Comments for discoverchildcare.com

Comment on Words just seem empty by Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:46:42 +0000

I’ll give my 3 boys an extra hug today. Benjamin’s story deeply affects me too and I don’t know him or his family but my prayers are with them all. I can not even imagine the pain. I think of Benjamin all of the time.

Comment on Words just seem empty by mollie

mollie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:42:16 +0000

Thank you for taking the time to think of him. I did not know him personally but I have thought about him, his oldest sister, older brother and his sister Emily a twinless twin. I think of his beautiful smile. I pray his family has the strength they need today.

Comment on Parent Survey by discoverchildcare.com » Parent Survey | homesurveys

discoverchildcare.com » Parent Survey | homesurveys — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:12:07 +0000

[...] Follow this link: discoverchildcare.com » Parent Survey [...]

Comment on The winds of change by Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:08:23 +0000

@Jennifer
Thank you, Jennifer. I’m glad you’ve had a good experience with BH. One of the things that kept us with MS was, honestly, cost. Hopefully money doesn’t push us out in the end, because we really like Mt. P and would hate to have to start all over.

I’ll keep you posted! Thanks, again, and I’m glad you found the site!

Comment on The winds of change by Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:14:44 +0000

I wanted to add that I found your site after googling to see what happened with Minee Suber after we saw a Bright Horizons sign on the building while driving past this weekend. I hope my comments will help you feel more at ease about this change, I know how hard these things can be.

Comment on The winds of change by Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:06:29 +0000

We actually pulled our pre-k age daughter from Minee Subee this spring and enrolled her at a local Bright Horizons, mainly because of the same concern that the center would suddenly close and we would be left scrambling for options.
I have to say it was the best decision we ever made, and we wished we had done it sooner. The differences in things like curriculum, communication, and even the food served were huge. I also appreciated not being hit up for donations to their capital expenses by a business owner who was driving a Denali.
BH also had Mothers and Fathers day parties, water play in the summer, food cooked on the premises, etc. We weren’t there long enough for Thanksgiving but I’m sure there was some kind of celebration planned. The parent committee at our center was also very active, with monthly conference calls for parents to call in to which we really appreciated.
I don’t think there is anything to fear from BH, we loved it and I’m sure they will do great things.

Comment on The winds of change by Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:37:10 +0000

Thank you for your reply, and your insight. I completely understand what you’re saying, and I’ve heard the same from others about the former owners. Having worked at another large child care company, the bottom line is the bottom line no matter who is running the place. They have a business to run, profit to make, and numbers to meet. In some ways, it’s harder to deal with that when you’re working with the actual owner, not a district or regional office. It’s more personal, and seems more cold for the smaller business owner. That’s not to excuse the behaviour. I just mean that it doesn’t surprise me.

A parent meeting is something that would benefit us, as it would any families at any center. We have a parent committee forming, and amidst all the change is not likely to meet for a while longer. I’m not confident in any grand result from a meeting with BH “management”, as it’s a multi-level company with regional and district offices. There have been some BH personnel at the center, and they left their little form letter welcoming us to BH. Aside from that, that’s really all we’ll see of them, aside from the occaisional visit to make sure the center conforms.

I agree that this is a positive change. It’s really the teachers that make the place what it is for the kids. Sure, there’s room for improvement in some areas on the staff level at our center, as there is at all centers. Hopefully we’ll be able to see positive changes in that arena, as well as others which could use some improvement. BH has resources for staff and parents online, including staff training and parenting references. A bit intrusive on one hand, beneficial on the other. Depends on how you use it, I guess.

The child care industry, as a whole, needs a full shake-up, in my opinion. We are not going to have any kind of experience that is any different than if we’d jumped ship and moved to another provider months ago. For now, I’m going to go with the flow, support our staff and the other families as we navigate through the changes, and see what comes of things. I’ll give it a while before we make a decision either way, to stay or to go. Our director is very positive about the changes, and that is just what I expect from a director. She sets the tone for the transition among the families and staff, and for now, we’re moving on to greener pastures.

Thanks, again, for reading, and for your thoughts. They are important to me, and I do not take what you said lightly. I understand the position you were probably in, and cannot imagine how difficult that was for you.

Comment on The winds of change by mother/teacher

mother/teacher — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:00:43 +0000

You should embrace this change knowing that your childs’ center is no longer run by a “family” who only cares about the bottom line and not the safety and education of the children. Yes bright Horizons is a corporation and Minee subee was a smaller business, but a business just the same. When I heard the Katz women were no longer going to run these centers I had a big sigh of relief. As a former employee I know firsthand how they operate their centers. I hope staff is reevaluated and Bright Horizons looks at what was good from the old curriculum and keeps some of the good Minee Subee traditions like the Thanksgiving Feast and the “Lovely ladies/Meaningful Men”. I think you could even hold a parent meeting to discuss your issues with Bright Horizons management. Either way be happy the Katz women will not be running your childs school. Trust me, knowing what I know as a former director, if I were you I would sleep a whole lot better.

Comment on Kudos to Kentucky! by discoverchildcare.com » Kudos to Kentucky! | www.familydaycare.ca

discoverchildcare.com » Kudos to Kentucky! | www.familydaycare.ca — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 07:34:37 +0000

[...] Here is the original post: discoverchildcare.com » Kudos to Kentucky! [...]

Comment on My busy mind… by Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:13:13 +0000

Maureen,

Thank you so much for your message! I’m sorry to be so late getting back to you. The meeting was very informative and I think it provided the group with some essential contacts regarding advocacy for children, as well as early childhood professionals, in Illinois. I think it will give the group a better sense of the direction they will need to take in order to reach their goal of mandating video cameras in classrooms in child care facilities.

Sharon Stosur is the organizer, and her e-mail address is: dstosur@comcast.net. I don’t have her telephone # off hand, but, she’s very good about replying to e-mails. If I come across her number, I’ll certainly pass it on.

Thanks for visiting my site. I hope to have tons more content by the end of the month.

Jenny