Kinder College, Piscataway, NJ director charged child abuse
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(Piscataway-WABC, January 13, 2003) — The director of a New Jersey day care
center was fired Monday after two workers blew the whistle on her Monday,
saying she was abusing the children. The owner of Piscataway's Kinder College
fired the director after the allegations and some alleged incidents led parents
to pull their children out of the center. New Jersey reporter Jen Maxfield
reports from Piscataway with details.
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Dana Stein, the director of Kinder College, was fired Monday after being
accused of shoving, pushing, pinching and pulling the hair of some of the
children, all of whom are under the age of six. Two of the center's workers say
say they refused to stand by and watch, both quitting after accusing the
director of what they call child abuse.
When Karen Leatherdale picked up her two and a half year-old daughter Samantha
from day care last month she says the child complained that her wrist hurt.
Karen Leatherdale, Parent: "And I took her to the emergency room and she had a
partially dislocated elbow."
Karen says Kinder College's director, Dana Stein, told her it must have been an
accident.
Leatherdale: "You can't accidentally... with a kid playing on the floor,
dislocate an elbow. That takes a really hard pull. It's not an easy thing to
do."
No adult saw what actually happened to Samantha that day, but a former Kinder
College worker says she witnessed Stein get rough with the children in the
past.
Ellie Ruiz, Former Kinder College Worker: "Hit a child. Pull a child's hair.
Forcefully push a child onto the floor... And the child was complaining that
their arm was hurting."
Ruiz says she confronted Stein, who told her to keep what she says she saw to
herself.
Ruiz: "She says, 'Keep it under your hat. What ever happens in this day care
stays in this day care, does not leave this day care.'"
Last Friday, Ruiz and her assistant Yamile Cadiz quit their jobs at Kinder
College in protest and are now running a day care center from their home. Both
women say the last straw was when Stein allegedly yanked a three year-old girl
across the classroom by her ponytail.
Yamile Cadiz, Former Kinder College Teacher: "She grabbed her and dragged
her... she was screaming, that little girl... to the office and then she closed
the door."
The little girl's father filed an abuse complaint with police.
Timothy Sze, Parent: "The supervisor or director should get out of this
business."
Timothy Sze and ten other parents pulled their children out of the day care
center Monday morning and demanded refunds. Kinder College's owner confronted
Stein and fired her on the spot. He says she didn't deny a thing.
Rob Carpenito, Kinder College Owner: "We acknowledged there was a problem. We
rectified the problem... as soon as it was brought to our attention."
And Kinder College's owner says there could be more workers fired if an ongoing
investigation uncovers other teachers trying to cover any cases of abuse up. As
for the two teachers who brought the charges against Stein, Carpenito says they
are welcome to come back adding that they did the right thing by putting the
children first.
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