FAYETTEVILLE : Church provides parents counsel
Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — A church’s day-care center that is under investigation started counseling Tuesday for parents of preschoolers who claim their former teachers made them fight during class.
Brian Swain, administrator at Central United Methodist Church, said counseling will also be offered to the 3- and 4-year-olds in the class where the fighting happened earlier this summer.
The two teachers — whose names haven’t been released — are under investigation by the Fayetteville Police Department and the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
The investigation continued Tuesday. No charges have been filed.
Swain said the two female teachers — one who was employed for six years and the other for 18 months — told church leaders they tried to stop the fighting in their classroom. The church launched an investigation and contacted authorities after the claims last week, Swain said.
“The teachers’ version of the story was that the children were the ones who introduced [the fighting ] into the classroom as a game,” Swain said. “They said they tried to stop it and that they in no way condone it, but the children’s version is a completely different story. There’s certainly compelling evidence from where the children are coming from.” The teachers were fired Friday after being confronted with the claims of making children fight while the rest of the class watched, according to the Human Services Department.
Police said the teachers told the children to keep the fighting secret from their parents. Some children had bruises, police said.
The fighting happened in one of the seven daily preschool classes at Central’s Center for Children.
The claims did not involve a Tuesday and Thursday program for preschoolers or the summer and after-school programs for elementary students.
Parents who brought their children to the day care Tuesday said they have faith in the church and the investigation by state and local authorities.
Some said they knew little or nothing about the matter. Some cited an Aug. 22 letter the church gave to parents that said a teacher was accused of inappropriate behavior.
The letter said the behavior was not sexual and that an investigation was under way.
“The letter we got was pretty vague, and it left me wanting to know more,” parent Nathan Wells said Tuesday. “My plan was to let the dust settle and then have a meeting with administrators to find out what really happened.” Another parent, Brooks Lee, said he trusts church officials and feels secure having his child in the preschool.
“My wife read the letter, but we’re not worried about it,” Lee said. “We’ve been pleased with the day-care program here for over two years.” A father who wouldn’t give his name said parents whose kids were made to fight are banding together.
“My kid was impacted significantly,” he said. “I’d venture to say he’s having trouble recognizing authority figures right now.” The church day care has been in operation for about 30 years, and there are no other complaints on record with the Department of Human Services, which licenses the day care.
The church Tuesday issued a second letter to parents that said it is working to regain their trust and is taking corrective steps. The church is implementing extra training for teachers and may install video cameras in classrooms.
The letter said a third teacher who was involved no longer works at the day care. Swain later said the teacher resigned in July to move out of the area.
He said that besides counseling, the church will offer to teach children a technique called “The Peace Table” that deals with conflict resolution.
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