La Bella Learning Centers

I have nothing but great things to say about La Bella and the staff. I have used them for years and feel that they do a fantastic job. Would recommend them to anyone.

I am quite literally stunned right now. We decided to give notice today at La Bella because our almost 3.5 year old son has told us he’s not happy there and wants to go to a new school. We got a phone call last week from the school administrator, Cecilia, that our son has been having behavior issues — aggressive towards the other kids, breaking toys and lying about it, etc. — and my hubby and I spent some time talking with our son over the next couple days about his behavior at school when he finally admitted he’s not happy there and that’s why he’s making poor choices. Our son is not aggressive with other kids in any other environment. We take him to the park, to the trampoline place, and he spends time with close friends and plays appropriately 95% of the time. We do have some defiance issues at home, he can be somewhat destructive with his own toys, but he’s 3 and we’re working on them. It’s an ever changing process. A lot of parents and families we interact with comment on how is it we can correct the majority of our son’s behavior with a simple «No thank you, please make a better choice»? Does that sound like a problem child to you?
After he moved into the 3 year old room, they had such a high turnover in teachers that the 3 year olds had three different teachers in 4 months. While our son tells us he likes his current teacher and that she’s a good teacher, we feel he’s just not bonding with her in the way he needs (not that it matters now, I found out when I dropped him off this morning that she left last week and no one told us).
So, like I said, we put in our notice today. Cecilia called to say she got our note. It was her next set of comments that have me so stunned. She asks, «What are you going to do when you run out of preschools? Or how about when he goes to public school and tells you he doesn’t want to go to that school and you move him again. You’ll eventually run out of schools and have to change districts. All you’re teaching him is he’ll get anything he wants. I respect your decision, but I don’t agree with it.»
She respects our decision? Do those words sound like she respects our decision? What’s wrong with a simple «I got your notice and am sorry to see you go, but I wish you all the best.» If there was any doubt in my mind if we were doing the right thing by pulling him out, I am confident in my decision now. Our son deserves a positive discipline approach to his care, not an environment where he’s punished for his actions. There’s a big difference between discipline and punishment.
We are currently looking for a new school if anyone who reads this has a recommendation for us.