WS/FCS leaders meet with Sedge Garden Elementary families to discuss recent state allegations of child mistreatment
By Kara Peters
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KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (WXII) — Sedge Garden Elementary School families had a chance to hear from district leaders about the allegations from the state of child mistreatment within the school’s pre-K program.
The school system did not allow news crews inside of Thursday’s meeting, but parent Ashley Wallace tells WXII there were nearly a hundred parents in attendance.
This meeting comes after two staff members were suspended following reports of alleged child mistreatment within the school’s pre-K program.
Documents from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Service’s Division of Child Development and Early Education revealed a list of violations. They began investigating teaching assistant Teresa Hazlett and Sedge Garden’s pre-K program in early December of last year.
The documents went on to say that the school’s principal, Angela Reeves, was aware of the teaching assistant’s actions, but did not report them as required.
Wallace said tensions were high at the meeting. Many parents had questions about the timeline of these allegations and felt there was a lack of transparency from the school district.
Wallace says while she is disappointed about the incident, she still thinks highly of the faculty and staff at the school.
“There was a lot of talking around. It got pretty heated. A lot of parents are upset, rightfully so,” Wallace said.
“I trust his teacher with his life every day. I trust a lot of these teachers who I’ve known for a long time. And they had no idea. So, the people that knew, don’t blame Sedge Garden as a whole, don’t blame those teachers. They’re suffering just as much as those parents.”
Winston-Salem police are investigating what happened at this school. At this point, no one has been charged with a crime.
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