| Conclusion Summary |
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On October 18, 2023, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that Child A (4-years-old) was left alone on the outdoor play area of The Goddard School for roughly three to four minutes on October 17, 2023. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Patrick O'Malley has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)1., which states the following: "Caregivers shall not leave any child without competent adult supervision."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)3., which states the following: "Caregivers shall provide frequent, direct contact so children are not left unobserved on the premises."
On October 19, 2023, CI O'Malley conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and conducted interviews with teachers Nicole Samel, Natalie Flores, and Olivia Besand. CI O'Malley observed a video of the incident, which occurred on the facility's rear playground. The video shows Child A climbing into a blue tunnel at 5:19:11 p.m. At 5:19:31 p.m., the rest of the class lines up next to the facility's rear door; Ms. Flores is also visible next to the facility's door. The video skips from 5:19:38 p.m. to 5:20:22 p.m. Child A exits the tunnel at 5:20:25 p.m., no one was present on the playground. Child A walks twice around the playground's jungle gym. The video skips from 5:22:58 p.m. to 5:38:49 p.m., no one was present on the playground. The video ends at 5:38:51 p.m.
Ms. Samel stated that she and Ms. Flores were the teachers in the Sharks classroom on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 17, 2023. The class went outside to the rear playground at 4:40 p.m.; a name-to-face check was performed before the class went outside and there were thirteen children present. During name-to-face checks, children were marked present on the Tadpoles application on the classroom iPad and were marked present or absent on the daily attendance sheet in the classroom binder. Ms. Samel was responsible for the binder while the class was outside, and Ms. Flores was responsible for the iPad; four children were picked up while the class was outside. Ms. Samel did not keep up with the binder attendance sheet while the class was outside, but Ms. Flores did update the Tadpoles application. The Tadpole application was glitchy and not always accurate. The class lined up to go back inside at 5:00 p.m. and Ms. Flores performed a name-to-face check using the iPad. Ms. Samel did not verify the name-to-face check using the attendance sheet. Once back in the classroom, Ms. Samel updated the attendance sheet and realized that she had not heard Child A's name called at the name-to-face check, and she did not recall Child A being picked up while the class was outside. Ms. Samel verified that Child A was not in the classroom and headed back out to the playground; Parent A (parent of Child A) was walking down the hallway as Ms. Samel exited the classroom. Ms. Samel explained to Parent A that Child A may have been left outside. Ms. Samel and Parent A proceeded to the playground and found Child A just outside the door. Ms. Samel stated that Child A was alone on the playground for less than four minutes.
Ms. Flores stated that she and Ms. Samel took the Sharks to the outdoor playground at 4:40 p.m. on October 17, 2023. A name-to-face check was performed before the class went outside and there were thirteen children present. Ms. Flores was responsible for the iPad while the class was outside, and Ms. Samel was responsible for the binder; four children were picked up while the class was outside. Ms. Flores updated the Tadpoles application as each child was picked up, but the application was glitchy and not always reliable. The class lined up to go back inside at 5:00 p.m. and Ms. Flores performed a name-to-face check using the Tadpoles application. Ms. Flores counted off eight children's names and the class went outside. After getting back to the classroom, Ms. Samel checked the binder attendance sheet and asked if Child A had been picked up. Child A was not included on the current class roster in Tadpoles, but Ms. Flores did not recall Child A being picked up. Ms. Samel left the classroom to check the playground for Child A. Ms. Samel returned about fifteen minutes later and reported that she and Parent A had found Child A on the playground.
Ms. Besand stated that she was the closing administrator on October 17, 2023. Parent A approached the front desk at 5:15 p.m. and reported that she had found Child A alone on the rear playground. Ms. Samel also reported that Child A was found alone on the playground a few minutes after the Sharks classroom came inside at 5:00 p.m. Ms. Besand affirmed that the Tadpoles application was not always reliable, which was why attendance sheets were also kept for each classroom.
On October 26, 2023, CI O'Malley conducted a phone interview with Parent A, who stated that they arrived at the facility at 5:15 p.m. on October 17, 2023. Child A was not in their classroom and the teacher reported that another teacher was looking for them on the playground. Parent A met the other teacher in the hallway and they both proceeded to the rear playground. Child A was standing across the playground, next to a fence; Parent A called Child A's name and Child A ran to Parent A. Child A reported that they were scared. The teacher reported that Child A was outside by themselves for less than five minutes. Parent A took Child A home and received a call from the facility owner later that evening, apologizing for the incident. Parent A stated that Child A was still enrolled at the facility, but Parent A had requested constant updates.
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