Charlotte · Licensed center
Highland Mill Montessori Elementary Asep
- Medium center, licensed for 100 children.
- Run by a school district, which holds the license.
What the state has found
The state cited rules at 4 of its 7 licensing inspections since September 2023.
Of the 86 Charlotte-area centers with 7 licensing inspections, 21% had rules cited at 4 of them, as this center did. 2% had rules cited at all 7, 3% at none.
Licensing inspections
May 22, 20263 citations
“All corrosive agents, pesticides, bleaches, detergents, cleansers, polishes, any product which is under pressure in an aerosol dispenser, and any substance which may be hazardous to a child if ingested, inhaled, or handled were not stored in a locked room or cabinet. The art room was monitored with two aerosol cans of disinfectant spray that was maintained on a high shelf. There was a bowl of essential oils maintained on a storage shelf. There were two bottles of White Out. One maintained on the art teacher's desk and another maintained on the art teacher's shelf.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 5/27/2026
“Electrical outlets and power strips, not in use, which were located in space used by children did not have safety outlets or were not covered with safety plugs unless located behind furniture or equipment that cannot be moved by a child. Three unused electrical outlets were monitored uncovered in the art room/space #3.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 5/27/2026
“All electrical appliances were not used in accordance with the manufacturer's instruction. Appliances with heating elements, such as bottle warmers, crock pots, curling irons, irons, coffee pots, and/or their cords were accessible to preschool-age children. Four glue guns were monitored accessible to preschool children. One of the guns monitored had a glue stick in it.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 5/27/2026
Sep 9, 20242 citations
“Potentially hazardous items such as archery equipment, hand and power tools, nails, chemicals, or propane stoves, were not stored in locked areas or with other safeguards, or removed from the premises. A janitorial cart with chemicals was left in the hallway and path of travel for the preschool children.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 9/11/2024
“Staff working in part-time, full-day or track out school age care programs required to complete BSAC training, did not complete it within three months of employment. A staff person hired April 8, 2024, did not complete BSAC training within three months of employment.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 9/23/2024
Jun 4, 20241 citation
“All corrosive agents, pesticides, bleaches, detergents, cleansers, polishes, any product which is under pressure in an aerosol dispenser, and any substance which may be hazardous to a child if ingested, inhaled, or handled were not stored in a locked room or cabinet. A janitorial cart located in the corridor next to the Pre-K playground was accessible to children. The cart contained 4 cleaning products labeled keep out of reach of children.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 6/6/2024
Sep 12, 20233 citations
“Potentially hazardous items including but not limited to power tools, nails, chemicals, propane stoves, lawn mowers, gasoline, or kerosene were not stored in locked areas, removed from the premises, or made inaccessible to children. A commercial floor cleaning machine was maintained in front of the ASEP bulletin board in the hallway. The machine had chemicals stored in the machine. The machine was removed by the janitor during the visit but only relocated the machine to the gym. The afterschool children use the gym. The gym was monitored with the machine not stored under lock and key.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 9/13/2023
“All staff did not successfully complete certification in First Aid appropriate to the age of children in care. Verification of staff completion of First Aid training from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. Two staff were past due to obtain their FA recertification.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 10/5/2023
“All staff did not successfully complete certification in CPR training appropriate to the age of the children in care. Verification of staff completion of the CPR course from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. Two staff were past due to recertify their CPR training.”
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 10/5/2023
Read every record and the state’s reports
State record — North Carolina DCDEE
- Last visit
- May 22, 2026
- On file
- 7 visits since September 2023 — 3 cited nothing, 3 of those unannounced
- Fixed?
- All 9 record a correction, in the licensor’s own words.
- Most serious
- North Carolina DCDEE does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.
North Carolina DCDEE describes every citation in the licensor’s own words and records the correction in that same text — the only one of the six states that publishes whether a violation was fixed. It attaches no rule number and no report document.
May 2026 Unannounced visit 3 findings
Unannounced visit · May 22, 2026
All corrosive agents, pesticides, bleaches, detergents, cleansers, polishes, any product which is under pressure in an aerosol dispenser, and any substance which may be hazardous to a child if ingested, inhaled, or handled were not stored in a locked room or cabinet. The art room was monitored with two aerosol cans of disinfectant spray that was maintained on a high shelf. There was a bowl of essential oils maintained on a storage shelf. There were two bottles of White Out. One maintained on the art teacher's desk and another maintained on the art teacher's shelf.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 5/27/2026
Electrical outlets and power strips, not in use, which were located in space used by children did not have safety outlets or were not covered with safety plugs unless located behind furniture or equipment that cannot be moved by a child. Three unused electrical outlets were monitored uncovered in the art room/space #3.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 5/27/2026
All electrical appliances were not used in accordance with the manufacturer's instruction. Appliances with heating elements, such as bottle warmers, crock pots, curling irons, irons, coffee pots, and/or their cords were accessible to preschool-age children. Four glue guns were monitored accessible to preschool children. One of the guns monitored had a glue stick in it.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 5/27/2026
DCDEE facility lookup On that page, enter license number 60002026 in the License Number box, choose Search and open the result; the record is listed under Visits.
