Concerned parents speak out after incident at local Pre-K

HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Parents at a local Pre-K spoke out after a teacher allegedly showed up drunk to work. Something the owner said is under investigation.  

“The director was adamant that it was not alcohol intoxication,” said one parent, “And she repeatedly said, ‘Ms. Mary is not drunk’."

Yet, several parents who did not want to be identified said otherwise about what they saw at the Little Genius Center for Learning in Halfmoon. “We walked into the room. The best way I can describe it is the vibe was off immediately. Mary, who's usually walking around organizing the room, you know, talking and doing things, was sitting in a kind of an outward V position with her legs on one of the children's chairs. Her eyes appear to be kind of half closed, she appeared to be disoriented she did slur a good morning to my son,” said one parent.

Then more parents began to arrive with their children.  “At 8:00 o’clock I dropped my son off. A little chaos in the hallways, the director is telling the parents everything's going to be okay. Parents were very concerned, and I stepped into the classroom, and another mother pulled me aside and said to me, ‘Ms. Mary's drunk’. I had looked over and, on the carpet, Mary is now standing up with her legs rolled out, her arms out, trying to balance herself. Parents were coming in and I was informing them that Mary, I've been told that Mary is drunk,” explained another parent.

Parents took their concerns to the school director, “We were pulled out to the hallway. The director was telling us that she's fine, guys. Just fine. She doesn't smell alcohol on her,” said one of the parents. But then she explained, “A father said, you know, we'd like to speak to her. She would not come out and confront us at all. The father had looked into the doorway, and she had fallen almost on a child.”

Liberty Justice, who is the owner of the learning center, informed parents that there is an investigation and it is being handled by state authorities, “OCFS is actively conducting an investigation, and we are fully cooperating to ensure complete transparency,” said Justice who went on to explain that the teacher who was taken by ambulance would not be returning to the school and that, “We can confirm that a staff member experienced a medical emergency and was promptly transported for medical evaluation. Our team immediately followed all safety protocols, and the children remained safe and supported throughout the incident. As a promise to my families I try to remain as transparent as possible as this matter remains under active investigation, we are unable to share further details at this time. The safety and well-being of our children, families, and staff is, and will always be, our highest priority.”

NEWS10 has reached out to the state agencies who are involved as well as the Shenendehowa School District, which receives the funding for Universal Pre-K (UPK) and partners with local providers like Little Genius Center for Learning and are waiting to hear back.