amber goldsmith

Review of Arden Cahill Academy

I started my daughter at Arden Cahill when she was...

I started my daughter at Arden Cahill when she was less than a year old. I really loved the amenities available to the children. The classrooms were beautifully done, the activities in each room were age appropriate and encouraged play and learning, the grounds were serene and the kids went on walks/strolls to the farm everyday, as weather permitted. I had a few minor complaints at first, such as the trash can (where dirty diapers are disposed of) repeatedly being placed up against her crib and her being bitten (with bruises) twice within a week's time. However, the last and final straw with this school, and everyone in it, occurred shortly after my daughter's second birthday. When dropping her off in the morning I checked her bin to see if she needed any pull-ups. I saw that she was low so I went to my car to get more. I was out of the room for a couple of minutes. When I returned to the room all the kids were sitting against the wall in the back of the room. One of the teachers was standing over a student (younger than my child) hitting him in the face several times while yelling at him "No, No, No, No, No! NO biting!" She then pulled him to his feet by his arm and walked him to the "timeout" chair (which is when she saw me and turned beet red). I was beyond shocked! I collected ALL my daughter's belongings and went to the office to complain and officially withdraw her. Ms. Betty (the administrator of the infant center) seemed concerned about the incident and asked me to write a report on what I observed. She later called me back that day (and again few days later) to ask if I could rewrite my complaint, saying "Did she HIT him or TAP his mouth to stop him from biting? Did you hear the slap? Bc if she hit him,well,that would be grounds for termination, but if she was just teaching him not to bite..."

It really gave me insight into the "culture of the school" and what was considered acceptable behavior. I ran into another parent months later and found out that teacher is still employed and that her daughter had an experience where she broke her arm in this same room and was not informed that her daughter had been hurt until SHE brought it to the school's attention the following Monday. I would not recommend this school to anyone and would encourage any parent who has a child there to pop in on them without announcement and observe what happens when you're not around.