Sep 2024 Unannounced visit 2 findings
Unannounced visit · September 9, 2024
Potentially hazardous items such as archery equipment, hand and power tools, nails, chemicals, or propane stoves, were not stored in locked areas or with other safeguards, or removed from the premises. A janitorial cart with chemicals was left in the hallway and path of travel for the preschool children.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 9/11/2024
Staff working in part-time, full-day or track out school age care programs required to complete BSAC training, did not complete it within three months of employment. A staff person hired April 8, 2024, did not complete BSAC training within three months of employment.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 9/23/2024
DCDEE facility lookup On that page, enter license number 60002026 in the License Number box, choose Search and open the result; the record is listed under Visits.
Jun 2024 Unannounced visit 1 finding
Unannounced visit · June 4, 2024
All corrosive agents, pesticides, bleaches, detergents, cleansers, polishes, any product which is under pressure in an aerosol dispenser, and any substance which may be hazardous to a child if ingested, inhaled, or handled were not stored in a locked room or cabinet. A janitorial cart located in the corridor next to the Pre-K playground was accessible to children. The cart contained 4 cleaning products labeled keep out of reach of children.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 6/6/2024
DCDEE facility lookup On that page, enter license number 60002026 in the License Number box, choose Search and open the result; the record is listed under Visits.
Sep 2023 Unannounced visit 3 findings
Unannounced visit · September 12, 2023
No longer on the state’s site as of September 25, 2026
Potentially hazardous items including but not limited to power tools, nails, chemicals, propane stoves, lawn mowers, gasoline, or kerosene were not stored in locked areas, removed from the premises, or made inaccessible to children. A commercial floor cleaning machine was maintained in front of the ASEP bulletin board in the hallway. The machine had chemicals stored in the machine. The machine was removed by the janitor during the visit but only relocated the machine to the gym. The afterschool children use the gym. The gym was monitored with the machine not stored under lock and key.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 9/13/2023
No longer on the state’s site as of September 25, 2026
All staff did not successfully complete certification in First Aid appropriate to the age of children in care. Verification of staff completion of First Aid training from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. Two staff were past due to obtain their FA recertification.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 10/5/2023
No longer on the state’s site as of September 25, 2026
All staff did not successfully complete certification in CPR training appropriate to the age of the children in care. Verification of staff completion of the CPR course from an approved training organization was not in the staff file. Two staff were past due to recertify their CPR training.
Violation confirmed corrected by letter received from provider on 10/5/2023
DCDEE facility lookup On that page, enter license number 60002026 in the License Number box, choose Search and open the result; the record is listed under Visits.
Shortlist replaces people’s names in the state’s text with initials. This is done by rule, not by hand, so it can miss a name or shorten a word that isn’t one. The state’s report, linked on each row, has the original.
Openings, child care subsidies, tuition, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies aren’t on this page.
What it costs
- Application fee
- $50
A day here
- Hours
- Closes 6:00 PM
Details
- Website
- highlandmilles.cmsk12.org
- Address
- 3201 Clemson Avenue
- License
- 60002026, active
- Quality program
- Four Star License
Run Highland Mill Montessori Elementary Asep? Correct or add anything here, free.
Add what is missingSources and dates
Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.
What it costs
- Application fee — Checked July 2026 resources.finalsite.net/…/EditingDraft_CMS_2026-27Parent-StudentHandbookdocx.pdf
State record
From North Carolina DCDEE’s published reports, last checked October 11, 2026.
A day here
- Hours — Checked July 2026 resources.finalsite.net/…/EditingDraft_CMS_2026-27Parent-StudentHandbookdocx.pdf
Details
- Phone, Address, License, Quality program — Checked July 2026 ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov. To check it, open ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/childcaresearch, enter licence 60002026 under License Number, and open the result.
- Website — Checked July 2026 highlandmilles.cmsk12.org
- Who runs it — Checked September 2026 ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov. To check it, open ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/childcaresearch, enter licence 60002026 under License Number, open the result and expand Owner Information: the licensee is listed as Primary Owner.
Medium means the middle half of Charlotte-area’s 591 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 51 to 162 children. Small is 11 to 50; large is 163 to 528.