Seattle · Licensed center
Small Faces Development Center
At a glance
- Large Reggio Emilia center, licensed for 203 children.
- Hours Opens 8 a.m., 9 hours a day, 5 days a week.
- Tuition $2,810 to $2,960 a month, full time; the age it is for isn’t stated. See costs
- Run by a nonprofit. A board oversees it, and there are no owners taking profit.
From their website, read September 2026:
“Small Faces has a well-educated and experienced teaching staff, a low teacher to student ratio (1:6 in our preschool rooms) and continuous training, planning and team meeting time built into the schedule to ensure that our teachers have the support they need to provide the best learning environment for children.”
The state’s rule
Washington sets the most children one adult may care for by age, and the largest group size, in WAC 110-300-0356(5).
Infants (birth through 11 months): one adult for every four.
Toddlers (12 through 29 months): one adult for every seven.
Preschoolers (30 months through 6 years, not in kindergarten): one adult for every ten.
School-age children: one adult for every fifteen.
What to know
The license is the range the state allows. It does not say which ages have openings.
What the state has found
Someone reported concerns to the state, and it found all 4 valid, most recently in September 2026. The state also cited rules at 2 of its 3 licensing inspections since October 2023.
See each inspection and complaint
Complaints the state found valid
Received Apr 14, 2026Valid complaint, 1 rule citedresolved Sep 3, 2026
“Inconsistent guidance toward children in the center and staff favoritism toward children,Concerns related to biased behavior toward children of color”
The state’s description of the complaint
Duty to protect children and report incidentsSerious. Fix within 5 business days. The licensor rechecks within 10.
“This licensor found evidence to support violation of wac 110-300-0475(2) was violated after interviewing staff and management at Small Faces; Staff are mandated reporters, did not report incidents.”
WAC 110-300-0475(2)
Received Oct 25, 2024Valid complaint, 1 rule citedresolved Dec 17, 2024
Supervising childrenShort Term. Fix within 10 business days. Rechecked within 15.
“After interviewing staff members, this licensor A. S. found evidence to support the Small Faces Child Development Center violated WAC 110-300-0345(3).”
WAC 110-300-0345(3)
Received Jan 5, 2024Valid complaintresolved Feb 5, 2024
Received Apr 28, 2023Valid complaintresolved Jul 27, 2023
Of the 210 Seattle-area centers licensed for 116 to 323 children, 98 (47%) have no valid complaint in the last three years; 34 (16%) have three or more, as this center does.
How all 210 similar-size centers compare
Of the 210 Seattle-area centers licensed for 116 to 323 children, how many valid complaints each had in the last three years:
- None47%
- Fewer than 337%
- 3 or more16%This center
Licensing inspections
Apr 29, 20261 citation
Training requirementsSerious. Fix within 5 business days. The licensor rechecks within 10.
“This training is due for all staff hired before 2019: MA hired 1991 RC hired 2018 VE hired 2017 EP hired 2014 SR hired 2018 TS hired 2001”
WAC 110-300-0106(4)
Oct 31, 20241 citation
Emergency preparation and exitingSerious. Fix within 5 business days. The licensor rechecks within 10.
“Some of the rooms have an extra estimated 2ft door are in front of the exit doors that are closed unlocked/locked when children are awake. This blocks one or more of the exit doors during an emergency.”
WAC 110-300-0166(3)(c)
- Oct 24, 2023Nothing cited
The state cited rules at 2 of this center's 3 inspections. Seattle-area centers inspected 3 times split about evenly: about a third had fewer, a third the same, and a third more (364 centers).
How all 364 Seattle-area centers inspected 3 times compare
Of the 364 Seattle-area centers the state inspected 3 times, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- None12%
- 1 of 321%
- 2 of 335%This center
- All 333%
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — Washington DCYF
- Last visit
- May 5, 2026
- On file
- 3 visits since October 2023 — 1 cited nothing · 4 complaint investigations
- Most serious
- Serious —
This licensor found evidence to support violation of wac 110-300-0475(2) was violated after interviewing staff and management at Small Faces; Staff are mandated reporters, did not report incidents.
· May 5, 2026
Washington DCYF publishes each citation in the licensor’s own words, with a risk level.
Apr 2026 Licensing visit 1 finding
Licensing visit · April 29, 2026
WAC 110-300-0106(4) · Serious
This training is due for all staff hired before 2019: MA hired 1991 RC hired 2018 VE hired 2017 EP hired 2014 SR hired 2018 TS hired 2001
Apr 2026 Complaint 2 valid issues
Complaint · Received April 14, 2026 · Resolved September 3, 2026
“Inconsistent guidance toward children in the center and staff favoritism toward children,Concerns related to biased behavior toward children of color”
The state’s description of the complaint
Reported to the state by the program
Serious injury, valid issues and self-report are Washington’s own fields on its complaint listing.
