Baltimore County Jewish child care center under state agreement after discipline policy violations

Racquel Bazos, The Baltimore Sun on Jul 2, 2025

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BALTIMORE — A Jewish child care center in Baltimore County that violated state rules on disciplining children, including a ban on hitting them, is now under a state-imposed “compliance agreement” that puts its licensure and accreditation at risk.

Documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun detail violations by employees of Goldsmith Early Childhood Center in Pikesville related to child discipline, prohibition of abuse, neglect and injurious treatment, abuse/neglect reporting, child security, and individualized attention and care regulations. Goldsmith is operated by the Chizuk Amuno Congregation, a Conservative Jewish synagogue that also operates Krieger Schechter Day School.

Specifically, the Maryland State Department of Education’s Office of Child Care received two separate complaints in March about a single incident that occurred in October, according to a compliance agreement The Sun received in a public records request.

The first complaint reported that a teacher hit a child in October 2024 after the child pushed the teacher’s glasses off. The child was uninjured, according to the caller, who stated that the teacher also had their legs wrapped around the child to keep them sitting down.

The second complaint, received two days after the education department’s first inspection of Goldsmith, identified the teacher in the incident as Susan “Sue“ Korman.

The second complaint triggered another inspection. Korman did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

“Korman admitted she restrained a child who was having behavioral issues in October 2024 by sitting in a chair and wrapping her leg around the child,” the document states. “Ms. Korman stated she was aware of the Center’s discipline policy, and that her actions were not a part of it.”

The preschool’s director, Michelle Gold, told the first state complaint investigator she was unaware of a teacher hitting a student. Gold declined to comment for this story and did not respond when asked if Korman still works at Goldsmith.

Now, Goldsmith has agreed to a series of requirements with the state. If it doesn’t comply, its child care center license could be revoked, the document says.

The center’s accreditation with the state likewise won’t be renewed when it expires on Jan. 31, 2026, if it does not correct the compliance issues found during the inspections, according to Raven Hill, a spokesperson for the Maryland State Department of Education.

Gold and all staff must complete review training on the regulations governing the center within 60 days. All staff must also complete training on child discipline within 90 days. The center will request coaching services from the Child Resource Center of Baltimore County, a professional development and consulting company.

Other requirements bind Goldsmith to ensuring that children receive care that complies with the law. Furthermore, Goldsmith is required to allow unannounced monitoring visits from the Office of Child Care.

Gold signed the compliance agreement on June 18. The state agreed to provide any technical assistance, conduct monitoring visits and re-evaluate the terms of the compliance agreement if Goldsmith makes a written request a year after signing.

Maryland EXCELS is a state agency that assigns ratings to child care programs and public pre-kindergartens in the state on a scale of one through five. The rankings use national standards for licensing and compliance, staff qualifications, accreditation and rating scales, developmentally appropriate learning and practice and administrative policies and practices.

Goldsmith’s website lists it has a five, though “The program’s Maryland EXCELS quality rating was lowered to a ‘1’ due to two dates of inspection with noncompliance,” Hill wrote in a June email to The Sun.

In addition to the physical discipline, the first complaint referred to a 2-year-old student sitting under a desk crying in an office area after being sent there as a punishment. Staff also didn’t notify parents that four children had lice, according to the complaint.

That caller reported another incident where a child didn’t let go of a water bottle when instructed, so the teacher made the other children chant “Put your water bottle on the table!” The teacher eventually “reportedly pried the child’s fingers off the water bottle,” the agreement states.

Parents were notified about the isolated lice incident, Gold told the MSDE inspector. The child under the desk chose to go there during classroom rest time, she said. Gold said she was “indirectly aware of the children chanting another child’s name but does not know if the teacher provoked it,” according to the compliance agreement.

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