A kindergarten teacher in Chino Hills, California, has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a 6-year-old child by grabbing him by the neck and throwing him on the floor, ABC News reported Tuesday. The incident occurred last Thursday. Despite a colleague witnessing the event and reporting it to school officials, parents rallied in support of the teacher outside of Butterfield Ranch Elementary School Monday. The teacher was arrested shortly after the rally was held; the charges filed against her have not yet been made public.
"The principal called me, around 2:30 (p.m.), and said your son was physically assaulted by a teacher, and another one of the teacher's peers witnessed it," Monique Alexander told ABC News. Alexander said that while her son, Chance Hill, has some behavioral needs, what happened to him was unjustified. She felt the teacher gave up on her son both emotionally and academically.
When asked about his recollection of what happened, Hill told ABC News,"She just came up to me, grabbed my shirt, and then threw me. She throws strong … then she called the principal and blamed it all on me. She said I hit her but I didn’t." Luckily for Hill, another teacher had witnessed the events and described them to school officials.
Alexander received a call from the school district's human resources director, who assured her that her son would not have further contact with the teacher; she filed a police report with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which arrested the teacher.
At a school board meeting Jan. 16, parents and teachers had complained that the environment at the school had been made “toxic” by its principal. Parents rallying on Monday linked that situation to the allegations against the teacher.
According to ABC News, in a statement addressing the parents’ concerns, the Chino Valley Unified School District said,
Last week, Chino Valley Unified School District was made aware of an incident involving a teacher and a kindergarten student at Butterfield Ranch Elementary School. The witness to the incident reported the incident to Child Protective Services, in accordance with California mandatory reporting laws. The Butterfield Ranch Elementary School Principal was not the reporting party. The District is conducting an internal investigation into this matter and cooperating with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department - Crimes Against Children Unit, who is conducting their own investigation into this matter. Chino Valley Unified School District is taking this matter very seriously. Providing a safe and secure learning environment for our students has and always will be our first priority as a school district.
Chino Valley Unified School district is aware of teacher concerns at Butterfield Ranch Elementary and addressing all complaints accordingly.