Faith Academy Cowboy Church Ministries

We contacted Faith Academy because our current facility is closing. I met with the FA Director on 2/28/23 at 2PM. She sent an email w/12 docs that I read and filled out the forms. When I arrived the classes were waking from naptime. The director was disorganized admitted she sent outdated info. She showed me the facilities and teachers. I specifically asked about the lunches explaining that my son came from a facility that provided lunches and he was picky food. I asked if she had any tips for what she thought would be best in dealing with this transition, she had none and was not concerned. I also explained that my child was bored with the curriculum at his previous facility and that we were looking forward to the additional activities offered by FA. I had initially planned to have my son start on 3/20/23, but he was too excited so I called on 3/2/2023 and left a message asking if he could begin on 3/6/23. The Director replied by text that he could start on 3/6/2023. We arrived 7:30AM. The Director was not there. My son’s name was not on the sign-in sheet nor did he a cubby. I left his belonging with the staff who seemed surprised. I called at 9:24AM to check on my son knowing that this was a very different childcare situation for him. The Director said she check on him, he was doing well. At 11:55am the Director called stating my son would not eat his lunch and was screaming. Knowing this was likely a result of him being very hangry I asked if he ate anything. She said he ate the pouch. I said I’ll be there shortly I just need a moment to heat some food for him. A minute later she texted “I am sorry but he hit me and refusing to come to the outer room he will not be able to stay”. I immediately went FA not sure what this meant. When I arrived an older gentleman opened the door, I did not know who he was. He led me to the Director’s office where my son’s belonging were collected. I apologized for his behavior and stated this was something that we had never experienced before. She did not seem to care, she just wanted us to leave. She offered no further details or provided any opportunity to discuss what exactly happened for things escalate to this level. It was shocking and the entire encounter completely confusing. He would not voluntarily get up from the table so, I picked him up and started walking toward the door. She had grabbed his belongings and escorted us out of the building and barely said goodbye. When we got in the truck he was crying and said he didn’t want to be a “Bad Boy”. This caught me off guard, as I have never said such a phrase to my son. I texted Katheen to ask that she explain his interaction up to the point he hit her. She called and said he had refused to complete his schoolwork yelling at his teacher “no no no!” repeatedly. Then at lunch time it continued that he became more upset, screaming, stomping his feet, pushing away his lunch, they took it away and he screamed "No!" they gave it back, but took it away again and he became more upset. She asked the other teachers to try and speak to him to no avail. When she approached him she had crouched down to speak to him and he hit her w/an open hand. I then called his previous childcare facility and they confirmed he had never hit them that they would let him sit to calm himself down on his own and then try again with what he needed to do. This suggested information was omitted by the FA Director. When my husband came home, he asked for more details and I told him what I knew so far. He then called the FA Director himself. He calmly introduced himself and asked for a detailed description of what happened that day. The FA Director was already defensive and angry, her voice shaking and raised and often interrupting his questions barking back "do not challenge me you were not there". She stated that our son refused his snack of pineapple, refused to do his schoolwork, screaming, and would not listen. She stated this continued to lunch and told him what she had told me. When asked what led to him slapping her, with hesitation, she admitted to grabbing our son's wrist to take him to her office and our son slapped her hand from his wrist. Husband asked “you gave up on a 5-year-old child because he slapped your hand?” She stammered “I do not have to talk to you about this” and hung up on him. when asked who told him he was a “bad boy” he said it was the teacher and that she did it in front of the other children and they started calling him a “bad boy” too.