Celeste Henkel Preschool

Center · Statesville · 1503 Old Mountain Road

What kind of place is this?

Size 36 children licensed Smaller than the middle half of Charlotte centers, where the middle half licenses 50–162. Measured across 598 Charlotte centers, 2026-08-17.

How this compares

North Carolina DCDEE cited something at 3 of the 6 visits below. Across Charlotte centers it cites something at about 57% of visits. Each state decides what gets written up, so this compares Charlotte with Charlotte and never with another state.

Will it fit our family?

Not yet reported: ages served, hours, days / week, schedule, holiday closures.

What will it cost us?

This provider does not publish pricing.

What Shortlist has verified

State quality rating Five Star License
License status Active

State record — North Carolina DCDEE

Last visit
March 18, 2026
On file
6 visits since January 2024 — 3 cited nothing, 3 of those unannounced
Fixed?
All 13 record a correction, in the licensor’s own words.
Most serious
North Carolina DCDEE does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.

North Carolina DCDEE describes every citation in the licensor’s own words and records the correction in that same text — the only one of the six states that publishes whether a violation was fixed. It attaches no rule number and no report document.

Mar 2026 Unannounced visit nothing cited
Oct 2025 Unannounced visit 9 findings

Unannounced visit · October 23, 2025

Application for employment and date of birth was not on file for all staff. A substitute present during today's visit did not have an application for employment and date of birth on file.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 11/5/2025

Child care providers, including the director, uncompensated providers, substitute providers, and volunteers did not have the required Emergency Information Form on file on or before the first day of work, which included all the required information and/or the information on the form was not updated as changes occur and at least annually. A staff member hired on August 29, 2023 did not update the emergency information form annually.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 11/5/2025

All staff did not successfully complete certification in First Aid appropriate to the age of children in care. Verification of staff completion of First Aid training from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. A staff member hired on August 29, 2023, first aid expired on 10/10/25, training was not completed until 10/14/25.

Violation corrected during visit

All staff did not successfully complete certification in CPR training appropriate to the age of the children in care. Verification of staff completion of the CPR course from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. A staff member hired on August 29, 2023, CPR expired on 10/10/25, training was not completed until 10/14/25.

Violation corrected during visit

A child care operator did not notify the Division of any new child care providers, as defined in G.S. 110-90.2(a)(2), who were hired or moved into the child care facility within five business days. The provider roster within ABCMS does not have all employees listed.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 11/5/2025

The trained staff did not review the EPR Plan annually or when information in the plan changed to ensure all information was current. The administrator and NC Pre-K liaison did not have documentation of reviewing the facility's Safe School Risk Management plan annually.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 11/5/2025

Substitutes and volunteers counted in ratio were not informed of the center's EPR Plan and its location. Documentation of this notice was not maintained on file or in a file designated for emergency preparedness and response plan documents. A substitute present during today's visit did not have documentation of reviewing the facility's School Risk Management plan and its location.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 11/5/2025

The child care administrator and all staff did not complete the Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training within 90 days of employment. The administrator has not completed Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 11/5/2025

Staff did not complete the health and safety training within one year of employment. A staff member hired on August 29, 2023 did not have documentation of completing health and safety trainings within on year of employment.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 11/5/2025

DCDEE facility lookup

Apr 2025 Unannounced visit nothing cited
Nov 2024 Unannounced visit nothing cited
May 2024 Unannounced visit 2 findings

Unannounced visit · May 10, 2024

Operator has not scheduled and obtained a fire inspection within 12 months of the previous inspection. Operator did not submit the original approved report to DCDEE within one week of the inspection visit on a form provided by the Division. A fire inspection was completed on 4/8/24, the inspection report was received during today's visit.

Violation corrected during visit

Prior to employment a Criminal Background Check was not completed. Emily Whitaker did not have a criminal background check completed through DCDEE.

Violation corrected during visit

DCDEE facility lookup

Jan 2024 Unannounced visit 2 findings

Unannounced visit · January 8, 2024

Baby bottles were not stored to protect from contamination. In space B121, a child's water cup had a straw that was not properly covered. Children's water bottles were stored collectively in a container on a shelf. Staff had children place their individual water bottles/cups in their cubby during the visit.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 1/22/2024

All staff records, except financial records, were not made available for review. In space B122, a student intern did not have records available for review.

Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 1/22/2024

DCDEE facility lookup

Before you tour

Celeste Henkel Preschool hasn’t published

Cost, hours and late pickup, a typical day, sick and biting policies.

Ask which of these findings were serious.North Carolina DCDEE records the correction in its own words, but never says how serious it was.

Sources and dates

Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.

All checked July 2026.

What kind of place is this

Not yet reported: established, teaching approach.

Licensing and contact

State record

Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.

Do you run Celeste Henkel Preschool? Shortlist has no tuition, hours or ratios for it, because the state does not publish that. Add what is missing. It is free and takes about ten minutes.