Texas Daycare Teacher Allegedly Encouraged 4-Year-Olds to Fight, a Family is Suing

A Fort Worth mother knew something was wrong before anyone showed her the surveillance video.

Heather Harris made an unannounced stop at Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger on April 27 and found her 4-year-old son crying hysterically. The daycare initially told the family that he and another boy had gotten into a fight and employees had separated them, according to FOX 4.

Harris wanted to see the cameras. What the family says she found there now sits at the center of a lawsuit against the daycare: footage allegedly showing an employee grabbing and shaking the boy while encouraging her own son to fight him.

“This place looked like a child fight club,” attorney Russell Button told WFAA. The allegations have not been decided in court, and FOX 4 reported that no criminal charges had been filed in connection with the incident when it aired its report.

Roll The Tape

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The family’s lawsuit says the boy had been moved into another classroom near the end of the day after his regular teacher’s shift ended.

According to The Button Law Firm, another child hit him while the supervising teacher’s back was turned. A second employee then entered the room to provide relief for the main teacher. That employee was the other child’s mother.

The firm’s account of the surveillance footage says the employee grabbed the Harris boy, shook him and yelled in his face before shoving him. Her son then ran toward the boy.

The confrontation allegedly continued after the main teacher returned. The lawsuit says the employee later encouraged her son to kick the 4-year-old while she held onto the Harris boy and tried to pull the children into another physical confrontation.

Button told FOX 4 that the employee was “holding down our child” while encouraging her son to hit him.

The footage then allegedly shows the employee holding the boy by one arm while pulling his legs out from under him, sending him to the floor.

Warning Signs

The lawsuit argues the April encounter did not come without warning.

The family’s attorneys say a state investigation found that daycare leadership already knew the employee had problems with yelling, becoming overwhelmed and behaving aggressively around children.

An administrator reported hearing her yell at children from the front office and said the issue had previously been addressed multiple times, according to the firm’s account of the state findings.

Another employee reported seeing the caregiver grab children by their upper arms, roughly put them into chairs and yell at them. The investigation also documented earlier supervision problems involving a child left outside on a playground and another child left alone in a classroom.

FOX 4 reported that one state finding described the caregiver as having “a pattern of yelling at children when frustrated.” The station said she is no longer employed at the daycare.

What The State Found

State regulators also cited problems connected directly to the April incident.

The family’s attorneys say the Texas Health and Human Services Commission investigation identified improper discipline, prohibited punishment involving grabbing and pulling, yelling at a young child and a failure to intervene while a child was being handled inappropriately.

The family’s lawsuit alleges the boy suffered bruises and scratches, pain and headaches following the encounter. His parents also say his behavior changed afterward, including anxiety about being separated from them and difficulty entering a new daycare classroom.

Months later, Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger remains open. FOX 4 reported that afternoon pickup appeared routine when its crew visited the facility and that the station did not receive a response to its request for comment that day.

A later state inspection on Aug. 20 recorded no deficiencies, according to state records reviewed by WFAA.