My child had been enrolled at Chandlers Playhouse for 1.5 years, and though I had high hopes for this place, our family left with total disappointment.
My 3 year old daughter came home one day and said one girl was being mean to her. She had previously said that girl was mean, and bit her arm before. We tried to brush it off as regular toddler interaction, and since she said the teacher put that girl on time out, we let it go. However, when we asked how the girl was being mean this time, my daughter pulled the outer corner of her eyes and made a slanty eye gesture. Horrified, we asked her to re-enact it so we could record it and report it to Carolina.
Over text, she said she was “dumbfounded” and found it “outrageous and unacceptable.” She requested an immediate in-person meeting with me. When I went to school to meet with her, she had brought all her teachers in to meet with me, and all of them denied seeing this happen. Then she even told me that the child’s gesture was not racist, and had no idea that it was offensive. Carolina said she didn’t even know what that gesture was, and had to Google it. Ignorance doesn’t mean that behavior is acceptable. I had to explain the Asian American experience to her, but she diminished our racial experience by brushing off my statement and saying “...just like how Latinos and African Americans experience racism, it's all unacceptable.” As a person of color, of course I’m aware of the different types of racism people experience, but I’m specifically talking about a racial situation at your school, so why are you making such a generalized statement…?
Although I believe that child didn’t realize that what she did was offensive, it was the school’s responsibility to communicate with their parents to say that gesture is not acceptable in school. That would have given us confidence to keep our daughter at Chandlers’ until right up to Kindergarten because we knew the caretakers were taking care of her and protecting her. Unfortunately, instead of making clear communication on this boundary, she decided to tell us to unenroll from her school immediately because it seemed like we “have been dissatisfied with this school for a while already” and that “the stress that this was causing [Carolina] is enormous.” Note: enrollment papers require a 30 day notice to unenroll, but they do not honor the 30 days.
As an early childhood provider, we had expected the school director to be more forthcoming (especially when wounds and racism are experienced) and emotionally mature. The fact that she forced us to immediately unenroll because the situation was causing too much stress for HER is mindblowing.
This is the most amazing place on earth for children. My son is 14 now and I'm still talking about Miss Lina and how grateful I am to her and Chandler's Playhouse. He was prepared for the world socially and academically by the time he was transitioning into Kindergarten. The security I felt while at work, knowing he was eating homemade organic food and in a safe environment, this was priceless. I believe God brought me to Miss Lina, I was so overwhelmed and fearful at the same time, working full time and becoming a single Mom. Miss Lina is truly special. My life and my sons' life are both wonderful today, Miss Lina helped us to navigate to success. We love you Lina and family. 💜
