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Preschool Shut Down After Safety Violations

LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4)- The State of Colorado has shut down a preschool in Littleton, citing a list of problems ranging from safety concerns for the children to not enough staff.

A father contacted CBS4 on Wednesday about the sudden closure of Little Minds Learning Center, which left dozens of families scrambling for child care after learning of the closure late Tuesday.

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The preschool is located at Youngfield Court and Bowles Avenue in Littleton.

The center was opened only for parents to collect their child's belongings on Wednesday.

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The preschool first became the subject of an adverse licensing recommendation in 2016 when an infant was burned by hot water from a microwave.

According to the Department of Human Services, Little Minds Learning Center has consistently struggled to maintain qualified employees and an appropriate staff-to-child supervision ratio. That resulted in a second recommendation for adverse licensing in the summer of 2017.

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Last year, the preschool received five safe sleep violations, two of which posed a suffocation and strangulation hazard to infants.

Last week, a staff member reportedly grabbed a child by the arm and screamed at the child while the child was crying.

Parents are frustrated at the lack of notice.

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"This is an enormous inconvenience and not just for me but for all the families. I think there are more than 100 families that use this facility. My wife and I had to take off work today. Everyone else that I know who has come to this school and was uninformed, they're getting this as a shock today," said parent Brian Scarpetta. "Children love it here. There are some teachers they've really grown attached to and it's kind of sad for them as well because these teachers that do really care about the students, now they're out of a job."

Little Minds will remain closed while the Department of Human Services continues their investigation. There are 99 children enrolled in the school.

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