After it was reported on Facebook that a Mother dropping her son off for the first time, witnessed a teacher slapping another child, Hilltop Nursery School took down their Facebook page, and got quiet.
Amanda Goldfarb, Toms River, said she was walking into the classroom when she saw a teacher kneeling in front of a child, yelling at the child. This teacher, whose back was turned, allegedly slapped the child on the cheek several times trying to get her attention. This was in a room where all the children were between 2 and a half and 3 years old. Goldfarb doesn’t remember what the teacher was saying.
Goldfarb’s son, who is 2 and a half, was supposed to start that day, but she pulled him out.
A letter was sent to Hilltop parents that read:
An incident was reported to us (on Feb. 21) involving one child. The incident was investigated immediately and involved the conduct of a teacher. We have also requested an independent investigation. The child was not harmed but the conduct of the teacher was not acceptable and consequently the teacher was dismissed. The parent of the child was notified.
We regret that the incident took place and assure all of you that your child’s safety and well-being remains our utmost concern.
We value the confidentiality of all of our children and unfortunately cannot discuss this further but assure you the matter is being addressed appropriately.
One parent of a child at Hilltop – who was not involved in the incident – said that it was a shame that one employee is making the school look bad because “many of them are saints.” This parent chose not to be identified for this story, but verified that his children have attended Hilltop for years.
For more information on this story, including records of the original Facebook complain, visit Jersey Shore Online
So sad she should be fired a terrible
Ali Zarko
She wasn’t fired at first… they just sent her home for the day until all of this publicly!
Kristin Rivera yuppppp
Kristin Rivera So you’re saying she was only fired because of the publicity? How about sent home until they reviewed footage and got backlash from parents then fired. Would you bring your small children back there with that woman if she wasn’t fired to have your child slapped around?
They sent her home and fired her the same day.
Tracey Wills Damiano yes but at first they said they looked at the video and it wasn’t “that severe” so they sent her home for the day. Now that all this broke out, they fired her (on the same day)
Kristin Rivera yes! That’s what they said. I couldn’t believe it. That it wasn’t “so severe to fire, but she would be sent home for the day” ?… She would ? still have a job if this didn’t go so viral. They took their fb page down shortly after the Incident as well, so they didn’t have to answer questions or have bad reviews, as well! Smh.
No child should ever be hit at a daycare. It on facebook how she was hitting them.
Tara Arater unreal!
Ellie Ae Chrissy Black
Cori Anne
Cori Anne is this where your kids go?
Kristin Rivera this is where my daughter was going, I pulled her today lol
Cori Anne ugh! So crazy. Glad she’s out. You just never know!
Exactly, not a chance I’m willing to take
Kathleen Sullivan
Good. If she did this while parents were dropping off kids, what was she doing when they were alone and not observed? I hope this goes into her record for background checks for future hiring where children are involved ?
Beverly Reilly Ombres I also want to know how long this was going on and the staff didn’t say anything???
Beverly Reilly Ombres apparently this kind of stuff has been going on for awhile and not only with that one teacher. In the original post yesterday a lot of parents complained about things. The school even pulled the footage off their security camera.
Wow. She should be prosecuted. And they should all be held accountable if they knew about it. I didn’t hit my own kids. I’ll be damned if I let somebody else hit them. Especially that little and in the face. This has me infuriated
Marge Wells Anacker how do you know this it’s just hear say stop spreading rumors
Beverly Reilly Ombres Does CV your children go there.
Beverly Reilly Ombres so much for innocent till proven guilty
The owner should have fired her immediately
Sandra Dew
Stephanie Laszkow here’s the follow up
Shauna Marie gross
We never had an issue with Hilltop all the yrs my son attended camp here. Surveillance cameras are in all classrooms. They speak volumes! I hope this one incident does not create waves for this place because that would be wrong.
I heard the mom of the child involved in the incident was allowed to view the video footage and was able to see this teacher slap her child… sooo scary!!
