OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The parents of an East Antioch Elementary student are pressing charges against a substitute teacher after hearing their son’s story of how she assaulted him in class.
“Yesterday, on Thursday, my son comes in the same as everyday, except he’s crying,” said 11-year old Payton Jackson’s mother, Angela. “I asked him, ‘What is the matter?’ And he said that a teacher had grabbed him.”
When Payton took off his jacket, his mother said she saw this large scratch on his neck.
“While we were investigating, the principal called and said she had been made aware by another student that there was an incident in the classroom where Payton was grabbed,” said Angela. “She just wanted to let me know that the teacher was removed from the premises and she would no longer be allowed back at East Antioch.”
The Shawnee Mission School District spokeswoman confirmed the teacher is being made unavailable district-wide at least until the investigation is complete. Angela and her husband, Frank, still decided to press charges against the substitute with the Overland Park Police.
“I think if it affected another student enough for that student to come forward to go to the principal, then we cant just brush it under the rug,” said Angela.
“I was really upset. I couldn’t believe a teacher would do that,” said Frank.
Payton told his parents the teacher got upset because she thought he was throwing erasers in class. Still, Payton’s parents say the Shawnee Mission School District prides itself in its strong anti-bullying policies, so it’s disappointing to see a teacher setting a poor example.
“Teachers are advocates for students and this type of behavior is uncalled for, whether its physical abuse by a teacher or sexual abuse by a teacher,” said Angela.
“That’s not showing the kids to not touch people. That’s showing kids it’s alright to bully someone and put your hands on someone, and it’s not,” said Frank.
The Overland Park Police Department Spokesman Gary Mason says they have not spoken to the teacher yet, but are making an effort to contact her. If she is found at-fault, Mason says she’ll be charged with battery.
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