Annoyed/amazed by daycare response to Mem Day flooding

[Anonymous]

Yes, the ongoing fixes are pretty interesting and expansive. It's also alarming that the Center was originally planning on just drying out the carpet before licensing put the breaks on that overly simple and possible dangerous solution. It's scary to think about the other cheap shortcuts they have taken and the manner in which decisions are made for the well-being of the children.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We are scheduled to start our son there in September (he will be 5 months by then). After hearing about all of this, we're starting to have some serious doubts, even if the rooms are ready. The director had told me over the phone that the damage would be fixed by mid-August, but then told my husband mid-September (on the same day). He went by today, but apparently the director is on vacation and whomever he saw said we might want to "explore alternatives" for September. He said it looked pretty dark there today.

Anyone else get a more recent estimate?

[Anonymous]

Mid-August is the latest that the church and the CDC have provided in their somewhat regular updates (Friday). I would STRONGLY suggest having a backup plan because they were saying "next week" for a while at the beginning of this and then "by next Friday" several times more recently. It's now 9 weeks later and so far as I can tell nothing has actually been done except exploratory work that keeps adding things to the to-do list. I could be wrong about that but that's the sense I've gotten.

At first I appreciated the updates but now I think they're mostly BS.

[Anonymous]

Honestly I won't plan on a spot in early September as a sure thing. The "level 1" kid's rooms that were flooded are just the beginning, when you go downstairs to the "B" level, to go out to the little fountain courtyard where the kids do waterplay this time of year, you can see they have taken it down to the metal studs in some sections of the southwest corner and those are not even classrooms.
Looking forward to some summer fun festivals at the center over the next few Fridays.

[Anonymous]

As a parent waiting for our room to re-open, I'm not planning on actually setting foot back into the Center and our room until September. It's beyond frustrating and I, too, don't believe any of the 'updates' as they are all smoke and mirrors. The 'Fun Friday' idea really do not make up for this fiasco and I do think it's too little too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the ongoing fixes are pretty interesting and expansive. It's also alarming that the Center was originally planning on just drying out the carpet before licensing put the breaks on that overly simple and possible dangerous solution. It's scary to think about the other cheap shortcuts they have taken and the manner in which decisions are made for the well-being of the children.

Right?? I was wondering if news of the required air ducts cleaning was causing concern among parents of those currently at the school. I know early on in this whole mess some got up in arms about airborne mold...honestly, at the time I thought they were overreacting but now I feel bad for having thought that! At a certain point it seems they could at least offer an apology and acknowledge that they goofed and will handle things differently in the future. Given how they've handled this, I don't trust them to do the right thing unless forced.

[Anonymous]

I think the others parents at the Center are happy to stay mum in lieu of scrambling for alternative care like the rest is us. But, if I had a child in a classroom on the main level (and perhaps on the lower level), I'd be asking if the hvac systems are connected and pressing for more info. The Center needed to be shut down for these repairs to be done properly, which is beyond sad and distressing, and I'd rather be securing interim child care in lieu of sending my child back to a potentially toxic space. Which likely would have been the case if the Center would have gone forward with their original 'clean up' plans. It's scary and I hope members of the administration and Director are prepared for parental inquiries during the 'fun friday' activities.

[Anonymous]

After running out of back-up options, I ended up finding a new child care provider. We are at a family child care provider in Petworth. The provider has 3 teachers for up to 6 kids. The kids range in ages from 1 year to 3ish. The big change is that the providers only speak Spanish. After 3 weeks at this provider our daughter has started to speak Spanish too. I am really happy with it so far. I will miss some things about First Baptist, but waiting for the center to reopen was just a bit stressful. We were running out of back-up options. And my new provider allows us to go part-time, which is giving me a chance to work 4 days per week and not pay for the 5th. If anyone is looking for another child care provider option in Petworth, I would be happy to provide more info. I think they might have an opening. My e-mail address is [e-mail].

[Anonymous]

We left CDC for Easter Seals in Columbia Heights. We picked CDC over it a year ago and thought we made the right choice. When all the flooding happened they offered us a space at easter seals, and we are so happy for the switch. I wish I did this a year ago.

[Anonymous]

9:26 - Easter Seals has a recording that says they're currently full. Did you find that the list moved much? Also, do you know what the infant rate is?

[Anonymous]

Infant rate is 1315, and I would recomend speaking with the director. The list moves.

[Anonymous]

Did any other displaced parents find the "Fun Fridays" a bit, ummmm, misguided? Did anyone get to sneak a peek at the affected areas? If so, does the week of August 22nd seem at all plausible?

[Anonymous]

None of the new padding/carpeting has been put down as of this morning due to a paint delay last week. I was told they would be finishing up the painting today, but who knows. The carpet take a few days to install and then they have to get licensing back to approve the reopening or request additional repairs. I don't see the Center re-opening early next week and I'd likely guess the following week. It will all really depend on how fast the carpeting can (safely) be installed and getting licensing back into the Center. And the teachers need to have time to get back into their classrooms to get them ready for the kids -- they are bare and dirty from all the repairs.

[Anonymous]

Just popped in the Center and wanted to report that the carpet still isn't put down, the walls are still being painted, edging is incomplete, and there is some ceiling work that appears to be happening (big chunks of the ceiling are missing). Unless a miracle is happening between now and Friday, there is no way the classrooms are re-opening early next week or next week at all. And, as PP said, licensing still needs to be scheduled to review the work and sign off on it. Lots to do!

[Anonymous]

Not surprised. Does anyone know who the point of contact the board of directors would be? Someone affiliated with this place has to care about getting it fully reopened at some point, right? Clearly the director doesn't, can't tell if the church does but one would think the board would? We'll be entering the 3rd month of this pretty soon - unreal.