This letter is addressed to all future families wanting to become a member of The Marigold School of Early Learning,

I happily and warmly welcome all families wanting to join the Marigold community! I look forward to meeting you and your child! I am excited about all the learning that will take place and how your child will positively influence other children. I value and respect your time and am grateful you chose my school. My commitment is to your child, the very soul of the school. Marigold is a fun and magical place where your child can be themselves, gain important and useful life skills, and build a strong foundation for future learning endeavors.

While I welcome those families that want to be here and be a part of my small yet growing community, there is a downside that is often not discussed or mentioned in the educational world. Many families are familiar with touring schools they potentially want their child to attend, and this is perfectly fine. On the flip side of this is the fact that many times families do not know what they really want for their child and they tend to put that responsibility onto the school they visit. They want to be convinced that this school is the best one or the right fit. I would suggest rather than doing that, please take the time to research early learning approaches and early educational philosophies. Technology is literally at everyone’s fingertips these days. All you have to do is type in your interests, your questions, and there it is on the screen in front of you. There are multiple blogs and websites dedicated to helping families figure out what options they have for early learning . Rather than relying on a school to convince you that your child should come to their school/my school, take the time to figure that out for yourselves. After all, being a parent means you are the one or ones making important decisions that affect your child’s life until they are old enough and of the legal age to be independent.

Please be mindful of the time you are taking that is not yours fully. Every tour I schedule, every family I meet takes hours of my personal and work time. I value and appreciate that you took time to visit my school and to meet me, but I am not in favor of families using my space as a “field trip” for their child. We are still in a pandemic. We will not be finished with this pandemic for at least the next year or two. Before and after every tour I spend an hour sanitizing everything so my current families and students are safe, and you, potential families and children are safe. The majority of tours I have had this school year alone have taken an hour to two hours. This means a total of four hours is spent cleaning in preparation for the tour, the tour itself, and after the tour. While my time may not mean that much to you, it is time you are taking that is for my current students, my business as a whole, and my personal time. I have no problem giving any family a tour of my school, however, I would ask that you please be considerate and visit my website, do some research on your own, and have a discussion with me through my school email. Think carefully and make sure you want to be a part of my community. To many hours have been given to families who did not appreciate the fact that my time is as valuable as theirs. Would you want to put four hours into showing something that is precious to you only to not hear back or be told another school was chosen? The majority of my school’s information is on my websites and social media. Email discussions are wonderful and if you choose to use this tool in a productive way, we both learn about important issues and concerns for your child surrounding their early education.

I applaud any of my fellow early learning schools if you chose them. They are wonderful places in which your child will grow and learn. However, please do not take up my time if you never intended to join my special and valuable community. I want you to want to be a part of Marigold, I am not selling you a product. I am offering valuable, inspirational, and critical early learning experiences for your child. I am a Master level teacher. I have well over twenty years teaching experience in both early childhood environments, private schools, and public schools. Being a teacher is my craft, it is my life’s work and passion. Do not take up my time which I dedicate to my current families, my community, unless you value education and you want the best for your child. Hands down, I will welcome you openly and warming if you want to become a part of this amazing group of people. I will not however, put myself out there any longer just to be treated with disrespect. My school is not a commercial play zone just because of the pandemic isolation we have all faced. We have all been affected by this pandemic and we all crave time away, however, I am only one person and I run my school alone. I have no staff to assist me, I am the director, teacher, janitor, and secretary, all in one. My precious school is not open to families who just want to waste my time because they chose not to research and think about what they really want for their child’s first learning experience.

If a Reggio Emilia inspired early learning school is what you are looking for I welcome you. If you value play and understand that it is an umbrella term which has a vast amount of information all dedicated to informing and educating the public on what learning looks, sounds and feels like, then please take the time to have an email conversation with me. Let us figure out your precious child’s needs, and your learning goals together. We are a team once you embark on this journey with me. You will also become a part of a wonderfully kind, warm-hearted, and intelligent community made up of families like you, who care and love their children so much that they value and respect the natural learning process. Marigold is a school that respects your child, values your child as an individual, and recognizes the multiple ways of learning children demonstrate and are master’s of. Value and respect your own time and your child’s time, and join my community. Respect my time and if you want your child to be here, then let us talk. Please, please, do not schedule a tour if you have really not taken the time to learn about what is out there for your child. Ask questions. Open your minds to learning more for your child’s sake. I value your time, so please respect my time.

Heidi Scott, BA & MIT