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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had been considering Franklin down the road but obviously are now put off by this. Are there any alternatives in NW?

Many alternatives. Can you be more specific? Do you want Montessori or full-time? Same general location? Or just another good option? What age?

Montessori would be preferable, but just another good option would be good to know too. Age is 3YO. We need a full-day program. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - perhaps you could spell this out for us. Oboler's online presence is fully transparent - he seems to run a consortia called Metro Montessori. There is another person with the same name working in private equity. Surely you are not a conspiracy theorist (of preschools!) suggesting they are the same person??

Another Joshua Franklin Oboler in New York City? Do they look the same to? I doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had been considering Franklin down the road but obviously are now put off by this. Are there any alternatives in NW?

Many alternatives. Can you be more specific? Do you want Montessori or full-time? Same general location? Or just another good option? What age?

Montessori would be preferable, but just another good option would be good to know too. Age is 3YO. We need a full-day program. Thank you!

There are other options. Have you tried The Goddard School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - perhaps you could spell this out for us. Oboler's online presence is fully transparent - he seems to run a consortia called Metro Montessori. There is another person with the same name working in private equity. Surely you are not a conspiracy theorist (of preschools!) suggesting they are the same person??

Another Joshua Franklin Oboler in New York City? Do they look the same to? I doubt it.

Same lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Franklin parent here.

Obviously this was an incredibly unfortunate incident, but I, as a parent, was satisfied with the actions Randy took to immediately notify the Franklin community of what happened and the follow up. I have have been running afterschool programs in DC for seven years, and while no one has ever lost a child under my watch, I do know that things like this can happen, and it doesn't make me feel that my child is unsafe at the school.

For those who'd like to know, there was a parent meeting, and it was decided that children would no longer go to the off-site playground. A committee was formed, including many parents, to improve the after care program. I have never gone to the woods with the kids, but they post photos on a class-site, and you can see that the students walk in a line and are wearing the bright yellow sashes to make them hard to miss if a student should go astray. It seems that they have three adults with each two-year old class. It's a wonderful program they offer and I am confident in my son's safety.

I would also like to echo what former and current Franklin parents have said about the quality of the program. My husband and I have been blown away at the care and attention my son receives. We adore his teacher, and are looking forward to him growing there over the years and sending our next child there. For them to shut them down over this would be a shame. Finally, the tuition does not seem astronomical for the service and we are grateful that we can afford it. I don't mind someone making a profit off running a school, but I do hope the teachers are well-compensated, as they are incredibly knowledgeable, hardworking professionals who deserve to make a good living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had been considering Franklin down the road but obviously are now put off by this. Are there any alternatives in NW?

Many alternatives. Can you be more specific? Do you want Montessori or full-time? Same general location? Or just another good option? What age?

Montessori would be preferable, but just another good option would be good to know too. Age is 3YO. We need a full-day program. Thank you!

There are other options. Have you tried The Goddard School?

Broad Branch Children's House. In CCDC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Franklin parent here.

Obviously this was an incredibly unfortunate incident, but I, as a parent, was satisfied with the actions Randy took to immediately notify the Franklin community of what happened and the follow up. I have have been running afterschool programs in DC for seven years, and while no one has ever lost a child under my watch, I do know that things like this can happen, and it doesn't make me feel that my child is unsafe at the school.

For those who'd like to know, there was a parent meeting, and it was decided that children would no longer go to the off-site playground. A committee was formed, including many parents, to improve the after care program. I have never gone to the woods with the kids, but they post photos on a class-site, and you can see that the students walk in a line and are wearing the bright yellow sashes to make them hard to miss if a student should go astray. It seems that they have three adults with each two-year old class. It's a wonderful program they offer and I am confident in my son's safety.

I would also like to echo what former and current Franklin parents have said about the quality of the program. My husband and I have been blown away at the care and attention my son receives. We adore his teacher, and are looking forward to him growing there over the years and sending our next child there. For them to shut them down over this would be a shame. Finally, the tuition does not seem astronomical for the service and we are grateful that we can afford it. I don't mind someone making a profit off running a school, but I do hope the teachers are well-compensated, as they are incredibly knowledgeable, hardworking professionals who deserve to make a good living.