Julie Feliciano Yeah, I read that myself. I just hope this one incident does not create a problem because Ms Linda is wonderful.
How much do you want to make a bet that all these mom’s come out of the woodwork to bash this school and create stories they never reported from the beginning becuz they just love drama.
She sounds like a treat! I think I’ll hire her to babysit!
I’m sure she wasn’t even employed with the school long to begin with.
Tracey Wills Damiano 14 years.
Amanda Goldfarb WOW! ?
Mrs. Linda is wonderful??? HAAAA. Wonderful at abusing children! She’s a disgusting human for slapping a child, a baby basically, across the face!!
if she is so wonderful why did she slap a child across her face..
The owner Sara McClave lol. The owner did NOT slap this child.
Whelp, this incident certainly created a LARGE problem for the school. This post has gone viral forcing them to shut down their Facebook because of the negative reviews, just go check out their Google reviews now.. it’s bad.
Julie Feliciano I have and it’s horrible.
The school IS accountable & tgey shld be charged likewise. After all the publicity didn’t they remove the footage from their own surviellance equipment???
Tracey Wills Damiano Linda is the owner???? Isnt she the one that was abusing the child?
???
I read it was a teacher not the owner.
You’re right, my bad. My apologies. Ms Linda is the teachers name. It’s been over 5 yrs since my son has gone to this school.
the owner is anything but WONDERFUL! Snotty bitches who can careless about who comes and goes . KARMA
Sorry I disagree Denise Pegg. The school should NOT be charged. The teacher should be charged and held accountable for her actions. She’s the one that caused harm. The rest of the employees nor owner should NOT be punished for her actions.
Tracey Wills Damiano Schools responsible. Teacher works for them. Have to wonder how long this was going i and what else has happened. They know about this because a parent walked in at the time it happened
Tracey Wills Damiano Schools responsible. Teacher works for them. Have to wonder how long this was going i and what else has happened. They know about this because a parent walked in at the time it happened
Beth Lane Yes, I’m well aware of that. I worked as a preschool teacher myself before going in the medical field. I’ve witnessed one teacher leaving a toddler unattended on a changing table and how it created so many problems for the school afterwards. It’s unfortunate and sad.
Tracey Wills Damiano if the owner was such a wonderful person… why did she choose to just send her home for the day before all the publicity? That blows my mind
The school should absolutely be charged!!! They do NO background checks and NO drug testing.
Melissa Gabriel Joyner all schools do background checks!
Tracey Wills Damiano, soo happy that you find it funny. If it was your child or grandchild I bet you wouldn’t find any humor in the situation. Nothing about this is funny.
Lou Martz
Patti DeGraff
Elizabeth Ann
William Boyer Jr. yeah I saw this. This isn’t where Riley went but seriously sickens me. We had an issue with the first daycare we ever put Sean Into. Idk about hitting but they weren’t giving him the food or drink I sent and sent him home on the second day diaperless! I was furious, needless to say he never went back. I’m very skeptical of all daycares now
Lauren Pierce
Amanda Goldfarb way to take action and being a great person and not only protecting your kid but everyone elses
Katye Macintyre I genuinely didn’t think it would blow up like this. I just wanted to find this little girls mom. If it happened to my kid, I would hope someone would try and find me to tell me.
Amanda Goldfarb well you did what you had to do and it worked.
Amanda Goldfarb you absolutely did the right thing!!!!
U did the right thing my hats off to u for coming forward and say something god knows what been going on there when it’s just kids there and teachers glad u said something see something say something
Amanda Goldfarb, thank you for being an advocate to a child!! Thank you for getting involved!! God bless you and your family
Amanda Goldfarb I agree you did the right thing. Daycare isn’t cheap and we expect the best care.
Amanda Goldfarb good thing you brought this to attention. No child should be treated that way and from the comments, it looks like there are many more problems.
I’m so glad the teacher was fired! Thank God a parent witnessed this and reported it. She saved more children for being abused. I hope this teacher isn’t able to work with children again. Shame on her for harming an innocent toddler.?
