NHCS Superintendent addresses teacher-student incidents, emphasizes accountability and student safety
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — “For me, it’s never going to be about EC students and regular students. It’s about students,” said Dr. Barnes.
New Hanover County Superintendent Dr. Christopher Barnes sat down and spoke about some recent teacher-student altercations at some New Hanover County elementary schools.
“We have to investigate situations when they happen,” said Barnes.
On December 3rd, witnesses say a physical altercation occurred between Alderman Elementary teacher assistant, Minnie Clark, and a student, and the incident was caught on surveillance cameras.
On September 19th, Anderson Elementary teacher, Brittany Kosch, was accused and criminally charged with assaulting two special needs students.
Barnes says that with every incident, there are rules, regulations, and policies that must be followed by the school system.
“Whenever we get an allegation that someone, something has happened, a violation of policy, but specifically when it comes to involving children being injured or anything like that, the first step is always the same; we’re always going to put that employee on administrative leave because we have to follow the law and do due process,” said Barnes.
Parents have praised Barnes’ transparency but have been critical of the teacher assistant at Alderman, Minnie Clark, who the parents’ advocate says left a young, exceptional student with quote “two black eyes and scratches on his face.”
Barnes says in these instances, there are standard operating procedures.
“The policy says that teachers are able to intervene with a student to ensure safety, destruction of property, and safety of themselves. The concern is always going to be that we are the adults in the scenario. We are the adults in the situation, and it is important that we always respond as such,” said Barnes.
Some Anderson parents, like Joshua and April Russel, believe their autistic son is feeling the impact of budget cuts.
“They don’t have the staff to get him in the class where he’s at,” said Joshua Russel.
Barnes says while it’s not a direct correlation, funding cuts have reduced the number of exceptional student teacher assistants.
“Two years ago, we had 215. We’re now down to 170, and that is simply because of this funding formula,” said Barnes.
With the Alderman teacher assistant terminated, Barnes says the justice system will now take over the case of Anderson teacher Kosch.
“When you go into a situation where the court does charge somebody, or the police charge somebody, the school system will take a back seat. I am not going to interfere with an investigation active from law enforcement,” said Barnes.
While these two instances were unacceptable, Barnes looks at it as a way for the district to learn, adapt, and build bridges with students.
“It is always critical to have good relationships in buildings with students. I think relationships are really key in this,” said Barnes.
