GS110-91 · Violation

Name of Operation: STERLING MONTESSORI ACADEMY Facility ID: 92000707 Consultant: WANDA FOWLER Operation Type: Center Case Number: Visit Date: 11/18/2024 Number Present: 176 Completed Date: 11/18/2024 Age: From 3 To 6 Total Minutes: 165 Time In: 09:30 AM Time Out: 12:15 PM Time In: Time Out: List to Use: Center Type Of Visit: Annual Comp Full Announced/Unannounced: Unannounced The purpose of today’s unannounced visit was to monitor applicable child care requirements during your annual compliance visit. This documentation was reviewed with you and a copy of the visit summary documentation was given to you at the end of the visit. Upon arrival, I was greeted by the center director, Fay Masterson, and we conducted a general walk through of the indoor and outdoor learning environments. I observed groups of children engaged in free play activities in their classroom and on the playground. RATED LICENSE STATUS The program operates with a 1-star rated license issued on 1/1/08. INSPECTIONS The last sanitation inspection was completed on 1/25/24. The last fire inspection was completed 3/7/24. The last documented fire drill was conducted 11//5/24. The last documented lock down or shelter-in-place drill was conducted 10/30/24. The last documented playground inspection was conducted 10/30/24. MONITORING During this visit a full assessment of Child Care Requirements was conducted. The facility was assessed using items noted on the Annual Compliance for Centers checklist. There is currently an Interim Executive Director, Gloria Jones, who is not reflected on the staff and training worksheets. I confirmed today that her qualification letter is valid until 6/9/27. The program does not enroll children under three years of age nor do they provide transportation. Therefore infant and transportation requirements were not assessed. The status of the owner, Laura Holland Uzzell Foundation, Inc. is listed as current and active on the NC Secretary of State’s website. Staff on-going training was assessed from 12/1/23 – 11/30/24. The following violation was observed and recorded during today’s visit: Violation Number Comment Rule 1321 Medical exam or health assessment record was not on file before or within 30 days after admission. A child who began enrollment in August 2024 did not have the physician's health assessment in their file. GS110-91(1) The above violations must be corrected immediately. By 12/2/24 please email me a signed letter of compliance. Before the letter is sent, all violations should be corrected; please contact me if additional time is needed to correct a specific violation. Include the following in your letter: facility ID number, list the item number describing how and when the violations were corrected and tell me how you plan to maintain compliance in the future with each item. If you prefer to mail your letter, you may send it my attention at 2201 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-2201 If the compliance action letter is not received by the due date another visit to the center may be made. COMPLIANCE HISTORY Prior to today’s visit, the compliance history score for the center was 96%. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Children's health assessments, completed by their physician must be in their file within 30 days of enrollment. This document was missing from one child's file today. You stated that it was an oversight and you had emailed the parent requesting that they provide this information. CONSULTATION Child Care facilities are required to test their drinking and cooking water for lead every three years. It was tested on July 24, 2024. For information you should contact Clean Water for Carolina Kids. Contact www.cleanwaterforcarolinakids.org for more information. In addition, child care facilities are now required to test for lead and asbestos hazards in their buildings. The Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids program is designed to identify and eliminate exposure to lead and asbestos hazards in building infrastructure, while providing child care facilities with the support needed to meet all rule requirements. The program is free and the first step is to watch one of the pre-enrollment webinars, which are available at www.cleanwaterforUSkids.org/carolina or paste https://rtiorg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vmlhG6iRS26BdkV8SZSaDw#/registration into your web browser. Additional information can be found in the RaiseNC newsletter sent on December 7, 2023. You stated that you will complete this training. We discussed the proposed Pathway to the Stars and you stated that you would share this information with your board. Please contact me if additional information is needed. We also discussed registering to received notice of upcoming Child Care Commission meetings. I gave you information on how to complete this registration on our website. Training in all the required health and safety topics must be completed at least every 5 years. It may be time for your staff to complete this training again. Health and Safety training is available, at no charge, on the DCDEE website, in Moodle. Medication Administration is also a required health and safety training topic. This training is available through Moodle as a separate training. Staff should use their individual NCID user name and password to access this training. Staff should use their individual NCID user name and password to access this training. Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment must also be completed at least every 5 years. There is a link to this training on Moodle. AGENCY UPDATES Please check the DCDEE website frequently for updates and changes to child care requirements. If you have any further questions or need any assistance, please contact me at wanda.fowler@dhhs.nc.gov or by phone at 919 218-0988. If the operator fails to correct any documented violations within the established time period, the Division of Child Development and Early Education may deny, suspend, terminate, or revoke any permit to operate (10A NCAC 09 .2000). All information in this report has been reviewed with me today.I understand that it is my responsibility to maintaincompliance with applicable NC Child Care Requirements at all times