Reply to Springboard Suspension

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Springboard Suspension"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Springboard was terrible at SSMA a couple years ago and luckily SSMA responded by creating their own aftercare program. The school still uses Springboard for before care since there aren't many other before care programs in the DC area. Springboard aftercare was terrible with some of the employees yelling and screaming at the kids for even moving an inch. Definitely made me uncomfortable even though my kid was never one of them that was being screamed at, but contemplated reporting it a few times. [/quote]

Our kid did Springboard in PK3 at SSMA and all seemed fine. Then within the first year of PK4, Springboard was a shitshow. Abbreviated version of the email I sent to their regional director below. She called me right away and was apologetic and told me things would be taken care of, but the same site director and staff remained and I continued to hear bad things about the program throughout the year (thankfully we had MOMIES as an alternative). And as noted above, the in-house aftercare at SSMA has been much better:

"Today when I arrived at 5pm to pick up my 4 year old, many of the kids were outside playing, but about 10 kids were lined up along the wall in the Obama room in timeout. The woman in there with them (I believe she is the Springboard site coordinator but I have been remiss about introducing myself and getting her name), told me that my daughter hadn't been listening to the teachers and was thus in timeout and not allowed to go outside. That didn't seem so unreasonable (although last year it seemed like kids were asked to sit out on the edge of the playground during timeout and not separated indoors), but what was more upsetting to me was the way I heard her speak to the other kids in just the few minutes I was in there.

She yelled at one little girl for turning around and touching something in a bin behind her, then pulled her out of line to sit by herself at the table. She yelled at another boy for not standing still enough (and I don't use the word "yell" loosely here - she was snapping at them in a raised voice). And then a girl asked to use the bathroom and she said "No! You can't go to the bathroom right now!" She was a world away from the "grace and courtesy" that I think many of us expect to be modeled by the teachers and staff at a Montessori school (or any school for that matter). And this was what I witnessed in a few short minutes and what she was saying with a parent in the room."

I'm not an apologist for my kid, but it still makes me uncomfortable thinking about walking in and witnessing that last year to that large group of kids.
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics