Zion Lutheran School Preschool

R 400.8201(1)(c) · R 400.8201(1)(c) Comprehensive background check; fingerprinting. (1) Pursuant to sections 5n and 5q of the act, MCL 722.115n and 722.115q, before an individual has unsupervised contact with children, the department shall determine the individual's eligibility to be any of the following: (c) A child care staff member.

Teacher 4 is qualified as a teacher despite being 17 years of age and has completed a comprehensive background check and determined eligible to be a child care staff member, as required.

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R 400.8204(6) · R 400.8204(6) Early childhood center, small capacity child care center, and outdoor nature-based child care center program administrator qualifications; responsibilities. (6) A substitute program administrator shall be appointed for a program administrator who has left employment or has a temporary absence that exceeds 30 consecutive workdays until return or replacement, which must not exceed the agreed-on t imeframe.

The center has two qualified Program Administrators. The center did have a previous Program Administrator quit unexpectedly on 9/5/2025 however they immediately notified the 2 LANDMARK BUILDING • 105 W. ALLEGAN STREET • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48933 Michigan.gov/MiLEAP department and were informed they have 30 days to hire a new Program Administrator. The center hired Program Administrator 1 within 30 days. The center was not actually without a Program Administrator as Program Administrator 2 was employed at that time however is primarily over the GSRP program.

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R 400.8222(4)(c) · R 400.8222(4)(c) Capacity; ratio and group size requirements (4) In each room or well-defined space, the maximum group size and ratio of child care staff members to children, including children related to a staff member or the licensee, must be as shown in Table 1: (c) Preschoolers, 3 years of age until 4 years of age, child care staff member to child ratio of 1 to 1 0, maximum group size of 30.

The GSRP classroom was out of ration on 10/7/2025 from 3:00 pm - 3:05 pm as Teacher 4 left the room to assist in the latchkey program leaving Program Administrator 2/Lead Teacher 1 out of ratio.

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R 400.8134(3)(b) · R 400.8134(3)(b) Hand washing. After toileting or diapering.

A child care staff in the infant room did not wash the child's hands after diapering.

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R 400.8170 · R 400.8170 Outdoor play area. (16) The depth of the loose-fill surface material must be restored to its required depth when it has moved or becomes otherwise compromised.

On 7/31/23, I made an on-site inspection. I observed the playground equipment that Child A fell from and broke his arm. The surfacing under the equipment had weeds growing throughout and several bare spots throughout the underneath of the equipment. It was obvious that the surfacing needed to be replenished. I interviewed Logan Lesko, program director. She provided me a receipt that she believed was for surfacing for the playground equipment. The receipt was dated 8/30/22. The name on the receipt was Brenda Goodman for $1,700. The word "mulch" was written on the receipt. There was no indication that this was for playground surfacing and how much mulch was obtained. Ms. Lesko contacted the previous principal and asked if she knew when the last time surfacing was placed on the playground. Ms. Lesko was informed that there were lines on the bottom of the playground equipment indicating how high the surfacing should be. Ms. Lesko said that when she looked at the marks, she could tell that there was not enough surfacing on the playground as the surfacing was well below the marks on the 2 equipment. She agreed that she would get a playground inspection to determine how much surfacing was needed. On 8/01/23, 1 interviewed Child A's Father. He did not feel that the child care staff could have prevented the injury. The child care staff handled the situation perfectly. He was thankful that the staff contacted his mother when they could not reach him. His phone happened to not be working at the time. Child A did receive a cast on his right arm. He seems to be handling it very well. He thinks the child care center is wonderful and he has no concerns.

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R 400.8125 · R 400.8125 Staff; volunteer; requirements. ......................................... ....... ......... .......... (1) All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate care and su ervision of children at all times.

