Daycare where child was injured has history of mistreatment, records show

A daycare worker was arrested and charged with child cruelty after police say she “snatched” a chair out from underneath a 3-year-old, which caused a cut to the child’s face.

The incident is the latest in a series of physical mistreatment investigations at Big Blue Marble Academy in Grovetown, just outside of Augusta.

Grovetown police said they went to the daycare last week after the child’s parents reported the incident, which happened Tuesday.

The child had been standing on a chair in the classroom when Kayleigh Fox, 23, walked up and “snatched the chair from underneath the child, causing them to fall face first onto the floor,” the Grovetown Police Department said in the news release posted to social media.

Fox then began to put shoes on the child and “did not address or acknowledge” the child’s injury, police said.

The daycare director called the child’s parents and told them the child “suffered an injury due to an accident,” police said.

The parents took the child to receive medical care, and the cut on the child’s face required several sutures, police said. The parents’ identities were not released.

Big Blue Marble Academy said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the company is cooperating with the investigation, and the incident “has been upsetting for everyone.”

“We understand how troubling this is for families. Providing a safe and caring environment for the young children in our care is our top priority and we have zero tolerance for the mistreatment of children,” the company said in the statement.

The daycare said the staff member “reported the child’s injury to the school’s leadership team who called the child’s mother within minutes” and subsequently placed the employee on leave before terminating her.

“We notified both childcare licensing/DECAL (the Department of Early Care and Learning) and Child Protective Services and have been fully cooperating in the open investigations,” the company said. “The mother was able to view the video of the incident within 24 hours of her request to see it.”

DECAL’s chief communications officer confirmed the state is investigating the incident.

“Our investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the program’s response, and determine whether any state child care rules or regulations were violated,” Reg Griffin said in an emailed statement. “The safety of Georgia’s children remains our highest priority.”

Fox was fired from the daycare the day after the incident and the day before police arrived to investigate, according to police. She didn’t respond to a request for comment Sunday.

The AJC found, through public reports from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, a series of incidents involving physical mistreatment of children at this daycare from 2021-24.

The incidents included a child who was picked up by their arm and dropped into a chair; two separate times when children were barricaded in a bathroom as punishment; and a child who was shaken “aggressively,” according to reports by the state.

In the state’s most recent reported visit to the daycare in September, it was found to be fully compliant and in good standing, according to the report.

Big Blue Marble Academy said in its statement the daycare has rectified its past issues and has “worked closely” with the state to “ensure we are providing the highest quality of care to our students.”

“Changes to the school included new school leadership, intensive staff training and regular internal audits that incorporated safety standards above and beyond state requirements,” the company said. “We remain fully committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment for every student.”

The daycare is rated as high-quality, earning two out of three stars, through Georgia’s rating system, a voluntary program where daycares demonstrate they are going above and beyond basic standards.

A recent AJC investigation found the state’s rating system is flawed and can be misleading. The state does not reconsider or strip the star rating of daycares after it cites them for serious safety incident, even when workers are arrested. Daycares cited for serious safety incidents, up to child deaths, were rated as high-quality under the state’s rating system, the recent AJC investigation found.

Amy Jacobs, commissioner of the Department of Early Care and Learning, previously told the AJC that the health and safety of Georgia’s children is the highest priority of her agency, which oversees childcare regulation.

“Good managers can make poor hiring decisions with serious consequences for child safety,” she wrote in a letter to the AJC, noting that serious incidents are uncommon.

She added the department is reviewing its rating system and plans to make major changes next year to improve the integrity of the ratings.