Bethesda Lynbrook Child Care kids went missing today

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to make sure that what happened today to my child doesn't happen to anyone else's.

Today I arrived at the Bethesda Lynbrook Child Care Center to pick up my son and saw him and 3 of his classmates (all 2-3 year olds) DOWN THE STREET. They had somehow left the fenced in playground and walked almost 2 blocks into the neighborhood surrounding the center in Bethesda. A man walking his dog found them and was bringing them back. The teacher never knew they were missing. She literally had misplaced, LOST, half the class.

The center director wasn't there, the program manager didn't know what the procedure was when "things like this" happen, but I was assured that "there would be consequences."

However, several hours later, no formal notice has been made to the class or the list serve and they let the teacher stay in the classroom for the rest of the evening.

I am literally sick to my stomach over the possibilities of what could have happened to these 4 2-year olds who were walking amid parked cars, as a storm was rolling in, and were only identified as Lynbrook kids because they had their pennies on. How anyone could lose track of 4 little kids for such a long enough period of time that it would take those little legs to walk that far away, AND BACK, is unfathomably irresponsible to me.

If you are a Lynbrook parent, please, be aware that this has happened and that the school hardly seems to be concerned. If you are considering this placement for your child, don't. I don't believe they can keep the littlest among them safe.

DC Urban Moms,

As the Executive Director of the Montgomery Child Care Association, I apologize for this incident and am deeply concerned about what took place at MCCA’s Bethesda/Lynbrook location yesterday. As a mom myself, I understand the immense trust placed in our caregivers and I can assure you I am taking immediate action. I have personally been involved in this matter and over the last 24 hours our team has:

a. Performed an in-depth investigation into the incident
b. Terminated the employees directly involved
c. Contacted appropriate licensing and oversight agencies to self-report the incident

We will continue to conduct a full investigation and will further address this situation by implementing a comprehensive review of our policies and procedures. MCCA is committed to striving to provide high quality, play based care to the children in our programs and we take this responsibility seriously.

Sincerely,

Michelle Martineau Green

Did you call the police?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is frightening !
I took my children out of a Bethesda Daycare to place them here to save money as one of my friends recommened so- Feels horrible that I did so , its not worth at all -I cannot compare them to my daycare . These people are very irresponsible and the staff working here are not dedicated at all.Even the Director - Does she care- she will move on- Its us poor parents who go through the trauma.
I wish I had not moved.
Well I can always go back, which is what I hope to do.
After something happens its not worth regretting.

At Family Academy 2 years ago, a boy got outside of the gated playground area in their toddler camp. The entire incident was swept under the rug. No parents were notified except fro the family involved, no one was fired. The only thing they did was put bungee cords on the gates - ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

I work at a childcare center (not at Lynbrook), and I must say, this is beyond shocking. I would like parents to know that being paid minimum wage or being paid 50 plus an hour to work at a childcare center has nothing to do with providing better or worst care for the children. I am not sure why "minimum wage," is being thrown around on this topic. The problem that I have noticed, while working childcare, is that many teachers are not directly supervising children while on the playground. They feel as though the children are in a fenced in area so they are safe and able to talk with one another or get on their cellphones. Unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Not that it would be acceptable in any size group but 2 adults with only 8 kids manage to lose 4 of them for clearly a decent length of time?

Seriously?

Any coherent adult should notice something like that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Raise your own kids.

Get your own job, you pathetic leech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work at a childcare center (not at Lynbrook), and I must say, this is beyond shocking. I would like parents to know that being paid minimum wage or being paid 50 plus an hour to work at a childcare center has nothing to do with providing better or worst care for the children. I am not sure why "minimum wage," is being thrown around on this topic. The problem that I have noticed, while working childcare, is that many teachers are not directly supervising children while on the playground. They feel as though the children are in a fenced in area so they are safe and able to talk with one another or get on their cellphones. Unacceptable.

In a better world, you would be absolutely right, PP. Wage and competence should be mutually exclusive when it comes to childcare. However, in the real world, in order to attract responsible, enthusiastic employees in any field you've not only got to offer proper compensation but also make those employees feel that their chosen vocation is valued. Neither is true in terms of early childcare in this country. I've worked as a childcare provider for almost 25 years in this country and the sad fact is that my job is simply not considered very important or prestigious. Moms are going to work in droves in this country for a multitude of reasons and finding quality childcare (especially on a budget) is the hardest problem they face. I am in no way excusing the behavior of the "teachers" in question in this particular incident, but as other posters have stated more eloquently, when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Big problem is there are no deep pockets when it comes to early childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is frightening !
I took my children out of a Bethesda Daycare to place them here to save money as one of my friends recommened so- Feels horrible that I did so , its not worth at all -I cannot compare them to my daycare . These people are very irresponsible and the staff working here are not dedicated at all.Even the Director - Does she care- she will move on- Its us poor parents who go through the trauma.
I wish I had not moved.
Well I can always go back, which is what I hope to do.
After something happens its not worth regretting.

