RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond mother who claimed her 5-year-old daughter was assaulted at Blackwell Preschool said she was satisfied with the decision of the school's principal to step down.
“I’m very relieved and feel a sense of peacefulness with what’s going on right now," Shayla Roberts said.
In a message to families, Blackwell Preschool Principal Dr. Elaine Probst announced she made a "difficult and personal" decision to step away from her position.
Superintendent Jason Kamras, in an email to school board members and obtained by CBS 6, said he had discussions with Probst, and they came to a "mutual decision." Kamras added she'll be reassigned to an administrative role elsewhere in the district.
“What was the terms of her resigning? That’s something I would like to know," Roberts said.
Richmond Public Schools spokesperson Lorena Arias said the district would not comment further on the reasons for Probst's departure.
The move came as the school faced scrutiny after Roberts went public with allegations that her daughter was assaulted in her private area by another student inside a bathroom at the school.
Roberts said the incident happened in January. But after she claimed school administrators did not handle her concerns seriously, she went in front of the Richmond School Board during a public meeting to plead for help and answers.
Fast forward to March, and Roberts said she still hasn't received the answers she's looking for.
"They can't talk about it. They can't answer those questions to me. It's more of personnel. That's basically what I'm getting. I've been getting that since this started," Roberts said.
Roberts has questioned whether staff followed proper supervision protocols at the time of the incident. She also claimed the principal did not immediately report her allegation to appropriate authorities.
Arias said the answers to those questions are still unclear as they remain part of RPS' ongoing internal investigation.
However, in an email dated March 7 and obtained by CBS 6, Probst said that she "immediately contacted Safety and Security and Richmond Police Department within the first 15 minutes of Ms. Roberts sharing what happened to her daughter."
While Arias said the district has been communicating information with the parents of the two children involved in the incident, other parents at the school, including Karma Morrison, said the wider school community should be looped in.
“We are steadfast on accountability. We think that the school system needs to make it outright and plain, what were the breakdowns that happened?” Morrison said.
The interim principal has been identified as Linda Wood, Associate Director for Early Childhood Education. The school will hold a community meeting on March 29 at 6 p.m. for parents to ask questions about the transition.
Roberts said she'll be in attendance.
“What are their steps of this not happening again to another child? And if it was to happen, I want to make sure that they are taking the necessary steps and maybe a parent wouldn't have to be in this situation that I'm in right now," Roberts said.
She said her daughter has since transferred to a different preschool but is still afraid of using the bathroom.
"My life has changed as far as me going to counseling, my daughter going to counseling. That's just like a lot, too much," Roberts said.
Richmond Police provided the following statement about the incident:
"Upon conclusion of the investigation, the Commonwealth Attorney’s office reviewed the Blackwell Preschool investigation. No criminal charges were filed and because this case involves minors we are not providing further information."
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