HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) cited the Richmond Montessori School for four violations considered “high probability of harm: serious level of harm.”
The VDOE inspection summary, obtained by CBS 6, states the agency started an inspection after a report by a local media outlet.
CBS 6 reporter Jon Burkett was the first to report on video filmed by a dash cam that showed a man rescuing a toddler as the child ran into traffic on Parham Road in Henrico County on November 22.
That man, Tre Waddy, shared the video his camera captured with CBS 6 because he said he was worried that the staff members to whom he returned the child would not say anything to the child’s family.
On November 23, CBS 6 started its own investigation into what happened at the school. On December 3, the state conducted an unannounced school visit.
In the inspection summary, it states the child was a little under two and a half years old, and that two staff members were responsible for supervising the child and six other toddlers. It states the two staff members were unaware that the child was missing from the group for an undetermined amount of time.
It also states the child was already known by the school to explore independently, so nature walks had been limited due to concerns related to this particular child.
The state cited the school for four violations, including not ensuring the child’s care protection and guidance, and not notifying the parent immediately when the child was lost.
Watch: Richmond Montessori School suspends two teachers after toddler runs into Parham Road
The inspection states the child's parents were not told about what happened until the evening of November 23.
That was the evening when CBS 6 first reported on the video that showed the child running into the road.
Todd Reid, the senior communications advisor for the VDOE, said the next step in this process is a review of the school’s license renewal, which is already underway.
The Richmond Montessori School gave CBS 6 the following statement in response to the violations:
The inspection report from the Virginia Department of Education (DOE) supports the findings of the independent third-party investigation Richmond Montessori School initiated after a student separated from his class and entered into traffic on Parham Road last November. We are preparing our plan of correction (POC) response to be submitted to DOE, which will be made publicly available in the required timeframe.
Asked about the findings of the independent third-party investigation, a representative of the school said the following:
First, I want to make it abundantly clear RMS communicated with parents and families as soon as the information about what happened was shared with us, and this will be included in our DOE plan of correction response. Our third-party investigation found failures to adhere to school policies by staff, including reporting failures. The full details of that report are internal. Our plan of correction response will also include the enhanced and ongoing staff training we are conducting to highlight staff responsibilities and expectations. What occurred was a near tragedy that never should have happened. We are fully committed to making sure nothing like this can ever happen again.
RMS previously told us the staff members involved are no longer employed at the school.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
