Fort Worth Montessori school failed to care for potty-training child, investigation finds

A state investigation has found that child care staff at a Fort Worth Montessori program failed to properly care for a child after his parents reported he had been left sitting in dirty diapers on multiple occasions, including one instance where the child’s waste was dried inside a pant leg.

But the investigators with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission found that the incidents at the Montessori School on Camp Bowie were not considered neglect.

Jordan and Josiah Lyle, parents of a 3-year-old, filed complaints with the state in April and alleged retaliatory behavior by the program’s administration.

The investigators issued citations to the child care program for failing to meet certain state standards. The issues were resolved during a follow-up visit in May, according to documents obtained by the Star-Telegram through an open records request.

“Based on information obtained during interviews with parents, director, and staff, it was found the staff working in aftercare failed to meet the physical needs of a child who was potty training,” the investigation report reads.

The program’s director, Rachel Parkerson, said in a statement Friday that the school’s top priority is the care and safety of children. She did not comment on specifics in the investigative report.

“The Montessori School on Camp Bowie is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for all of our children. Ensuring the highest standards of care and safety will continue to remain our top priority,” Parkerson said.

The Lyles filed their report with the state April 11 and the investigation was closed April 22, according to Health and Human Services. Investigators visited the school unannounced April 15 and cited the program for failing to implement prompt diaper-changing steps, documents show. Investigators “strongly recommended” the school establish a policy where a daily log be kept of children who are potty training that lists times when there were successful restroom trips and accidents. The log would be supplied to the parent at the end of each day.

The Lyles stated they received only a few daily logs when working through potty training at the school but had stopped receiving them.

The program was also cited for lacking a qualified caregiver who was in charge when the director was absent during the April 15 inspection. Another citation stated the director failed to meet the responsibility of making sure employees complied with state standards.

“The director has failed to ensure that staff are meeting children’s needs with regard to potty training practices,” according to the report.

A second unannounced inspection May 1, following up on the first, found that the initial citations had been fixed.

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Administrators with the Montessori School on Camp Bowie had the option to request a review of the state findings within 15 days if they disagreed with them, but it’s unclear if the findings have been formally challenged.

Jordan Lyle told the Star-Telegram on Friday she considered the state report to be thorough.

“They did find reason that he was not properly cared for and other concerns. And I think for us, it’s not about building any sort of army or bad mouthing anybody. It was just bringing awareness to the situation,” she said. “The only thing on the report that we were really just disappointed in was the language and lack of concern that was documented from those that were interviewed.”

The program located on Ashland Avenue serves children from 18 months to 6 years, according to its website. The school utilizes the “Montessori Method” with teachers who are trained and certified by “recognized Montessori institutes,” according to its website. Since 2020, the program has been awarded annually by 76107 Magazine for best child care.

Observations and interviews from investigation

When investigators interviewed teachers and caregivers on April 15, they stated in their report a lack of cooperation from staff when asking questions. One caregiver told investigators she had heard of a diaper issue with a student and stated, “It was always something with that parent.”

“I questioned (the employee) several times to see if they had policy for potty training or documenting and she said, ‘We have discussed it.’ (The employee) was not at all helpful and was very evasive when being asked questions. (The employee) was interacting with the children very well but was very regimented and did not want to cooperate with being questioned,” according to the state report.

The report also said two other caregivers were dismissive of investigators while they attempted to question them on the Lyles’ claims and the school’s policies on diaper changing and potty training.

“The reason for the visit was explained to (one caregiver) and while she was in the process of waking children up from nap and one or two parents were also arriving during this time. (The caregiver) was sending children to the restroom and (another caregiver) was outside the restroom and supervising the children and helping if needed. (The first caregiver) was asked to stop (waking) children up for a minute so that she could be questioned, and (she) continued waking up children and putting the mats away,” the report reads.

The report also notes, “Staff were observed helping children with their pull-up. Each child’s restroom needs were being addressed.”

Parkerson, during her interview with investigators, “looked down at the desk with no emotions and just sat there.” Parkerson told investigators the December incident happened because the boy was not fully potty trained at the time, according to the report.

“During the interview with Parkerson, she made a comment several time(s) about work for the program is getting more (difficult) and (frustrating) due to the owner’s lack of involvement with the daily operation and their lack of putting any funds back into the program to make changes, updates and repairs,” the report states.

After the Star-Telegram published a story about the Lyles’ claims on April 18, multiple parents contacted the newspaper in defense of the Montessori School on Camp Bowie.

Alexis Sparkles Belt, whose 4-year-old daughter is enrolled, described the after-care staff as “fantastic” and “attentive.”

Belt said her child had a positive potty training experience at the school. Staff had her use the restroom every 20 minutes when she was being potty trained, she said, and the administration was communicative about accidents.

“(Her) after-school teachers have been awesome,” Belt said. “Sometimes they’ll have a new one here and there, testing things out because sometimes people want to do different things in life. They’ve all been fantastic and very chill.”