Tahlequah Day Care Under Investigation For Child Abuse Accusations

Several parents said their young children suffered abuse while they were at a Cherokee Nation head start program.

Relatives all have similar stories of abuse that their young kids suffered at the hands of a supervisor in their head start program classroom.

“I can’t even give her high fives without her flinching away,” said Megan Williamson.

“Her hair was being pulled, grabbed by the neck,” said Michelle Rundle.

“Something is really wrong,” said Jennie Love. “She loved it here and she hates it now.”

The parents of three and four-year olds we talked to said their time at the Cherokee Nation Head Start daycare program in Tahlequah was going great until a new teacher started late last year.

It wasn’t until Jan. 10 the Oklahoma Department of Human Services began to investigate.

Mom Jennie Love said she witnessed abuse firsthand.

“She grabbed her by the shoulders, forced her offer to the table, and slammed her into a chair,” Love said. “Your brain doesn’t register that.”

Love’s daughter is four. She said her kid is traumatized from the center, and said her daughter is afraid of any yelling and has regressed in potty training.

“To this day, she has this haunted look in her face,” said Love.

Megan Williamson has a similar story. She said her four-year-old turned from sweet and outgoing to aggressive and terrified after the new teacher started.

“They would pull her by her hair, she was grabbed by her neck the back of her neck to be guided places,” said Williamson.

Williamson said she took her daughter to the hospital where she took photos of bruising.

Other parents who wanted to stay anonymous tell News on 6 the teacher hit and slammed their kids against a bookshelf.

“She shouldn’t be allowed to be around kids anymore,” said Love.

DHS said it has been in contact with the parents of kids involved in the alleged abuse. The parents said that’s about 8 kids total.

The Cherokee Nation Marshals service is conducting its own investigation as marshals wait for DHS findings.

The Cherokee Nation said the teacher involved is currently on administrative leave facing an allegation of physical abuse.

“It’s every parent’s nightmare,” Love said. “You trust these people. That’s your child.”

The Cherokee Nation sent us a statement saying in part “they take these allegations very seriously” and said they’re offering counseling services. They said and they’ve installed cameras in the Head Start facilities and plan do that for all their other facilities too.

No arrests have been made.