Officials have taken serious administrative action against Sedge Garden Elementary School following an investigation into allegations about a former staff member.
According to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, available information led to the decision to issue Sedge Garden Elementary School a special provisional license.
“Based on information obtained by Division consultants, the following was determined,” a statement from the agency asserted. “On multiple occasions during naptime, Teresa Hazlett, staff member, 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.”
Furthermore, officials alleged that Principal Angela Reeves “was aware of actions by Ms. Hazlett, and did not report those actions to investigating authorities as required … and did not take steps to ensure the safety of children.”
Reeves has reportedly been suspended with pay as an investigation continues.
The statement went on to reference a January 16 visit by authorities during which “all staff members for the licensed Pre-K program did not have acknowledgements of the facility’s discipline policy on file … [and] staff members failed to complete incident reports on multiple occasions when children received injuries.”
After finding “sufficient information to determine child maltreatment,” the Division of Child Development and Early Education revoked Hazlett’s qualifications.
“As a result, Ms. Hazlett 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 locally in a residence, be present in a child care facility when children are in care or participate in a subsidized child care program,” the agency concluded.
Click here for the full documentation provided by NC DHHS.
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