At Family Academy 2 years ago, a boy got outside of the gated playground area in their toddler camp. The entire incident was swept under the rug. No parents were notified except fro the family involved, no one was fired. The only thing they did was put bungee cords on the gates - ridiculous.

I remember this incident when we were at Family Academy. The toddler wondered out onto the sidewalk of Montgomery Avenue before someone walking on the street brought him back. The caregivers didn't know he was missing, and Montgomery Avenue is such a busy road.

[Anonymous]

Please explain the FCC incident. Please let us know what has happened and whether it was sufficiently resolved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please explain the FCC incident. Please let us know what has happened and whether it was sufficiently resolved.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/264185.page

[Anonymous]

My child was at Family Academy when this happened too and it's shocking that there was no formal acknowledgement of the incident nor was there any repurcussion for the teachers involved. Does anybody know how to check to see if this incident was reported formally?

[Anonymous]

Listen, there wouldn't have been formal acknowledgement of this at Lynbrook either if the mother hadn't gone public. This has happened there before and it sounds like it happens at other daycares too.

[Anonymous]

I am a parent of a child who has been part of the Lynbrook childcare center for many years. I am upset about the incident that occurred two days ago. It was serious, potentially dangerous and unacceptable. I feel sad and concerned for the children and families who were directly involved in this incident. I am following very closely every step that the Lynbrook Center, MCCA and the external government agencies that are investigating are taking. If I am not satisfied with what I learn, I will remove my child from the center.

However, there have been many allegations about the center made on this forum and others, and I would like to share our experiences at Lynbrook. This incident is inconsistent with our previous experiences at this center over several years. My child has had an overwhelmingly positive experience at Lynbrook. He has been cared for by loving, attentive teachers that have played a large role in his development into a happy, curious, creative child. Just one example: when he started at the center in the two-year-old “Kittens” class, he was shy and lacked the confidence to engage in the activities and talk to the other kids. One of the teachers who has been there for many years had an amazing ability to work with him and help him develop his confidence (please note, this teacher had no involvement with the incident two days ago). I have children who have been part of other child care centers and schools, and many of the Lynbrook teachers are as loving, dedicated and child-focused as any staff that I have encountered anywhere.

I have spent a lot of time with my child’s classes at different times of the day and in different settings (indoors, outdoor play, field trips, etc.) and have never felt that there was anything unsafe about the school. Far from being neglected, I always see the teachers engaging with the children. I have never seen teachers talking on their cellphones while with the children or doing any of the other neglectful behaviors that have been suggested on this board. While I can’t speak for any other parent of a child at Lynbrook, my informal conversations over the past few days suggest that many others share this view.

Several posters have criticized the play-based approach at this school. There are many different approaches to early childhood education, and there is little reliable evidence to support the superiority of one approach compared to another. I believe that an educational approach that is a good match for my child and family might not be a good match for another child or their family. For our family, the play-based approach at this and other centers has been wonderful, and has helped our kids to flourish. We think our children have developed intellectual, social and physical skills in a developmentally appropriate way. Our oldest child went to a play-based preschool, and is now an avid reader who is doing well in all subjects at school. Other approaches might very well have produced the same result, but I think it is invalid to criticize the school because it has this educational approach.

Clearly, a terrible error took place two days ago, and in no way am I trying to excuse that. It is not clear how much of this due was due to the neglect and/or incompetence of two teachers at that time, or whether there are other system failures that contributed. I do not know what the ultimate outcome will be, but in my view Lynbrook and MCCA seem to be taking the appropriate steps to deal with this at this time. First, the organization investigated and terminated the two teachers involved the day after the incident. MCCA self-reported this incident to the appropriate government agencies and child-care authorities first thing in the morning after this event, and are fully participating in the investigations. The organization had an open meeting for two hours last night (i.e. the night after this occurred) where the director of Lynbrook, executive director of MCCA and president of the board of MCCA met with parents. They encouraged parents to raise any issue and ask any question they had. In my view, they did their best to answer openly and honestly. I believe that the center is committed to making changes to help prevent this from happening again.

I do not know what will happen next, and I am open to making the decision that it is not in the best interests of my child to stay at this facility. However, I wanted to provide some balance to some of the posts that I have seen about this center by telling about our direct experiences prior to this event.

One final point – I have seen people on other boards criticizing MCCA for consulting with a PR company. This is a small organization facing a huge crisis. They do not have the in-house expertise in how to deal with media that a large corporation would have. With many people talking to the media and posting on boards such as this one, I really do not see that they had any alternative but to seek outside help to manage this in the best possible way.

[Anonymous]

2211 you are TLTR
But they left toddlers unattended. This is unlawful.
If we start putting idoits in jail maybe centers will think twice about their behavior

[Anonymous]

Was it confirmed that it was two teachers with only eight students? How is it possible not to notice in that case.

[Anonymous]

That's what's so insane-- 8 kids total and 4 kids go missing and NO ONE NOTICES???