Correct Problems at Little Lambs Day Care
As parents of children at Little Lambs and/or members of the St. Paul's church body, we bring the following concerns and recommended solutions:
1. The current check-in/check-out system is unfair to those whose children are either there before or after school, but not at both times. Those whose children are there only in the morning are required to check the children out in the afternoon. Those whose children are only there in the afternoon are required to check the children in in the morning. At times, the parents are not even there at the time when check-in or check-out is required because the children ride the bus one way. We require that this system immediately be changed so that children are checked out when school starts if they are only there before school or checked in when school ends if they are only there after school. This should be an expected part of the day care workers' job or they should supervise older children doing this; it is not an unreasonable requirement if the system is as easy as claimed.
2. Penalties for forgetting checking in and out should either be ended immediately or should be limited to very extreme circumstances, such as forgetting more than 3 times in a one-month period. An alternative would be for the penalty to be more in proportion, such as a $10 penalty to send a message rather than a 10-hour one, which seems solely intent on getting more money.
3. Problems with electronic invoicing should lead the day care to work diligently and kindly with the parent to discover the problem, not to simply say it must be the parents' problem.
4. Payment should be required within one week, not within a few days, especially for those who have so far not been able to receive electronic invoices. Penalties should be limited to those whose balance exceeds a certain amount or who are more than 2 weeks late.
5. When penalties are required or parents are not meeting requirements, any notes to parents should be phrased in a way that shows Christian love and a willingness to work with and talk to families, not in a formal and disparaging way that implies extreme negligence on the part of the parent when that is not the case. Notes should be standardized and wording approved by both pastors and the Leadership Council with an eye toward reaching out in love, not just getting the money.
6. In all communications, policies, and if need be penalties, we should remember that our preschool and day care are a ministry, not a business, and should act as if we believe that to be true.
7. Appeals should be directed to someone other than the current director for the time being because parents have often found her to be unsympathetic and unhelpful in these matters.
8. An independent body should be nominated and formed to investigate the declining numbers in the preschool and to talk to those who have recently pulled children out of our day care to find the reasons why and look for ways that we can better improve and serve our community.
It is easy for parents and members to ignore the problem or send their children somewhere else; it is harder to fight for the preschool and day care to be the ministry it once was and can be again. We not only hope but expect that current leadership will take these concerns seriously and make real change, showing that they are servant leaders and not merely serving a select group or our monetary balance.
Thank you,
The Undersigned:
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