11 Oct 9th-Oct 15th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Trouble with the Truth Chandler preschool lied to police about teacher slapping child. BY MORGAN FISCHER O n a Monday afternoon in March 2024, Erin Higgins picked up her three-year-old son early from Sunrise Preschools on Elliot Road in Chandler. The school’s staff said he’d had an accident and didn’t want to be changed, but that was far from the whole story. Once home, after a quiet, hour-long drive from Chandler to Buckeye, the young boy said something that caught her off guard. “Mommy,” he said, pointing to his face. “A teacher hit me.” More than a year later, Higgins and her co-parent are suing Child Development Schools, Inc., the corporate owner of the preschool chain, for negligence and inten- tional infliction of emotional distress, among other charges. According to the lawsuit, school staff misled the boy’s parents about the nature of the incident. Perhaps more alarming, according to a Chandler police report referenced in the lawsuit and obtained by Phoenix New Times, is that the school’s corporate entity apparently instructed a staffer to alter her statement to police to deny that the incident happened at all. “That’s like a parent’s worst nightmare,” Erin Higgins said, “is for someone that you trust to hit your kids.” In a statement to New Times, Sunrise Preschools said: “A thorough internal review by Sunrise Preschools reflects that our team coached the school director to provide an updated statement that repre- sented the truth of the situation. Honesty and transparency are fundamental to our relationships with the children and families we serve, and their physical and emotional well-being continues to be our highest priority. While we cannot comment further on ongoing litigation, we remain committed to ensuring the truth is fully understood as the matter proceeds. Sunrise Preschools has 20 locations throughout the Valley, and its parent company runs more than 260 child care centers across 11 states. It provides care and instruction for infants to pre-kindergartners and also offers after-school programs for school-aged children. At the time of the incident, Higgins’ son had attended the Chandler location for only two days. The boy’s father, Jason Higgins — he and Erin are divorced — initially enrolled his son and daughter in another Sunrise Preschool but transferred them to the Chandler location to be closer to his home. When he picked up his daughter that day, after Erin had retrieved their son earlier, he asked school director Michelle Hill if a teacher had hit his son. Hill said no and characterized the boy as “the aggressor.” However, according to the police report, Hill’s story would change several more times. “I don’t understand why she didn’t tell me this,” Jason Higgins said of Hill. “What’s your excuse for not being just upfront and honest with me?” Changing accounts According to the police report, a day after the incident, an anonymous caller notified the Department of Child Safety about a teacher smacking the young boy. Because the teacher had no familial relationship with the child, the complaint was passed along to the Chandler Police Department. Per the report, Chandler officer Kyle Jordan spoke to Hill and the boy’s teacher, Jaylene Takala, at the school the day following the incident. He spoke first to Hill, who told him that she witnessed Takala slap the boy. At the time, Takala was taking him to another classroom to change his diaper. He was kicking and screaming and when Takala bent down to ask him to cooperate, the boy slapped her, “knocking her glasses from her face,” the report says. Takala immediately slapped the boy “on the mouth or cheek,” according to Hill’s account in the police report. In shock, Takala stood up and stated, “I can’t believe I just did that.” Hill told the officer that she was standing in the room when it happened and didn’t know what to do. According to the police report, Hill said Erin and Jason Higgins “were contacted about the incident but were purposely not fully advised what occurred.” However, when Jordan spoke with Takala, she flatly denied hitting the child, stating instead that she used her forearm to block the boy from slapping her a >> p 12 The Sunrise Preschools location on Elliot Road in Chandler. (Google Maps) | NEWS |