On 6/27/22, I interviewed former child care staff member, Sarah Nuncio. She informed me that she is no longer working at the center. Ms. Nuncio said that Ms. Bird would lose her temper and scream at the children. When Child A (20 months, female) was crying she said, "Ava is such a little bitch". She also was changing Child C (21 months, male) and said to him, "I hate everything about this kid. His face, his legs, everything". One day she observed a male preschool child in the hallway alone crying. She did not know his name. She asked him who his teacher was and then noticed Ms. Bird down the hallway. Ms. Bird told her that the child was just having a bad day. Ms. Nuncio thought that Ms. Bird should have been not so far ahead of the child and she should have been comforting him. Ms. Nuncio also suspected that Ms. Bird was under the influence of marijuana while at work. Her eyes seemed to be partially closed at times when she was working. Ms. Nuncio has brought her concerns to the program director, Logan Lesko. I interviewed Claire Stemmler, child care staff member. Ms. Stemmler has had concerns regarding Ms. Bird and her interactions with children. Ms. Bird degrades the children. There have been times when they are crying and she gets to their level and 3 tells them if they continue crying, they can go to the baby room. Ms. Bird has called the toddlers and babies, "little bitches". Ms. Stemmler suspected that Ms. Bird may have been under the influence of marijuana while at work. She has smelled it on Ms. Bird when she has come to work and Ms. Bird will not make eye contact with her. Ms. Lesko has asked some of the child care staff about Ms. Bird recently and if there were any concerns. Alyssa Gray, child care staff member, was interviewed. Ms. Gray stated that Ms. Bird has been decent with the children. On one occasion Ms. Bird said to Ms. Gray that she could not wait until Child A "moves into the shamrock room she's such a little bitch". Ms. Gray discussed these concerns with Ms. Lesko when she was asked about Ms. Bird. Alexandra Bourdlais, child care staff member, does not have any concerns regarding Ms. Bird's interaction with the children. She is very nice to them. Ms. Bourdlais just recently starting to work more with Ms. Bird because she is working more hours. On 6/29/22, Kristin Wierzbicki, former child care staff member, was interviewed. Ms. Wierzbicki had expressed many concerns regarding Ms. Bird's behavior with the children. Ms. Bird called Child A a "little bitch". She did not want to work with Ms. Bird because of how she interacted with children. She did suspect that Ms. Bird may have been under the influence of marijuana sometimes at work. Ms. Bird smelled of marijuana, her eyes are blood shot, and her reactions to things seemed to be delayed. On 7/1/22, I made an on-site inspection. Ms. Lesko had already left for the day and the center attendance was low where there were only two rooms open. I was buzzed into the building and as I approached the preschool room, I heard someone yelling, "I do not care if you do not want to nap, lay down. I listened for a few seconds more and Debbie Ybanez, child care staff member, exited the hallway bathroom. We went into the room together. Ms. Bird and Jazmine Carrier, lead caregiver, were present in the room. I observed the children to be laying on their cots. Ms. Carrier was rubbing children's backs and Ms. Bird was walking around the room. Ms. Bird was identified as the person who was yelling at a child. I interviewed Ms. Carrier, child care staff member. Ms. Carrier is the lead in the preschool room. She said that when Ms. Bird is her assistant the room is chaotic and her yelling is not unusual. Ms. Bird does not really understand how to deal with the children. She has never heard Ms. Bird swear in front of the children and she has never suspected that she was under the influence of marijuana. 4 I then interviewed Deb Ybanez, child care staff member. Ms. Ybanez said that Ms.

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R 400.8137 · R 400.8137 Diapering; toileting. (6) Diapers and training pants must be checked frequently and changed when wet or soiled.

Ms. Nuncio explained that on one occasion Ms. Bird did not change Child G (23 months, male) for three hours when his diaper was soiled. I interviewed Child A and Child B's Mother, Child C's Mother, Child D's Mother, Child E's Mother, and Child F's Mother. None of them had concerns regarding how often their children were being changed while in child care. Child G's Mother said that she does not have any concerns regarding how often Child G was being changed. There was a period where Child F had a little diaper rash and she gave them diaper creme to apply but he has not had one in a long time.

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R 400.8182 · ................................................. ... R 400.8182 Ratio and group size requirements. (3) In each room or well-defined space, the maximum group size and ratio of child care staff members to children, including children related to a staff member or the licensee, must be as shown in Table 4: (a) Infants and toddlers, birth until 30 1 to 4 12 .m.....o...n...t.h...s... ..o...f.. .a..~ e..c.. ............... (bi Preschoolers. 30 months of age until 3 1 to 8 16 ears of age (c) Preschoolers, 3 years of age until 4 1 to 10 30 years of age (d) Preschoolers, 4 years of age until I to 12 36 school-age (e) School-agets 1 to 18 3ti