Tina Campo Horvath
Traci Singer
Amanda Goldfarb I applaud you! There needs to be more people like you in this world!! Thank you for protecting our kids! It really does take a village!!
Deborah Smith Bunnell thanks mama. I’m sad for all the people who messaged me and said they reported similar instances. I’ve gotten a lot of backlash for posting about it on social media but I genuinely think this would have been brushed under the rug if I didn’t.
Amanda Goldfarb people will judge you no matter what you choose, just have to follow your gut and heart
Graduate class of 1990 represent!
Hang the bitch
*from being abused. (Correction)
Ashley
My daughter went here years ago and we loved this school!! It’s a shame one “bad apple” can instantly ruin their reputation so quickly!
Janine Kathryn its not one bad apple unfortunately.
Erica Rose ?
I know in reality it isn’t, but I like to think most people don’t have this sort of behavior in them, even tho I’m cautious that they do.
Social media will ruin that school forever… that school will always stick out to me at least for being bad ..
Social media will ruin that school forever… that school will always stick out to me at least for being bad ..
Amy Olsen they have been there for years. I’ve never heard of anything like this. Could happen anywhere. It’s wrong and a shame but I can really only say good things about this school.
Amy Olsen they have been there for years. I’ve never heard of anything like this. Could happen anywhere. It’s wrong and a shame but I can really only say good things about this school.
Not new news…I personally reported mistreatment by Lunch 5 years ago…they had her apologize to me…wasn’t even my child. Don’t know if parents were even notified!!! They ARE responsible for what happens on premises
Lynch…not Lunch, sorry
They should publish this bad apple’s name.
Janine Kathryn it’s in the OP, her name.
Janine Kathryn i just commented the same thing.
Erica Rose Did your child go there I’ve know Linda since she was a CHILD and grew up with her if there was a bad apple she will and did get rid of it.
Amanda Knopf
Stevie Lynn ??????
Your article states the child was not harmed. This toddler may not have any lasting physical marks but may have fear and trust issues with future teachers and adults. This is the reason I didn’t put my children in daycare when they were so young.
I call protective services on them 6 yrs ago. Maybe now something will happen
Francesca Leonard
My kids went there years ago until one day I was in the infant room & saw the atrocities in there.
Vince Schmidt
Barbara Paluszek Vitolo Maria Vitolo Andrew Vitolo Gina Vitolo I’m so sad ???
Cynthia Vitolo at least they fired the person
Maria Vitolo yeah thank god…but now their reputation is ruined
Cynthia Vitolo very sad. We all went there.
Cynthia Vitolo very sad. We all went there.
Cynthia Vitolo no it’s not, but they will need to advertise or something that safety is their priority or something
Cynthia Vitolo no it’s not, but they will need to advertise or something that safety is their priority or something
Cynthia Vitolo no it’s not, they just need to advertise and promote that safety is their priority
Cynthia Vitolo no it’s not, they just need to advertise and promote that safety is their priority
Hopefully that helps
Hopefully that helps
I won’t let this ruin their reputation.
Linda Giovinazzo Infanti
Ann-Marie Holowka-Destafney
Lyndsey Davis
Fired? Prosecuted would make more sense!
Fired? Prosecuted would make more sense!
William Boyer Jr.
Krystal L Boyer yeah I saw that last night when Liz posted that. That’s crazy.
My kids went here. We LOVE Hilltop. The owners are wonderful people who live and die for the children in their care. While what this one teacher did is inexcusable, it does not make Hilltop a bad place. (And it kills me knowing that this woman is trying to ruin the reputation of the school because of what one bad egg did.) If it were closer to my house, my daughter would still be there. We had nothing short of an amazing experience there.
Tracy Chentayl I’m not trying to ruin anything. My post was searching for the child’s mother. What I saw was so inappropriate and not handled correctly. That’s the issue, not my statements about it.
