Former Kidz Academy daycare thriving under new rebrand, despite racism allegations

A daycare formerly known as Kidz Academy has reopened this month as Apple Blossom Academy, and officials say the daycare is thriving.

That's despite allegations of racisim from a previous employee and questions from parents concerned about whether to return after the facility suddenly closed for a short time last month.

The daycare is expected to reach more than 90% capacity by next week, about 10 days after the reopening.

Kidz Academy, the children’s daycare and learning center on South Sycamore Avenue in Sioux Falls, announced its shut down in an email written by owner Amy Stockberger to parents at 8:23 p.m. Feb. 6. This took place one day after former director Olivia Agyeman resigned from the daycare, wielding allegations on social media of racism and a lack of transparency, which she said forced her out of her position.

Agyeman stated the allegations in a Facebook post Feb. 7, but she declined to speak with the Argus Leader, saying she had already said everything she had to say in her “official statement” online.

Stockberger declined to answer questions from the Argus Leader about Agyeman's allegations when reached out to on Feb. 22, saying she hadn't heard of any and redirecting the questions to her attorney Derek Nelsen. She instead focused on the then ongoing rebrand and reorganization of the daycare, which was going on in the background since the daycare's closure.

Nelsen, who is part of the Fuller, Williamson, Nelsen & Preheim law firm, did not respond to multiple requests for a comment from the Argus Leader about the allegations.

As of March 15, the daycare is back to its full functioning with its new brand name and staff who were brought in from Apple Tree East, another Sioux Falls daycare that announced its closure toward the end of last year. After staffing shortages, inflation impacts and occupancy costs, which led to financial losses too large to sustain, Apple Tree shut down, according to prior Argus Leader reporting.

Apple Blossom is set to reach 92.6% capacity by next week, with 117 children and 91 families to be enrolled with the daycare by then, according to the current director Lisa Carson. Carson, who was the director at Apple Tree East for the last six years and an employee there for a year prior, said the daycare currently has 33 employees including herself, all of whom are a mix of former Apple Tree East and Apple Tree North facilities.

How did Kidz Academy get here?

Events of the daycare’s closure began when former director Agyeman announced her departure from the institution at 1:10 a.m. Feb. 6. Agyeman posted an email from her, addressed to the owners, on Facebook as her "official statement" 6:30 p.m. the next day.

The center's sudden closure left about 45 to 50 families in the lurch about what to do next as parents questioned the owners and management, in the midst of an ongoing childcare crisis in Sioux Falls and the rest of the state.

According to a June 2023 report from Sioux Falls Thrive and the Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative, 64% of childcare centers in the city were unable to enroll children to their licensed capacity due to staffing shortages with 12,260 total licensed slots for childcare. The study also showed that the mean hourly wage for Sioux Falls childcare workers was $12.34 an hour.

What are the allegations Agyeman is wielding against the owners?

Agyeman, who had been the director for the last two and a half years under Stockberger’s ownership and the assistant director under previous owners for 11 years prior, said online that the lack of appreciation for her continued dedication and hard work was the reason for her departure.

But she stated on Facebook there were "lies" the owners were spreading about the situation after her departure, which is why she decided to post her statement in the first place.

Agyeman, in one of the most loaded parts of her statement, wielded allegations of racism toward Stockberger and current owners.

More: Sioux Falls daycare Kidz Academy closes temporarily after mass resignation of staff

“I sincerely feel that it is your preference to get rid of a professional, accomplished, competent African American female employee in order to secure a professional, accomplished Caucasian employee,” read the email addressed to Stockberger which Agyeman shared on Facebook. “Knowing what I know, I would be doing your business a disservice by setting foot in it another day.”

Agyeman said in the weeks leading up to this incident, she had heard rumors from two sets of parents that she was going to be replaced with the then director of Apple Tree East. Her Facebook statement also showcased pictures of individuals, identified by her as the owners and Apple Tree staff members, in her office going through her file cabinets and drawers. The actions were done in her absence and caught on camera, according to her statement online.

What do owners have to say to Agyeman's allegations?

The Argus Leader reached out to Stockberger multiple times since the center's sudden closure and the allegations first surfaced, but she only responded twice. The first time was Feb. 7 after the shutdown was initially announced, and the second was Feb. 22 after a visit to the daycare showcased the visible rebrand process.

Asked about the allegations on Feb. 22, Stockberger deflected the questions by diverting attention to the rebrand, saying how excited parents were about the new changes and improvements to the daycare. According to Stockberger, Agyeman is the one who voluntarily resigned and the daycare is now using this opportunity to rebrand in a way that was always in the company’s future plans.

When pressed to address Agyeman’s allegations about her sudden resignation, especially the allegation about racism, Stockberger said there was more to the story, saying Agyeman’s leadership had led to “certain issues” at the daycare.

Stockberger said they were not able to retain staff members working under Agyeman for too long, and that the positions had to be filled continually in the midst of the childcare crisis in the Sioux Falls area.

However, Stockberger had not spoken about these issues in her first conversation with the Argus Leader. According to her initial statement Feb. 7, she said Agyeman resigned suddenly with no indication to the owners, saying six of the eight staff members under Agyeman’s leadership resigned with her.

However, Agyeman’s statement on Facebook revealed that former Kidz Academy staff members came to work the morning of Feb. 6 to find Apple Tree East staff in the classrooms with the children. This was witnessed and confirmed by a Kidz Academy parent as well.

More: Sioux Falls businessman will keep one Apple Tree childcare location open

What do parents have to say?

Still, with all the changes occurring during the last month, Kidz Academy parents said they’re wondering if they want to continue sending their children to the daycare they said they used to trust implicitly.

Former Kidz Academy parent Erin Stewart, who has since removed her daughter from the program for a different daycare in town, reiterated Agyeman’s statements about the staff members. Stewart said she arrived on Tuesday to find the rest of the Kidz Academy staff gathering their things and leaving the institution, finding that they didn’t seem to fully understand what had happened.

However, Stewart said parents had been informed in an email early Feb. 6 morning about Agyeman’s resignation and was hence expecting to see Apple Tree staff at the daycare that day. Stewart said parents may have been on their way to the daycare when they received that email, and were blindsided by what they saw.

More: Four Sioux Falls childcare centers shutting down early next year

John Thomas, another Kidz Academy parent who had been with the institution for the last five years, said his wife wasn’t expecting to see “total strangers” as new staff members when she walked in that morning to drop off their son. Thomas, like Stewart, said he doesn’t intend to continue sending his son to the new Apple Blossom Academy, because he’s not heard the best things about Apple Tree East and its functioning.

“We don’t want our kids in an environment where we will not know anything that’s going on with (them). Our kids are very smart and will tell us everything,” Thomas said. “And if that’s happening, and nobody is made aware of it, then who else do we turn to? They are supposed to be in charge of our kids.”

Having worked at Kidz Academy for a few months two years back, Thomas drew comparisons to how much Agyeman cared about the kids and how many hours of work she put into the place.

More: Jim Gaffigan to return to Sioux Falls this September for his 2024 BARELY ALIVE TOUR

Stewart reiterated Thomas’ point of how Kidz Academy was their comfort space because of Agyeman, and how that had changed since she left.

“As long as Olivia was there, my husband and I had no concerns sending our children there,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Kidz Academy rebrands, thrives despite allegations of racism