A teacher at a daycare in Old Town North has been fired, and her aide was reprimanded after a 21-month-old child was tied to a chair for 22 minutes during lunchtime on Wednesday, August 13.
The Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS) made an unannounced inspection of the Vinci School Alexandria North (1001 N. Fairfax Street) on Aug. 21, after receiving a self-report on forbidden actions from the daycare’s licensing office. The toddler was tied to a chair with a thin blanket after throwing food on the floor and moving from a table while eating during lunchtime, DSS reported.
According to DSS:
On 08/13/2025 at approximately 11:40am in the Junior Toddler classroom, using a thin blanket, (the teacher) tied Child #1 (21 months old) to a chair during lunchtime for 22 minutes. Child #1 was eating lunch and not crying or in distress while being tied to the chair. (The teacher) stated that they “did not tie the blanket strong around the child.”
(The teacher) was immediately terminated following notification and verification of the incident. All staff were reminded of the zero-tolerance policy regarding any form of inappropriate conduct.
Another teacher in the classroom did not intervene to untie the child and received a formal write-up, according to DSS. The teacher was also instructed to report any instances of inappropriate staff behavior.
The DSS report stated that all staff would complete “Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect” training by August 29, and that the daycare’s behavior management policy would be reviewed.
DSS said that the following acts are forbidden:
- Physical punishment
- Striking a child
- Roughly handling or shaking a child
- Restricting movement through binding or tying
- Forcing a child to assume an uncomfortable position
- Forcing a child to exercise as punishment
The identities of the teachers have not been released.
According to the Alexandria Police Department:
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is aware of this incident. After speaking with Child Protective Services (CPS), detectives reviewed the facts of the incident and determined it to be a facility policy violation; no criminal activity was involved. There is no active investigation at this time.
For educational purposes, a matter may be reported to CPS through State Licensing. At CPS’s discretion, the incident may be referred to the Alexandria Police Department for further investigation.
