My Resignation Letter to the Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development

September 11, 2019

Dear Karen, John and Members of the Board and Staff,

It is a privilege to have been a part of this organization for the last 12 years, first as a parent with a child in the school and then as a member of the Board of Directors, most recently as Vice President.

I came to Hanna Perkins School as a mother struggling to do the best for my child and family and flailing. It is not an exaggeration to say that what I received from you saved my life and created a foundation of strength, connection and love from which my children and family continue to draw to this day. The many lessons I learned from you remain.

You taught me to see my child as a whole person with a complicated set of emotions, a person that deserves to be seen, heard, listened to and understood. You taught me that the child deserves respect. And through your example, you taught me how to be brave for my child and my family.

Hanna Perkins has always been a brave organization, daring to do the right thing over the popular thing. When everyone started giving children psychiatric medication as a quick fix because they couldn’t be bothered with taking the time to be there for the child — I mean, really be there — Hanna Perkins said no. We do not do this to children here.

When parents started spending more time at the office and offloading their parenting responsibilities to nannies, HPC tried very hard to encourage parents to be the ones to do the school drop-off and also if possible the pick-up, rather than the nannies. Because children want their parents.

When HPC realized that society had lost the battle against daycare, HPC created an army of some of the best minds and hearts to go in and offer support to overwhelmed and confused daycare providers. It is no secret how grateful the daycare community in Cleveland is to HPC.

And finally, there is My Mad Feelings, a program I had the privilege of working on over the last year with Vickie Todd and the team. The rage of children is something that makes a lot of people uncomfortable so they try to pretend it does not exist. Not you. You have taken this topic head on, letting children in classrooms across Cleveland know that mad is more than just a feeling. It is a right to which they are entitled. And that once the child is allowed to own that rage, the healing can finally begin. I love this program most of all.

I recognize that the last few weeks have been very difficult for all. I deeply regret that HPC got caught in the crossfire of comments I made under my own name on social media. I also regret any harm my comments may have caused this organization that I hold so dear. Hanna Perkins deserves better.

Sincerely,

Eva Basilion

Enclosure: “Empathy Deficit Disorder: Healing from our Mix-ups about Work, Home, and Sex” by Acho/Basilion;