Lisa Natilli Ferrara?
Heidi Bernat Zeiss I know!!!! Insane! Glad mine were there only for a short time, chestnut hill was the best!!!!!
Anthony Fontaine (Faceof Drew)
Jennifer Saavedra no good!
Jennifer Saavedra why don’t they mention the name of the teacher?
Lauren Conner
Kara Torres
Noelle Reeves
I HATED this place. I think my son was in there for maybe two weeks and I pulled him. They never wiped his nose when it was running from allergies and his knees were always black from crawling on the floor. There was another incident that made me pull him as well. People love this place. I don’t get it. However for this person to say that the child “wasn’t harmed” when a teacher smacked her in the face multiple times is ridiculous and proves my decision right for us!
Kim Diane Karwatt
How sad… because of Social Media all these posts will destroy this business and livelihoods of so many.
Elaine Giliberti Brueckmann, and it should. What if it was your child, your grandchild? Would then you feel the same way??? I guarantee you would not, you’d want justice.
So what this should not have been brought up and brushed under the rug as no big deal so nobody who works there or business would suffer? That’s what your comment sounds like…..If your small child was getting slapped around would you be ok with it?
Elaine Giliberti Brueckmann social media justice warriors and lawyers it’s just gonna keep getting worse for them unfortunately and to think some people on here want the video to get released !! For what reason and why would you want to see that anyway . it’s between the school and the parents and the police period .
Roger Bacon Well let’s see the school said they reviewed the footage and it wasn’t severe. They want to clear their name and show it wasn’t a big deal? Release the video…blur out the face of the children and release it. No amount of talk saying it wasn’t a hard hit is going to sway people away from never using them. a picture is worth 1000 words right? Well a video is worth 100000 words.
Melissa Gabriel Joyner Justice yes….but not to make this a lynching…. they did the right thing, fired the teacher and its the parents right to file charges. Its all the horrible unnecessary comments that are now going to hurt this business, because of one teachers actions. Its none of any ones business to see this video or know in depth info on the situation Unless the parent releases it. There is a child involved. You don’t think the owners are sick over this happening ? Man I’d never want any of you on my jury … .
Patrick Brennan this is all hear say… unless you were there listening to the conversation then you can’t repeat what “She said” or ” he said” What this teacher did was a big deal and should be dealt with properly. But don’t trash the business because of it… it could be an isolated incident. For what reason, other than you being nosy, would you have to see this video? Its none or any ones business.
Patrick Brennan again it’s not up to the public to determine anything that has to do with this period its between the school and the parents and police which I’m pretty sure they are involved . See social media gives to many people to stick there nose where it don’t belong. I get the whole idea of expressing your opinion and the whole right to free speech but cmon already with the people on here demanding they release the video. For what reason so the public can decide that doesn’t even make any sense at all it’s just keep making it worse for the school. And some of the comments on here makes you really wonder if there is any common sense left in this world I mean my god already.
Elaine Giliberti Brueckmann well if they can’t prove this hasn’t happened on multiple occasions then business will suffer. If it wasn’t a big deal then a released video would show it was a non event and business would be fine. This article went viral and it’s up to them to show the public who are their customers if they don’t want a black mark on the business. Jesus people why jump on the offensive when some people are trying to make a point
Elaine Giliberti Brueckmann, I have read exactly what the parent who witnessed it said and what the school said to her. Have you read that post?? So I’m not going by he said she said I’m going by the person who witnessed it.
Yup. Sad
Melissa Gabriel Joyner guilty till proven innocent huh? What a horible comment to make.
Melissa Gabriel Joyner Exactly you are reading what was said! You are believing everything that was written here . If you were there and heard it that would be a whole other story! So this is all hear say. You are condemning the school before you know ALL the facts when it’s not your business in the first place!!?♀️
In response…I myself, 5 yrs ago witnessed something similar. Notified owner…nothing was done. They had teacher (who stills work there by the way) apologize to me…her exact words, “Her temper got the best of her”. THAT’S IT!! Who knows if they even notified the parent??? HOW’S THAT FOR HEAR SAY???
