Anonymous
03/07/2019 09:22
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone offer more detail on the changes at Little Beginnings? Is there a sense that many parents are considering leaving?
3 Panda families are going to Little Ambassadors.
Honestly, good luck to them. I know LAA has a good reputation, but I would not start my child at a new school with all new staff at a location that is not metro accessible. The turnover at a new place is going to be significant.
3 families out of 50+ doesn't seem like a lot of families are leaving. 2 families that left are the ones that couldn't get over the firing incident from 2+ year ago that was totally warranted. Seems like they caused a lot of drama over nothing if you ask me.
Wow. We know one of those families and you better believe they had every reason to leave LB despite the investment they had made over the years.
Interesting, considering that daycares have months to years long waiting list, did they apply to LAA after the incident 2 years ago and just left now?
Wow, we are on waitlist at both schools, and wonder if the incident at LB was as bad as LAA.
Maybe we should reconsider a nanny, this whole thread scene is disturbing...
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/582249.page
Anonymous
03/07/2019 09:19
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone offer more detail on the changes at Little Beginnings? Is there a sense that many parents are considering leaving?
3 Panda families are going to Little Ambassadors.
Honestly, good luck to them. I know LAA has a good reputation, but I would not start my child at a new school with all new staff at a location that is not metro accessible. The turnover at a new place is going to be significant.
3 families out of 50+ doesn't seem like a lot of families are leaving. 2 families that left are the ones that couldn't get over the firing incident from 2+ year ago that was totally warranted. Seems like they caused a lot of drama over nothing if you ask me.
Wow. We know one of those families and you better believe they had every reason to leave LB despite the investment they had made over the years.
Interesting, considering that daycares have months to years long waiting list, did they apply to LAA after the incident 2 years ago and just left now?
Anonymous
03/07/2019 09:18
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone offer more detail on the changes at Little Beginnings? Is there a sense that many parents are considering leaving?
3 Panda families are going to Little Ambassadors.
Honestly, good luck to them. I know LAA has a good reputation, but I would not start my child at a new school with all new staff at a location that is not metro accessible. The turnover at a new place is going to be significant.
3 families out of 50+ doesn't seem like a lot of families are leaving. 2 families that left are the ones that couldn't get over the firing incident from 2+ year ago that was totally warranted. Seems like they caused a lot of drama over nothing if you ask me.
Wow. We know one of those families and you better believe they had every reason to leave LB despite the investment they had made over the years.
This statement is useless if you don’t share the reasons.
Yeah, was it like two teachers arguing over babysitting rates or a boyfriend or something more significant about the handling of the children in their care... It sounds like the latter since the families had reason to leave???
Anonymous
03/06/2019 23:20
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone offer more detail on the changes at Little Beginnings? Is there a sense that many parents are considering leaving?
3 Panda families are going to Little Ambassadors.
Honestly, good luck to them. I know LAA has a good reputation, but I would not start my child at a new school with all new staff at a location that is not metro accessible. The turnover at a new place is going to be significant.
3 families out of 50+ doesn't seem like a lot of families are leaving. 2 families that left are the ones that couldn't get over the firing incident from 2+ year ago that was totally warranted. Seems like they caused a lot of drama over nothing if you ask me.
Wow. We know one of those families and you better believe they had every reason to leave LB despite the investment they had made over the years.
This statement is useless if you don’t share the reasons.
Anonymous
03/06/2019 23:18
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a family that is new to LB, I have been so impressed and I am thrilled we are there. The director strikes me as totally no nonsense and extremely dedicated. We just saw her personally MC a community night with a magician for the kids, and a few weeks later run a parents night out (where she personally was taking care of kids along with other teachers). My child is met each day with a hug and smiles from the teachers in his classroom. When he goes to wash his hands, teachers from other classrooms smoke and interact with him. He had absolutely no transition issues and felt secure from day 1. Their outdoor philosophy is outstanding. I was also blown away by the music program, which is incredibly fun and creative. Their playground is great. Their classrooms are so nice and big and bright.
I also checked all the recent year social service violations - they are all clerical and administrative. Meanwhile, I checked Littke Ambassadors too. One of their centers has teachers out of ratio in the last two inspections. Really? If teachers are out of ratio during the last two inspections, I feel pretty confident that it’s an issue! The other little ambassadors center had two self initiated incidences in two years (one was dismissed for lack of evidence). It also has annoying violations like there are no cot covers for a few kids, and cleaning/chemicals where kids can reach them. (One or two incidences would be NBD, but it was annoying to read over and over in multiple inspections!) I’m not saying it’s terrible to send your kids to LAA, but I’m definitely not planning to pull my kid from LB to send them in favor of a place with a small playground, fronting a busy road, with a history of not-unsubstantive social service violations in the name of teacher turnover. There’s teacher turnover in EVERY school.
