SEATTLE — A Seattle early childhood teacher is out of a job for giving children and infants melatonin without parents permission.
During a state investigation, the teacher at SEED Early Childhood School at Temple Beth Am admitted to giving kids melatonin, a sleep aid supplement. A former employee told KING 5 the children were as young as one year old.
"I'm not afraid to say something if I see that it's happening even if it's not the popular thing to do," said Manya Gorman-Knutson.
Gorman-Knutson is a former teacher at at SEED Early Childhood School and worked there until May 2023. While she didn't see children being given the medication, she told KING 5 what she witnessed in that classroom around nap time.
"I do remember recalling how heavily those children slept and for how long. Most days the naps would run two, maybe three hours," Gorman-Knutson said.
An inspection report from Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) found the teacher did give melatonin to infants without parental consent.
"We would often have to rouse some of the children and some of them would be in a really groggy state. I remember asking her once about a particular child, 'Are they OK?' because of the way they were kind of fussing and stumbling around and trying to form words and sounds after we woke them up," Gorman-Knutson said.
Under state law, a childcare provider cannot give sedating medication unless it's been prescribed to the child.
It's unclear how many child have been given the supplement. The school told KING 5 the teacher gave melatonin to several infants in late 2023 and once they became aware, they took swift action and fired the teacher.
The state's report also claimed staff knew, but did not report the dosing.
"As someone from Seattle and grew up in the Jewish community, my loyalties are to children and their wellbeing especially when they are being mistreated or people are looking the other way," Gorman-Knutson said.
Executive Director Davida Sims said in a statement that as soon as they became aware of the incident, they fired the teacher and self-reported the Child Protective Services. Sims said they are cooperating with authorities for the investigation and communicating with parents.
"It's crucial to note that this occurrence is an isolated incident. We treat all allegations of educator misconduct with utmost seriousness and are committed to implementing every necessary measure to ensure the safety and well-being of our children in a secure and nurturing environment," Sims said.
DCYF said it gave the school corrections it needed to make including retraining and medication management, which the agency said the school has already completed.
The former employee also told KING 5 that at least two families have pulled their children from the school. The schools early childhood program serves kids ages 3 months through 5 years old.