The state Office of Children and Family Services classified a Port Washington daycare’s license to operate as “pending revocation and denial” on April 14 after finding six violations during an inspection on March 28.
The inspection report said the Port Washington Children’s Center had, in at least one instance, left a child without supervision and did not immediately notify the state or parents following the incident.
“Children cannot be left without competent supervision at any time,” the Office of Children and Family Services said on its website.
The inspection report also found the center in violation of state requirements that “the staff and volunteers must be in good health and be of good character and habits.”
The Port Washington Children’s Center offers full-day early childhood education programs for around 130 children aged 18 months to 4 years old. It also provides summer programs and after-school care for Port Washington elementary school students.
Christine Paige, interim executive director of the Port Washington Children’s Center, said the center will not be closing and declined to comment on the recent violations.
“We’re working together [with the state] to provide staff training … to ensure that every child is safe and in a nurturing environment,” Paige said.
A day after the state listed the center’s license as pending revocation and denial on April 14, Paige sent a message to parents informing them that the center would have to close for two days later in the school year for “necessary staff training” with the state.
Paige said in the memo that parents could email her to schedule a time to discuss their concerns. Paige also noted that the children’s center follows a set of protocols and procedures when any incident qualifies for reporting to the state.
“Those protocols are communicated to all staff, and we expect our staff to adhere to those procedures,” Paige said.
In a statement to Schneps Media LI, Paige also said positive and open communication is “an integral component of the effective and successful operation of the center,” and that it is her goal to enhance lines of communication with the community to ensure complete transparency.
Parents said the center has also been sending messages and weekly newsletters about classroom activities.
Following an interview with Schneps Media LI on Thursday, May 8, Paige sent a memo to all staff members stating that all communications with media representatives must be directed to her and that staff are not allowed to talk with reporters without prior authorization due to privacy and confidentiality concerns.
Paige warned in the memo, a copy of which Schneps Media LI obtained, that violating her directive not to speak to the media could result in firings.
Efforts to reach the state Office of Children and Family Services were unavailing.
Six parents of children currently or recently enrolled at the Port Washington Children’s Center, along with a former teacher and two other former staff members, all of whom asked to remain anonymous due to fears of retribution, said a lack of communication, new policies and staff-turnover have soured their opinions of the nearly 50-year-old daycare center.
“It was warm, it was amazing, it felt like family,” said a parent in the center’s Early Childhood program. “Then last year, I would say things started to change drastically pretty quickly. I noticed that people started disappearing, people that I had known to be there for so many years.”
Some parents described how teachers with whom their children had grown strong bonds had been leaving in the past year without telling the children or parents.
The center even included a section in its weekly newsletter listing the teachers who left or were hired that week.
“In a very short period, my child started to learn that adults don’t always come back,” said one parent. “These teachers felt like family to them… so I would have to start making up stories, like, ‘Oh, you know, they wrote you a letter, they called me, they came to say goodbye to you,’ just to make them feel like they weren’t abandoning them.”
The parent said during this time, they noticed emotional changes in their child, including increased separation anxiety, not wanting to attend school, and running to them crying during pick up.
On April 23, Laura Dumpson, the head of the Port Washington Children’s Center’s early childhood education program, emailed parents to inform them that due to “a combination of scheduled vacations and unexpected absences, we are experiencing some staff shortages for the remainder of the week.”
She also outlined which classroom each staff member, including herself, would teach for the time being.
Dumpson reassured parents that “these individuals are familiar faces to your children, as they regularly assist with lunch break coverage and other classroom support.”
Other parents complained that new policies excluded them from the center, such as a strict drop-off time of 9:30 a.m., and that parents cannot escort their children to classrooms after 9 a.m. The parents said they also objected to a change that prohibited preschoolers from bringing stuffed animals to school.
A former teacher faulted Paige and her predecessor, Lisa Bridge, who served as executive director from 2019 until February, for the turnover.
Port Washington Children’s Center Board of Directors President Vita Molis said the center launched an online form in February, when Bridge left, for parents to reach out to anyone at the center with concerns. Molis said few parents have used the resource, and the center has responded to all inquiries.
But one parent said other parents have been afraid to directly address their concerns after the Board of Directors sent a letter to parents in fall 2024 warning parents engaged in the “harassment of staff and teachers,” “disruption of PWCC operations and interference with business,” such as discouraging families from joining the center, and “improper contact with board members,” to cease those activities or face disenrollment.
The letter came after a group of parents signed a letter to Bridge and the Board of Directors asking for more open communication about teachers leaving suddenly.
The Board of Directors initially responded to this letter with a statement supporting Bridge. It said that details of specific confidential information could not be shared, but would inform families “on more details to reset expectations on Center-wide communication.”
Molis said there had been communication with parents and the Board of Directors before the online form launched in February, but Molis did not acknowledge the letters.
Molis, who also serves as the president of the center’s Parent Teacher Organization, said the Board of Directors helps to “ensure the long-term success and strategy for the organization. ” Molis also said Paige is responsible for leading day-to-day operations with staff and directly communicating with parents.
Paige said staff turnover issues are impacting not just her center, but daycare centers across the country.
“This is something that everybody’s dealing with, not just me,” Paige said. “We have to advocate… to get better funding, better education for all staff and children.”
But Paige said she has not had problems with current staff members.
Parents said they don’t want the center to close, especially since they feel there are no other alternatives in the Port Washington area, but they want to see it become a more welcoming place.
Some parents said they had tried looking for alternatives, especially after Bridge announced a $300 monthly per-pupil tuition hike before Christmas break. Still, they said they’ve been unable to find other daycare options close enough with open capacity.
“We want better childcare. We want our teachers, our angels… we want them to be nourished and supported and treated amazingly,” one parent said.