On 03/31/2022, I contacted the complainant source by telephone and an interview was conducted. Hannah Hale has been observed caring for more than 18 school age children during after school care on the playground. This usually occurs after 3:15 p.m. as school lets out around 3:10 p.m. There have been more 18 children in the infant room after 3:15 p.m. and infants were observed sleeping in bouncy seats. On 04/05/2022, I conducted an unannounced on-site inspection at Zion Lutheran School Preschool center. I arrived at the center at 3:10 p.m. and was able to park the vehicle facing the playground. At 3:20 p.m. the side door leading to the playground opened. I observed one child care staff member (later identified as 2 Hannah Hale) and 15 school-age children exit the building and enter the playground. I observed Ms. Hale taking a count of the children while at the door exiting the building and again on the playground. The school-agers were observed to be at a 1:15 ratio and in compliance with licensing rules. I continued to watch from inside the vehicle as the children played outside. At 3:25 p.m., I observed the side door leading to the playground open again. I observed two child care staff members (later identified as Deborah Ybanez and Logan Lesko) and 16 children ages 3-4 years old exit the building. They were observed playing on the cemented area and large grassy area next to the playground. The preschoolers were observed to be at a 1:8 ratio and in compliance with licensing rules. The children were observed riding bikes, playing with sidewalk chalk, and other outdoor play equipment. I observed the child care staff members and children for approximately 10 more minutes before approaching the area. At no time were the child care staff members observed to be out of ratio. I then met with acting program director/licensee designee Logan Lesko and an interview was conducted. Ms. Lesko was informed of the special investigation and the complaint details. The center always ensures that there are adequate child care staff members to provide appropriate care and supervision to the children and ensure ratio is always maintained. Usually, the center has more child care staff members than required by licensing. There has never been a time when more than 18 school-age children are being cared for by only one child care staff member. There has never been a time when there were more than four infants being cared for by one child care staff member. In fact, on 03/24/2022, the center had to turn away a parent and infant as one of the child care staff members had a family emergency and called in that day. The child's parent was very upset however the center only had one caregiver who was already caring for four infants, and they had to turn the parent away when they arrived. The parent was very upset however the center had to ensure ratio was met. The center does not allow infants to sleep in bouncy seats. Once an infant falls asleep in anything other than a crib they are immediately moved to a crib. I then entered the building to observe the infant room to ensure the center was within ratio. I observed the infant room at a 1:4 ratio. I observed one infant sleeping in a crib and the other three were toddlers who were observed engaged in free play activities. I then met with infant lead caregiver Sarah Nuncio and an interview was conducted. There has never been a time when there were 18 children in the infant room. The school-age children do line up outside of the infant room after school at times as the door that leads to the playground is outside of the infant room. The infant room is always staffed to ensure a 1:4 ratio is maintained at all times. Last week there was a day when another child care staff member called in and the center had to turn a parent away as that would have made them out of ratio. The parent was very upset however this was an unforeseen staffing issue. The infant room never had school- age or older children in the room. Ms

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R 400.8188 · R 400.8188 1 Sleeping, resting, and supervision. (11) Infants and toddlers who fall asleep in a space that is not approved for sleeping shall be moved to approved sleep equipment appropriate for their age and size.

The center ensures that infants and toddlers who fall asleep in a space that is not approved for sleeping are moved to approved sleep equipment immediately after they fall asleep. An unannounced onsite inspection was conducted on 04/05/2022 and I observed one infant asleep in a crib. All the caregivers interviewed reported that infants are not allowed to sleep in bouncy seats or any unapproved sleep equipment and when they fall asleep anywhere other than a crib they are moved immediately.

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (a) Hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, pinching, or inflicting other forms of corporal punishment.

