SAY NO TO CREATIVE MINDS INTERNATIONAL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CMI just loss 4 employees right before the thanksgiving break. This includes a pre school teacher, first grade teacher ( who was only there for months) 3/4 math teacher, social worker, and HR manager. This is VERY alarming to have this amount of staff up and leave like this.

especially concerning to lose elementary school teachers, since that's not a job that often has mid-year openings. Quitting now may mean not working until next August, so it must be bad for them to leave. And potentially hard to find decent replacements.

That seems unlikely. The teacher shortage is such that even with the stigma of a mid-year quit, some schools will be hiring. They can at least get a long-term sub position covering someone's parental leave or something.

[Anonymous]

NO

[Anonymous]

4 at once! how bad can things be?

[Anonymous]

I worked there. The surprising thing isn’t that 4 people left but that it is only 4. It is really BAD there for everyone (kids and staff). So many families have left already. Staff want to leave too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked there. The surprising thing isn’t that 4 people left but that it is only 4. It is really BAD there for everyone (kids and staff). So many families have left already. Staff want to leave too.

What is going on specifically?

Also how is enrollment this year?

[Anonymous]

Their board meets 7 times per year. They meet next in January and not again until May.

[Anonymous]

Has the new director improved things at all? Previously their website was just a list of their huge C Suite who have now all left. I looked now and there isn’t a staff directory at all, and there is more clarity on what their program is trying to offer. Looks like someone is at least trying to shake things up.

[Anonymous]

I'm sad about what's happened to CMI over the course of several years. Like many, we had wonderful early education years there, but the cracks had started to show by our eldest's second-grade year, and then really went off the rails during the pandemic - which certainly wasn't unique to CMI. But it was apparent that the founding executive director built the school around her child's personal needs, expanded it to meet them, then quit when her child graduated and she no longer had any need for the school. Despite falsely assuring families and staff that was not her intention - it was all along. Poor succession planning, poor hiring, poor support of staff, a board uncommitted to its fiduciary duties, and departing from the core mission damaged it beyond repair. It's such a lovely location and the concept had so much potential and we truly felt like we struck gold when we lotteried in to the school. We left after third/first grade and I don't know of a family from either child's grade who are still there (would be 6th/8th graders now).

[Anonymous]

I invested considerable time and effort during my employment at CMI, working to support the school's goals. My observations indicated that certain internal processes and leadership decisions were not aligned with best practices for effective school management. This misalignment contributed to a period of significant challenges for the institution. While the board's oversight should have been more proactive, a core group of individuals bore primary responsibility for these challenges. It is regrettable that the school was unable to overcome these obstacles and achieve its full potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sad about what's happened to CMI over the course of several years. Like many, we had wonderful early education years there, but the cracks had started to show by our eldest's second-grade year, and then really went off the rails during the pandemic - which certainly wasn't unique to CMI. But it was apparent that the founding executive director built the school around her child's personal needs, expanded it to meet them, then quit when her child graduated and she no longer had any need for the school. Despite falsely assuring families and staff that was not her intention - it was all along. Poor succession planning, poor hiring, poor support of staff, a board uncommitted to its fiduciary duties, and departing from the core mission damaged it beyond repair. It's such a lovely location and the concept had so much potential and we truly felt like we struck gold when we lotteried in to the school. We left after third/first grade and I don't know of a family from either child's grade who are still there (would be 6th/8th graders now).

That's not exactly how it played out. While the founder may have had personal interest in the school's success, she was ousted. That wasn't voluntary on her part. And she seemingly was the only person there who even understood the mission, as those who ousted her have spent the time since her ouster chasing their tails.

[Anonymous]

Sad indeed. Such great potential. By now most families that were there for a while left. last year’s 8th grade class had a single student who had been there since PreK. We had to leave too. There really wasn’t any learning going and there were too many other issues to keep overlooking.