Principal, teaching assistant suspended after allegations of child abuse at Sedge Garden pre-K program, WS/FCS says

Yahoo

18-03-2025

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — A pre-k program run by Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools must answer to the state after allegations of child mistreatment.
According to a statement released by the school district, 'The NC Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) has issued a special provisional license to WS/FCS for the Sedge Garden Pre-K Program for six months due to failure to meet childcare facility requirements.
'WS/FCS will ensure it meets all the requirements in the state's corrective action plan. The district has already taken steps to ensure an appropriate environment for Pre-K students, including addressing personnel issues and retraining staff. WS/FCS is also cooperating with law enforcement on this matter.'
The case is linked to a teaching assistant who has been accused of mistreating students. The teaching assistant was suspended without pay and removed from the classroom in late November 2024 when the allegations came to light.
'She was temporarily serving as a long-term substitute at Sedge Garden at the time of her suspension,' the school district said.
The principal of Sedge Garden Elementary, Angela Reeves, has also been suspended with pay while the school district investigates.
According to a letter dated March 14, 2025, during nap time, the staff member, who has not been criminally charged, 'forcefully restrained a child, grabbed and lifted a child by the arm, kicked a child, yelled and spoke harshly to children, covered and wrapped a child's head with a blanket and pushed the head down with her foot.'
NCDHHS said that Reeves was aware of this behavior, did not report it and 'did not take steps to ensure the safety of children.'
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NCDHHS visited on Dec. 3 after being made aware of the allegations against the teaching assistant and visited again on Jan. 16, 2025, stating that 'all staff members for the licensed Pre-K program did not have signed acknowledgments of the facility's discipline policy on file, a violation of Child Care Rule 10A NCAC 09 .0514(g) regarding operational and personnel policies. In addition, staff members failed to complete incident reports on multiple occasions when children received injuries, a violation of Child Care Rule 10A NCAC 09 .0802(e) regarding emergency medical care.'
Ultimately, NCDHHS 'confirmed sufficient information to determine child maltreatment. Under North Carolina General Statute § 110-105.6, child maltreatment occurring in a child care facility is a violation of North Carolina licensure standards and licensure laws.'
The accused teaching assistant is now disqualified by the Division of Child Development and Early Education. She 'may not be employed by or seek to be employed by a child care facility, own or operate or seek to own or operate a child care facility, be a member of the household of a family child care home or center located in a residence, be present in a child care facility when children are in care or participate in a subsidized child care program.'
'We are committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all children. We do not condone the use of physical force against our students. The behavior described in the complaint goes against our policies, standards, and values as a district, and is contrary to the very clear expectations we have for our staff,' said Superintendent Tricia McManus in a release provided by the school. 'We are grateful to those who reported the issues in this case.'
Additionally, the NCDHHS has paid several subsequent visits to the facility since these complaints.
On March 4, they visited the facility to follow up on a self-reported complaint after a child escaped from a pre-K classroom and was in an unfenced play area by themself for an undetermined amount of time.
According to paperwork, school administrators said there was a 'glitch' with their cameras, causing footage to jump in time for around an hour, so they were unable to see when the child escaped their classroom.
A teacher and assistant principal went out to get the child, who was playing basketball alone wearing only one shoe. The teacher stayed with the child while the assistant principal looked for the child's teachers in the pre-K classroom. The child's teachers reportedly had not realized that the child was missing.
A teacher and substitute both said that the child had previously tried to leave the classroom and that they had thwarted those previous attempts. They described this particular day as 'chaotic.'
'Ms. Reeves stated that, at the end of the day when the child was picked up, she and the preschool teacher met with the child's parent to discuss the incident that occurred that day. Ms. Reeves stated that the parent appeared fine and did not have any additional comments or concerns about the incident,' the document said.
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