The North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education in the Department of Health and Human Services has revoked the four-star license issued to Wren and Willow Montessori school in Raleigh. The school serves children under the age of 6.

The state licenses child care providers on a basis of one to five stars, based on quality, safety and educational standards.

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In a letter sent to the school dated Aug. 6, NCDHHS informed the school it was revoking its license saying that an investigation began Jan. 11 into claims the school was violating child care requirements. WRAL News got a copy of the letter through public records request.

The state paid an unannounced visit to the Wren and Willow Montessori school, 5109 Oak Park Drive, in January to investigate allegations. In a report dated Jan. 11, a lead investigations consultant noted that the school had several violations including not complying with safe sleep practices for infants by having an infant in a "swaddle instead of a sleep sack."

Other violations involved co-owner and administrator Wendy Lee placing a tri-fold project board around cribs occupied by sleeping children, which prevented the ability for workers to see and provide immediate assistance to them. The center was also found to be using loud sound machines that reduced the ability of workers to hear the children while they were sleeping.

Another accusation involved cardboard placed over a child's crib.

"On December 13, 2023, the owner placed cardboard on top of a child's crib when the child began crying," the report noted.

The report also noted a May 2023 incident where "staff made a five-year-old child sit in feces-soiled clothing for several hours to teach the child a lesson." Later that year, the report said that Lee "bottle-fed a crying infant in a non-nurturing manner."

The facility also was noted for preventing a child from washing their hands.

"On September 26, 2023, the owner restricted a five-year-old child from using the sink and only allowed the child to clean their hands using hand sanitizer in response to the child clogging the sink with paper towels."

The report noted a Sept. 5, 2023, incident where a 1-year-old child got a chipped tooth while at the facility. The parents got medical treatment for the child but no incident report was made or sent to the parents or the state.

Safety was also a concern for infants and toddlers, who were in an area where electrical cords were accessible.

The center was also found to have violated the requirement for providing a meal or snack a minimum of every four hours. On Jan. 4 and Jan 8 of this year, the facility did not feed a 3-year-old child for six and five hours, respectively, according to the report.

In addition, the state said that the facility did not perform fire drills as documented on the log. "Sleep check records were completed in advance and the owner instructed staff to do this," the report said.

Following the January report, the state visited the facility again on Feb. 5, for another unannounced visit. A report from that visit found that the facility was placing infants on Boppy pillows to suck on their bottles.

"In November and December 2022, infants were placed in Boppy pillows on the floor to self-feed their own bottles. Bottles were propped. In November and December 2022, blankets were used to prop bottles for infants who were feeding by themselves while placed on Boppy pillows," the report stated.

Issues were also noted with infants sleeping.

"An infant was laid down to sleep with something placed over his or her head or face. In March 2023, infants were placed on a Boppy pillow with a blanket covering their face," the report stated.

In addition the Feb. 5 report noted that "on several occasions, parents were denied access inside the facility" during operating hours.

The state visited the center five more times since February and found no other violations until last week. A report on Aug. 6, noted the facility was in violation of failing to "follow the protection plan restricting an individual alleged to have maltreated a child or suspending activities. A six-month-old child was present."

In addition to the license being revoked, the state also informed the school's co-owner and administrator Wendy Lee that she was no longer allowed to be "employed by or seek to be employed by a child care facility, own or operate or seek to own or operate a child care facility, be a member of the household in a family child care home or facility located in a residence, be present in a child care facility when children are in care or participate in a subsidized child care program."

The state noted in a letter dated Aug. 6, that it had notified Lee by certified mail on July 12, that the facility’s license could be revoked. "Ms. Lee was given the opportunity to provide information about why the action should not be taken. Ms. Lee did not provide any information for consideration by the required deadline," according to DHHS.

WRAL spoke with an attorney representing Lee and the school. He said that the facility and Lee are appealing the decision.

According to DHHS, the school can continue to operate during their appeal, but must post the letter of revocation including the violations found at the school for parents and caregivers to have access to view.

Parents can search for inspections, reports for child care facilities online

The NCDHHS has an online searchable database for child care facilities. By going to the NCDHHS website, parents can search for a facility by name. Then they can see a list of visits conducted by the division, which includes information about violations at the facility.