Duty to protect children and report incidents
WAC 110-300-0475(2) · Serious
This licensor found evidence to support violation of wac 110-300-0475(2) was violated after interviewing staff and management at Small Faces; Staff are mandated reporters, did not report incidents.
Oct 2024 Licensing visit 1 finding
Licensing visit · October 31, 2024
Emergency preparation and exiting
WAC 110-300-0166(3)(c) · Serious
Some of the rooms have an extra estimated 2ft door are in front of the exit doors that are closed unlocked/locked when children are awake. This blocks one or more of the exit doors during an emergency.
Oct 2024 Complaint 1 valid issue
Complaint · Received October 25, 2024 · Resolved December 17, 2024
WAC 110-300-0345(3) · Short Term
After interviewing staff members, this licensor A. S. found evidence to support the Small Faces Child Development Center violated WAC 110-300-0345(3).
Jan 2024 Complaint 1 valid issue
Complaint · Received January 5, 2024 · Resolved February 5, 2024
Reported to the state by the program
Serious injury, valid issues and self-report are Washington’s own fields on its complaint listing.
Apr 2023 Complaint 1 valid issue
Complaint · Received April 28, 2023 · Resolved July 27, 2023
Reported to the state by the program
Serious injury, valid issues and self-report are Washington’s own fields on its complaint listing.
Shortlist replaces people’s names in the state’s text with initials. This is done by rule, not by hand, so it can miss a name or shorten a word that isn’t one. The state’s report, linked on each row, has the original.
What it costs
$2,810 to $2,960 a month
Seattle-area comparison hidden until they say which age this price is for.
- Part time
- $1,980 to $2,360 a month
- Application fee
- $100
- Deposit
- $500, not refundable
A day here
- Hours
- Opens 8 a.m., 9 hours a day, 5 days a week
Outdoors, sleep, schedule and one more
- Outdoors
- Hours of outdoor play each day on the center's large playground
- Sleep
- Nap/rest time after lunch
- Schedule
- Full-week and part-week (5, 3 or 2 days per week)
- Closed
- 12 holidays and breaks a year
Dates
Closed Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day, winter break (Dec 22-26), New Year's Day, MLK Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, plus staff preparation closures in late August, October, April and June
How they teach
Reggio Emilia and Creative Curriculum
“the approach to education associated with the schools of Reggio Emilia in Italy”
Who cares for your child
Johnny Otto (Executive Director) since 2004.
22 years · Seattle-area median 13, among 77 that publish
What staff are paid
- On-Call Substitute Teacher
- $23 to $29.25 an hourJob posting, seen October 2026
Policies
- Enrollment
- Waitlist order prioritizes siblings of currently enrolled children, then families with subsidized care, then earliest deposit date
Details
- Phone
- (206) 782-2611
- Address
- 9250 14th Ave NW, Seattle, 98117
- License
- PL-7781
- Quality program
- Early Achievers Level 3
- Established
- 1981
We couldn’t find some information that may matter to your decision: openings and Working Connections subsidy. We can ask the program for you and copy you in.
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.
Children per adult
- Children per adult — Checked September 2026 smallfaces.org
How they teach
- Approach — Checked October 2026 smallfaces.org
Who cares for your child
- Staff smallfaces.org
What it costs
- Monthly tuition, Second price, Application fee, Deposit — Checked September 2026 smallfaces.org
What staff are paid
- On-Call Substitute Teacher — Checked October 2026 smallfaces.org
State record
From Washington DCYF’s published reports, last checked November 3, 2026.
Washington’s four risk levels, highest first: Immediate, Serious, Short Term, Long Term. Deadlines from DCYF procedure PRO 10.1.21.
Ages
A day here
- Outdoors, Sleep — Checked September 2026 smallfaces.org
- Hours — Checked June 2026 smallfaces.org
- Schedule — Checked September 2026 smallfaces.org
- Closed — Checked June 2026 smallfaces.org/…/2025-26-Calendar.pdf
Policies
- Enrollment — Checked August 2026 smallfaces.org
Details
- Phone, Ages on the license — Checked September 2026 findchildcarewa.org
- Website — Checked July 2026 smallfaces.org
- Address, Quality program — Checked June 2026 data.wa.gov
- License — Checked March 2026 data.wa.gov
- Established — Checked September 2026 smallfaces.org
- Who runs it — Checked September 2026 data.seattle.gov
Large means the biggest quarter of Seattle-area’s 855 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 116 to 323 children. Small is 6 to 40; medium is 41 to 115.
The ages on the license are what the state licenses it to care for, which can be wider than the ages it takes.