Parents Seeking Answers: LBCC Child Development Center Changes 2008

As parents and partners in our children's education, we respectfully take this time to provide feedback to the Long Beach City College Child Development Center regarding the new changes set forth for Fall 2008.  The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our opinion regarding: the manner in which the new changes were brought to our attention, our thoughts on the changes themselves, and our suggestions for the future.  We also have questions about the NAEYC accreditation status of the center.

As active participants in our children's education, we were not only shocked by the news of drastic changes to the Parent Participation Program, but extremely disappointed and frustrated in the way we were made aware of these new changes.  The meetings that took place in March of 2008 left little to no time for parents to find alternative pre-school options, as many of the quality local programs register between January and early March each year.  The complete lack of organized information at the meeting should have been embarrassing for the faculty and staff presenting, and as parents we found it inconsistent and aggravating.  In this meeting, you left out fees, class structure with regard to age, teacher assignments and other essential information.  There was also nothing prepared in written form to take home or to give to parents unable to attend the meeting.  With such little information to go on, we strongly feel you could have held this meeting in fall 2007, or January of 2008.  We feel the lateness of this announcement showed a complete lack of regard for our position in seeking a quality and affordable education for our pre-school age children. 

As we have learned through our on-going child development classes at the CDC, it is often not only the information put forth, but also the way it is offered up, whether to children or adults, that matters.  We wish you had taken the time to consider our reactions and situation, and simply applied some of the theories you use daily in communicating with our children, in order to communicate with us.

We must also state that we are extremely disappointed in the sweeping changes involving the Parent Participation Program.  As parents, we have enjoyed being part of our children's classroom experiences, and have gladly shared of our time and energy with our children's classes.  Knowing the history of this program goes back to the post World War II era, we also see that it has withstood the test of time, popular theories, and budget cuts.  Many of us have commented that we would have paid a much higher fee to be part of the current program.  We would have appreciated the opportunity to express our thoughts regarding losing the program before it was already off the agenda.  We are certainly sad to see it go.

In light of the future of the program, we have recommendations regarding the gaping holes in the information given to us for Fall 2008, namely: fees and class structure.  With regard to fees, we strongly suggest that you consider your clientele, the community that the CDC has developed, and keep the fees reasonably low.  Since many of us were unable to enroll elsewhere, (or may never make it off waiting lists elsewhere), directly due to the lateness of the CDC's announcement, we feel it is only fair to keep the rates reasonably low.  We strongly recommend that the college announce the fees for 2008-2009 as soon as possible, so that families might be able to make informed decisions.  With regard to class structure, we have been told that there is a possibility of having two year olds in class with three and four year olds.  Although we have been assured that there will be preferred registration for returning students, who would all be at least three years of age, this theoretical explanation does not remove the possibility that was raised of having two year olds in class with threes and fours.  As parents, we strongly recommend that two year olds are kept in a safe, age appropriate environment, which we consider to be separate from threes and fours.  We hope the structure that has been at the CDC for so long, which has had two year olds in their own classroom and play yard, is maintained, both for the two year olds safety and for the developmental differences between the older children and the two year olds. 

It has also just been brought to our attention the possibility that our center is no longer accredited with the NAEYC.  A web search on the NAEYC's official web-site showed several accredited programs in Long Beach, CA, however the LB City College CDC was missing.  In light of the other recent developments this spring, hearing about this through the grapevine is somewhat disturbing.   Since hearsay and personal statements do little for us as a whole group, we would appreciate an official written explanation, clarifying in detail the current status of the CDC's accreditation, as well as the reasons behind the loss of our status as an NAEYC accredited child development center (if this is indeed the case). 

In closing, we must say that we hope this past March is no indication for future interaction between parents, administration and faculty.  We respect the CDC center and staff and their mission, and we expect them to also respect our mission as parents and partners in our children's education.  We know you are capable of doing better, we hope to see this communication improve-- hopefully with the full disclosure of fees, class structure, and accreditation status during April 2008.  We understand that the red tape of the college bureaucracy has its limits, but we respectfully maintain that without the parents and children in your program, there would be no program.  We look forward to finding a middle ground where we can all find the best solutions for our children in the coming months as you launch the new program.