On 02/08/2022, an email was sent to to coordinate the investigation. On 02/08/2022, I received a telephone call from to discuss a date and time for the on-site inspection. On 02/08/2022, I received an email from assigned child care consultant, Stacy Tomczak. Ms. Tomczak completed the critical incident report and it has been submitted to the department. On 02/09/2022 an unannounced on-site inspection was completed . I met with Logan Lesko who is the licensee designee and a lead caregiver who is working toward qualifying as the program director as the center currently does not have a qualified program director. On 01/25/2022, Child A was in the care of Deborah Ybanez and Jasmin Carrier. Ms. Lesko was not present when the injury occurred and was asked to explain what she knew. Child A's mother brought Child A to the room around and he did not want her to leave. Child A had been crying when his mother left the room. Child A began throwing a temper tantrum while sitting on the floor and flung himself backwards hitting his head on the floor. The child care staff members were trying to provide Child A comfort however he was still having separation anxiety and did not want them to comfort him. Child A threw himself backwards a total of three times, hitting his head on the floor one of those times. Child A was not crying after hitting his head. Child A began playing after the child care staff members kept comforting him and played for about 30 minutes and was acting normal. Child A went up to Ms. Ybanez and hugged her leg and she put her hand on his head to hug him back when she noticed a bump on his head. Ms. Ybanez took Child A to his mother at the center in another room. Ms. Ybanez Masakseed ChildA's mother if the bump had been there that morning and she denied any knowledge of a bump on his head. Ms. Ybanez left Child A in the room with his mother. Child A's mother texted Ms. Lesko and informed her of the injury. Ms. Lesko went and checked on Child A, and he was fine, despite having a bump on his head. Child A was alert and in no distress and was acting normal. Ms. Lesko asked both child care staff members what happened. Around 1 pm, Child A's mother requested to take Child A to the hospital to be evaluated. Ms. Lesko planned or coverage so that Child A's mother could leave to take Child A to the hospital. Ms. Lesko interviewed both child care 4 staff members who gave the same account of what happened to Child A. Ms. Lesko completed an incident report and submitted it to the child care consultant Stacy Tomczak. Child A has had a difficult transition to the Poppy Room, a 3-year-old room. Child A throws temper tantrums daily which consists of him throwing himself around and throwing himself back onto the floor. Child A is years old, and he is too old to be in the toddler room They had a very slow transition which started out as one day a week and ten they added a day each week. Before being transitioned to the Poppy Room, Child A had always been in the room . This made it very difficult to transition him to the Poppy Room. Ms. Lesko denies that anyone tried to put Child A down for a nap after he was injured. Child A does not take naps and the child care staff members often place him in stroller and walk him around to try to help him calm down when the other children are resting. Ms. Lesko denies that there have ever been any complaints made about Ms. Ybanez. Ms. Lesko has never witnessed Ms. Ybanez engage in any inappropriate discipline. Ms. Lesko has never seen Ms. Ybanez deprive any children of food or drinks. Ms. Lesko has never witnessed or been told Ms. Ybanez throws children on their cots or force them to lay flat down on their cots. Ms. Ybanez has never refused to allow a child to use the bathroom. Ms. Ybanez has been employed at the center for Ms. Lesko provided a copy of the Incident Report involving Child A on 01/25/2022. I then met with and interviewed licensee and school principal, Julie Glumm along with Ms. Glumm has nev

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. ................................................ ...................... .............................. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (e) Depriving a child of meals, snacks, rest, or necessary toilet use. ..............

Child care staff members did not prohibit meals, snacks, rest, or necessary toilet use as a means of punishment. Children use the bathroom on demand at the center and in the Poppy Room. Children are fed breakfast, lunch, and snack at the center and in the Poppy Room. Children are encouraged to rest during nap time however are not forced and are provided quiet activities if they do not want to rest.

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R 400.8365 · R 400.8365 Heating; temperature. (3) If temperatures exceed 82 degrees Fahrenheit, then a center shall take measures to cool the children.

On 8/23/2021 I spoke with the referral source (RS). RS is former child care staff member who feels as though the gymnasium and the infant room are too warm this time of year. RS heard from current staff that children were dripping with sweat because it was so hot and all they had was one small fan in the gymnasium. RS also was told that the infant room was 81 degrees on 8/23/2021. There is a small window air conditioning unit but it is not enough. RS feels that Program Director Logan Lasko is not doing enough to keep the children cool during this very hot weather. On 8/25/2021 I conducted an unannounced onsite visit. The temperature outside at the time of my visit was 94 degrees. Ms. Lasko gave a tour of the school building. The infant room thermostat read 81.4 degrees. There was a portable air-conditioning unit and a fan in the classroom. The air-conditioning unit was dispensing cold air. The two toddler rooms and two preschool rooms are part of the school's central air- conditioning system and all measured between 72 and 76 degrees in the classrooms. The gymnasium had 10 school aged children running and playing games. The thermostats read 81.9 degrees. There was one small oscillating fan in one of the corners of the gymnasium. Children had access to both a drinking fountain and water bottles. The situation was discussed with Ms. Lasko and she agreed that locating additional fans for the gymnasium was necessary to continue and try to cool the children down. The center licensing report was reviewed and Ms. Lasko was also reminded that one of her classrooms used for preschool could also 2 be used by school aged children as the room is licensed for children three year of age and older. It was agreed that school aged children could go in there to cool down occasionally on hot days as long as the preschool children were not using the room. On 8/30/2021 several photos were received from Ms. Lasko showing that additional large floor fans were placed in the gymnasium in order to circulate the air and cool down the children in that space. On 8/30/2021 a telephone call was made to Ms. Lasko. An exit conference was conducted, and Ms. Lasko was advised she was not in violation of licensing rules as the temperature in the rooms was not above 82 degrees and she was taking steps to cool down the rooms that were hot.

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