St. Timothy's Preschool in Aiea to close

St. Timothy's Preschool in Aiea will indefinitely shut down at month's end as administrators search for funds to tackle overdue repairs, officials said yesterday.

[Yeah right]

Why not say the real reason?? The cost of pedophile priests were too much for the church!

Maybe next time they won't hide these 'priests' who prey on little boys!

[newssy]

What's the real reason it's closing?

[angrymom]

Don't be fooled people! They are just trying to cover up the lack of leadership with the school director, Dianne Lim. Teachers and parents have been dissatisfied with her leadership abilities for awhile and have wanted her out but our concerns were never adressed by the board of directors for STCC and the church. We have never even received any official letter/memo even letting us know about the loss of accredidation, yet they still happily took our deposits for next years enrollment. They are full of it!

[Julia Child]

Thank goodness I did not send my child to that school! I almost did, but ended up changing my mind. The main reason why I did not send my child there was because the tuition was too expensive, and you had to pay extra for lunch. To me, that was ridiculous - I could tell that this was a money-hungry school. We ended up at a great preschool that was only $480/month, and they got their lunches from the same company as St. Timothy's, and we did not have to pay extra for it.

I feel sorry for the parents who's children were supposed to move from the 3 to 4 year old class. But, my advice to you is to move on! No sense dwelling on something you can't change already. You can look ahead, or you can continue to look back and be angry and resentful at the school. Things crash and burn in life - it is what it is.

[Saddened]

My children spent a total of 7 years at St. Tim's. The staff was amazing and our experience unforgettable. It is too bad that one person's ego has been the demise of such a wonderful institute. I hope the news media will look into the true nature of the school's closing and bring it to light. Perhaps St. Tim's will be resurected so that may more generations may enjoy the magic of childhood that St. Timothy's fosters.

[RYouNuts]

Have you ever tried to look for a preschool with 1 month notice. Most preschools are booked by December of the previous year! I think most parents would not have had a problem moving on if the school had communicated their desire to renovate. The problem is that its just an excuse! Now, the children are being made to suffer. Is that what the church of St. Timothy's is trying to do? Make little 2,3,and 4 year olds learn to adapt to drastic changes in their lives? Doesn't seem like a very church-like thing to do! Shame on you St. Tims and Father Gregory for hiding the truth. I feel sorry for the members of the church who will now be tarnished by this decision. What timing!

Julia Child wrote:

Thank goodness I did not send my child to that school! I almost did, but ended up changing my mind. The main reason why I did not send my child there was because the tuition was too expensive, and you had to pay extra for lunch. To me, that was ridiculous - I could tell that this was a money-hungry school. We ended up at a great preschool that was only $480/month, and they got their lunches from the same company as St. Timothy's, and we did not have to pay extra for it.
I feel sorry for the parents who's children were supposed to move from the 3 to 4 year old class. But, my advice to you is to move on! No sense dwelling on something you can't change already. You can look ahead, or you can continue to look back and be angry and resentful at the school. Things crash and burn in life - it is what it is.

[Cuckoo]

RYouNuts wrote:

Have you ever tried to look for a preschool with 1 month notice. Most preschools are booked by December of the previous year! I think most parents would not have had a problem moving on if the school had communicated their desire to renovate. The problem is that its just an excuse! Now, the children are being made to suffer. Is that what the church of St. Timothy's is trying to do? Make little 2,3,and 4 year olds learn to adapt to drastic changes in their lives? Doesn't seem like a very church-like thing to do! Shame on you St. Tims and Father Gregory for hiding the truth. I feel sorry for the members of the church who will now be tarnished by this decision. What timing!
<quoted text>

I hear you, and I really do feel for anyone who is going through this. But, like I said, this is life! Did the Aloha Airlines employees have any "notice" before they lost their jobs? Are people given "notice" before they are diagnosed with cancer? Are you given "notice" before you get into a car accident?
Are your 3 and 4 year olds given any "notice" and given a chance to "adapt" before they fall off of their bikes? Gather yourselves and move on. There are much worse things that could be happening in life than not having a preschool. Visiting Kapiolani Hospitals ICU will make one realize that not having a preschool is NOT a big problem after all.

[Get Real]

Couldn't St. Timothy's make up a better reason than "closing for renovations, given available funding". Just opens them up for more criticism in how things are being handled there. All these parents must be totally stressed out now...preschool openings are tough to find. There must have been a better way than closing down.

[RYouNuts]

Yes, I agree that things could be worse, but as parents we have the duty to look out for our children. The mission of St. Tim's was the same. Unlike Aloha Airlines, St. Tim's had a choice to make this decision at a better time. Only the parents of St. Tim's realize this. That is what is so upsetting. There is much more surrounding what has been said. It would be unfair to make comments without knowing the whole story.
Also, there are many parents who are dealing with other issues that have just had to add this one. There are parents of special needs students at St. Tims as well as past Aloha Employees. Now, thier problems have been compounded by an additional, preventable, situation. Like you said, let it go but, it's very difficult to move on while they still have your deposit and refuse to answer the phone or the office door. That is exactly the case here. Parents are trying to move on to other schools, but need the money that St. Tims has not refunded. Just be thankful and hope that this "small" problem never happens to you.