NP here; let's not crap on LAA now, please. We are a new family to LAA and very thankful to have received a spot off of the waitlist finally. We are thrilled to be at LAA and I'm glad you feel the same way at LB. They are both great schools.
Agreed, it’s weird to criticize a school that you have no first hand experience with. I’m sure both LB and LAA have directors and teachers that care; it’s hard right now in current employment environment; the higher minimum wage law in DC is making other less demanding work more competitive with childcare.
I think parents need to help bridge this gap, by ensuring admin staff is keeping up with the market, and communicating with teachers about how much we value them.
Not trying to “crap” on LAA. I’m stating factually what was in public record county social service reports.
Anonymous
03/06/2019 20:01
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone offer more detail on the changes at Little Beginnings? Is there a sense that many parents are considering leaving?
3 Panda families are going to Little Ambassadors.
Honestly, good luck to them. I know LAA has a good reputation, but I would not start my child at a new school with all new staff at a location that is not metro accessible. The turnover at a new place is going to be significant.
3 families out of 50+ doesn't seem like a lot of families are leaving. 2 families that left are the ones that couldn't get over the firing incident from 2+ year ago that was totally warranted. Seems like they caused a lot of drama over nothing if you ask me.
Wow. We know one of those families and you better believe they had every reason to leave LB despite the investment they had made over the years.
What was the incident? Was it captured in a county report? We are on the waitlist but wonder if we should start looking for other options
Anonymous
03/06/2019 19:46
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone offer more detail on the changes at Little Beginnings? Is there a sense that many parents are considering leaving?
3 Panda families are going to Little Ambassadors.
Honestly, good luck to them. I know LAA has a good reputation, but I would not start my child at a new school with all new staff at a location that is not metro accessible. The turnover at a new place is going to be significant.
3 families out of 50+ doesn't seem like a lot of families are leaving. 2 families that left are the ones that couldn't get over the firing incident from 2+ year ago that was totally warranted. Seems like they caused a lot of drama over nothing if you ask me.
Wow. We know one of those families and you better believe they had every reason to leave LB despite the investment they had made over the years.
Anonymous
03/06/2019 19:29
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Enjoy teachers sleeping in your classroom while the infants fall off the lofts.
What are you talking about?
Anonymous
03/06/2019 19:07
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Enjoy teachers sleeping in your classroom while the infants fall off the lofts.
Anonymous
03/06/2019 11:01
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a family that is new to LB, I have been so impressed and I am thrilled we are there. The director strikes me as totally no nonsense and extremely dedicated. We just saw her personally MC a community night with a magician for the kids, and a few weeks later run a parents night out (where she personally was taking care of kids along with other teachers). My child is met each day with a hug and smiles from the teachers in his classroom. When he goes to wash his hands, teachers from other classrooms smoke and interact with him. He had absolutely no transition issues and felt secure from day 1. Their outdoor philosophy is outstanding. I was also blown away by the music program, which is incredibly fun and creative. Their playground is great. Their classrooms are so nice and big and bright.
I also checked all the recent year social service violations - they are all clerical and administrative. Meanwhile, I checked Littke Ambassadors too. One of their centers has teachers out of ratio in the last two inspections. Really? If teachers are out of ratio during the last two inspections, I feel pretty confident that it’s an issue! The other little ambassadors center had two self initiated incidences in two years (one was dismissed for lack of evidence). It also has annoying violations like there are no cot covers for a few kids, and cleaning/chemicals where kids can reach them. (One or two incidences would be NBD, but it was annoying to read over and over in multiple inspections!) I’m not saying it’s terrible to send your kids to LAA, but I’m definitely not planning to pull my kid from LB to send them in favor of a place with a small playground, fronting a busy road, with a history of not-unsubstantive social service violations in the name of teacher turnover. There’s teacher turnover in EVERY school.
NP here; let's not crap on LAA now, please. We are a new family to LAA and very thankful to have received a spot off of the waitlist finally. We are thrilled to be at LAA and I'm glad you feel the same way at LB. They are both great schools.
Agreed, it’s weird to criticize a school that you have no first hand experience with. I’m sure both LB and LAA have directors and teachers that care; it’s hard right now in current employment environment; the higher minimum wage law in DC is making other less demanding work more competitive with childcare.
I think parents need to help bridge this gap, by ensuring admin staff is keeping up with the market, and communicating with teachers about how much we value them.
Anonymous
03/06/2019 09:49
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:As a family that is new to LB, I have been so impressed and I am thrilled we are there. The director strikes me as totally no nonsense and extremely dedicated. We just saw her personally MC a community night with a magician for the kids, and a few weeks later run a parents night out (where she personally was taking care of kids along with other teachers). My child is met each day with a hug and smiles from the teachers in his classroom. When he goes to wash his hands, teachers from other classrooms smoke and interact with him. He had absolutely no transition issues and felt secure from day 1. Their outdoor philosophy is outstanding. I was also blown away by the music program, which is incredibly fun and creative. Their playground is great. Their classrooms are so nice and big and bright.
