Gossip is an absolute culture killer in any childcare center. If left unchecked, it destroys the foundational trust between your staff and inevitably causes your best teachers to walk out the door. The absolute worst way to handle breakroom gossip is by sending a passive-aggressive, center-wide email reminding everyone to "be professional."
You must address the toxicity directly and privately. Pull the specific offenders into your office one at a time. Do not ask them to explain the rumor — simply state that discussing other staff members negatively is a direct violation of your center's core values and will be treated as a formal performance issue going forward. Document the conversation. Reclaim the breakroom by keeping all administrative venting out of it entirely and enforcing the no-work-talk rule consistently. A culture of gossip does not survive direct, calm, consistent leadership. It only thrives in the vacuum created by avoidance.