Highland Charter Head Start

A child care center in Gastonia, North Carolina 28052

324 North Highland Street, Gastonia, North Carolina 28052. (704) 866-9874.

Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. North Carolina’s own record is on ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov.

The short answer

3 violations in the last three years
Mar 232026 the latest visit on record
135 children, its licensed capacity

The last 24 months 3 violations in 2 months of the last 36. Last cited Apr 2025. Every month

Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.

What these words mean5

Inspection (survey): A visit by state inspectors, often unannounced, who check a place against the rules it must meet. For nursing homes and other places Medicare pays, CMS calls these visits surveys: a standard survey of a nursing home comes at least every 15 months, and a complaint survey whenever a complaint calls for one. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 488.308.
Deficiency, citation, violation: What inspectors write up when a place didn’t meet a rule: the rule, what they saw, and when. CMS calls it a deficiency; states may say citation or violation. It is the inspectors’ finding, not a court’s, and the place is usually asked for a plan to correct it. Source: CMS, statement of deficiencies (Form CMS-2567); each state’s licensing agency.
Quality rating: Many states rate child care in a quality rating system that goes past the licensing rules, such as Texas Rising Star or Kentucky All STARS. Taking part is often voluntary, so a program with no rating hasn’t been rated low. Source: Each state’s quality rating system.
Licence status: Whether the state’s licence lets the place operate now, in the state’s own words: licensed, on probation (allowed to keep operating on conditions, after problems), provisional, pending or expired. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.
Capacity: The most people the licence or certification lets the place care for at once: residents, children, beds or apartments, as the state counts them. It isn’t how many are there now. Source: Each state’s licensing agency.

On this record

Who runs it

Child Care Center.
Five Star Center License since Mar 23, 2026.
Licensed capacity: 135 children.
Owner, as North Carolina lists it: Gaston Community Action, Inc..

Licence number 36000540

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations. Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily.

Where it comes from

Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violationsNorth Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), checked Oct 21, 2026

Every source, in full

What did inspectors find?

7 DCDEE visits in the last three years, the latest on Mar 23, 2026.

3 violations cited in the last three years, 3 of them marked corrected.

When those violations happened

3 violations in 2 months of the last 36. Last cited Apr 2025. The last 3 years, to Nov 3, 2026.

3 violations by month over the last 3 years. Each cell is one month.
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2023												Dec
2024	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2025	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2026	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov

Hover or focus a month to read it.

No visit on record Visited, nothing cited A stronger orange is more serious, on its source’s own levels, read onto four bands: from the least serious it publishes to the most

Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.

Each violation, in its source’s words

Grouped by visit, newest first, with the level its source gave it.

Apr 30, 2025: unannounced2 violations

A valid qualification letter was not on file and available to review at the facility.

“One (1) staff member, Lindsey Littlejohn, employed on August 23, 2024, had a qualification letter on file with an expiration date of January 17, 2025. The staff member did not have a current staff qualification letter on file for review from January 17, 2025, through February 09, 2025.”

Rule A valid qualification letter was not on file and available to review at the facility.. Corrected during the inspection.
Prior to the expiration date of the qualification letter, the child care provider did not complete and submit required forms to complete a criminal background check (a qualification letter is valid for a maximum of five years for the date of issuance).

“One (1) staff member, Lindsey Littlejohn, employed on August 23, 2024, had a qualification letter on file with an expiration date of January 17, 2025. A new qualification letter was not received until February 10, 2025.”

Rule Prior to the expiration date of the qualification letter, the child care provider did not complete and submit required forms to complete a criminal background check (a qualification letter is valid for a maximum of five years for the date of issuance).. Corrected during the inspection.

Sep 5, 2024: unannounced1 violation

All corrosive agents, pesticides, bleaches, detergents, cleansers, polishes, any product which is under pressure in an aerosol dispenser, and any substance which may be hazardous to a child if ingested, inhaled, or handled were not stored in a locked room or cabinet.

