AURORA, Colo. — Like most busy moms, it was hard for Aujanair David to find good childcare. She eventually decided on A Plus Learning Center in Aurora.
She lives about 30 minutes away in Parker, but as a Colorado Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP) recipient, she said it was the only school she found that accepted CCAP and had open spots for her children.
"I read the reviews online and went to the school and walked around and it seemed okay," David said. "I know my daughter loves it there. She makes lots of friends. She loves the teachers who are there and didn't have any problem with that the school."
Then there was a big problem on Thursday, April 6. A teacher told her that another employee attacked her 5-year-old daughter.
"Just grabbed her by her arms and was slamming her into the concrete wall over and over," said David.
David found out for the first time when she came to pick up her daughter at 4:30 p.m., even though the alleged incident happened at 10:30 a.m. Another teacher reportedly tried to intervene.
"[She] tried to grab my daughter from her and she said, 'No, she's not going anywhere because she's not listening,' and then smacked her in her mouth."
There is a free tool that allows parents to look up any day care in the state.
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood rates A Plus Learning Center as a Level 5, the highest rating option. However, CDEC documents also shows four investigations into child abuse/neglect since 2021. One case from March 2022 cited the facility for not giving an incident report to parents after a child was injured. That's something David said she experienced too.
"I made them write the document of what happened because nothing was documented at all. Not only did they not call us, but they didn't document the incident," said David.
The written incident report eventually provided to David read:
Incident: Teacher grabbed her by the arms and slammed her over and over against the concrete wall outside and smacked her in the mouth.
Circumstances surrounding incident: Child was told to get in line and teacher flipped out and proceeded to do what she did.
How staff resolved issue?: Other teacher took her up front and talked to [another employee.]
David filed a police report. The Aurora Police Department told Denver7 they do not have an update on the case and no arrests have been made in connection to the investigation.
Denver7 reached out to A Plus Learning Center on Friday and we were told they did not want to comment.
David said she was told the employee who allegedly attacked her child was fired, but she is hoping for more accountability.
"Their license removed. If I'm being honest, they don't need to run a daycare if they can't handle the right procedures with running a daycare," said David. "I do want to get this out so that it doesn't happen to another student. I do want to see the lady put in jail honestly, I don't want her with another school or another student."
She's thankful her daughter wasn't seriously injured, but said the entire thing has traumatized the girl, requiring her to go to therapy and change schools.
Denver7 reached out to CDEC to see if they are aware of the alleged attack and if the facility followed the proper state notification protocols. We'll continue to follow up as soon as a response is received.
