Presentation Transcript

1. 2014 MCDC Parent Survey Results

2. Overview / Assumptions The survey was completed by 29 families The survey response scale was 1 – 5 5 Always 4 Often 3 Sometimes 2 Seldom 1 Never 0 Don’t know / NA To keep the parent names anonymous, children(s) names were deleted from comments The Director has responded to several of the comments. Those responses will appear in red.
3. Detailed discussions and comments Survey is broken into 3 subsets of questions: Questions (1-21) apply to the MCDC as a whole. Questions (22-28) apply to the MCDC Board of Directors. Questions (29-36) apply to the MCDC Center Director.
4. Summary Survey indicates that parents are overall satisfied (even pleased) with the care and service(s) the MCDC is providing. MCDC will always strive for improvement regardless of scores. Survey helps to focus and address specific concerns. Example: Information in the Comment sections, overall scores below 4.5 (90%) and ultimately score trends compared to 2012 are all indications that the cafeteria needs some special focus.
5. Future Actions The caregiver surveys will be shared with the teachers by the Director. Membership opportunity to serve on a parent-led food committee. This was done several years ago, and many improvements were made to the menu. Committee will bring specific solutions to the Director/Board, and the feasibility of implementing the suggestion will be considered. Look into online bill pay and cost to implement. Poll the membership to see if majority wants to support the cost to implement.
6. Back Up
7. Detailed discussions and comments Survey is broken into 3 subsets of questions: Questions (14-21) apply to the MCDC as a whole. Question (29) apply to the MCDC Board of Directors. Question (36) apply to the MCDC Center Director.
8. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ14. The MCDC program could better meet my child's needs by … Nothing could really be improved at this point in time. Our experience has been nothing but positive since we started at MCDC! More educational I would love the opportunity to discuss our research based curriculum with you. Everything that we do on a daily basis is educational. Children learn best through play; hands on experiences. You will not see worksheets or flashcards used, but you will see lots of conversation, open ended questions, reading, hands on activities, etc…. Learning how to read sooner; sounding out words. Research shows that there is no benefit to children learning to read at an early age. Our focus is on building a strong foundation for learning. This does include letter recognition and letter sounds. I would say that at least half of our preschoolers enter Kindergarten reading (because they are ready) but it is not one of our goals to have them all reading. Please feel free to contact me if you have any concerns regarding your child’s development. I would prefer for the food to be a little more nutritious - fewer simple carbohydrates and cheese, and more vegetables, fruit, and lean meats and fish. Less pizza, pasta, cereal, toast, corn. Thank you for your suggestions. We follow the USDA food program. At breakfast, we must have a bread and a fruit, at lunch we must have a bread, a meat, 2 vegetables or a vegetable and a fruit. We currently have a seven week rotating menu. None of the lunches repeat within that seven weeks. We currently only have pizza once during that seven weeks and an English muffin pizza once. The breads that we use are whole wheat. We currently only have fish once during the seven week cycle due to a high level of allergies. I would be more than happy to meet with you to discuss to menu in more detail.
9. General MCDC as Whole – Comments (con’t)Q14. The MCDC program could better meet my child's needs by … We feel that our children are happy and well stimulated in the MCDC environment; and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. We are happy with MCDC. Providing flexibility to enroll part time. Our part-time policy is related to the fact that full time enrollment is directly linked to our budget. We can only support part time enrollment if we are not otherwise at full enrollment. Please feel free to contact a board member near budget time and submit a proposal for part-time care. Establishing & posting in classroom policy about bullying/teasing. Children’s teasing each other is something that is addressed immediately. Through role play and example, the children are taught how we speak to one another and treat one another. The classroom is viewed as a community. Please contact me if you have a concern about your child. My child is so happy at MCDC! Over all we are extremely pleased with the program. Having a better menu. I have recently noticed that its always some kind of toast, biscuit or bread product in the mornings which isn't a healthy start to the day. I have had to supplement breakfast almost every morning. I think this area is in definite need of change. We are required by the USDA food program to have a bread at breakfast every day. Besides the biscuits, we do use whole wheat products when available. If you have any suggestions for the menu, please contact me. Making the classrooms a little more organized. I am sure the teachers would be more than happy to have any help available with organizing the classrooms. The main focus during the day is teacher/child interactions and supervision, so time is very limited to get everything back “in place”. And as is with teachers in general who are very creative, there are always projects in the works. We have two scheduled workdays during the year, but please feel free to contact your child’s teachers if you are available to help any other time.