Thank you for this information - this is very helpful. A few questions to hopefully get more clarity:

1 - What exactly happened that resulted in this latest incident where the child was left behind at the park? My understanding is that this has happened twice at Franklin in a few years - with small children left behind unattended at a public park. In addition to the very obvious safety issues (particularly in light of recent news reports about men in a van trying to abduct children in the DC area), this has to be emotionally traumatizing for the child. How hard is it to take the very minimal procedure of taking attendance at the beginning of the outing and then take attendance again at the end of the outing before they leave the park? My concern is that this does not seem like a difficult safeguard to implement and yet the school has fallen down on this front not once, but twice.

2 - If the children are no longer going to the off-site playground, where will they play? Franklin does not have much outdoor space of its own, correct? Their website talks about their "Beyond the Walls" outdoor education/nature program. Does this mean the Beyond the Walls program is discontinued or are there alternatives planned to expose the kids to nature?

3 - I think a PP had asked this but I did not see an answer. Is this school actually accredited by either Montessori association - AMI or AMS? Or does it just call itself "Montessori"? We had been considering Montessori programs in DC but it is not clear to us what Franklin's actual Montessori accreditation is, or if it has any at all.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had been considering Franklin down the road but obviously are now put off by this. Are there any alternatives in NW?

Many alternatives. Can you be more specific? Do you want Montessori or full-time? Same general location? Or just another good option? What age?

Montessori would be preferable, but just another good option would be good to know too. Age is 3YO. We need a full-day program. Thank you!

There are other options. Have you tried The Goddard School?

Broad Branch Children's House. In CCDC.

Aidan Montessori is an excellent AMI-certified Montessori school in NW - our family has been very happy there. It has full-day options depending on the age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Another Franklin parent here, and I'll second basically all of this.

Overall, the school has been a fantastic experience for our children. They have learned and grown in ways I never would have expected. Each of the teachers we've had have been stellar. We had a number of reasons for choosing it, all of which it has delivered on. And then there's some other things that we didn't expect that turned out to be huge perks; I never would have considered the quality of an art program in choosing a school, but have been absolutely amazed at how good that program is, for example.

But the school obviously has some minuses. The ones on my list (before this incident) would be:
- It is expensive;
- The parking situation can be a mess;
- The school is below average at communicating with parents; and
- The on site outdoor play area is too small.

As to the last point, I haven't found this to be a major issue in the past, for several reasons: The indoor playspace is great, the woods program is great, and the kids go to Chesapeake fairly often. It now sounds like the reaction to this incident is that they'll stop going to Chesapeake Park. I can't really fault this decision, but its still sad, because it will make the small on site playground into a larger problem than before.

Regarding your specific questions:

Was it an hour: I think it is impossible it was an hour. The group got back to the school after 5 and last pickup is at 6, so if it had been an hour, the girl's parent would have got to school to find her missing, which did not happen. Whether it was 2 minutes or 35 minutes, I do not know.

Did the school know she was missing: I don't believe so. This is different from the previous incident, where the teacher realized the mistake before she got back to the school (though simultaneously someone called the school).

Why the director goes: She started going after the first incident as a fail safe. Most people thought it was a good idea. It obviously did not work as intended.

Rock Creek Park procedures: I don't know if there's a listed set of procedures, though its similar to the playground procedures. I think the risk of getting left behind is a lot lower here because the class is alone in the woods, unlike at Chesapeake, which can be crowded with other kids. 100% of the people in the woods go back at the same time, so its easier to police. I don't know if there are anticipated changes but I assume it will be brought up at the Monday meeting.

Student-teacher ratio: I think others (particularly people who are not parents there) will disagree, but I don't think it has a ton to do with student teacher ratio. Aftercare tends to have a lower ratio than primary, plus the director is there. I don't have a good explanation for how this managed to happen twice, other than that the two events were kind of linked, because the procedures put in place after the first time inadvertently contributed to the second time. Its also the case that this is an order of magnitude more likely to happen at a school that takes kids to an offsite playground multiple times per week than at a school that goes on field trips once or twice a semester.

Are the staff tired? If they are, I have not personally noticed it. I would caution you against listening to one poster on here, who, as I think you've already deduced, is probably the troll who has been banned from the other Franklin threads.

Regarding generally how the school is managed, the main thing to know is that parents have mixed feelings about the director and about the school's level of communication. Some people view her as straightforward, efficient, and professional. Others view her as closed and somewhat intimidating to talk to. We have known a couple families who have left the school, and they generally had similar reasons: they didn't like the level of communication and felt like the director wasn't being responsive to their concerns. Although I've had a positive experience with the school, I think it should work on ways to address this problem. For example, I think having something more akin to a PTA or a parent board might be a needed change, particularly after this incident.

