Three families have sued Starboard Academy, a Plymouth pre-school, alleging a teacher traumatized toddlers in her care by yelling at them and physically forcing them onto cots during nap time if they weren’t asleep.
The owner of the for-profit company was informed of at least one troubling incident and covered it up, the plaintiffs charge.
The unidentified families, one from Plymouth and two from Kingston, charge that Starboard teacher – who no longer works there – engaged in “abusive and neglectful misconduct” toward a toddler in her care.
The teacher, Jessica Taylor, was heard telling children at naptime to “lay the f— down,” the parents alleged, citing a report from another teacher at the school. Children were often left in tears, the parents allege.
Neither the school’s owner, Tonya Stump, nor a lawyer for the school, responded to requests for comment. Stump has denied knowing about any alleged abuse or neglect of children.
The lawyer has not yet responded to the three complaints, which were filed against the school, Stump, and Taylor.
Taylor hung up when called by a reporter for comment.
Her LinkedIn profile says she has a long history of working with children, starting at age 15 when she was a neighborhood babysitter. She more recently worked with children with “extreme emotional and behavioral issues,” the profile says.
The lawsuits were filed in September — a few months after the state Department of Early Education and Care, which oversees 9,000 programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, issued a scathing report on the school and Taylor’s alleged misconduct.
The agency launched an investigation in April after a teacher reported seeing Taylor pick up a toddler lying awake on a nap cot and slamming the child down face first. The child let out a huge screech and began to cry, the witness told investigators. Taylor allegedly shoved the child’s head into the cot, “shaking (the child) in an aggressive manner,” the teacher said.
The teacher told investigators she was in tears when she reported the incident to Stump, who seemed to “brush it off” and chalk it up to the fact that Taylor was pregnant, the lawsuits allege.
Stump denied to investigators that she was told of the misconduct when it allegedly happened.
“I was told a generalization,” she said.
Another school official called Taylor “very nurturing, positive, and patient teacher who follows our company policies and procedures.”
Lawyers for the families sent a demand letter in July requesting Starboard pay unspecified damages. Otherwise, it said, they would file suit in court.
In the school’s response, a lawyer rejected the demand, denied any wrongdoing, and suggested the parents were trying to “exploit the (state) report for profit and gain.”
The families who are suing were not involved in the April 2 incident. But at some point, their children were all in Taylor’s classroom.
The details are slightly different, but in each case the parents allege their young children were terrified to be around Taylor. Neither the parents nor the children are identified in the lawsuits. All the children have since left the school.
A Kingston family alleged Taylor intimidated their child by yelling and using profanity — “shut the f-up,” their lawsuit alleges.
The child began to exhibit “extremely concerning behavioral issues” and would “freeze when entering the classroom,” the lawsuit alleges.
In March, the child started to experience “extreme terrors” and would “jump, be in hysterics and have an increased heart rate connected to routine events,” the suit charges.
Another child, from Plymouth, who was intermittently in Taylor’s classroom, “showed increased distress” when dropped off at her classroom, a second lawsuit said. The child would “cry and be physically unwell,” in Taylor’s presence.
A third child, from Kingston, experienced night terrors and didn’t want to have his diaper changed, the parents allege. The child refused to go to Taylor at drop off, “oftentimes screaming” as the parents tried to hand the child to Taylor, their suit charges.
Once the children left the program, the suits allege, the troubling behavior improved or stopped entirely.
In its 13-page report issued on May 20, EEC investigators found the school failed to comply with 11 state regulations, including one prohibiting abuse or neglect, and another requiring schools to report incidents promptly to parents.
The agency, which found “neglect,” but didn’t specifically cite “abuse,” concluded that Taylor had yelled at children and on one occasion used profanity.
“EEC regulations strictly prohibit any form of abuse or neglect of children while in care and further mandate that educators be nurturing and responsive to the children in care,” the report said.
Investigators found school leaders allowed Taylor to continue working after the April 2 incident even though state law requires that a worker be removed from interacting with children pending an investigation.
They also found that the parents of the child involved in the April 2 incident were not immediately notified nor was the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, which requires educators to report all incidents of alleged abuse or neglect.
One official, identified as the regional director of the four schools owned by Stump, told investigators: “To the best of my knowledge…we have never gone through something like this within our program.”
The investigators interviewed several teachers who said they had concerns about Taylor’s rough handling of toddlers ranging age from one to almost three years old, according to an employee.
One said she saw Taylor “ripping” a toy out of a child’s hands with such force the child cried and seemed afraid,” another teacher told investigators.
But the teachers didn’t speak up — they were too scared, they told state investigators.
“All educators interviewed in person and by phone reported concerns about being retaliated against by the licensees, who were said to be demeaning and unsupportive,” the report said.
State investigators interviewed Taylor, who said she had “no idea” why she was being questioned. She denied being physically aggressive with children. “I have a loud voice,” she said.
Lawyers for the families, Matt Fogelman, Jeffrey Simons, and Jillian Dahrooge of Fogelman Law, declined comment, except to say that they “look forward to pursuing these cases on behalf of the children and their families.”
They didn’t allow their clients to speak to a reporter.
On the school’s website, Stump describes Starboard Academy as providing “the ultimate quality of care to our millennial families.”
Located on Industrial Park Road, the school is licensed for 161 infants, toddlers, preschool, and school-aged children, with tuition of about $450 a week, according to an employee.
It is one of four schools owned by Stump including two on Cape Cod and one in Marshfield. The Plymouth facility is described on its website as a state of the art 12,000-square-foot facility with indoor and outdoor playgrounds, a garden, library and media room, and art and science studio and an “enchanted dramatic play area.”
Stump works “side by side” with her daughter Sydney, who is described as a co-owner.
“We both have an enormous passion and love for children. We believe quality comes from within the community, which is why we have surrounded ourselves with a leading team of management, teachers and industry professionals,” the website says.
The school’s “experienced degreed teachers give lots of love and attention to build self-confidence and a positive self-image,” the website says.
