Circle C Ranch Academy

My daughter was signed up for Circle C Ranch for the last 2 weeks of her summer camp. I got a phone call half way through the first week saying that she had lice eggs in her hair and I needed to pick her up. I did the over the counter treatment twice and brought her back the next week. At no time during the treatment did I see any evidence of lice or eggs.
I had forgotten to drop off the check for the second week when I first arrived on Monday but there were no phone calls on Monday about eggs. Tuesday, right after they cashed my check, they called and said I needed to pick her up again because there were eggs. I was told by my physician that eggs stay in the hair for weeks unless you pick out each one individually. I couldn’t see any even with a magnifying glass so I couldn’t pick any out. On the second week, the first person that called from Circle C Ranch said there were just eggs. When I picked her up and expressed concern the second person told me she was infested around her ears and there were live bugs. I found NOTHING. That same person told me that it is hard to keep lice infestations from happening because they share helmets but try to stray them after each use. In the little time my daughter was there she said she never saw anyone spraying the helmets. At the last horse camp she went to they had to do it before and after every use.
Frustrated that I couldn’t see them, I contacted a local person who has a professional head lice treatment and nit removal service. She did a thorough exam of my daughter’s head and looked at each strand of hair. She found NOTHING. I asked her if the eggs could have come out on their own and she said absolutely not. Unless you physically pick them out, they are glued to the strands.
I am a single parent and I run my own business. I lost out on the money that I paid Circle C Ranch (I was told she could not return if she still has nits in her hair — which is fine but she didn’t!). I also had to pay a sitter for the time that I absolutely could not take off work. I immediately went to my bank to put a stop payment on the check since it was just a few hours after I handed it to them. I was told by my bank that they went to my bank and cashed it so it was too late. I asked for one week of payment back since she was only there 5 out of 10 days and was told «she can come back tomorrow as long as there are no nits». There were no nits yet I kept getting phone calls to pick her up! No refund was granted. I just tried to call again to talk to the director about a refund but was put on hold for 7 minutes and then told she wasn’t available.
And if this wasn’t enough, no other parents were informed of the «lice out-​break» in the school. No letters went home. I know of a total of 4 kids who were sent home with head lice and no one bothered to inform the other parents that they needed to be diligent and check their child’s head.
My daughter was ridiculed by the other children because she was wearing a hair net, kept from horse back riding that she was looking forward to all summer, cried when she was told she had head lice by the Circle C Ranch staff, subjected to 2 head lice treatments, multiple inspections from me where I made her sit still for 20 minutes at a time while I inspected her head with no luck, and an inspection from a complete stranger. If you are going to send kids home for head lice please do a better job confirming the diagnosis!

Our child is active, and loves to play outside and use her imagination — she uses the transportation to go from school to Circle C, which has been perfectly reliable over multiple years now — and she rides horses, which is oh so cool. She comes home with homework completed, and typically tired, a lil dirty and most importantly happy. Keep in mind that it is a ranch outside the indoor facilities, with plenty of play space — a nice refreshing change from the drab ultra sterile world of many places, particularly in S Tampa. And the horses are such a bonus — I have a friend who has a lil girl that has been rejuvenated because of her found love of riding — and is even taking some riding lessons. Your child will play, sweat, get dirty, and get an occasional boo boo, because that is what happens when kids play, good stuff! Teachers are a joy, and the office team is responsive.

I’m not sure what to think about this place yet. I have brought my son her for about a month so far. The class rooms smell a bit dirty. The ceilings seem as though they don’t change their air filters. I know it’s on a ranch and kids are to have fun and play. I just don’t think they have a very clean facility. It worries me what and how the food is cooked or served. Most of the teachers are nice but not sure if they have anything more than the minimum education. They all seem wonderful and loving that is the only reason why I continue to go there. But the dirty air vents and smelly carpet makes me wonder of the management of the school