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CHARLOTTE, NC — A four-month-old baby dies inside a Charlotte daycare.
Nearly a year after the death, two former employees are charged with neglect, and the school is being sanctioned by the state.
“I’ve never had a complaint. I’ve never had a problem. I’ve never noticed anything wrong,” says Donnie Reid, who children attend Chesterbrook Academy.
Reid is like many parents with children at Chesterbrook, shocked to hear about the arrests of two former employees, and the death of a baby at the school last June.
Homicide detectives charged Stephanie Johnson Thursday with four counts of neglecting a juvenile. Shanita Wright is charged with three counts.
“I don’t know what their certification process is,” says Reid. “And maybe that’s something that needs to be evaluated as well, just to make sure the teachers aren’t really there for a check, and that they’re inspired to do what it is that they’re doing.”
The medical examiner says Johnson and Wright’s behavior did not play a role in the infant’s death. But the investigation found three other victims.
A state Department of Social Services report says the two women handled infants in a rough manner, and slept on the job while failing to supervise infants, along with several other charges.
The state is taking action against the company that operates Chesterbrook Academy, Nobel Education Dynamics, Inc., putting their license on probation under a Corrective Action Plan.
“It obviously concerns me,” says Chesterbrook Academy mother. “That problem can be in any facility. I have my almost three-year-old in there, and I have no issues bringing her there. I have full trust in that facility. She loves it. We love it as parents. I have no problems whatsoever.”
Chesterbrook Academy tells WCCB: “The safety and well-being of our children are our highest priorities, and we take very seriously our obligation to comply with all childcare licensing regulations…”
The state sanctions for Chesterbrook Academy continue through November. Any lack of compliance by the school could lead to a revoked license.
