Dear Reza Khoshdel and Centre 55 Board Members,

We, the parents of children in the toddler and preschool programs at the Ted Reeve site of Centre 55, are writing to express our significant concerns regarding the recent termination of three daycare workers stemming from the serious occurrence incident that took place on January 26, 2024.

While we understand the severity of the occurrence, we are disappointed in both the decision to terminate these workers, as well as the limited communication we’ve received from management on the issue.

Several of us have already reached out separately to representatives at Centre 55 to express our concerns, and we are now issuing this collective notice to imagine a different way of moving forward. Our hope is that by coming to the board and management team as a community, we can address these concerns and reinforce what makes Centre 55 such a wonderful place for our children.

Our primary concerns stem from the following areas:

The decision to move directly to termination

As noted above, while we understand the severity of the serious occurrence and empathize with the distress it has caused the child and their family, we do believe that it was the wrong decision to terminate the workers involved.

We have seen the exceptional personal care that these senior staff have shown for our children, and believe that these employees are the best people to care for our children. Furthermore, the underlying cause of the occurrence has more to do with structure around alternatives to outdoor play as well as the issue of understaffing and new employee training processes than it does the professional competency of these individuals.

Additionally, after engaging with other educators, ministry and municipal staff, including a chair of a non-profit daycare, and a City of Toronto daycare consultant, it has come to our attention that the incident that led to the staff termination is not typically considered grounds for immediate dismissal. We would like to seek clarification on why the response in this case was different from the standard procedure in other similar cases.

The process moving forward and emotional wellness of our children

In our individual outreach, we have heard back from Centre 55 management about a focus on processes that will both ensure no similar future incidents occur as well as the smooth transition for the children in the toddler room that have grown attached to the terminated workers. So far, we have seen little of what these processes actually entail. We are concerned that such a major change in the day-to-day care and the swift removal of their familiar caretakers is having a detrimental impact on the children in care and requires a more transparent approach so that both parents and children have an understanding of the changes taking place. If the actions taken thus far — including the employees’ termination and the approach to sharing information — were meant to instill a sense of renewed safety for the families you serve, we feel this has backfired and shaken our sense of trust and confidence in the Centre’s leadership.

Communication

From the beginning, communication from management has been limited. While we understand that the privacy of both the impacted family as well as the workers, is of the utmost importance, there was no proactive communication to parents that a serious incident had occurred and that the workers had been placed on leave. As the parents have slowly been able to piece answers together, our questions about the status and processes behind the investigation have fallen on the shoulders of the daycare staff. This is not a fair position for these individuals to be in and could have been avoided if Centre 55 management had taken a more proactive approach to communication. Meanwhile, conversations with the Centre 55 management team thus far have heightened parental unease around being excluded from crucial information and the sense that our concerns are being downplayed and dismissed.

Our hope is that the board and CEO will revisit its recent decision, choosing instead to focus on gaps in processes and training. We advocate for a culture of compassion, understanding and empathy — one in which rectifying issues in procedures and training is understood as a collective responsibility. As part of this, bringing back terminated staff can be a positive step towards cultivating this culture, ensuring that no individual unfairly bears the burden for structural issues. Our ultimate goal is the creation of a supportive and understanding environment for staff and children, one in which we can all thrive.

Up until this incident, we have all been very happy with the level of service and dedication we have seen from the Centre 55 team. This is a wonderful daycare, with a program and staff that we have felt pride and security in sending our children to.

We are dedicated to collaborating with Centre 55 management and the board in the spirit of community, recognizing that in this situation, people—both leadership and staff—have made mistakes and deserve second chances. We strongly urge you to reconsider the decision to terminate staff members, emphasizing our belief and the values we teach our children, that wrongs can be addressed with honesty and compassion, and in fact, that repair is a crucial aspect of community building. We are committed to working with Centre 55 management and board to uphold our strong relationship and enrich the excellent culture and service we have come to know and value from Centre 55. We eagerly await your response.