Lee 1st Impressions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is one of the scream criers. I feel horrible about this and every day I try to talk to him, get him excited and ready for school. Everyday I pick him up he tells me that he had a fun day and he is in good spirits. For whatever reason, this has been incredibly hard for him. He was in a daycare prior, so he's used to the separation. I apologize to everyone who has to witness this. I'm open to any suggestions on how to fix this. We talk about school every day, and I've always reassured him that we are returning to get him. Again, I hope this to will pass. Please don't blame Lee for this, as they are exceptional at helping him calm down and enjoy his day (I'm told the crying stops within 5 minutes of class starting.)

Don't apologize! To the folks
complaining about the crying children at drop off on an anonymous blog- remember you are talking about someone's child and someone's family who is trying their best. Keep it classy folks.

You are talking about my comment. How about not assuming the worst of people - that is a classy thing to do too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is one of the scream criers. I feel horrible about this and every day I try to talk to him, get him excited and ready for school. Everyday I pick him up he tells me that he had a fun day and he is in good spirits. For whatever reason, this has been incredibly hard for him. He was in a daycare prior, so he's used to the separation. I apologize to everyone who has to witness this. I'm open to any suggestions on how to fix this. We talk about school every day, and I've always reassured him that we are returning to get him. Again, I hope this to will pass. Please don't blame Lee for this, as they are exceptional at helping him calm down and enjoy his day (I'm told the crying stops within 5 minutes of class starting.)

Don't apologize! To the folks
complaining about the crying children at drop off on an anonymous blog- remember you are talking about someone's child and someone's family who is trying their best. Keep it classy folks.

You are talking about my comment. How about not assuming the worst of people - that is a classy thing to do too.

Wow! you are just full of anger. I hope your day gets better.

[Anonymous]

There are always going to be someone who will never be happy and are always going to look towards the negativity of any and everything. We are also very happy with Lee and very sad to see such petty negativity. This is going to be a great Journey.

" The real preparation for education is the study of one's self. The training of the teacher is something far more than the learning of ideas. It includes the training of character; it is a preparation of the spirit. " Maria Montessori

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year old was the one crying LOUDLY the last few mornings. I thank all the parents who gave me sweet looks or 'I have been there stories.' Thanks for your patience as he adjusts. Some of the children have also been very kind.

My son had a smooth first week but this week has been a challenge. The teachers, staff and administration have been great. They assured me that my kid and others who are crying at drop off are fine within 5 minutes of their parents leaving. They are fine cooperative and participating. I guess drop off is just going to be a mess for a bit. Sorry about that.

Oh, don't apologize. I felt awful for the kids crying this morning. They seemed so upset and I just wanted to give them a hug! It will get better for them, and everything will settle down soon as they get into a routine. I'm the parent of one of the older kids who posted above -- it's absolutely to be expected that the youngest kids will be upset for the first week or so and will take time to get used to school. My kid was the same at that age. I just have a few concerns about the large age spread in the mixed age class - but it's probably mainly due to the challenge of being a brand new school with almost everyone new to Montessori. The older kids have been there nearly 3 weeks, but for many of the young ones it's been only a few days.

Duh--it's Montessori.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

SWong wrote:Just curious as to why some chose Lee? You were aware it was a Montessori school right?

Yes. We were enrolled in a private Montessori preschool before getting a slot at Lee. I did put capital hill Montessori ahead of it in the lottery but, so far, we are happy with lee (except for all the scream crying - is that normal? My last school wasn't like this. maybe it is because EVERYONE is new?)

People. get over the crying. It is normal. My DC started at a long-time established private montessori a week and a half ago (the same school that my other DC attended). The first week he was fine--almost giddy. Then last Thursday into yesterday he had major meltdowns at drop off. Had to be removed by FORCE from my leg to go to his classroom. One day I stayed to the side just to listen and his crying stopped within a minute of being in the classroom. This is normal. Give these parents a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

SWong wrote:Just curious as to why some chose Lee? You were aware it was a Montessori school right?

Yes. We were enrolled in a private Montessori preschool before getting a slot at Lee. I did put capital hill Montessori ahead of it in the lottery but, so far, we are happy with lee (except for all the scream crying - is that normal? My last school wasn't like this. maybe it is because EVERYONE is new?)