Maureen Barte
They have cameras in all the rooms !!!!
Tess Theresa Holzman Perlman, is it a live feed or is it being taped?!?! Years ago it was only a live feed, so if no one was watching it there was no record of anything.
Melissa Gabriel Joyner Oh… I do not know. Seems silly to have cameras then not have them record or be manned.
Everything is recorded 24/7. The tape was pulled and it’s being investigated.
Tracey Wills Damiano, thank you for the clarification
Christina Alison
This place was gross looked at it for my kids
Loren Marie
this is why so many new parents are scared to put their child in a place where they are suppose to have people TAKING CARE of their children. not saying anything about this particular school, but in general. parents want the best for their kids & even when they send em to a “great” school, shit like this happens.
Alex Marie omg
They should release the video
Exactly. They said the slap wasn’t that severe, well release the video and let people judge for themselves.
Sergio Sosa actually they should keep the video private between the school and the parents it’s not up to the public to determine the outcome of the incident the school has been humiliated enough because of this women.
Patrick Brennan yup
Christina Aquino Costello Jenn L Mac Oisdealbhaigh
They did fire her Erin McLaughlin
Ky Leigh good!
So here is a fact…the place had violations from state inspections stemming from Oct. 2018 to include not providing orientation training for all staff: which covers discipline policy, also violations for not ensuring that (CARI) Child Abuse Record Information checks were completed as required for all regularly scheduled staff for the center’s license renewal…not an opinion, it’s public record at New Jersey Department of Children and Families, Office of License Renewal…look it up. There were plenty more violations on the list
Ronelle Favocci
What’s this Linda’s last name?
Adriana Heins Why do you need this information?
Tracey Wills Damiano why not?
How about ” it’s none of your damn business” for starters!
Tracey Wills Damiano LMAO you must be friends with ” Linda… ” your talkin shit to the wrong fuckin person lady trust me… don’t hide behind a phone and be a tough guy… how about my comment is none of YOUR damn business.
This place was and is an awesome establishment since the 80s n 90s,please don’t let one new millennial piece of shit aide make this place look bad.
Ashley Wilkinson-Tardibuono
Rachel Marie I know
Ashley Wilkinson-Tardibuono so crazy.
Rachel Marie its scary
Ashley Wilkinson-Tardibuono it really is
Jessica Adams Sarama
I may not agree with what this ONE teacher did to this child, but to all of you that are making up unnecessary stories /drama to create so much noise is totally uncalled for. Do you people realize that you are affecting many people’s lives that depend on whether it being their job, child placement so the parent can work not to mention the the reputation of the school and owner. The teacher that abused this child should be punished for her actions not everyone else. Stop spreading unnecessary lies and drama! It’s in the laws hands now not yours!
Tracey Wills Damiano how do you know others are lying? You’re just assuming. This place has had bad reviews online for years.
Tracey Wills Damiano it’s just gonna keep getting worse you have people on here talking about Atrocities they seen going on in the infant room years ago and now they want to speak up and say something about it you’re exactly right .
Roger Bacon Yep, I knew that was going to happen. I called it earlier.
Tara Nadler no establishment has perfect reviews! SMDH…. My son went to this school for 4 yrs and not once did I nor my son have anything bad to say. And in these reviews you speak of you will not find any abuse going on up until now.
Do you have proof everyone else is lying saying they saw stuff??? I guarantee you don’t and have NO way to prove what anyone else is saying is not true.
Patrick Brennan I’m referring the rumors I’ve read. For example: the school does not do background or drug tests on their employees. The other was that the school does not record from their cameras. Shall I go on Tara Nadler and Patrick Brennan? Smh…
All these places have cameras and site director should be held accountable also.
The apple doesnt fall far from the tree.
Patrick Brennan do YOU have proof they are telling the truth? NO stfu
Bob Shields stfu right back atcha. Do you have proof they’re lying? NO so ?