One thing that I do want to say in the director's defense, however, is that some of the comments on this thread implying that she does not care about safety or does not take these incidents seriously are utter B.S. and are written by people who I cannot imagine have any first hand knowledge of the situation. I have absolutely no doubt that Monday was one of the worst days of her life, that she is incredibly upset about what happened, and that she takes it seriously. And while I don't want to doubt anything said by the poster who helped comfort the little girl (thank you!), I honestly find it impossible to imagine that there was 15 minutes between when she talked to the director and when the director got to the park. It would truly shock me if she didn't sprint there the moment she realized what happened. And I would interpret her not appearing appreciative when she got the girl as her being incredibly focused on attempting to deal with the situation at hand.

How sad for the director. What about it being probably the worst day of that little girl's life?

[Anonymous]

Please see my answers below:

Thank you for this information - this is very helpful. A few questions to hopefully get more clarity:

1 - What exactly happened that resulted in this latest incident where the child was left behind at the park? My understanding is that this has happened twice at Franklin in a few years - with small children left behind unattended at a public park. In addition to the very obvious safety issues (particularly in light of recent news reports about men in a van trying to abduct children in the DC area), this has to be emotionally traumatizing for the child. How hard is it to take the very minimal procedure of taking attendance at the beginning of the outing and then take attendance again at the end of the outing before they leave the park? My concern is that this does not seem like a difficult safeguard to implement and yet the school has fallen down on this front not once, but twice.

The Director was watching a group of students at the park and took them back to school for an activity. One child asked to stay behind with the other children who were there and she let her. When the Director came to escort the other children back from the park, the child who had remained back from the first group was left behind. Essentially, she made a decision to go outside of protocol, and forgot.

2 - If the children are no longer going to the off-site playground, where will they play? Franklin does not have much outdoor space of its own, correct? Their website talks about their "Beyond the Walls" outdoor education/nature program. Does this mean the Beyond the Walls program is discontinued or are there alternatives planned to expose the kids to nature?
There is an outdoor playground that I think it totally fine. It's not huge, but a whole class can play there very easily. There is also a huge gym in the basement where the kids play when it's cold. The nature program is not being discontinued, just the trips to the public playground up the street. The nature program is awesome and your child will love it. Sometimes we take our son and dog to the trails on the weekends and it's a lot of fun having our son show us around.

3 - I think a PP had asked this but I did not see an answer. Is this school actually accredited by either Montessori association - AMI or AMS? Or does it just call itself "Montessori"? We had been considering Montessori programs in DC but it is not clear to us what Franklin's actual Montessori accreditation is, or if it has any at all.
I'm not sure - you can probably call the school and ask. My guess is that they are: I went to Montessori school through 5th grade, and they use all the materials, techniques, etc. I remember from my preschool and elementary years, and the teachers attend a Montessori conference and other Montessori professional development programs throughout the year.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the Franklin parents who have posted helpful answers. Thanks also to the OP for the PSA.

Are there any Franklin parents who are planning to NOT re-enroll their kids at the school next year because they are not satisfied with the school's response to this incident?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Franklin parent here.

Obviously this was an incredibly unfortunate incident, but I, as a parent, was satisfied with the actions Randy took to immediately notify the Franklin community of what happened and the follow up. I have have been running afterschool programs in DC for seven years, and while no one has ever lost a child under my watch, I do know that things like this can happen, and it doesn't make me feel that my child is unsafe at the school.

For those who'd like to know, there was a parent meeting, and it was decided that children would no longer go to the off-site playground. A committee was formed, including many parents, to improve the after care program. I have never gone to the woods with the kids, but they post photos on a class-site, and you can see that the students walk in a line and are wearing the bright yellow sashes to make them hard to miss if a student should go astray. It seems that they have three adults with each two-year old class. It's a wonderful program they offer and I am confident in my son's safety.

I would also like to echo what former and current Franklin parents have said about the quality of the program. My husband and I have been blown away at the care and attention my son receives. We adore his teacher, and are looking forward to him growing there over the years and sending our next child there. For them to shut them down over this would be a shame. Finally, the tuition does not seem astronomical for the service and we are grateful that we can afford it. I don't mind someone making a profit off running a school, but I do hope the teachers are well-compensated, as they are incredibly knowledgeable, hardworking professionals who deserve to make a good living.

