|
On April 22, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that: On April 21, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., a teacher at All Aboard Learning Center, Bria Graddy, was seen by two individuals at the Headstart next to the daycare yelling at Child A (age 3-years-old) and pulling them by the arm. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Michelle Honea has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)7 which states: "Physical punishment including, but not limited to, spanking, slapping, shaking, biting, or pulling hair shall be prohibited."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)8 which states: "No discipline technique which is humiliating, threatening, or frightening to children shall be used. Children shall not be shamed, ridiculed, or spoken to harshly, abusively, or with profanity."
On April 23, 2026, Compliance Inspector (CI) Michelle Honea conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and interviewed director Teresa Switzer. Teresa reviewed the video footage and on April 21, 2026, saw that Bria yelled at Child A and grabbed Child A by the shoulders. She turned him around and as she did that, Child A threw himself forward at the same time, so it looked like Bria pushed Child A, and Child A fell to the ground. Bria then was pulling his arm while he was walking behind her to get him into the building. Bria is no longer at the facility and resigned. She held a staff meeting today on April 23, 2026 discussing stress levels and ways to handle it appropriately. Child A is still enrolled at the daycare.
While on premises CI Honea was able to interview Parent A and Parent B (parents of Child A), who stated that they don't want CI Honea to talk with Child A and traumatize him again. They should have been told earlier that day, and they should not have found out on Facebook. They had a meeting yesterday on April 22, 2026 and feel things have been handled appropriately at this time. There are no further concerns with the daycare.
On April 23, 2026, CI Honea observed view footage from April 21, 2026, at 10:34 a.m., which showed teacher Bria Graddy walking out towards Child A, grabbing Child A by the shoulders and turning him around, Child A pulling forward falling on the ground, and teacher Bria helping Child A up and pushing Child A towards the building. The video then shows teacher Bria holding onto Child A's arm and walking in front of him pulling him behind her towards the building. Child A's feet were on the ground and he was walking.
On May 6, 2026, Compliance Inspector (CI) Michelle Honea conducted a phone interview with Headstart (the building next door to All Aboard), teacher Laura Mueller who stated that she heard teacher Bria Graddy yelling and looked over and saw teacher Bria shove Child A aggressively. She talked to Director Teresa Switzer about the incident.
On May 6, 2026, CI Honea attempted to call teacher Bria Graddy, but no contact was made. A message was left for a return call.
On May 6, 2026, CI Honea conducted a phone interview with Kim Gossage who stated that she heard the teacher yelling at Child A when she dropped her child off at the school behind the daycare. She did not feel it was appropriate and drove over to the daycare and reported the incident to the director.
|