Tracey Wills Damiano no place of business has perfect reviews? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard ? and now that you’ve been called out you’re changing your story.. “well I’m only referring to xyz stories” gtfoh. I’m referring to children being left in dirty diapers, a child walked away from teachers in the parking lot, a child was almost hit by a car because of the teachers negligence. Shall I go on?
Tracey Wills Damiano they do backround, fingerprints, and drug tests.
Thomasina Cimirro Moody I know they do. I am referring to the lies people are spreading about this place. These people I call internet TROLLS.
Tracey Wills Damiano in all seriousness.. how do you know they’re lying?
Tara Nadler Because my son went to this school. People are claiming that the school does not record anything nor do they do background checks or drug tests are just a few of the lies I’ve read already. People are so quick to pass judgement without getting all the facts. And now I’m reading that no criminal action has even taken place so you tell me.
Wow fuck that
Brittany Nichole
Tiffany Pinho
And this is why my child will never ever go to daycare! Ever!
Laura Cunningham
Danielle Russo good! My kids don’t go here. They go to Westminster. But this is my biggest fear. We trust these people with our little ones that barely have words
Laura Cunningham i know you posted
about this. thankfully she was fired
Danielle Russo yea! I’m so glad. Hopefully she won’t work with kids anymore
Ashley Singer she was fired
Please Note:
At the request of one of the directors at the Hillcrest Academy in Bayville; we’d like to make this statement.
Hillcrest Academy in Bayville has NO relation to the Hilltop Nursery School in question for this article.
https://www.facebook.com/HillcrestEducation/
Hillcrest Academy is amazing!
Krystal L Boyer second!
Loren Marie
Im
Sorry but i think the owner knew about it. And if she didnt well that means she wasnt a good owner and she wasnt there enough.
That placed is screwed now cause supposedly went on with more then one teacher throughout the years
If i knew someone touched my kid or any child that my child attended someone be getting a personal ass beaten! And the owner not firing her just goes to show what type of person they are as well!
Tiffany Pinho no need to investigate? Just fire??? Guilty till proven innocent huh?
Bob Shields hmm. Well im pretty sure no one is sick minded enough to make up a bullshit story about someone smacking a kid i mean really.
So your calling the mother a liar!?
Police made a statement that the video Does Not Show the child being slapped…struck.
That’s the problem with the internet. Guilty immediately.
Mike Salimbene disgusting isn’t it.
It’s a shame. They are a hard working bunch of people. They dont deserve this.
So if the video does not show the child being hit, then why was she fired if nothing happened at all?
Maybe he needed it
Wow they just said on the news the teacher will not be charged but she did get fired!
Ro Dixon
Should be put in jail
Gina Aguirre
If anyone is looking into a place for their children to go to, an accredited preschool program or nursery school is your best bet. An accredited program is held to a much higher standard. The have many inspections, teachers are to be continually learning. Make sure anyone who comes into contact with your child undergoes random drug testing. Ask around. Can you walk in and observe your child’s class from a two way mirror or window? How does your child react to being there? Yes, all children go through seperation anxiety but it should not be a constant. Do you research. Any complaints with dyfs. You are your child’s advocate. If your not comfortable, RUN.
The police reviewed the video, the state reviewed the video….. The school IMMEDIATELY TOOK ACTION AND REMOVED THE TEACHER. Stop trying to destroy the school. The incident has been handled. That school has been around a very long time. Generations of kids have attended there. You people are messing with the lifelong careers of people that cared for my kids for years and I love them. Trying to destroy the school, before any LEGAL determination is made, is wrong. Let them investigate, see the actual footage and make a determination. You people trying to destroy them….you make me sick.
Not surprised. Very sad that Hilltop is being dragged through the mud and people are being hurt by all this mess.
Worse place ever.
That’s what cameras are for
5 years ago this place got caught abusing a friend of mines child and nothing happened…crazyy!!