A meeting for parents at the New Jersey school under fire for troubling behavior by teachers and workers, captured on cellphone video obtained exclusively by NBC 4 New York, turned heated at times Friday night.
The owners of the Apple Montessori School in Hoboken scheduled two hour-long meetings for parents after NBC 4 New York's report Wednesday showing cellphone video of an aide aggressively handling a 23-month-old girl.
Hours after the school announced it had fired three teachers and two administrators Thursday in connection to that video, another cellphone video surfaced, showing even more disturbing behavior by another worker at the school. This one showed the teacher grabbing a crying child by her feet and holding onto them while yelling at her, then yanking the small girl around.
Each of the videos was taken in May by different witnesses. The workers in both videos were among the five people fired, according to the school.
The owners of the Apple Montessori schools -- of which there are 17 in New Jersey -- ran the meetings Friday, which were closed to media. An NBC 4 New York producer who was present at the meeting as a parent reported the standing room-only meetings were packed with dozens of parents, and they were contentious and heated at times.
Police officers were posted outside the building while officials inside assured parents that major policy changes are coming.
The owners promised they would install more cameras inside the school, and that parents could access them remotely, according to parents who were at the meeting. They also promised improved communication between the school management, owners and parents.
Parents were also told at the meeting that the State Department of Children Services is investigating.
Michael Russo, a Hoboken councilman and father of a 4-year-old student, said he was satisfied with the way the owners were handling the situation.
"I think they're all trying to figure out what the timeline is, and as that's reported to them and figured out, I think they'll report that to the parents," he said.
"I'm not very happy with the situation at hand, but I'm impressed that ownership is taking action the way they are," he added.
Another mother at the meeting said she is now considering looking at other schools for her children, but is first waiting to see how quickly the school applies the promised changes.
The I-Team learned Thursday that schools like Apple Montessori are not licensed child care centers. They are not subject to strict state regulations that require teachers to meet minimum standards, nor are they subject to laws requiring criminal background checks for all child care workers.
According to the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, the Apple Montessori schools are considered programs operated by private schools run solely for educational purposes. The agency says the school is only required to follow rules set by a board of directors.
"Should they be allowed to police themselves?" asked Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of Advocates for Children of New Jersey which works on state, local and federal levels to implement changes to benefit children in the Garden State. "If a program is licensed they are under the authority of the state DCF. There should be reporting to parents when something happens."