10. General MCDC as Whole – Comments (con’t)Q14. The MCDC program could better meet my child's needs by … Perhaps have stage 2 baby food (fruit/veggies) available - if not too costly. We appreciate that you offer formula, cereal, and table food but would be nice to offer some level 2 food other than cereal. Currently we can only provide what is mandated by the USDA food program. Please cut down on the sugary treats. While okay in small amounts, the statistics on diabetes in our family are not good. None of the snacks that the center provides are sugary, so I am assuming that you are referring to the number of parties that are held. Please let me know if it is a particular classroom and I can discuss it with them. We would prefer that snacks being brought in are healthy as well. I'm not sure about the food. I need to ask what you are feeding her for sure. We do not want her to have any sugar snacks and we would prefer healthy food. The kitchen cleanliness and quality has decreased since Ms. Mary left. It seems like the health rating was always high 90s or 100 when she was here. I read the written issues on the health rating this time, and it is unacceptable. Yes, the kitchen scores have been in the 90’s the past few times with the lowest being 90. All of the issues that caused a lower score have been addressed and we currently have a 100 rating. Besides having someone new in the kitchen that had to adjust to feeding a large number of children and cleaning, we have had issues with our dishwasher as well. For several months we have been without one which has added additional duties to the cook. We have put in place a cleaning schedule that is initialed each day. You should continue to see the higher ratings in the kitchen. I would like my children to have exposure to Spanish or a foreign language as part of their routine; also I would enjoy seeing greens such as broccoli or zucchini appear if possible instead of all orange and white veggies. I would like to be able to pay via credit card. Ability to reserve my child's spot if we are out for a month during summer, without having to pay a full month tuition. Adding both of these options would be an impact to our budget. Paying via credit card, although very convenient, would be a cost to the center. In order to allow vacation time for families, we again would have to raise rates. Not much, they do well with the creative curriculum.
11. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ15. A recent incident that made me unhappy with the MCDC was The only incident that has ever upset me was when we were in a class with a child that was not vaccinated for the flu. We ultimately all got it too. Not MCDC's fault at all - but I would prefer not to be included in a class with children whose parents knowingly do not have them vaccinated for everything that they safely can be vaccinated for. Having or not having a child vaccinated for everything that they can be vaccinated for is ultimately the parent’s decision. We do not currently keep track of what voluntary vaccinations the children in our care receive, so we would be unable to group children as such. I dropped my child off one morning recently and there was only one teacher in the room. It was obvious that the teacher needed additional help. There were 2 teachers next door setting up for the day (moving chairs, etc.) I feel that one of them by herself was struggling to manage all of the children. The teachers are scheduled to arrive each day according to how many children typically arrive. However, there are mornings where children come in earlier or later than expected. The teachers know that they can call up front and let us know that they are over ratio and we will make sure to get them assistance. Please also feel free to stop by the front office and let us know if you think a classroom could use assistance. I was told of a transition plan to move my child from Creeper to Toddler room. However, the week she transitioned didn’t follow it - felt more like throwing her in the deep end. 2 hrs Monday, forgot to get her Tues, All day Wed -Fri I am so sorry that you did not have a good experience with transitioning. Our goal is for the transition to be as smooth and non-stressful as possible on the child. We can always work on doing a longer transition if you have any concerns in the future. Witnessed a crying baby not getting attention. The main teacher was changing another baby. A sub sat in rocker and talked to main teacher completely ignoring the baby. I ended up giving the baby their pacifier and trying to console while the sub just kept talking. Primary teacher apologized later even though it was not her fault. This is completely unacceptable. If you ever see this in the future, please come tell me immediately. If you do know which substitute it was that day, please let me know so I can address it.
12. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ15. A recent incident that made me unhappy with the MCDC was Pre-A homework was no longer going to be "required" -I understand the reason-suggestion - posting homework by sign-in sheet and let parents get them if wanted…. :) Hearing incidences of bullying and teasing in the Pre-A room. Homework can still be given to the children to take home, it was just the type of homework that was being sent home was not developmentally appropriate. Unfortunately, children at this age do a lot of teasing/”egging” on each other. It is something that the teacher addresses immediately. Please contact me if you have any concerns about your child. We want each child to feel safe and secure. I think that children are being moved out of the Explorer rooms into Pre-C too quickly, and then the move from Pre-C to Pre-B is really fast. I've noticed that kids that were in the Explorer rooms are now in Pre-B in just 6 months. Children are typically in the Explorer classrooms for a year before moving into Preschool C. Dependent on the child’s birthday, we do have some children that are in Preschool C for only 4-6 months before moving to Preschool B. I do however; always contact the children’s parents to make sure that they and their child are ready for the move. I'm sure everyone is going to bring up the furlough and shutdown issue. As a contractor I continued to work however had to find and pay for care for my child then pay in addition the tuition for MCDC. This put our family in a difficult situation especially since we had also been impacted with reduced paychecks during the furlough. Please see response on comment ‘K’ (next page) Back to menu issue, a few weeks ago on a Friday the kids were served "ice cold" pizza exact words of the teachers. My child came home not feeling well and was up all night throwing up. There has got to be something in place to prevent the kids from eating food that has not been cooked properly. Its pretty hard to mess up pizza but it has been done on several occasions. I am so sorry that your child was sick, however I can assure you that food sent to the classroom has been fully cooked. Nevertheless, the food may have gotten cold by the time it was served. With so many children to serve at the same time, it can be very hard to keep all of the food warm. The teachers can always send the food back to the kitchen to be warmed before serving it. I will make sure that they are reminded of that.
13. General MCDC as Whole – Comments (con’t)Q15. A recent incident that made me unhappy with the MCDC was My child being sent to timeout multiple times for not sitting still during circle time. He is 3 and sitting still after naptime is counterproductive. Recommend moving quiet activities to a different time of day when kids have had a chance to exercise. A child should never be sent to timeout for not sitting still during circle time. Circle time is an option and the child should have been given an alternative if they either could not sit still or did not want to participate. Please let me know the classroom or if this happens in the future. Menu and kitchen improvements Please feel free to contact me at any time with suggestions. I am interested in hearing any and all suggestions. During the government shutdown in October, we had to pay for our primary daycare at NASA and a separate sitter since both parents had to work. As an accredited school, it is important that for non-life threatening situations, such as a Furlough, that the private accredited school remains open. If it can't do that, then the parents should not be responsible for paying for services that were not received. Closing during the furlough was not MCDC’s decision. We were forced to close. It states in our operating policies that anytime we are forced to close, that payment will still have to be made. The board did excuse tuition for one of those weeks. We know that this was a hardship on everyone involved and immediately starting working on some alternative options if there happens to be another furlough in the future. My daughter's hands have been very chapped this winter. Due to not having a recent "medication" form, the staff were not able to put lotion on her hands. It would be beneficial to differentiate real medication and simple hand lotion. We wish that these items would not be classified as medication either, but this is a state mandated requirement and something we have no control over. We have to have weekly permission to apply sunscreen, diaper cream, Chap Stick, toothpaste, lotion, or prescription medications.
14. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ16. A recent incident that made me feel good about the MCDC was … I loved our exit conference with Ms. Shay. She has been an AMAZING teacher to our child. He talks about her all the time and says often that he will miss her. We have been very happy with every experience with the teachers that we have had in our almost two years at MCDC. I feel good about our child being in yall's care on a daily basis! Another teacher stepped in to help when one teacher was not commanding authority My child's teachers paid special attention to her needs while we were doing an ISR swim program. This involved daily charting of her bathroom habits, food and sleep. Mary Beth and Deborah were supportive and enthusiastic about her swim lessons. For the first time, last Friday the 21st of Feb, my child let me drop her off in the morning and didn’t scream her head off when I left. My child reaches for his teacher each morning and never cries when I leave. Staff are very friendly & take time to acknowledge each child's needs Loved the Christmas program, making the snowmen for the front yard, Christmas Tree Lighting To see all the parent involvement during the holiday and special events that the center offers.
15. General MCDC as Whole – Comments (con’t) Q16. A recent incident that made me feel good about the MCDC was … Mary Beth has been absolutely amazing for our child. It brightens my day to know that she has such a great teacher. When she comes home to talk about her day, she always talks about Mary Beth. Ms. Cathy hugging and comforting my child when mommy was not being patient with him. A reminder for me as a parent Loved the gifts that the Infant Room B did at Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Ms. Janice used the babies' pictures to make special gifts - very appreciated. Thank you. My child clearly enjoys his time at MCDC and speaks of the staff with great affection. Seeing the extra things the staff writes about each other on the papers on the hallway. It is good for the teachers to get along and support each other. Always able to accommodate a request for "drop in" care for my older child when school is out. The teachers are fantastic. I can't say enough good about them. I love how in-tune they are with my daughter and how they help us with our milestones. Their awareness greatly helps us be better parents. I am also pleased to hear my daughter saying "please and thank you" for everything...some of her first words. Please keep up the great work and thank you!! MCDC giving the parents a free pass for one week during the furlough while simultaneously ensuring that the staff was paid. I think that was very well handled giving the difficult circumstances.
16. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ17. Are you interested in serving on special parent committees? I am happy to help with parties and anything in his classroom that is required, but I generally do not have the additional time for any other committees or activities. As time permits, I volunteer for special events and activities: teacher appreciation week, bringing in snacks for parties, etc. Not at this time. Sure If there is any committee on special needs children, I would be happy to participate and contribute my knowledge, experiences. Not at this time. I would be interested in serving on a committee. Yes.
17. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ17. Are you interested in serving on special parent committees? Not at this time. Not at this time No Not at this time. Probably not right now….I don't know what committees exist No thank you I think that is safe to say.
18. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ18. Are you pleased with the Stretch-N-Grow program? Are you pleased with the new owners/instructors? We haven't done it yet, but we are so pumped to start in the Explorer B class! somewhat - not as good as previous owner/instructor Don't know what this is I'm not familiar with Stretch-n-grow I suppose. I really don't know what the children do at SNG or who the instructors are. If there could be more information shared about what the actual activities are, I would be interested in hearing about them. I'm not aware of Toddler room taking stretch and grow. Don't know Yes to both!
19. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ18. Are you pleased with the Stretch-N-Grow program? Are you pleased with the new owners/instructors? We don't attend. Don't know what this is We are not involved with Stretch-N-Grow We have been happy with stretch and grow so far. We want our child to have the added benefits of learning about good healthy foods and exercise. Do not participate in this program. I am not aware of this program. N/A N/A N/A NA My children do not participate in Stretch-N-Grow.
20. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ19. Would you be willing to pay a fee separately from tuition (similar to Stretch-N-Grow) for the option for your child to participate in a foreign language class or music class? ABSOLUTELY. That would be amazing. Either of them or both of them! yes yes Maybe Yes! We would LOVE to see foreign language and music offered no. yes, music Yes Maybe Yes Starts Kindergarten in August- so no. Parents already speak second language to child and have musical interests needs addressed at home (drums, guitar, keyboard, etc.)
21. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ19. Would you be willing to pay a fee separately from tuition (similar to Stretch-N-Grow) for the option for your child to participate in a foreign language class or music class? yes Yes…when she is of age Depending on the offerings we would be willing to pay additional for extra activities. Yes. I would gladly pay for a foreign language and music class. Probably It depends on the class and tuition While this is an intriguing idea, I would only comment if the proposed teachers credentials are presented. Foreign Language for sure maybe Yes!, Absolutely, when she is able to do so (infant) Music yes, foreign language no.
22. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ20. Name one thing you would change about MCDC. NOTHING. We love it there. Seriously, I have NOTHING that I would change. open during furlough Please see response on comment ‘K’ on page 14. can't think of anything. I would like a professional cleaning service versus teacher maintenance, especially of floors and walls. I would also recommend a fresh paint job on interior walls. We do have a part-time custodian that comes in every evening from 5-9 pm. We have our floors professionally waxed every year. I agree some areas could use a fresh paint job. We cannot actually paint the walls ourselves. We are required to go through facilities and request this. Creeper A, Creeper B, and all three Preschools classrooms have been recently repainted. We plan to put in work requests for the other classrooms to be repainted, and facilities have informed us they would complete the requests as funding allows. It was painful to have to find a sitter for our child every day during the Furlough. My agency was still working - I had up to 4 different sitters in one week to watch her. At $10-$12 an hour. Basically I paid an additional $1000. Please see response on comment ‘K’ on page 14. We are truly sorry about the hardship on your family during this time, however the situation was out of our control. Ability to pay tuition online Paying via credit card, although very convenient, would be a cost to the center. This has been considered in the past and would result in a slight tuition raise to cover the expense. If several families are interested, we could look into adding this. More input on child's day The teachers are always open to discuss your child’s day. Please feel free to ask them more details about your child’s day. Nothing!
23. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ20. Name one thing you would change about MCDC. Class sizes in Pre-B. Suggesting a smaller class size? We currently offer a slightly better child/teacher ratio than the state of AL requires. The only way we could consider decreasing the class size is if we raise tuition. The number of children enrolled in MCDC is a direct link to the annual budget and tuition rates. I would be interested in any suggestions you have on this topic. Hate to harp on it but I would change the menu. I might also consider changing the number of parent cleaning days. There should be more days set aside for cleaning the toys and maintaining a healthy environment. Maybe instead of the whole center on one day, do a rotation. I am always open to any menu suggestions you may have. Participation in the center work days have been on the low side the past few years, and I would be very interested to hear any suggestions you may have on improving the work day success. If financially possible, Allowance of a couple of vacation days where payment is not required if child in not attending ???? -e.g. during the holidays when there is reduced staff based on attendance Unfortunately this would be a hit to our annual budget, therefore impacting the cost of tuition. Email bulletins and newsletters, not paper ones. We have a LOT of paper in our lives, and cutting down on paper usage may save the MCDC some money. The bulletins and menus are sent out via email each month. We do try to limit the amount of paper that gets sent home each day, however some families request the paper copies.
24. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ20. Name one thing you would change about MCDC. Not so much processed foods. We have made an effort to decrease the amount of processed foods on the menu, but are open to other suggestions you may have. N/A Credit card payment and ability to pay a nominal fee for reserving our spot if we need to drop out for a month and come back. Paying via credit card, although very convenient, would be a cost to the center. This has been considered in the past and would result in a slight tuition raise to cover the expense. If several families are interested, we could look into adding this. Our annual budget is planned on assumed full-time enrollment. Unfortunately the unknown of when families might make this request, does not allow us to do this without increasing tuition. I think offering a sibling discount would be great.
25. General MCDC as Whole – CommentsQ21. Other Comments None - we love y'all! We are very happy with care our child is receiving at MCDC, and the price is reasonable. MCDC is a wonderful place. I drop my child off and am confident that he will be well taken care of until I come back to pick him up. We love MCDC. It has been great for our family. N/A Thank you for a good year! Love the Cuties program - much easier on the parents My son loves MCDC. Thank you so much for taking care of him.
