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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Recovering After Being Fired Via Email?
Unregistered 02:31 PM 09-09-2018
"I appreciate all the effort you have put in during these last few weeks but we have gotten many more parent complaints about no real communications with them during pick ups and drop offs. With trying to address this with you prior and with more complaints, I am left with no choice but to let you go. You are great with the children, truly you are but with too many parent complaints from the same classroom about you, I have no choice. Please, if you need a reference for the future I would be happy to write one for you. Again, I am truly sorry and tried to please the families in the [Two year old] Room but was unable to do so. Please let me know if I can be of any help besides a reference."

To say I'm pissed is somewhat of an understatement. First off, the fact that I was fired on a Saturday via email is absolutely unacceptable. I still have to go in on Monday to retrieve belongings I left in the classroom (library books I got for the kids in my class).

I'm still not sure what she's talking about in regards to no communication during pick-ups and drop-offs. First off, I'm usually not in the room during drop-offs for most of the children in that class. By the time I come in at 8, that class is already in their classroom. For the first 60-90+ minutes of my shift, I am in different classroom. Occasionally, one or two children will come after I arrive in the classroom, but it's rare. When it does happen, I'm often paying more attention to the other children while the lead teacher in the classroom deals with the drop-off as the children and parents know her better. One of the students in the class has a major biting problem, so letting the kids run around while both adults talk to the parent is a bad idea.

When it comes to pick-ups, several parents come when the lead teacher is still there. She is usually wrapping up her lesson plans for the following day as she leaves 30 minutes before me while I am in charge of the children. When she leaves, I do speak to the parents, but it's hard to hold a conversation while also keeping two year olds from killing each other. There are a few parents who I haven't met because the children arrive before I do and leave after I leave. When there is information that needs to be relayed, I do pass the information on to the closing teachers, but they are generally dismissive, so I doubt parents get the information. I have been considering asking about ways to change my schedule so, between the lead teacher and myself, at least one of us will be there for every child's pick-up or drop-off (even if it means I take an extra long lunch break and get out of work at 6 instead of 5. There are things that I feel should be communicated with the parent(s) that are not being said because nobody at pick-up and drop-off has first-hand knowledge of the child's day).

That being said, I did what was said to me and introduced myself to parents. Now, have I missed some parents? Possibly. After all, I'm dealing with dozens of children during the day, and between moms, dads, grandparents, etc it's hard to keep track of which guardian goes with which kid. I may have skipped a parent or two thinking I had already introduced myself to him/her (not wanting to reintroduce myself to someone I already met). The first time she told me there was a complaint about me not introducing myself, I asked for clarification. The lead teacher in the room was also confused. Most of my introductions were incredibly awkward. Kids were crazy, parents were in a rush, and I couldn't even say "I'm the new assistant teacher in this classroom" because I wasn't officially in any one classroom. I had to say "I'm primarily working in these few rooms, but I'm not officially anywhere yet." I think that made parents more uncomfortable because I couldn't even tell them what classroom I worked in or if I was officially a "floater."

Meanwhile, there are teachers there who don't care about ratios and left me alone with 14 two-year-olds (illegal in NJ). I have been debating calling to report this school for a few things, but decided against it because it wasn't anything super bad and I didn't want to jeopardize a new job. The backwards logic of firing me and not teachers who are violating state law VIA email is pretty annoying.

Now, I'm back to searching for work. I'm hoping to get a reference letter from this employer (she offered), but I'm still unsure of how I should proceed with looking for work. How do I explain why my 3 week employment at this daycare didn't work out?
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storybookending 02:50 PM 09-09-2018
Honestly I wouldn’t put any place I worked for that short of time on my resume at all. I also wouldn’t use her reference letter.
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Michael 02:54 PM 09-09-2018
Sorry to read that you were let go. These days, impersonal notices like twitter and email seem to be the norm. As to using the her as a reference; I would just say that your employment there was temporary. After all, your employer said that you were good with the children. Its the parents that were the issue. That shouldn't relate to your next job. Good luck
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Ariana 04:52 PM 09-09-2018
Welcome to the generation of non confrontation and decency! Ridiculous that they fired you this way without at least a written warning to improve your behavior.

Just move on and find something new. Good luck
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lblanke 07:32 PM 09-09-2018
Do not ask them for a reference. "She was great with the kids but we had to let her go because parents complained" is the reference you will get. Just move on and hopefully you will find something better.
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Unregistered 05:58 AM 09-10-2018
I did ask for a letter so I can see what it says. I probably will not share the letter with potential employers [though I may post the text of it anonymously on my online profile if it sounds good].

I still do not understand what parents complained about. I asked, but never received any kind of answer.
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Meeko 06:21 AM 09-10-2018
I'm going to guess there were no parent complaints. You spoke to them about being out of compliance with several regulations and they saw you as trouble. An employer who isn't following the regs doesn't want an employee around who knows those regs and tries to abide by them.

She couldn't say
"You may cause me trouble with the state because I am not up to code, so go away"

....she had to make up something that sounded like it was out of her hands. She wanted you to go as quietly as possible and so offered the reference etc.
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Homebody 06:53 AM 09-10-2018
Originally Posted by Meeko:
I'm going to guess there were no parent complaints. You spoke to them about being out of compliance with several regulations and they saw you as trouble. An employer who isn't following the regs doesn't want an employee around who knows those regs and tries to abide by them.