Thank you for this information - this is very helpful. A few questions to hopefully get more clarity:

1 - What exactly happened that resulted in this latest incident where the child was left behind at the park? My understanding is that this has happened twice at Franklin in a few years - with small children left behind unattended at a public park. In addition to the very obvious safety issues (particularly in light of recent news reports about men in a van trying to abduct children in the DC area), this has to be emotionally traumatizing for the child. How hard is it to take the very minimal procedure of taking attendance at the beginning of the outing and then take attendance again at the end of the outing before they leave the park? My concern is that this does not seem like a difficult safeguard to implement and yet the school has fallen down on this front not once, but twice.

2 - If the children are no longer going to the off-site playground, where will they play? Franklin does not have much outdoor space of its own, correct? Their website talks about their "Beyond the Walls" outdoor education/nature program. Does this mean the Beyond the Walls program is discontinued or are there alternatives planned to expose the kids to nature?

3 - I think a PP had asked this but I did not see an answer. Is this school actually accredited by either Montessori association - AMI or AMS? Or does it just call itself "Montessori"? We had been considering Montessori programs in DC but it is not clear to us what Franklin's actual Montessori accreditation is, or if it has any at all.

Thanks!

Re: #1, yes, certainly they take attendance at both the beginning and end of the outing. In both cases, for slightly different reasons, that protocol did not work. I believe in the incident two years ago, after they took the second attendance, a student's shoe came off, the teacher took a few seconds to fix the shoe, and while doing so, the student who was left got out of line. In the second case, the teachers took attendance but the student who was left was not on the attendance sheet because she was supposed to have left with an earlier group. The director allowed her to leave with the later group but did not switch her name from the roll.

Re: #2, they have an on site playground, it is just smallish. They also will continue the nature program and they have a very large play area in the basement. I think some of the dissatisfaction with the outdoor play space is just relative to the cost of attending the school. It seems crowded to an adult eye when the whole aftercare program is out there, but the kids are clearly having fun. Its just disappointing they can't go to Forest Hills as well, since that's such a nice and new facility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had been considering Franklin down the road but obviously are now put off by this. Are there any alternatives in NW?

Many alternatives. Can you be more specific? Do you want Montessori or full-time? Same general location? Or just another good option? What age?

Montessori would be preferable, but just another good option would be good to know too. Age is 3YO. We need a full-day program. Thank you!

There are other options. Have you tried The Goddard School?

Broad Branch Children's House. In CCDC.

Aidan Montessori is an excellent AMI-certified Montessori school in NW - our family has been very happy there. It has full-day options depending on the age.

AMI is the authentic certification. Maria Montessori's son, another physician, fought the newer bogus certification, but lost in the American court system.

If you want the true Montessori, only AMI qualifies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had been considering Franklin down the road but obviously are now put off by this. Are there any alternatives in NW?

Many alternatives. Can you be more specific? Do you want Montessori or full-time? Same general location? Or just another good option? What age?

Montessori would be preferable, but just another good option would be good to know too. Age is 3YO. We need a full-day program. Thank you!

There are other options. Have you tried The Goddard School?

Broad Branch Children's House. In CCDC.

Aidan Montessori is an excellent AMI-certified Montessori school in NW - our family has been very happy there. It has full-day options depending on the age.

AMI is the authentic certification. Maria Montessori's son, another physician, fought the newer bogus certification, but lost in the American court system.

If you want the true Montessori, only AMI qualifies.

I'm not sure any PP was really asking about the difference between AMI and AMS, so I won't type out a detailed reply, but this comment strikes me as pretty stupid (and one that AMI explicitly disagrees with). If anyone is actually interested in the differences, I think this article is pretty good:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/the-great-montessori-schism/266217/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had been considering Franklin down the road but obviously are now put off by this. Are there any alternatives in NW?

Many alternatives. Can you be more specific? Do you want Montessori or full-time? Same general location? Or just another good option? What age?

Montessori would be preferable, but just another good option would be good to know too. Age is 3YO. We need a full-day program. Thank you!

There are other options. Have you tried The Goddard School?

Broad Branch Children's House. In CCDC.

Aidan Montessori is an excellent AMI-certified Montessori school in NW - our family has been very happy there. It has full-day options depending on the age.

AMI is the authentic certification. Maria Montessori's son, another physician, fought the newer bogus certification, but lost in the American court system.

If you want the true Montessori, only AMI qualifies.

I'm not sure any PP was really asking about the difference between AMI and AMS, so I won't type out a detailed reply, but this comment strikes me as pretty stupid (and one that AMI explicitly disagrees with). If anyone is actually interested in the differences, I think this article is pretty good:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/the-great-montessori-schism/266217/

Why the split? Why did Montessori need to even fight it?