Parents file suit against school in Hoboken after video goes viral
The parents of a pair of children seen on video allegedly being handled roughly by employees of a Hoboken Montessori school earlier this year have filed a lawsuit against the organization that runs the institution, according to NBC 4 New York.
The suit was filed Wednesday. The videos appear to show an aide allegedly grabbing at a 23-month-old girl as she attempts to put a hat on the child.
The suit, filed by the parents of the children seen in the video, seeks unspecified damages from Apple Montessori Schools and several employees for alleged negligence, emotional damage, breach of contract, assault and other charges, according to NBC.
Apple Montessori, which runs 17 schools in New Jersey, fired five employees after the videos were released.
The school held a meeting for parents earlier this year assuring that major policy changes were coming. On Thursday a school spokesperson issued this statement:
“Apple Montessori takes the safety and well-being of all students seriously, and has a 40-year reputation for quality in care and education of children. We too are outraged by the unacceptable and inexcusable behavior of the individuals involved, and took immediate, definitive action when learning of the incident.”
“Further, the school has taken extraordinary new measures to strengthen our staff training, security and child-safety protocols. This has included:
• Expanded video monitoring system, with additional, strategically placed cameras in all Apple schools. The addition of online systems providing parents with live access daily, from 7 a.m.to 7 p.m.
• All locations are implementing a parent swipe card entry system;
• A parent finger print sign-in and sign-out system also has been installed;
• Expansion of our Human Resources Department by 20 percent and increase of human resource functions:
• Includes a review of current fingerprinting and background checking procedures, and an examination of current hiring practices;
• An Employee Assistance Program specifically tailored to the education field, has been officially rolled out to all employees. The plan offers an Educator Resource Center, numerous lifestyle benefits and counseling services.
• Third-party review of all current training practices by a recognized human resources expert. This includes the immediate implementation of the New Jersey Department of Education “Keeping our Kids Safe in School – Child Abuse, Missing Child, 4 Module Program.”
• The start of “Positive Parenting” training series that includes topics such as Child Abuse, Dealing with Tantrums, Principles of Behavior and Safe Schools.
• The creation of a Parent Liaison Committee: This committee of volunteer parents has been mobilized to represent the child’s classroom in support of our school’s mission and to facilitate communication among fellow parents and the school administration.”
Hoboken mourns mother of former Mayor David Roberts
Ann Roberts, 87, the mother of former Hoboken mayor David Roberts, died at home on Aug. 5.
“We have just heard that the mother of Mayor David Roberts, has tragically passed…we heard the news moments go,” said City Council President Ravinder Bhalla around 8 p.m. during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
Ann lived in Hoboken her whole life, and previously owned Umlands Ice Cream Parlor and Confectionary. In addition to preparing food for the Hoboken Homeless Shelter, she was also known for volunteering at the St. Mary’s Hospital Gift Shop.
“As you all know, Mayor Roberts served on the City Council. He served honorably as our mayor for a period of eight years and after his service as mayor he’s continued to contribute to the community,” added Bhalla. “We offer, as the City Council, our deepest condolences to the Robert’s family.”
The news comes two years after Anna Roberts, wife of the former mayor, succumbed to cancer at the age of 49.
Ann Roberts is survived by her sons David Roberts and retired Hoboken Fire Captain Charles Roberts; her granddaughter Amanda Blaney and her husband Patrick, and grandchildren David Joseph and Christopher.
A funeral mass was held at Ss. Peter and Paul Church, 404 Hudson St., on Friday.
Hoboken comes out on top in silly poll
As if we haven’t seen enough polls from organizations trying to get into the news by naming a city “the most” or “the least” this or that, last week, the newspaper got a release from a website claiming, “Size doesn’t matter in Hoboken, geographically that is. Despite its small size, it comes in second place by a hair to San Jose, Calif. and tops numerous larger cities such as Pittsburgh and even notorious Sin City, Las Vegas.”
The website in question is dedicated to “Sugar Daddies.” Wait – you ask – the candy bar that’s probably one of the most disappointing things a kid can get in a trick-or-treat bag? No; you are incorrect.
According to the release, “I thought you may be interested to learn that Hoboken, New Jersey finds itself as second place on the list of most promiscuous cities in America. Based on a recent study conducted by famed Sugar Daddy dating website, SeekingArrangement.com, results found that 73 percent of wealthy men in Hoboken have seven or more sexual partners annually.”
Well, Hoboken does have a lot of young singles. But what percent are exaggerating?
“There is a reason why women get honked at or whistled by construction workers more often than men driving Ferraris or Mercedes,” says the SeekingArrangement Founder & CEO. “I would imagine that a man who is wealthy is probably having more sex, and better quality sex, than a man without money. I can introduce you to a spokesperson of SeekingArrangement.com to discuss the results of this survey.”
No thanks. Drat, just when we stopped getting releases from Ashley Madison.
Dominican softball team defeats Hoboken
Tournament Play in the American League Central Softball Division of the 2015 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series continued on Thursday at Bob Jones Park in Southlake, Texas, the Dominican Republic RBI defeated the City of Hoboken RBI by the score of 8-0.
Jayla Perez of Dominican Republic RBI came up big at the plate and in the circle, racking up two runs batted in on two singles. She held Hoboken hitless over two innings allowing no earned runs or walks and struck out one. Anyelis Disla recorded the win tossing two innings of shutout ball where she surrendered just two hits.