A former teacher at an Alexandria, Virginia, day care center physically punished young children, hitting them in the face, and on their arms and legs, according to a new state report.
The incidents occurred over several months at the Two Birds location on King Street in Old Town, according to a Virginia Department of Social Services report.
From October 2024 to May 2025, workers at the facility watched a staff member physically punish kids without reporting the incidents at the time they occurred, according to the report. The findings come after an unannounced inspection and prompted the child care center to issue details of how it would correct the issues identified.
“While my child wasn’t specifically in the classroom of the teacher in question, it kind of just broke my trust and broke my family’s trust, and that they couldn’t commit to keeping a safe environment,” one parent, who asked not to be named, said. “The report said that the physical and verbal abuse was happening over a seven-month period, and the classroom in question was directly across from the director of the location’s office.”
The parent said he has taken his child out of the day care center as a result of the report’s findings.
The investigation describes encounters involving an unidentified worker labeled as “Staff #1.” In one instance, the report said the worker interacted with a child in a “demeaning and disrespectful way.”
The report found the staffer was observed by co-workers “physically punishing children ages 2-3 years old by physically striking and roughly handling them on a daily or ongoing basis.” Kids were hit on their face, arms, legs and in the mouth, the report said, and “children were grabbed, pushed, pulled and yanked by their hands, arms, clothing and hair.”
During walks outside, the report said the walking rope was wrapped tightly around a child’s upper arm if they weren’t listening.
Between March and May, the report said the staff member lifted a child by their shirt and put the child in a classroom closet. Then, the staff member walked away for about one minute before allowing the child to come out. Another child in the class told their parent about that incident, the report said.
The report also said other workers noticed the Staff #1 punish kids for “toileting accidents by smacking them in the head or speaking to them in a stern voice/manner.”
In a statement, Two Birds said leaders learned about the allegations on May 21, and the teacher was immediately taken out of the classroom. The teacher no longer works there, the statement said.
“We were recently notified that VDSS had completed its confidential and independent investigation, and have informed our community about its conclusion,” the statement said. “We are taking swift action to implement corrective measures as well as additional steps to ensure the safety and well being of our community, including partnering with a counselor to support our families.”
A spokeswoman for Alexandria police said the agency is aware of the case and “looking into it.”
In a message to families, the parent said, the facility announced plans to part ways with two teachers and an assistant director.
“The fact that this could happen for seven months without anybody noticing, without anybody communicating, with it still continuing to persist is just unacceptable; and something that my family felt like proved that there was a cultural problem, a leadership problem, that we just weren’t comfortable with keeping our child in there,” the parent said.
Two Birds has locations in Tysons, Silver Spring, West End and Tenleytown in D.C., according to its website.
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