People. get over the crying. It is normal. My DC started at a long-time established private montessori a week and a half ago (the same school that my other DC attended). The first week he was fine--almost giddy. Then last Thursday into yesterday he had major meltdowns at drop off. Had to be removed by FORCE from my leg to go to his classroom. One day I stayed to the side just to listen and his crying stopped within a minute of being in the classroom. This is normal. Give these parents a break.

It's completely normal and it will get better. What concerns me more is the parent behavior on this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think everyone at the school was aware that "Lee Montessori" was a Montessori school when they chose it.

I think what the OP was asking is other than the name did you understand that it was a Montessori School and the Montessori Philosophy. Did you chose it because you were seeking out a Montessori education for your child or did you just simply put it on your list in hopes that you would get in somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

SWong wrote:Just curious as to why some chose Lee? You were aware it was a Montessori school right?

Yes. We were enrolled in a private Montessori preschool before getting a slot at Lee. I did put capital hill Montessori ahead of it in the lottery but, so far, we are happy with lee (except for all the scream crying - is that normal? My last school wasn't like this. maybe it is because EVERYONE is new?)

People. get over the crying. It is normal. My DC started at a long-time established private montessori a week and a half ago (the same school that my other DC attended). The first week he was fine--almost giddy. Then last Thursday into yesterday he had major meltdowns at drop off. Had to be removed by FORCE from my leg to go to his classroom. One day I stayed to the side just to listen and his crying stopped within a minute of being in the classroom. This is normal. Give these parents a break.

It's completely normal and it will get better. What concerns me more is the parent behavior on this board.

It's ture (and I am at fault as I have been very active in Lee threads). In person everyone at Lee is uniformaly nice, but in these threads we are all so snarky. It is bizarre. It is likely that you had a lovely conversation on Saturday with the person you just called unclassy (and that exhcange is just the lastest example in many such exhcanges).

Honestly, I think we all just need to pipe down lest we give lee a bad rap.

[Anonymous]

Here's an explanation. Because Lee is a new school, a higher percentage fo people learned about it from this baord (rather than say a neighbor). Which means a lot of Lee parents are on here and are used to posting on DCUM (and used to tearing down other posts, jumping on every misstatment, over arguing every throught etc - all the stuff that makes DCUM what it is).

Perhaps when we post in a Lee threads we can see it as a different rehetorical situation than posting in a toilet training or birthday party thread. I will try to do a better job of remembering that I am posting to and about people I actually know and like!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3 year old was the one crying LOUDLY the last few mornings. I thank all the parents who gave me sweet looks or 'I have been there stories.' Thanks for your patience as he adjusts. Some of the children have also been very kind.

My son had a smooth first week but this week has been a challenge. The teachers, staff and administration have been great. They assured me that my kid and others who are crying at drop off are fine within 5 minutes of their parents leaving. They are fine cooperative and participating. I guess drop off is just going to be a mess for a bit. Sorry about that.

Oh, don't apologize. I felt awful for the kids crying this morning. They seemed so upset and I just wanted to give them a hug! It will get better for them, and everything will settle down soon as they get into a routine. I'm the parent of one of the older kids who posted above -- it's absolutely to be expected that the youngest kids will be upset for the first week or so and will take time to get used to school. My kid was the same at that age. I just have a few concerns about the large age spread in the mixed age class - but it's probably mainly due to the challenge of being a brand new school with almost everyone new to Montessori. The older kids have been there nearly 3 weeks, but for many of the young ones it's been only a few days.

Duh--it's Montessori.

Duh, the age spread isn't balanced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I think everyone at the school was aware that "Lee Montessori" was a Montessori school when they chose it.

I think what the OP was asking is other than the name did you understand that it was a Montessori School and the Montessori Philosophy. Did you chose it because you were seeking out a Montessori education for your child or did you just simply put it on your list in hopes that you would get in somewhere.

Most parents I've spoken to at Lee chose it specifically because they wanted Montessori - many had children in private Montessoris, or at other public Montessoris. Some, and I put myself into that category, chose it because they were moderately or somewhat interested in Montessori and it was the one that they got in to, and they felt good about the school based on what they'd heard from the founders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let that issue die folks. You are responding to something that is several days old, let's move on.

