By Kolby LaMarche

ONE Arts Community School at the Sara Holbrook Community Center on North Avenue has voluntarily closed its doors, adding even more pressure to the city’s already tight childcare market just weeks after the permanent shutdown of Frog & Toad Child Care and Learning Center.

The program suspended operations last week following a state licensing review triggered by an incident reported in early May. 

The Department for Children and Families Child Development Division is investigating, and the center is operating under provisional status while staff complete required corrective actions. No allegations of abuse have been made in connection with ONE Arts.

Co-President Becca McHale said in a statement that the organization is taking the findings seriously. “The safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is our highest priority, and we are committed to doing the work required to meet every licensing expectation when we reopen.”

State officials anticipate licensing actions this week, with more details to follow. The earliest potential reopening date is Tuesday, May 26, pending verification that all issues have been resolved. 

Families have been notified, and the center is assisting staff with unemployment support through the Vermont Department of Labor. Many families, however, are reeling through familiar emotions as many children who attended Frog and Toad went to ONE and, now, are left without a space. 

ONE Arts took over operations at the Sara Holbrook Community Center last year and has positioned itself as a community-focused provider blending arts-integrated learning with standard early education programming. It also recently added capacity to help absorb those families displaced by the Frog & Toad closure.

Last month, Frog & Toad Child Care and Learning Center in Burlington’s New North End permanently closed after more than two decades in operation. Owner Tiffany Corbett notified families in mid-to-late March that the location at the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center on Gosse Court would shut down effective immediately. The Essex site remains open.

The decision followed a DCF investigation and a parallel criminal probe by the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations. 

A nine-page DCF summary outlined serious violations involving a longtime male staff member in the toddler classroom. Reports included use of inappropriate physical force, kicking and striking children, throwing a child into a snowbank, and improper restraint. Some staff allegedly failed to report incidents, and the director reportedly declined to answer certain questions during the investigation.

Gary Pasquale III, connected to the case, has faced multiple counts of child cruelty and pleaded not guilty. Investigations into the allegations continue.

Corbett had purchased the program in 2005 and maintained a long presence in local early education. The Burlington site served about 33 licensed spots inside city-owned space under a lease that ran through 2027.

The back-to-back disruptions are ongoing vulnerabilities in Vermont’s childcare system – a system that, despite new funding, is seeing problems in regulatory compliance. And the impact on families is even greater. 

A short-term closure at ONE Arts creates immediate challenges for working parents in service, education, and healthcare roles with rigid schedules. Currently, Burlington hosts roughly 20 childcare centers, serving a population of kids totaling about 1,300. 

Statewide, too, Vermont continues to struggle with capacity. Advocates have called for even higher funding, higher provider wages, and stronger oversight to prevent small issues from escalating. 

DCF officials emphasize that while most programs operate safely, cases like these prompt reviews of training, reporting protocols, and response procedures.

BDN will update readers when records relating to the ONE closure are released.