The inspectors’ words, 211 words
“In space #1, one (1) tube of Colgate Kids Cavity Protection toothpaste, two (2) tubes of Crest Kids Cavity Protection toothpaste, one (1) tube of Aim toothpaste, two (2) aerosol cans of Lysol disinfectant spray, one (1) aerosol can of True Living disinfectant spray, (1) spray bottle of Lysol multi-surface cleaner, and one (1) spray bottle of Value cleaner with bleach were in an unlocked closet and accessible to children. In space #4, two (2) aerosol cans of Walgreens disinfectant spray, one (1) aerosol can of Chase’s Clean Home disinfectant spray, one (1) spray bottle of Power House glass cleaner, one (1) aerosol can of Wizard air freshener, one (1) aerosol can of Homebright disinfectant spray, and one (1) aerosol can of Scrubfree bathroom cleaner were in an unlocked closet and accessible to children with the key in the lock. One (1) gallon jug of Zep neutral pH floor cleaner, one (1) Deb aerosol can of foam hand soap, one (1) spray bottle of Buckeye Eco glass cleaner, one (1) gallon jug of Step germicidal cleaner and deodorant, (1) bottle of Power House glass cleaner wipes, and one (1) Home Store glass and surface cleaner were observed in the unlocked janitorial supply closet located in the hallway and accessible to children.”

Rule All corrosive agents, pesticides, bleaches, detergents, cleansers, polishes, any product which is under pressure in an aerosol dispenser, and any substance which may be hazardous to a child if ingested, inhaled, or handled were not stored in a locked room or cabinet.. Corrected during the inspection.

All 7 visits on record

Visits on record
Date	Visit	What the record says
Mar 23, 2026	Unannounced visit	No violations cited
Oct 14, 2025	Unannounced visit	No violations cited
May 14, 2025	Unannounced visit	No violations cited
May 1, 2025	Announced visit	No violations cited
Apr 30, 2025	Unannounced visit	2 violations cited
Sep 10, 2024	Announced visit	No violations cited
Sep 5, 2024	Unannounced visit	1 violation cited

Is it licensed?

Child Care Center, holding a Five Star Center License since Mar 23, 2026.
Licensed for 135 children, ages 2 through 6.
Not enrolled in North Carolina’s subsidized child care program.
North Carolina’s licence number: 36000540.

Has North Carolina acted against it?

DCDEE says it has taken no action against this facility, for its current licence and location, in the last three years.

Who does the caring?

North Carolina’s page gives a staff-to-child ratio policy as the provider reports it, unverified by DCDEE, so it isn’t shown.

Who owns it?

Owner, as North Carolina lists it: Gaston Community Action, Inc..

How is it rated?

Star Rated License: 5 stars of five.

How does it compare nearby?

Among 83 child care providers in Gaston County, the middle value for violations cited in the last three years was 10; this one had 3.

11 of the 83 in Gaston County, as the source lists them, same ZIP code first
Place	Violations cited in the last three years
Rankin Head Start	10
Kingdomz School of Excellence	23
Rankin II Head Start	8
Ms. Brenda’s Child Care Services	19
Lingerfeldt Elementary Pre-Kindergarten Program	19
Children of Excellence Christian Childcare	0
Precious Moments Childcare Center	17
Webb Street School	21
Chapel Grove Elementary Pre-Kindergarten	6
Tosha’s Tiny Tots	3
Highland Charter Head Start This child care provider	3
4 Kidz Only Inc.	1

What the record doesn’t say

North Carolina doesn’t show a visit summary tied to an open child maltreatment investigation while the case is active, and shows an administrative action only after its 30-day appeal period, without saying what it was.
DCDEE’s descriptions of violations are shown in its own words; a description that names or may name a person isn’t shown. Visit summaries, the consultants’ full reports, aren’t read.
North Carolina’s page lists the provider’s own features (transport, ratios) as furnished by the provider and unverified by DCDEE, so they aren’t shown.

Sources

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), Child Care Facility Search (ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov): licences, DCDEE visits and violations.

Checked Oct 21, 2026. Updated daily. nc.gov terms: copying and distribution for non-commercial use, without alteration, citing the source. Shown free and never sold; DCDEE’s own words are quoted.

If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE). North Carolina’s own record is on ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov. If Hearth Record copied something wrongly, it will fix it and log the correction publicly, with its date: how corrections work.

This copy of the record was made on Nov 3, 2026.

From the provider

The public record above comes first. Anything the provider adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.

Replies

None. Replies aren’t open yet. When they open, the provider will be able to answer any finding for free, and the reply will show beside that finding, unedited and dated.

Paid listing

None. Paid listings aren’t open yet. When they open, anything paid for will say “Paid by the provider”, and paying will never change a finding, a rating or the order of results.