Children'S Lighthouse Learning Center

G.S. 110-90 · Violation

Name of Operation: Children's Lighthouse Learning Center Facility ID: 92004057 Consultant: LEANNE SIMPKINS Operation Type: Center Case Number: 0126-004L Visit Date: 1/8/2026 Number Present: 68 Completed Date: 1/12/2026 Age: From 0 To 5 Total Minutes: 240 Time In: 09:10 AM Time Out: 01:10 PM Time In: Time Out: List to Use: Center Type Of Visit: Complaint Visit Announced/Unannounced: Unannounced he purpose of today’s unannounced visit was to investigate a report alleging violations of applicable childcare requirements that was received January 2, 2026. Today’s visit was completed with the director, Anna Hussey. A Written Reprimand was issued on November 14, 2025, it was posted and must remain posted through February 14, 2026. Allegations were related to staff/child ratios, disciplinary practices, interactions and failure to report incidents and illnesses. Additional information was received on January 8, 2026, regarding criminal background checks. The director emailed me prior to today’s visit to let me know she terminated an employee, and they threatened to call DCDEE and file a complaint. I monitored eight (8) classrooms for staff/child ratios, group sizes, capacity, supervision, discipline, and interactions. Two classrooms were combined during today’s visit, typically there are nine (9) rooms open. The director stated that combining helps cover lunch breaks. During the visit, I observed children having lunch, waiting for lunch or cleaning tables preparing for lunch. One teacher allowed the children to wipe the tables after spraying soapy water on the table. The teacher praised the children and gave them high fives for doing such a good job. I observed teachers interacting with the children as they ate lunch, preparing plates for lunch and interacting with the children as they wiped the tables. I asked the director today if there were any employees terminated due to any incident that occurred at the center that involved any of the complaint allegations. The director stated that the reasons for termination were related to not following professional standards, failure to follow directives, gossiping and negative interactions with staff. No one was terminated based on staff/child ratios, interactions or discipline. During the investigation/interviews today, the director confirmed that there was an incident involving a new teacher that was overheard saying something inappropriate to another staff member while changing a child’s diaper. It was determined that the comments were not directed at the child and did not pose a threat to the child, so the incident was not reported to DCDEE. The director was informed of the comment and immediately terminated the teacher. Discipline allegations: the report indicated that inappropriate discipline occurred by taking a child’s food away, withholding treats during birthday celebrations, isolating children, withholding rewards and not permitting children to play outside during free play. I asked teachers in the classroom for 4- and 5-year-old children if they ever observed a teacher speak to a child in a frustrated tone and if a child’s lunch was thrown away because the child was talking. The teacher stated that she had never thrown a child’s lunch away because they were talking. The teacher stated that she has moved a child’s plate to the side if the child was kicking children’s feet under the table, creating distractions or couldn’t control their bodies. I asked the cook if they ever witnessed a teacher throw away a child’s lunch because they were talking. The cook stated that she has never witnessed a teacher throw away a child’s plate because they were talking. The director stated that a parent of a child, who was also an employee at the center, was observing their child on the live camera and observed the teacher remove the plate from in front of the child. The parent, who was also an employee met with the owner to talk through their concerns about the teacher moving the plate away from the child. The current administrator was aware of this situation even though she was not employed during that time. The facility has live feed cameras only, staff were watching the cameras while working and as of 12/15/2025, staff that have children enrolled at the school do not have live camera access. Cameras do not record so I was unable to review camera footage for any of the allegations. The center follows the DCDEE discipline policy. I asked the teacher/s and director if children are ever isolated from their peers for extended periods. The director stated no, children have not been isolated from their peers for long periods of time. The teacher stated that she does not use time out but allows children who need to settle to use the book area/space for privacy to settle down and when they settle down, they can rejoin the group. The teacher does not make the child return to the group, it is the child’s decision to return to the group. I asked the teacher and director if children are denied birthday treats when parents bring it items. The director stated that all children are provided with birthday treats. She stated that yesterday, there was a birthday celebration and parents brought in Bundt cakes for the children. One child had a dairy allergy and could not eat the Bundt cakes provided. The director went to Publix and bought the child a dairy free cupcake. The teacher stated that all children are provided with birthday treats when birthday celebrations occur. Reminder: all foods brought in the center must come from an approved business that is inspected on a regular basis by sanitation. Food cannot be withheld from children at any time. I asked the teacher and the director if children were not allowed to go to the treasure box as a reward. The director just recently learned that this classroom has a treasure box. The teacher shared that she assigns easy homework for the children each Monday and if they try to do it and bring it in on Friday, she lets them go to the treasure box. She stated she uses this to help prepare them for kindergarten. Instead of assigning homework, an idea would be to send a book home with the child, have them read the book and when they come back, they can share the book with the class during circle time. It is good to reward children for accomplishments. Rewards should not be withheld as form of punishment. If rewards are offered, they should only be for special occasions such as helping friends clean up, consoling a friend when they are sad, assisting the teacher, picking up trash without being asked, etc. These types of rewards help children learn compassion and show they went over and beyond what was expected. If rewards are given on a regular basis and to some children and not other children, it could be considered punishment. TA: Using encouragement and descriptive praise. When clear encouragement and descriptive praise are used to give attention to appropriate behaviors, those behaviors are likely to be repeated. Encouragement and praise should be stated positively and descriptively. Encouragement and praise should provide information that the behavior the child engaged in was appropriate. Examples: “I can tell you are ready for circle time because you are sitting on your name and looking at me.” “Your friend looked so happy when you helped him clean up his toys.” “You must be so proud of yourself for putting on your coat all by yourself.” Encouragement and praise should label the behaviors, not the child (e.g., good listening, good eating, instead of good boy). I asked the teacher