St. George Preschool Academy

R 400.8125 · R 400.8125 Staff: volunteer: requirements. (1) All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

St. George Greek Orthodox Church is the licensee of this child care center. On 03/18/2021, parish council member Katherine Sheiko informed me that Child Care Staff Member 1 (CCSM 1) saw the program director (CCSM 7) take Child A by the back of the shirt and pulled or dragged Child A down the hallway. I requested an incident report from Ms. Sheiko and received it that same evening. The date of 03/11/2021 was listed as the incident date. At that time, CCSM 7 was both the center program director and licensee designee. Ms. Sheiko was the licensee designee as of the report date. Per Ms. Sheiko, this school year, CCSM 7 routinely worked full-time in the developmental kindergarten room with four and five-year-old children. CCSM 7 said she was unable to find a second staff member for the classroom. The room is located across the hall from the office. CCSM 7 typically worked with an assistant. I interviewed Child A's father by phone on 03/22/2021. He said that two CCSMs, who he preferred not to identify, told him that CCSM 7 grabbed Child A by the collar and dragged Child A down the hallway. Child A's father said he did not learn about the incident until approximately 03/15/2021. Child A's father was concerned that CCSM 7's behavior was aggressive enough to compel two staff members to report it to him and that he was not immediately notified about the incident. I interviewed CCSM 7 by phone on 3/23/2021. She said she was placed on leave on or about the morning of 3/17/2021 pending the outcome of an investigation. Members of the church board told her that they had received an allegation that she acted aggressively toward a child but that they did not identify the child or provide any details. She said she assumed the incident may have concerned Child A since 3 she had just notified Child A's parent on or about 03/16/2021 of some scrapes on Child A's forearms and the potential for bruising. The injury occurred when Child A was running around a table in the classroom. Child A fell onto a chair and then dropped to his knees. I asked her if she took Child A by the shirt collar and pulled or dragged him down the hallway as described in the incident report that I had received. CCSM 7 denied grabbing Child A by the collar and said she had no recollection of grabbing any child by their clothing. She said she takes children by the hand, as needed, to redirect them. She said the only time she could imagine grabbing a child's clothing is if they open the door to go outside and start to get ahead of her. In this case she might reach out for them by their clothing for safety reasons. She said she would never hurt a child. CCSM 1 said on 03/11/21 she was standing in the doorway of her classroom and saw CCSM 7 walking alongside Child A and pushing him down the hallway toward the restroom. Child A tends to walk slowly. CCSM 7 held Child A by the back of his shirt with a closed fist in the middle of his back as she pushed him. The first thing CCSM 1 said she noticed was the confused look on Child A's face. CCSM 1 told CCSM 7 to take her hand off him. CCSM 7 told her to mind her own business and walk away and threatened to fire her. During this time, CCSM 7 kept her hand on Child A. CCSM 1 said she continued to watch her from her classroom until she saw CCSM 7 let go of him. CCSM 1 said she did not see any evidence of injury later that day. She said she told Child A's father about the incident but was unsure of the date. She denied seeing CCSM 7 ever hit a child. CCSM 1 has seen her put her hands on children to redirect them and that she has grabbed children by the handle of their backpack to push them forward and out the door. CCSM 2 said she had heard about the recent incident with Child A but has no first- hand knowledge of it. She has seen CCSM 7 pull children by their coat near the shoulder when they are headed outdoors. She said CCSM 7 often left the children unattended in the classroom and would walk across the hall and into the office. CCSM 3 sai

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R 400.8158 · 1 R 400.8158 Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting. (2) A licensee, licensee designee, or program director shall report to the child's parent and the department, directly or via phone, fax, or email, within 24 hours of the occurrence of any of the followina: n • • •:-1T rTT1I• .) i1iiil LiLJ,•• •• • 1 1 - - -- d •r -- :• • •• • - • • • A ; Il •. •r • i f I• •I •••I • • i'

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R 400.8125 · R 400.8125 Staff; volunteer; requirements. (1) All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

Children were not consistently provided appropriate care. Four of the six child care staff members interviewed (CCSM 1, CCSM 2, CCSM 4, and CCSM 5) reported seeing CCSM 7 provide inappropriate care by taking a hold of a child's body part or clothing to redirect him or her.

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