she told the teacher that a child had jumped her in line at the water fountain. Green means good behavior, being good friends to classmates, etc. Red means misbehaving, not listening to instructions and being disrespectful to others. So, in essence, my child was being taught to silence her valid concerns and that if she spoke out against her mistreatment, she would be punished. I have had to call her teacher several times to try to have issues resolved when my daughter complained about a child pushing her. Each time I spoke with Derindia or the director, Jennifer, the answer to my concerns were the same. They told me that they would look into it and that since it was not seen they couldn't reprimand the offending child. Meanwhile, the insults and bullying continued because no child was reprimanded or held accountable for their actions. Another thing that the director and teacher would do is question the validity of my child's claims with questions such as, "Are you sure that she wasn't mistaken the child pushing her for accidentally bumping into her?" Perhaps she is sensitive, etc..."
I would steer clear from this school. Even though the classes are small to allow for better time with the students, my husband and I still had to hire an outside tutor after hours because she was not learning and the teacher did not offer any solutions or techniques to help. I'd already made plans to pull her out and have today be her last day (because of the ongoing bullying with no action taken), but an incident happened last week that prompt me to not let her return.
On Friday, after school, my child told me that one of her classmates told her that the reason she is friends with the other classmate is because she has the same white skin as her and that white skin is better than brown skin. When I emailed the director, she responded as if she did not believe my child and that this was false. Furthermore, after speaking with the director on the phone about this issue, the director spoke with the other child that said this and the other child denies she said this. So because of this, she decided to take the word of the other child and not pursue actions. Once again, glossing over the issue and no action being taken.
Open Door Preschool claims to be diversified however, the incident above shows me differently. As well as me having to purchase dolls of several ethnicities for the school because there were none in the classroom.
I'm highly disappointed in this school. They did not do right by my child, instead dismissed her claims and silenced her voice. As a concerned parent, more effort in resolving the issue and making my child feel safe at school should have been a priority.
I will not recommended this school to anyone because they give the approval to bully kids without consequences. read more