I also checked all the recent year social service violations - they are all clerical and administrative. Meanwhile, I checked Littke Ambassadors too. One of their centers has teachers out of ratio in the last two inspections. Really? If teachers are out of ratio during the last two inspections, I feel pretty confident that it’s an issue! The other little ambassadors center had two self initiated incidences in two years (one was dismissed for lack of evidence). It also has annoying violations like there are no cot covers for a few kids, and cleaning/chemicals where kids can reach them. (One or two incidences would be NBD, but it was annoying to read over and over in multiple inspections!) I’m not saying it’s terrible to send your kids to LAA, but I’m definitely not planning to pull my kid from LB to send them in favor of a place with a small playground, fronting a busy road, with a history of not-unsubstantive social service violations in the name of teacher turnover. There’s teacher turnover in EVERY school.
NP here; let's not crap on LAA now, please. We are a new family to LAA and very thankful to have received a spot off of the waitlist finally. We are thrilled to be at LAA and I'm glad you feel the same way at LB. They are both great schools.
Anonymous
03/05/2019 23:13
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Smoke=smile above. My child is met with smiles- not smoke!
Anonymous
03/05/2019 23:11
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
As a family that is new to LB, I have been so impressed and I am thrilled we are there. The director strikes me as totally no nonsense and extremely dedicated. We just saw her personally MC a community night with a magician for the kids, and a few weeks later run a parents night out (where she personally was taking care of kids along with other teachers). My child is met each day with a hug and smiles from the teachers in his classroom. When he goes to wash his hands, teachers from other classrooms smoke and interact with him. He had absolutely no transition issues and felt secure from day 1. Their outdoor philosophy is outstanding. I was also blown away by the music program, which is incredibly fun and creative. Their playground is great. Their classrooms are so nice and big and bright.
I also checked all the recent year social service violations - they are all clerical and administrative. Meanwhile, I checked Littke Ambassadors too. One of their centers has teachers out of ratio in the last two inspections. Really? If teachers are out of ratio during the last two inspections, I feel pretty confident that it’s an issue! The other little ambassadors center had two self initiated incidences in two years (one was dismissed for lack of evidence). It also has annoying violations like there are no cot covers for a few kids, and cleaning/chemicals where kids can reach them. (One or two incidences would be NBD, but it was annoying to read over and over in multiple inspections!) I’m not saying it’s terrible to send your kids to LAA, but I’m definitely not planning to pull my kid from LB to send them in favor of a place with a small playground, fronting a busy road, with a history of not-unsubstantive social service violations in the name of teacher turnover. There’s teacher turnover in EVERY school.
I also checked all the recent year social service violations - they are all clerical and administrative. Meanwhile, I checked Littke Ambassadors too. One of their centers has teachers out of ratio in the last two inspections. Really? If teachers are out of ratio during the last two inspections, I feel pretty confident that it’s an issue! The other little ambassadors center had two self initiated incidences in two years (one was dismissed for lack of evidence). It also has annoying violations like there are no cot covers for a few kids, and cleaning/chemicals where kids can reach them. (One or two incidences would be NBD, but it was annoying to read over and over in multiple inspections!) I’m not saying it’s terrible to send your kids to LAA, but I’m definitely not planning to pull my kid from LB to send them in favor of a place with a small playground, fronting a busy road, with a history of not-unsubstantive social service violations in the name of teacher turnover. There’s teacher turnover in EVERY school.
Anonymous
03/05/2019 21:36
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can anyone offer more detail on the changes at Little Beginnings? Is there a sense that many parents are considering leaving?
3 Panda families are going to Little Ambassadors.
Honestly, good luck to them. I know LAA has a good reputation, but I would not start my child at a new school with all new staff at a location that is not metro accessible. The turnover at a new place is going to be significant.
3 families out of 50+ doesn't seem like a lot of families are leaving. 2 families that left are the ones that couldn't get over the firing incident from 2+ year ago that was totally warranted. Seems like they caused a lot of drama over nothing if you ask me.
Anonymous
03/05/2019 21:17
Subject: High Turnover at Little Beginnings
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have no skin in the game other than being on the LB wait list, but it’s a real shame about all this. There aren’t very many excellent child care centers around, and it sounds like the director at LB is ruining it bc of her relationship with one teacher. What a shame! I hope she opens her eyes in time to right the ship.
I’ve gotten the definite sense that the director has low self-esteem. Not to be an armchair psychologist but she seems to have latched onto that teacher as her guru.
And the result is having all of her staff quit. I wish the parents would rally and speak up.
LOL I feel like people are just sandbagging it so they can scare off other families and get their kids higher on the wait list. Arlington parents are crafty ya'll. This is one of the best schools in the area. Obviously they know how to train new teachers. All preschools have high turnover- this one actually has lower than average.