She couldn't say
"You may cause me trouble with the state because I am not up to code, so go away"

....she had to make up something that sounded like it was out of her hands. She wanted you to go as quietly as possible and so offered the reference etc.
This is exactly what I was thinking.
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Ac114 10:31 AM 09-10-2018
Originally Posted by Meeko:
I'm going to guess there were no parent complaints. You spoke to them about being out of compliance with several regulations and they saw you as trouble. An employer who isn't following the regs doesn't want an employee around who knows those regs and tries to abide by them.

She couldn't say
"You may cause me trouble with the state because I am not up to code, so go away"

....she had to make up something that sounded like it was out of her hands. She wanted you to go as quietly as possible and so offered the reference etc.
I also agree with this!
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e.j. 11:20 AM 09-10-2018
Originally Posted by Meeko:
I'm going to guess there were no parent complaints. You spoke to them about being out of compliance with several regulations and they saw you as trouble. An employer who isn't following the regs doesn't want an employee around who knows those regs and tries to abide by them.

She couldn't say
"You may cause me trouble with the state because I am not up to code, so go away"

....she had to make up something that sounded like it was out of her hands. She wanted you to go as quietly as possible and so offered the reference etc.
I was thinking the same thing and... If you report them, you look like a disgruntled employee who is just trying to retaliate against them.
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Unregistered 12:56 PM 09-10-2018
I guess my real question is where do you draw the line between infractions that you let slide and ones that you report?

Obviously (I hope) if you see a teacher beating a toddler senseless, you report it. But there are certain gray areas where you see things that are against state regulations or just make you uncomfortable, but you don't know if you should report it or wait until the next surprise inspection and hope that the state catches it themselves.
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Rockgirl 01:02 PM 09-10-2018
Me personally....of course I would report if I believed children were in danger or being neglected. But in the cases of the meal patterns and things like that, I wouldn’t. The food program or state will see that at some point. It’s not ideal, but it’s not threatening to their safety. Ratios will be caught at an inspection.
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Blackcat31 01:59 PM 09-10-2018
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I guess my real question is where do you draw the line between infractions that you let slide and ones that you report?

Obviously (I hope) if you see a teacher beating a toddler senseless, you report it. But there are certain gray areas where you see things that are against state regulations or just make you uncomfortable, but you don't know if you should report it or wait until the next surprise inspection and hope that the state catches it themselves.
I don't know what state you are in but here is the Mandated Reporter Guide for my state (MN). It does a fairly good job of explaining the what, when and how's of reporting as well as the difference between neglect and abuse etc...

https://edocs.dhs.state.mn.us/lfserv...c/DHS-2917-ENG
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Bluemoon5 03:18 PM 09-10-2018
Last time I looked into NJ reporting laws (I think OP said that's where she is) everthing was extremely vague. From what I could tell there are no specific "mandated reporters." It just says "all persons." Maybe I didn't look hard enough but I could never find anything dealing with the "who, when, how" specifics. But it's NJ so...
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Blackcat31 04:31 PM 09-10-2018
Originally Posted by Bluemoon5:
Last time I looked into NJ reporting laws (I think OP said that's where she is) everthing was extremely vague. From what I could tell there are no specific "mandated reporters." It just says "all persons." Maybe I didn't look hard enough but I could never find anything dealing with the "who, when, how" specifics. But it's NJ so...


Thanks for the info I’m sorry some states aren’t good with information accessibility

I found this for NJ
https://www.nj.gov/dcf/reporting/links/
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Hunni Bee 07:03 PM 09-10-2018
"Parent complaints" are a fictitious cop-out. Not because they don't exist, but because in a center, they exist in such volume that they would literally have to let everyone go if that was a deciding factor. Everything under the sun in a large daycare has had a parent complaint - the food, the teachers, too much art coming home, too little, naps are too long, prices too high, not enough staff...

The only time you are let go is when you cause trouble for management, not the parents. I'm sure its exactly as Meeko said.
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MarinaVanessa 02:27 PM 09-11-2018
Specifically about the point about getting fired via email on a weekend ... workplaces often fire people either at the end of their previous shift or before their next shift because if you had gone in to work and they fired you at the beginning of your shift then they'd be forced to pay you a certain hours of work even if you didn't stay to work (4 hours I think).

They could have been receiving "complaints" from parents near the end of the day Friday and could have been trying to figure out a resolution and came to their decision after you had left which is why they had to reach out to you on the weekend before you came in Monday. Since they fired you before your Monday shift even if you go in to pick up your things they aren't responsible for paying you. Had you been on your way to work on Monday and they tried firing you via phone/email and you arrived because you were already on your way then they'd still have to pay you for those minimum hours.

In my early 20's I was working for a large toy retailer for the holidays temporarily for extra shifts/cash and after the season they tried calling me the morning of my next shift to tell me that I was no longer needed but I was already on my way so they paid me for the 4 hours. The following year when I returned they called me during my day off.

This was 15 years ago so not really a new practice. I've worked in other retail stores as well and this was common practice there also. Just trying to give you a little insight into what could possibly be the reason for firing you on a weekend. Can't really help with the other stuff. Sorry this happened to you
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Tags:job loss, parent interaction, parent issues
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