and director if children are not allowed to play outside as a form discipline. Both stated no, children are free to play outside when the class is outside. The teacher stated that she has a group time science activity at the beginning of outdoor play and the children keep a journal of the activities. Once the science activities are completed, the children have free play outside for at least one hour daily. I asked the teacher and director if children are not allowed to play during free play activity centers as a form of discipline. Both stated no, the activity centers stay open all day for free play. The teacher and director stated the only time activity centers are limited are during the last 30 minutes of the operating day. They allow children to play with toys of their choice to make clean up and departure easier for parents and children. All other activity centers are accessible. I asked the director and teacher how often worksheets are used with children. Worksheets were stated to be included with the curriculum. Lighthouse Pathways is used with infants, Lighthouse CARES is used with toddlers and preschool age children and xSTREAM Lighthouse is used with school age children. The curriculum was not approved through DCDEE but is used by all Children’s Lighthouse Learning centers. A worksheet is NOT an art activity. It is a coloring book/ditto free choice activity. Art is a free choice process without a “product” being the end result. The center director and owner may want to purchase an approved curriculum if the star rated license is more than 3 stars. To earn a 4- or 5-star rating, the curriculum used with all children must be approved and have formative assessments included. I asked the teacher if they ever observed a teacher grabbing a child by the arm to force eye contact or grabbing a child’s face to force eye contact. The teacher stated that she has never grabbed a child’s arm or face to force eye contact or observed a teacher do this. The director and assistant director stated that they have never observed a teacher grab a child by the arm or face to force eye contact and they were not aware of anytime a teacher did this. The allegations regarding discipline were unsubstantiated. Staff/child ratios: I reviewed sign-in-sign-out sheets for 9 classrooms during the week of December 1-5, 2025, and the week of December 8-12, 2025. Based on review of the sign-in sheets, there were enough teachers present to meet ratios during arrival time and throughout the day. The director arrives at 6:15am and opens the building at 6:30am. Four teachers were present both weeks from 6:30am-7am, the director and one other staff member were present as well. Space 2 is open for infants, space 4 is open for toddlers, space 5-6 are combined and as teachers arrive, children are moved to their own classroom. Based on the sign in sheets, 7:45am-8:30am is busy. Additional staff start arriving at 7:30am, 8am and 8:30am. Other teachers come in at 9am and leave at 6pm. The allegation regarding staff/child ratios was unsubstantiated. There was a concern that there was a contagious illness at the center and parents weren’t notified. The director stated that she was not aware of any children that were sick with a communicable disease that would require parent notification. She stated that if there was such a situation she would notify the parents of the children in the classroom where the illness occurred. DCDEE requires children unable to remain in care are separated from the other children until the parent arrives, the “sick area” is in the director’s office. The center follows Environmental Health requirements/sick policy. The allegation regarding informing parents of communicable diseases was unsubstantiated. Criminal background checks: Additional information was received today during the visit, related to criminal background check requirements. The director confirmed that a newly hired teacher was observing in a classroom Tuesday, January 6, 2026, for approximately 2-3 hours for orientation training, she did not engage with children or count in the staff/child ratio, she was only observing the classroom routines. Two other teachers were present with the teacher observing. She thought her letter was still current and shared that it was but it had expired. The director asked her to complete the online background check and scheduled fingerprinting the same day. The qualifying letter was on file January 7, 2026. All staff must have a current qualifying letter the date of hire, and the letter must be on file. No staff should have a hire date prior to a qualifying letter being received. Both hiring officials/Administrator and employees are responsible for ensuring current qualifying letters are on file. The allegation regarding criminal background checks was substantiated. Smoking on Premises/smelling smoke on staff members: There is one staff member that smokes, she was observed leaving the premises today. Driving away from the facility. Upon return she did not smell like smoke, there was no lingering smoke odor on her clothing. Reminder-Smoking should not occur on the premises. Smoking creates health concerns for infants if staff that smoke work with infants. The smoke stays in clothing and can cause breathing issues for infants. Administrator work schedule and coverage concern: The center director works from 6:15am-3:15pm. The Administrator is required to be on site for 40 hours per week based on the licensed capacity. An assistant director works from 9-6, the curriculum specialist works from 7:30am-4:30pm. The director and assistant director both meet requirements for 5-star education. Any time an administrator is not on the premises, someone with at least lead teacher qualification must be present to cover administrative duties. Based on the date provided in the report, someone was left in charge that met lead teacher requirements. This allegation was unsubstantiated. CPR and first aid training: A violation was cited during the last temporary time period monitoring visit December 17, 2025. Five employees completed CPR and first aid training December 29, 2025. One employee who had expired CPR and first aid training did not attend the training since the employees’ last day was before the training. All staff now have current CPR and first aid training. Reminder: all staff must have current CPR/FA, develop a system to provide training prior to the expiration dates. New staff have 90 days to obtain CPR/FA training. There must always be at least one employee on site with current CPR/FA. This allegation was unsubstantiated. Violation Number Comment Rule 1041 Prior to employment a Criminal Background Check was not completed. An employee was hired on 01/06/2026 without a current qualifying letter. She began orientation observations in a classroom without a current qualifying letter. A current qualifying letter was received on 01/07/2026. G.S. 110-90.2(b) One violation was cited during today’s visit and marked as corrected during the visit because the teacher received a qualifying letter on January 7, 2026. Feel free to contact me with questions or assistance. I may be reached at 919-819-9386 or email LeAnne.Simpkins@dhhs.nc.gov If the operator fails to correct any documented violations within the established time period, the Division of Child Development and Early Education may deny, suspend, terminate, or revoke any permit to operate (10A NCAC 09 .2000). All information in this report has been reviewed with me today.I understand that it is my responsibility to maintaincompliance with applicable NC Child Care Requirements at all times