The Gardner School of Naperville South - Naperville IL Day Care Center

Until recently, I had 2 children enrolled at the Compass School south campus. We had been there for over 3 years. Our oldest child went through the infant program through preschool with no alarming problems. Unfortunately, our youngest child experienced many serious incidents while in the 15 month to 24 month toddler room in a short period of time. Our youngest had many “falls” that caused injuries to his face by hitting tables located in awkward places throughout the room, one of which was a table at the landing of the 2 step staircase. The least experienced “teacher” in this room, would attribute my child’s ‘falls’ to clumsiness. An early childhood educated professional would understand that children in this age group are not clumsy, but rather developing balance and walking skills. After several discussions with the director, the director stated that she was aware there was a huge personality conflict between the teachers in the room, and after our conference with her, she made a change to the room. The director, assistant director and several parents who had children in this room were aware of teacher personality issues, which unfortunately, affected the children in this room. Unfortunately the changes that were made didn't help, because the catalyst is still teaching in that room.

During this time, our child was also the victim of numerous biting incidents. We discussed the biting incidents with the director after each one, along with the falling and other incidents that occurred. During our discussions, she assured us that these were isolated incidents and felt that there wasn't a biting issue in the classroom. We were told our child was bitten by different children each time. My child was bitten at least 6 times while in this classroom. After speaking with the director again, she assured us that she was putting a plan in place to have a teacher near the biter at all times. This plan was not executed because the incidents continued. For the last biting incident, we were informed by the assistant director that a child, who was touring the school with his mom, bit my child. The assistant director stated that this child’s parent was ‘mortified’ that their child had bitten ours and was too embarrassed to consider enrolling in the school. I then spoke to the teachers and they each corroborated this story. We have since removed our children from the school because we have learned that all of these incidents were falsely reported. All of the biting incidents, except for 1 were caused by the same child, who by the way, is the same child who has bitten staff members and many other children at the school. The other child, who bit my child, had bitten other children at least 6 times (they couldn't remember the count) before my child’s incident.
Upon confronting the director, she denied being a part of the lies that were told to us and the incident reports that were falsified by the assistant director and the teachers in the classroom. She however, admitted that she knew about the lies, and blamed it all on the assistant director and the teachers in the room. I then asked her what would be the consequences of these actions and asked if she agreed that termination should be considered for all of those involved. She was quick to say,” Yes,” but then asked me, “Well, what difference does it make to you since you already pulled out your children?” This response clearly confirmed to me that she was involved with the lies and perhaps the orchestrator of them. What director would allow false reports of incidents without a serious consequence?

We removed our children because a facility in charge of caring for them that willingly prepares false incident reports, and have staff that also lies about the incidents, can’t be trusted. How can anyone trust this staff with their children who can’t yet speak, because they are in the learning stages of speech, and can’t defend themselves?

I hope this behavior is not supported by upper management. What a disappointment this turned out to be!

Where most daycare / early learning providers have one or two areas they excel in, The Compass School seems to have taken all key aspects of emotional and intellectual development to creatively nurture and consistently deliver world class child care. There are stand apart attributes at every age group and the staff is phenomenal & fully committed to the Reggio-Emilia style learning principles. All three of our children attend, & we drop them off each day knowing they will be happy, truly cared for and bursting with tales of learning opportunities and adventure each night at pick up. After suffering through tearful drop offs & semi engaged staff with other daycare providers, it is refreshing to see teachers at The Compass School who are fully present every day. My children are now quick to send me on my way as they begin their day with activities that captivate and motivate. As a working mother, there is no greater assurance than this! Our oldest just graduated from their awesome Kindergarten program, which goes beyond district standards. Our middle child and youngest will be enrolling in this program as well. Communication between parent and teachers are unparalleled and interactive. We have tried many other daycares, and nothing compares to The Compass School experience!!