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[quote=Anonymous]My kids both went to Tiny tots/ Blue Bird centers.  My son went from 18 months through 5 years old.  My daughter went from 4 months to 2 years old.  We were one of the many families removed from Tiny Tots in the wake of those negative, overcrowding reports.

When my son went there, the care was excellent.  Yes, some of the infant room teachers did not have the best english, but they loved the kids, took wonderful care of them, there was a low turnover, great preschool teachers, nice community and my son was well prepared for kindergarten.

Around the time DD was 1 year old, things started to slowly change at the center.  The ratios were intact but the center started to seem more full, so to speak.  The turnover increased and the provider got younger.  Then, the sh*t started to hit the fan.  First, kid were pulled from there classes and moved to different facilities to address the overcrowding issue at Tiny Tots (parents did not know this was the kids were moved, though).  Many of the parents whose kids were moved were pressured to do so.  Providers were asked to take the kids on walks at the end of the day in case inspectors came and noted the overcrowding.  The center owners were warned on several occassions that the overcrowding was an issue and ignored the warnings.  Finally, one day the  fire marshall was called in and using the sign in/out rosters, he and the inspector determined that the overcrowding warranted a immediate shutdown of the center.  For many parents picking up their kids that night, there was NO prior warnings that the center was in that much trouble.

The owners told parents that they would go through their rosters that evening and make cuts to allow the center to reopen the next morning.  Parents were told that if the received a call, they were in, otherwise, they could assume they were cut.  The center refused to talk to any of the parents whose kids were cut from the center lists.  Instead, they posted a message on their website at 9 pm that evening stating that all calls had been made and that if you had not received one, you were not to return to the center the next day.  In all, over 30 families were removed from the center - many were long time members of the centers (5+years).  Long time teachers were also fired, but were threatened by the owners not to take jobs as nannies from families that were removed.

So, that is a quick overview of what actually happened at Tiny Tots/Blue Bird.  Sorry for the typos.[/quote]

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