Parents of children who attended a pre-kindergarten program in eastern Newfoundland say their kids were knelt on, yelled at, and locked in a bathroom by an early childhood educator who police investigated but never charged.
Alyssa Zerebecki said she was lying in bed with her then-four-year-old son, James, in February when she asked him if he was looking forward to going back to his pre-K program, run by the YMCA in Torbay.
“He just broke down and he was like, ‘No, I can’t go back, Mommy. [The ECE] pulls my hair. She throws my lunch bag in the garbage, my school bag in the garbage, she holds me down so that other kids can harm me and she hurts me,'” Zerebecki told CBC News and Radio-Canada in a recent interview.
Both police and the YMCA of Newfoundland and Labrador confirm they investigated what happened at the program but few details have been provided.
The early childhood educator at the centre of those probes told CBC News she was investigated and no charges were laid.
The Department of Education found the preschool was in violation of the Child Care Act for not following “behaviour guidance policies” but won’t provide any further details.
Parents who spoke with CBC News and Radio-Canada say the absence of information provided to parents of children in the program — and the broader public — undermines trust in provincially-funded programs like the YMCA, and raises questions about compliance and transparency.
“Parents deserve to know what is happening,” said Zerebecki, no matter the outcome of an investigation.
“Even parents who currently have children in this institution did not know until they came to my son’s birthday party and I had to let them know.”
For its part, the YMCA says it followed its own reporting and review process, made changes in the wake of the complaint and provided information to parents when it could.
“While there were limits to the information that could be shared, those limitations existed to protect the privacy, rights, and well-being of everyone involved, including the children,” wrote Samantha Harding, YMCA senior manager of marketing and communications, in an email to CBC News.
Zerebecki said she and her husband removed their son from a $10-a-day child-care space he was doing well in, when a slot opened up at the YMCA’s pre-K program in September.
“We trusted the province. We thought, wow, pre-K, it’s going to get him ready to go to kindergarten,” Zerebecki said.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government announced in 2022 it had chosen the YMCA of Newfoundland and Labrador to operate a province-wide pre-kindergarten pilot project. It later became permanent. The YMCA’s website says it currently operates 41 pre-K programs in the province.
“As soon as we moved him, the behaviour started. He started getting angry, he started hitting, he started not wanting to go to school. He was fearful,” Zerebecki said.
Vanessa Cornick said she also noticed a shift in her son, Colton, who had started the same time.
“He was hurting me, hurting himself, hurting his friends,” said Cornick in a recent interview.
After James Zerebecki told his mother this winter about what he said was happening to him at preschool, Alyssa Zerebecki contacted the YMCA — and Cornick, who began asking her own questions.
“I was in disbelief. I couldn’t believe that all this could be possibly happening under this program,” Cornick said.
“But once I got started talking to Colton about it, I realized how real it really was.”
According to Cornick, her son gradually disclosed what he said was happening to him, sharing details during playtime and before bed.
“He was knelt on and sat on by his teacher if he wasn’t listening. She poked him with a pencil when he wasn’t listening and yelled at him in a different language,” Cornick said.
“There was a situation of the kids being locked in the bathroom if they weren’t behaving.”
CBC News and Radio-Canada spoke with several other parents who say their children told them of similar behaviour by the same ECE.
Parents want answers after police investigation into preschool ECE
YMCA confirmed it did receive complaints from other families about the same ECE, which were “addressed through established reporting, review and safeguarding processes.”
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said it received a report alleging assault at a child-care centre on Feb. 25, five days after Zerebecki emailed the YMCA.
“Following a thorough investigation that included multiple witness statements and site visits, the file was concluded without charges March 24, 2026,” wrote RNC Const. Stephanie Myers.
Both boys were among several children interviewed by police, their mothers said.
CBC News reached the ECE at the centre of the investigation via Facebook Messenger.
“This matter was fully investigated by the appropriate authorities four months ago and I was not charged. I am currently seeking legal advice, so I cannot comment further,” the woman wrote.
According to emails provided to CBC News, the YMCA’s vice-president and child protection lead Lori Evans sent three notes to parents of children in the program, after the initial complaint was made. The first email notified parents of an ongoing police investigation involving an employee who was now on leave. No further details were provided.
In early April, Evans wrote in a second email to parents that the RNC investigation had concluded but the YMCA’s had not.
Four days later, Evans followed up with another email stating that the investigations by police and the YMCA were closed, and that the employee who was under investigation was no longer working for them. The YMCA did not disclose the findings of its own internal investigation to parents.
None of the emails explained what prompted the investigations, what the nature of the allegations were, or which employee was being investigated.
“It was a bare minimum on e-mail,” Cornick said.
YMCA of Newfoundland and Labrador president and CEO Jason Brown declined an interview with CBC News.
However, in answers to questions from CBC News, Harding wrote that the “YMCA communicated directly with families and remained available to answer questions and discuss concerns.”
The YMCA did not say whether or not the employee was fired — citing privacy and confidentiality obligations — nor will the non-profit say what its internal investigation found.
“Following those reviews, measures were implemented to strengthen oversight, support staff, and further enhance the quality of care and support provided at the site,” Harding said.
Those measures included on-site mentorship, policy review, and training related to behaviour guidance, inclusion practices, documentation, and reporting requirements.
Education Minister Paul Dinn was asked about the situation at an unrelated event in Corner Brook on Monday, after turning down CBC’s interview request.
“I think as a parent, if my child was in daycare, I’d certainly want to know the details on this,” Dinn said.
“However, this was an incident that was reported to the RNC, they are investigating or have investigated it. So it’s something that probably should be approached with the RNC for more details.”
In a prepared statement, Dinn’s department said staff have been “on site frequently providing increased supports and guidance” for the child-care service.
“The department continues to discuss options to further enhance safety and provide support to the operator, YMCA, who are responsible for decisions related to its employees,” the statement read.
The department said it doesn’t publicly disclose details of investigations into serious occurrences or complaints in regulated child-care services.
It did confirm that following its investigation, the YMCA pre-K program in Torbay was found to have violated the Child Care Act. A one-line description of the violation posted to its website reads: “Behaviour Guidance policies are not being adhered to by administrator and staff.” The program also violated the staff-to-student ratio.
The employee who was investigated told CBC News via Facebook Messenger that she is no longer working as an early childhood educator.
For Vanessa Cornick, she says this experience has changed her son, and shaken her confidence in the programs meant to help him.
“He’s taking it rough. He’s been pretty down … on himself. His self-esteem has become pretty low,” she said.
“He talks about how he’s a bad kid.”
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