I left my center with no notice.
I left my center with no notice and it broke my heart.
EDIT: I feel like important context here is that she is 53, I was 23 when this all started and am 24 now. She started at my center 3 weeks before I did. She claims she has been in the field for 20+ years, and claims she was recently a former director. I cannot find any LinkedIn profile for her or any record of her teaching at the centers she claims she’s from. I know Admin did not reach out to her references either before hiring.
I have been having problems with one staff member who happened to be my co-teacher since I started. She had been in the field longer than me and continued to belittle me and other staff members in front of our kids regularly. She also broke policy regularly by leaving open medications within reach of children, forcing children to sit on the potty even when they weren’t ready/crying, would speak very roughly with the kids, and wouldn’t provide comfort to kids if she didn’t feel it was a valid reason for a 2.5 year old to be upset. I reported all of this to admin and they told me to document it, I did, their solution was to swap her with another preschool teacher temporarily while implying I would have the room going into the following year. The first message (will post in the comments) was when I gained control of the room, I reported the messages to admin, nothing was done. She also ripped off the transition strip on our classroom floor while in a rage after I moved some furniture. The stress of dealing with this have led to many endometriosis flare ups to the point where there were some days I simply could not walk.
Eventually, after I asked, they told me they were putting her back in the classroom. I had gotten nothing but positive feedback since taking over the room. I had many parents tell me they haven’t seen their child have a connection with another teacher like they had with me. The kids seemed way happier and more comfortable and the parents did too. This felt like a total slap in the face after being completely led on. I told them I would have to put in my notice then and that I would stay until parent teacher conferences. I stayed on another week before my health became a daily battle and I was getting stress related hives and rashes. I love my kids, it was an incredibly difficult decision to leave and not tell them but I had to put myself first. Two days after I left I get these texts. I would like to add I have not had any issues with anyone else at this center but her. I wish this field was better managed to squash the drama, I haven’t felt like this in a professional setting since high school. I miss my kids so much and I love working with children but the adults make it unbearable sometimes. I am not sure where to go from here 😞.