A Texas daycare is accused of turning a classroom into what one attorney called a “child fight club” after a teacher allegedly encouraged her son to attack a 4-year-old boy, according to a lawsuit.
Heather and Richard Harris allege that Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger in Fort Worth failed to protect their son, identified in court documents as UH. The lawsuit centers on an April 27 incident in which teacher Chynia Johnson allegedly grabbed, shook and dragged the boy before he slammed onto a hardwood floor.
According to the parents, Johnson’s son had been fighting with UH when Johnson repeatedly manhandled the 4-year-old and attempted to push the children back into the confrontation. The lawsuit also claims another teacher watched without intervening.
“This place looked like a child fight club. It felt like one,” family attorney Russell Button told WFAA-TV.
“This kid was thrown around like a human rag doll by somebody that was supposed to protect him,” Button said.
Video cited in the lawsuit, filed Sept. 4 in Tarrant County district court, allegedly shows Johnson grabbing and shaking UH, pushing him away and later dragging him toward her son as the boy tried to get free.
The complaint further alleges that Johnson held UH by the wrist and swiped at his leg, lifting both of his feet off the ground before he fell onto the floor.
UH sustained bruises and scratches on his arms, headaches and pain in his backside, according to the lawsuit. His parents also say he became anxious, clingy and prone to emotional outbursts after the incident, eventually stopping attendance at the daycare.
Heather Harris told WFAA-TV that she immediately realized something was wrong when she arrived at the daycare that day.
“I knew from his cry and the look on his face that something had happened, and from that point on I said, ‘I need to see the cameras,’” she said.
Richard Harris told the station he was “mortified” when he watched the footage.
“The trust that I put in this daycare, they failed us,” he said.
The confrontation began after another child — Johnson’s son — hit UH in the back while teacher Jacqueline De Luna had her back turned, according to the suit.
After the boys stopped fighting, Johnson entered the classroom to relieve De Luna for a bathroom break, the complaint alleges.
Johnson’s son then pushed UH in the chest, and when UH raised his hands, Johnson lunged at him and grabbed his arm, according to the filing.
The lawsuit says De Luna later told state investigators that Johnson instructed her son to kick UH and tried to make him hit the child.
Johnson also allegedly had a history of yelling at and aggressively handling children before the April incident, according to statements from employees cited in the complaint.
Arka administrator Joyner Calvin allegedly told investigators she had heard Johnson yelling at children and said the issue had been addressed with her “a couple of times,” according to the lawsuit.
Another employee, Emma Rogers, allegedly told investigators she had seen Johnson grab children by their upper arms and roughly sit them in chairs, and said Johnson would “snap and start yelling at the children and handling them in an aggressive manner.”
Texas’ Health and Human Services Commission later cited the daycare over the April incident for improper discipline, prohibited punishment and failures involving employee judgment and intervention, according to the suit.
An employee at the daycare told WFAA-TV “no comment” when the station sought a response to the lawsuit and directed the reporter to email the daycare’s director.
The Post has sought comment from Johnson and the daycare center.