It may be a few days old, but I don’t think it’s something your school should take lightly. It seems there's a contingent of parents at the school that are determined to be negative and do so in ways that could potentially hurt Lee.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/410508.page

is definitely on my mind as a parent who is thinking about schools for next year.

It was amazing, and not in a good way, to see an incubator school rag so hard on its host school not even 3 weeks in to its first year in existence. The Presidential visit was not a Lee event, it was an IT event that occurred on IT grounds. It’s unfortunate that Lee closed school early, but that’s really the only reason Lee parents might have had to complain; it looks like from a previous post that was at least in part your administration's decision, and should have been taken up with your principal/staff.

Lee is an untried school, a good part of its cache this past year came from the relationship with Inspired. IT gave Lee an unspoken blessing in agreeing to share space, most folks I know who put IT on their lottery lists also put Lee in part because of that interpretation. There was a moment here for Lee to further that relationship by showing support of IT’s event and cheering for their great opportunity, even if it made an inconvenience for one day, and especially since Lee kids now have a playground right outside their door.

Instead, a number of parents decided to head down the road of negativity, publicly antagonizing the school they’ll share space with for the next 2 years, which makes the parent body seem at best difficult, and not savvy enough to realize that disparaging another organization’s success is not something most people want to be associated with or be around. I think this will tarnish Lee’s image, and I’m sure it’s created a hard situation for your staff, who now have to work on rebuilding your reputation with the public (orgs you could partner with, neighborhoods you might move to) and with potential parents as well as salvaging the relationship with IT. Those are energies that will be diverted from supporting your teachers and students.

A lot of the comments Lee parents made on that thread were mean-spirited and backbiting. While it might seem a small thing, for some parents peer groups are very important. It’s unsettling to consider what kinds of attitudes the kids of those parents may bring to school now and as they get older – apples don’t fall far.

I’m sure there are some fabulous families at Lee, but currently they’re outshown by parents who are focused on the wrong things and seem capable of derailing the future success of the school. One thing that’s very clear in DC is that parents can make or break a school -- it doesn’t matter how great the staff or the building, if the parent community doesn’t have its act together it can sink the boat.

I’ll be honest in saying from what I’ve seen thus far Lee has moved from a top pick to maybe a safety school for our family; however, it’s still early on, hoping the parents can move forward in a positive manner and focus their energies on making Lee a really great school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let that issue die folks. You are responding to something that is several days old, let's move on.

It may be a few days old, but I don’t think it’s something your school should take lightly. It seems there's a contingent of parents at the school that are determined to be negative and do so in ways that could potentially hurt Lee.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/410508.page

is definitely on my mind as a parent who is thinking about schools for next year.

It was amazing, and not in a good way, to see an incubator school rag so hard on its host school not even 3 weeks in to its first year in existence. The Presidential visit was not a Lee event, it was an IT event that occurred on IT grounds. It’s unfortunate that Lee closed school early, but that’s really the only reason Lee parents might have had to complain; it looks like from a previous post that was at least in part your administration's decision, and should have been taken up with your principal/staff.

Lee is an untried school, a good part of its cache this past year came from the relationship with Inspired. IT gave Lee an unspoken blessing in agreeing to share space, most folks I know who put IT on their lottery lists also put Lee in part because of that interpretation. There was a moment here for Lee to further that relationship by showing support of IT’s event and cheering for their great opportunity, even if it made an inconvenience for one day, and especially since Lee kids now have a playground right outside their door.

Instead, a number of parents decided to head down the road of negativity, publicly antagonizing the school they’ll share space with for the next 2 years, which makes the parent body seem at best difficult, and not savvy enough to realize that disparaging another organization’s success is not something most people want to be associated with or be around. I think this will tarnish Lee’s image, and I’m sure it’s created a hard situation for your staff, who now have to work on rebuilding your reputation with the public (orgs you could partner with, neighborhoods you might move to) and with potential parents as well as salvaging the relationship with IT. Those are energies that will be diverted from supporting your teachers and students.