26. General MCDC BOD – CommentsQ29. Other Comments … Elizabeth was extremely helpful during the waiting list process...so thankful for all her help We have not gone to the board for any specific concerns, but are satisfied with the overall job they are doing. We feel the MCDC is well run and they have the best interest of the kids in mind. I have not had any reasons/problems to engage with board personally. Currently serve on the board but prior, had limited interaction with board members for MCDC needs. The Director and staff have always been responsive so I never had a need to seek out the board. I am very appreciative of what they were able to do as far as tuition during the furlough. I felt they did the fairest thing within their budget I have not had any interaction with the BoD. I have never gotten anything from them on upcoming events. I haven't had any issues I felt needed to be brought to the board. Overall I am pleased with the difficult job they are doing. I have only had the opportunity to talk to one member of the board and though they have heard me out nothing changed.
27. General MCDC Director – CommentsQ38. Other Comments … Very good job! Kelli is awesome. Very friendly and professional. Always a smile and responsive. I greatly appreciate the way the center director listens to any concerns and then jointly comes up with recommendations of ways to resolve the issue. Kelli is very friendly to each family at the center. The Director is always attentive to my child and during any meetings. Kelli has been wonderful to work with and deal with in every situation we have encountered at the Center. We are very pleased with her work as well as the work of Cecilia. Email is most easily managed, reliable, and preferred means of communication with our family. Kelli and Cecilia are always very friendly at drop off and pick up. Sometime Ms. Tracy does not greet us, but she seems busy, so maybe that is why. Kelli is the most positive person I have ever met. I never see her without a smile and she always makes me feel valued and heard and cared for. Good director.
28. Questions from General Section The questions below (1-21) apply to the MCDC as a whole. My child’s growth and development have been supported & stimulated by his/her participation in the MCDC program. The MCDC staff is enthusiastic and has a positive attitude about working here. The MCDC policies are clear, fair, and consistently applied. The meals & snacks are nutritious and varied. My child likes the foods served at meals and snacks. The MCDC curriculum meets my expectations and is fun for my child. The MCDC is clean and well-maintained. I feel that the indoor spaces of the MCDC meet the needs of my child. The outdoor spaces are well maintained with sufficient quantity and variety of play equipment. Special activities (holiday parties, etc.) are appropriate and enjoyable for my child. Communication about MCDC activities is sufficient (newsletter, menus, bulletin boards, calendars, etc.) I feel that I am welcome to participate, to the extent that I want to, in MCDC activities. I feel the requested level of parental involvement in my child’s classroom is: The MCDC program could better meet my child’s needs by ... A recent incident that made me unhappy with the MCDC was... A recent incident that made me feel good about the MCDC was... Are you interested in serving on special parent committees? Are you willing to pay a fee separately from tuition (similar to Stretch-N-Grow payments) for the option for your child to participate in a foreign language class? Would you willing to pay a fee separately from tuition (similar to Stretch-N-Grow payments) for the option for your child to participate in a foreign language class or a music class? Name one thing you would change about MCDC. Other Comments:
29. Questions from General Section The questions below (22-28) apply to the MCDC Board of Directors. 22.    The board members have been available to listen to any concerns that I may have. 23.    I feel that the board members are receptive to my concerns and/or problems. 24.    I feel that the board adequately resolves concerns that have been expressed to them. 25.    I feel comfortable expressing my concerns or problems that I may have to the board. 26.    The board has kept me informed of changes in policies and/or procedures. 27.    The board has adequately notified me of upcoming events, such as open forums. 28.    I am satisfied with the work the board is doing. 29.    Other Comments concerning the board? The questions below (29-36) apply to the MCDC Center Director. 30.    The center director keeps parents informed of major activities at the center. 31.    I feel that the center director has made an effort to know me and my child. 32.    The center director responds calmly and appropriately to parents’ complaints, questions, suggestions, etc. 33.    The center director helps me to resolve problems or concerns that I may have. 34.    I feel that the center director communicates well with my child’s teacher(s). 35.    The center director or staff member in charge confirms that an individual picking up my child has authorization from me. 36.    I feel that the center director keeps parents informed of exposure to communicable diseases at the center. 37.    The center director maintains established staff/child ratios. 38.    Other comments about the Center Director?