We were at LGNDS for years, shortly after you opened and participated in every event and…read morevolunteered in between- with nothing to show for it. What do I mean? Not even a luncheon for your students and adult family who put countless time, energy, and efforts into the kids based upon your constant, random, and last minute change of schedule- getting to and from events, purchasing extra outfits that the kids do not like with no parental input, telling a parent they can't use the restroom after rehearsals were done at PVH a public building, excluding brown and black students and parents, including some of your instructors who left. No bday or graduation celebrations, nothing fronted by you.
You hand picked friends and family behind closed doors to help with events, giving them the top notch spots and hours, and "opened" the option for volunteers afterwards. Facts: I volunteered twice right after the BAND went through and it was magically filled.
You allowed students to be physically and verbally bullied, even after it being brought to your attention. You pushed for "ADA" to get in line first for events, when it was only YOUR elder Filipino family and friends. There's no "ADA" (your verbiage) for spectators. With the exception of Hercules community events, and maybe Kids Fest, you volunteered us for all Filipino based venues- St. Pat's and St. Joe's. Your students asked $25 for school event sponsorship and you declined, stating you're invested in other partnerships and couldn't afford it or go outside of that partnership.
You brag about trips to Greece, Paris, regular trips to LA and Vegas, while drippin in LV and other name brand items- but keep raising our tuition and uniform and event prices. We're paying for YOUR lifestyle and being taken advantage of. You almost never had anyone answering the phones or at the front desk to help us with questions, concerns, but called us out in front of families when we owed tuition or you needed something.
You had and have some invested leaders and instructors, who were afraid to stand up for what is right for fear of retaliation- their words. You cannot have 1 instructor for 25 kids, there's nothing productive about that, even though this was recently changed a few times in the last 10 months or so. By the way, you're not a licensed daycare and don't have all CPR or First Aid certified staff or defibrillators, so why do you allow adults to leave why their kids are in the studio and the 1-2 instructors are untrained and outnumbered?! You took away confidence and camaraderie, knowingly excluded people, snatched pride in being ourselves as you pushed for your own, maybe, implicit bias.
We had a blast many times, it was from the classmates and supportive adults. It was a very difficult decision, but we had to maintain and heal our mental wellness and leave...Connor, don't be afraid to speak up, it's YOUR name, YOUR vision, grab a hold of it and don't let go! We miss you.
