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Review content:
** Parent's Warning ** Do Not Send Your Child!! ** July 2010 It is with shock and deep regret that I am sending a strong warning to parents NOT to send their children to Red Hill Academy. The five-star ""rave review"" you might read below was written by me last year (entitled, ""Best Pre-School in Michigan), and at that time, what I wrote was true. Back then, the school was filled with competent, loving teachers, among them -- Mr. Gabe, Miss Ouzanna and Miss Annmarie. Those teachers have all quit or been fired. One has to wonder why, in my opinion, such beloved teachers have left the school. I am deeply concerned about what appears to be a higher than average hiring practice. Based on my personal experience this July, I did something I never thought I would do -- I re-enrolled my son in summer school and pulled him out within one week. Why did I do this? Because after enrollment, I learned that as a kindergartener, one of the teachers physically pulled my son out of his chair causing him to cry. In disbelief, I contacted other parents and staff who remembered and corroborated this incident. Upon questioning my son, he described the incident as ""really scary."" During a meeting to discuss this incident with Miss Leila and the teacher, the incident was denied. But that wasn't the worst part for me. The worst part was the complete lack of personal responsibility for the incident despite evidence to the contrary. Not once did Miss Leila offer to investigate. Not once did she apologize for even a ""hint"" of inappropriate behavior in the classroom. My conversation with Leila and the teacher turned contenscious and produced three things -- denial, anger and blame. How can a school claim to promote personal responsibility and character building when they don't embody these values at the top? My experience is that this is an environment that has the propensity to blame you and your child for any problems or challenges in the classroom. My experience is that when you ask to discuss issues related to your child, you will experience long lectures and unsolicited parenting advice. You may, as I did, experience having to hear your child referred to as ""lazy"" when you voice your concerns about their struggles with their work. And most sadly of all, you may -- as I did -- witness your child go from being joyous and happy at the thought of going to school to voicing fear and anxiety, only to be lectured to about the value of tough love, discipline and the benefits of being ""strict."" As for this mother, I look to my son to tell me how I'm doing as a parent. Soft words, tons of involvement and a nurturing environment have created a happy, funny, loving, generous, kind-hearted 7 year-old boy who is beloved by parents and teachers alike. I'm agreeing with you, Leila, that Michael doesn't belong at Red Hill. I can do better for my son.
Cons: Miss Leila's poor leadership, inappropriate teacher behavior
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