A lot of the comments Lee parents made on that thread were mean-spirited and backbiting. While it might seem a small thing, for some parents peer groups are very important. It’s unsettling to consider what kinds of attitudes the kids of those parents may bring to school now and as they get older – apples don’t fall far.

I’m sure there are some fabulous families at Lee, but currently they’re outshown by parents who are focused on the wrong things and seem capable of derailing the future success of the school. One thing that’s very clear in DC is that parents can make or break a school -- it doesn’t matter how great the staff or the building, if the parent community doesn’t have its act together it can sink the boat.

I’ll be honest in saying from what I’ve seen thus far Lee has moved from a top pick to maybe a safety school for our family; however, it’s still early on, hoping the parents can move forward in a positive manner and focus their energies on making Lee a really great school.

I'm not going to argue that lee parents are coming off well on DCUM, but let's not overemphasize the world of DCUM. There is no relationship to rebuild between the two schools because some parents bitched on an anonymous message board about IT's perceived role in closing their school for teh day. There is no bad blood between the schools IRL! As I posted in that thread, DCUM is NOT real life (time suck from real life that it may be). Everyone is as pleasant and happy and cooperative as can be IRL. If you take this stuff too seriously, you a are kidding yourself about the way you spend your time.

I also wouldn't base school choices on posts on a anonymous message board - that is nuts. Talk to real people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let that issue die folks. You are responding to something that is several days old, let's move on.

It may be a few days old, but I don’t think it’s something your school should take lightly. It seems there's a contingent of parents at the school that are determined to be negative and do so in ways that could potentially hurt Lee.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/410508.page

is definitely on my mind as a parent who is thinking about schools for next year.

It was amazing, and not in a good way, to see an incubator school rag so hard on its host school not even 3 weeks in to its first year in existence. The Presidential visit was not a Lee event, it was an IT event that occurred on IT grounds. It’s unfortunate that Lee closed school early, but that’s really the only reason Lee parents might have had to complain; it looks like from a previous post that was at least in part your administration's decision, and should have been taken up with your principal/staff.

Lee is an untried school, a good part of its cache this past year came from the relationship with Inspired. IT gave Lee an unspoken blessing in agreeing to share space, most folks I know who put IT on their lottery lists also put Lee in part because of that interpretation. There was a moment here for Lee to further that relationship by showing support of IT’s event and cheering for their great opportunity, even if it made an inconvenience for one day, and especially since Lee kids now have a playground right outside their door.

Instead, a number of parents decided to head down the road of negativity, publicly antagonizing the school they’ll share space with for the next 2 years, which makes the parent body seem at best difficult, and not savvy enough to realize that disparaging another organization’s success is not something most people want to be associated with or be around. I think this will tarnish Lee’s image, and I’m sure it’s created a hard situation for your staff, who now have to work on rebuilding your reputation with the public (orgs you could partner with, neighborhoods you might move to) and with potential parents as well as salvaging the relationship with IT. Those are energies that will be diverted from supporting your teachers and students.

A lot of the comments Lee parents made on that thread were mean-spirited and backbiting. While it might seem a small thing, for some parents peer groups are very important. It’s unsettling to consider what kinds of attitudes the kids of those parents may bring to school now and as they get older – apples don’t fall far.

I’m sure there are some fabulous families at Lee, but currently they’re outshown by parents who are focused on the wrong things and seem capable of derailing the future success of the school. One thing that’s very clear in DC is that parents can make or break a school -- it doesn’t matter how great the staff or the building, if the parent community doesn’t have its act together it can sink the boat.

I’ll be honest in saying from what I’ve seen thus far Lee has moved from a top pick to maybe a safety school for our family; however, it’s still early on, hoping the parents can move forward in a positive manner and focus their energies on making Lee a really great school.

There is another very extensive thread related to this topic. Please post your comments about the situation in that thread. There really is no point in bringing it up here days later other than to stir trouble. Let's also all remember these posts are visited by "regulars" and the handful of Lee posters do not speak for the entire community.

[Anonymous]

I agree that these DCUM threads are reflecting negatively on Lee, which is a real shame for the school, its students, and its budding parent community. A DCUM moratorium might be a good idea and/or at least the old adage of if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all (at least not on DCUM).