Franklin Montessori student age 3 left in Forest Hills Park by teachers today

[asamel01]

Just wanted to put this out there, as I have a 3 year old girl. I was at Forest Hills park with my kids today and encountered a sobbing three year old girl, crying for her mom. A few nannies and moms and I quickly realized there was no one there for this girl and she had the Franklin scarf on. I saw when the Franklin kids left the playground and she had probably been abandoned for a good hour. Another mom called the cops and the head of the school, Randy, came after 15 min and whisked her out of my arms and said that yes she had been left on accident. Just psa to all Franklin parents and parents considering. We considered Franklin for our daughter. I mean, it costs an incredible sum and your kid is not even safe? I have no idea what the protocol is for informing parents in a situation like this, but every parent has the right to know.

[Anonymous]

OMG for real? What time was it. One hour!?

This happened 2 years ago.

[Anonymous]

I don't believe this.

[Anonymous]

I believe the protocol at the school is that the Head of School accompanies all school trips to the park, after the child was left behind 2 years ago. If that protocol is still in place, then this story is not true because Randy would have been at the park.

[Anonymous]

The head of school was, in fact, at the park per the protocol put in place two years ago and this child still managed to get left behind.

[Anonymous]

Did they wait for the police to show up?

[Anonymous]

Why was it not closed down as a matter of public safety???

[Anonymous]

So they forgot a student at the park two years ago, tightened protocol so it wouldn't happen again, and it happened again anyway?! I don't understand how this is possible. They aren't supposed to leave until they check the class list, and there are extra people to help find kids.

[Anonymous]

This is horrifying and if it happened again there is just no excuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So they forgot a student at the park two years ago, tightened protocol so it wouldn't happen again, and it happened again anyway?! I don't understand how this is possible. They aren't supposed to leave until they check the class list, and there are extra people to help find kids.

She was not on the class list. The kids leave the park at two different times. She was on the class list to leave in the first group. She requested and received permission to leave with the second group instead, but nobody moved her name from the first class list to the second. So, the issue isn't that they didn't follow the protocol, its that giving her permission to leave with a different group created a hole in the protocol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So they forgot a student at the park two years ago, tightened protocol so it wouldn't happen again, and it happened again anyway?! I don't understand how this is possible. They aren't supposed to leave until they check the class list, and there are extra people to help find kids.

She was not on the class list. The kids leave the park at two different times. She was on the class list to leave in the first group. She requested and received permission to leave with the second group instead, but nobody moved her name from the first class list to the second. So, the issue isn't that they didn't follow the protocol, its that giving her permission to leave with a different group created a hole in the protocol.

Why would they agree to a 3 year old doing that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So they forgot a student at the park two years ago, tightened protocol so it wouldn't happen again, and it happened again anyway?! I don't understand how this is possible. They aren't supposed to leave until they check the class list, and there are extra people to help find kids.

She was not on the class list. The kids leave the park at two different times. She was on the class list to leave in the first group. She requested and received permission to leave with the second group instead, but nobody moved her name from the first class list to the second. So, the issue isn't that they didn't follow the protocol, its that giving her permission to leave with a different group created a hole in the protocol.

Why would they agree to a 3 year old doing that?

I don't know. If I had to speculate, she was refusing to leave and the Head of School figured it wasn't worth fighting because another group was heading back in a few minutes. But it is obviously a horrendous decision in hindsight. If this is the only time she's made that exception, then its extraordinarily unlucky that it exploded in her face the first time she did it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So they forgot a student at the park two years ago, tightened protocol so it wouldn't happen again, and it happened again anyway?! I don't understand how this is possible. They aren't supposed to leave until they check the class list, and there are extra people to help find kids.

She was not on the class list. The kids leave the park at two different times. She was on the class list to leave in the first group. She requested and received permission to leave with the second group instead, but nobody moved her name from the first class list to the second. So, the issue isn't that they didn't follow the protocol, its that giving her permission to leave with a different group created a hole in the protocol.

A 3 year old "requested and received permission?" What does that even mean? Who are you writing so formally about this incident? Sketchy all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So they forgot a student at the park two years ago, tightened protocol so it wouldn't happen again, and it happened again anyway?! I don't understand how this is possible. They aren't supposed to leave until they check the class list, and there are extra people to help find kids.

She was not on the class list. The kids leave the park at two different times. She was on the class list to leave in the first group. She requested and received permission to leave with the second group instead, but nobody moved her name from the first class list to the second. So, the issue isn't that they didn't follow the protocol, its that giving her permission to leave with a different group created a hole in the protocol.

A 3 year old "requested and received permission?" What does that even mean? Who are you writing so formally about this incident? Sketchy all around.

Huh? "Requested" means "asked" and "received permission" means "the person asked said yes," if that helps you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So they forgot a student at the park two years ago, tightened protocol so it wouldn't happen again, and it happened again anyway?! I don't understand how this is possible. They aren't supposed to leave until they check the class list, and there are extra people to help find kids.

She was not on the class list. The kids leave the park at two different times. She was on the class list to leave in the first group. She requested and received permission to leave with the second group instead, but nobody moved her name from the first class list to the second. So, the issue isn't that they didn't follow the protocol, its that giving her permission to leave with a different group created a hole in the protocol.

A 3 year old "requested and received permission?" What does that even mean? Who are you writing so formally about this incident? Sketchy all around.

This is clearly someone with inside knowledge, maybe the director. As the parent of a 3 year-old (and someone who has sent 2 older kids through Montessori and therefore "gets" the Montessori independence ethos), letting a 3 year old make their own decisions about whether to stay with her own class is insane. Not just because it can blow up in your fact like this, but because even Montessori kids have to do what the group is doing sometimes.