NEW PALESTINE — The owner of the Montessori Science Academy was operating a day-care service illegally and was ordered to close it because it wasn’t properly licensed, according to state officials.
The academy, 4197 S. County Road 600W, appears on a state list of day-care providers who have been issued at least one cease-and-desist letter for operating illegally, a matter the school’s owner said stems from paperwork problems that are being dealt with.
The order applies to the academy’s day-care services and not the school, which is a separate entity.
After receiving a complaint that the Montessori Science Academy day care might be operating illegally, officials with the state Family and Social Services Administration sent a team to investigate on Jan. 6. Upon their arrival, the inspectors observed 25 children present between the ages of 3 and 6 years old in a preschool room. They also found an 11 additional children ages 4 months to 2 years old “hiding in a closet with three staff members,” said Marni Lemons, deputy director of communications for FSSA.
“According to our licensing consultants who conducted the investigation, they were hiding in an actual closet,” Lemons said.
Because the state had not issued a license to the business to operate as a day-care center, that part of the business was closed. That happened on Jan. 6. FSSA sent the cease-and-desist order Feb. 3.
“Our investigation determined that Montessori Science Academy was being paid to care for children in a non-residential building, without parents present, for more than four hours at a time, without a license,” Lemons said, referring to the conditions outlined in state law establishing child-care centers.
Brian Wheatley, the owner of Montessori Science Academy, said the licensing issue was a misunderstanding stemming from the school’s move and that he was working with FSSA officials to resolve it. He said in an email to the Daily Reporter that he “will not respond to any rumors” about children being hidden. He forwarded a report from the inspectors who visited the academy Jan. 6 that characterized the space where the younger children were found as a “room.”
Wheatley moved the academy to a new location in New Palestine last year to provide a better environment for the children who study a science-intensive curriculum at the school, he said. Wheatley said they have 12 children in the day care and 50 in the school this year.
Montessori Science Academy was regulated by FSSA as a child care ministry from October 2015 through March 2020 when the academy was located at 5684 West U.S. 52, New Palestine. Wheatley said he believed that when they moved to their larger space near the corner of U.S. 52 and County Road 600W, he could simply update the new address when he renewed their application next month.
The process, however, required the child-care ministry to close and for the operation to reapply from the beginning to acquire a license, Wheatley said he learned.
“We are imperfect human beings, and we have made mistakes,” Wheatley said. “I’ve never transferred locations of a registered child-care ministry, and I learned from my mistakes.”
While the day care closed the school is still operating and is separate from the registered ministry.
“The noncompliance is not a result of any issues with employees, children, or safety, but simply an oversight on my part, for which I feel terrible for those involved,” he said.
Wheatley added: “We immediately complied with their directions and are in compliance right now and have been since Jan. 6. It has been very difficult for the families since there are very few child-care options.”
The business is awaiting final inspection from FSSA officials. He hopes to be able to reopen the day care operation after the visit is complete.
“The only thing I can say is that we are complying with FSSA and don’t want anything to delay the final inspection,” Wheatley said. “They have a process for us to reopen, and we are near the end.”
Lemons said the state’s procedure is to follow up within 30 days to determine if the operator has come into compliance.
To become a licensed child care center, business owners must complete two rounds of online orientation through the Indiana Licensing and Education Access Depot. They must also submit an application and pass an onsite inspection by the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, according to the FSSA website.