Cuckoo wrote:

<quoted text>
I hear you, and I really do feel for anyone who is going through this. But, like I said, this is life! Did the Aloha Airlines employees have any "notice" before they lost their jobs? Are people given "notice" before they are diagnosed with cancer? Are you given "notice" before you get into a car accident?
Are your 3 and 4 year olds given any "notice" and given a chance to "adapt" before they fall off of their bikes? Gather yourselves and move on. There are much worse things that could be happening in life than not having a preschool. Visiting Kapiolani Hospitals ICU will make one realize that not having a preschool is NOT a big problem after all.

[Cuckoo]

who="RYouNuts"]Yes, I agree that things could be worse, but as parents we have the duty to look out for our children. The mission of St. Tim's was the same. Unlike Aloha Airlines, St. Tim's had a choice to make this decision at a better time. Only the parents of St. Tim's realize this. That is what is so upsetting. There is much more surrounding what has been said. It would be unfair to make comments without knowing the whole story.
Also, there are many parents who are dealing with other issues that have just had to add this one. There are parents of special needs students at St. Tims as well as past Aloha Employees. Now, thier problems have been compounded by an additional, preventable, situation. Like you said, let it go but, it's very difficult to move on while they still have your deposit and refuse to answer the phone or the office door. That is exactly the case here. Parents are trying to move on to other schools, but need the money that St. Tims has not refunded. Just be thankful and hope that this "small" problem never happens to you.
<quoted text>

A good friend of mine is in this situation at St. Tims, so I do know the "real" story. Secondly, to answer your question, I was in a similar situation with a baby sitter. When my kid was one, his sitter decided that she was "tired" and did not want to watch any kids any longer. She gave us 3 weeks notice. Licensed sitters, like preschools, are difficult to find. I had to adapt - used my 2 weeks vacation, had to take 2 weeks leave without pay from work, then had to take a chance by sending my kid to an unlicensed sitter, whom I did not even know, for 2 months before I could find a licensed sitter who was referred to me by a friend. I did what I had to do to get through this little problem.
My point is: What are parents planning to do? Sue the Episcopilian Church?? That ain't gonna happen. Besides possibly getting your depoits back, I don't forsee anything more that can be done. From what I've been hearing, sounds like all of these angry parents are looking for somebody to hang.
Here's some possible SOLUTIONS: 1) Find another preschool. You may have to travel WAY out of your way to do this, but, if a preschool is a must, then you may have to send your kid to one that is in an inconvenient location. 2) Send your kid to a sitter. It may have to be an licensed/unlicensed sitter, and, again, you may have to travel far from your home, but you gotta do what you gotta do. 3) As a temporary measure, all the St. Tims parents need to gather together. Find the parents who don't work during the day and who can teach the kids, and try to organize small groups (at a house, park, community pavillion). These small groups of kids can do educational activities, exercise, etc. Just make sure that a simple contract is drawn up to free the parent who conducts these groups from ALL possible liability. Just do this until the parents can find a more permanent preschool/sitter for their children. 4) Find a retired elementary school teacher, and ask if he/she would like to watch/educate small groups of kids (maybe 4 or 5)- each parent would pay at least $500 to make this person's time worthwhile. Again, do a contract that parents must sign releasing this teacher from ALL potential liability.
In this litigous society of ours, you may find it difficult for a person willing to take on this reponsibility. But, if the contract is drawn up in a way that each parent understands and agrees to sign, then it can be done. Nobody says it's gonna be easy, but, at least, I've offered some solutions to the situation. Now, if you're gonna respond by criticizing each and every one of my solutions, then I'd suggest you just go and find a corner to cuddle up with your kid and cry for days and days about how "unfair" this world is.

[Informed]

Yeah right wrote:

Why not say the real reason?? The cost of pedophile priests were too much for the church!
Maybe next time they won't hide these 'priests' who prey on little boys!

You moron! St. Timothy's is an Episcopal Church. Episcopalian Pastors CAN be married to women.
All those 'pedophile priests' were Catholic.

[A Fish Out of H2O]

How sad!!!!!!!!

[Stop Your Whining]

Cuckoo wrote:

<quoted text>
I hear you, and I really do feel for anyone who is going through this. But, like I said, this is life! Did the Aloha Airlines employees have any "notice" before they lost their jobs? Are people given "notice" before they are diagnosed with cancer? Are you given "notice" before you get into a car accident?
Are your 3 and 4 year olds given any "notice" and given a chance to "adapt" before they fall off of their bikes? Gather yourselves and move on. There are much worse things that could be happening in life than not having a preschool. Visiting Kapiolani Hospitals ICU will make one realize that not having a preschool is NOT a big problem after all.

Why are you even responding if you don't know the whole story?