SAPULPA, Okla. -- A Two Works For You investigation into a local Early Head Start sparked outrage in many parents. Many reached out to us, saying they were never made aware of the conditions inside the Sapulpa school.
"I just wish it was handled better, I wish I didn’t have to watch the news to find out what was going on," said one Sapulpa mother.
William Rabe's two daughters attended Early Head Start in Sapulpa. After a few months, they noticed their younger daughter getting sick fairly often.
"Kept having respiratory problems, spent a night in the hospital," said Rabe.
According to hospital records, their daughter had RSV, or a respiratory virus. They decided it was time to take them out of Early Head Start.
"Pulled them out at the end of last school year and since then we’ve had no issues, she’s barely gotten sick," said Rabe.
According to a D.H.S. report in August of 2018, one of the buildings had mold in the classroom, peeling paint, and exposed dry wall. Their solution was to solely house staff in that building, and move the kids to the other.
"We decided to keep our three girls at home instead of letting them be at head start, that’s a huge hassle, when your school is more of a hassle than dealing with that, there’s something wrong," said Rabe.
Another parent reached out to us, wanting to stay anonymous because one of her kids is still at the center, but says she wishes there was more transparency from the school.
"Keep us all in the loop, all in the know because mold is pretty serious," said the Sapulpa mother.
She says the teachers at the center are fantastic, and that's part of the reason why she's keeping her child at Early Head Start.
"This is really my family’s only option for childcare," said the Sapulpa mother.
The Director of Head Start and Early Head Start in Oklahoma told us they've been looking for a new building in Sapulpa since September, but haven't found property to fit a playground.
We've reached out to Sapulpa Early Head Start for a comment but haven't heard back.
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