CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Minglewood Elementary School teacher accused of screaming at a 4-year-old special needs student, pulling his hair and pushing him, received a three-day suspension and reprimand earlier this school year. While there were witnesses to the incident and it was captured on video, the teacher remains at work, which has the child’s mother, Jacaira Crockett, demanding more needs be done.
Her efforts have recently borne fruit: She said the Department of Children Services has recently reopened their investigation into the case.
“I’m in a fight for justice, and I’m not letting this go,” Crockett told Clarksville Now. “If your kid were assaulted by a teacher – if you would have seen the video and if you were in my shoes – what would you want to be the repercussions?”
Screaming and confrontation
On Sept. 21, the child was having a “screaming fit” during lunch, according to disciplinary records obtained by Clarksville Now. Another teacher had tried to stop him, but the screaming continued. Clarksville Now is not naming the child to protect his future privacy.
The child is nonverbal – he has autism and an expressive language disorder, Crockett said. He’s enrolled in the Pre-K program at Minglewood. He understands what people are saying but uses sign language or a speech device to speak. Crockett said his assigned special education teacher “is an absolute angel” and there are steps in place to handle his behavior if it escalates.
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According to witnesses of the incident and Crockett’s account of the video, Stacey Williams, who was not the child’s teacher, walked over to him, leaned down, screamed in his face and said, “Not today boy – I’m not the one.” She then put her hand on the child’s mouth. The child responded by pulling Williams’ hair, and Williams then pulled his hair. According to a letter from the Minglewood principal, the child then hit Williams, and Williams pushed the child back. The child then hit Williams again, and she grabbed the child’s wrist and yanked it.
Williams, who has been employed by CMCSS for over 25 years, has denied much of this. In a letter she provided to CMCSS, Williams denied pulling the child’s hair or pushing him. She said that she mimicked his screaming, “hoping it would surprise him” so that she could reason with him. He screamed again and yanked her hair, pulling some of it out. She put her hand over his mouth, without touching his face, she said. She said she then touched one of his braids with one finger and said, “Would you want me to pull your hair?” He jerked away and continued to scream. She said he continued to scream through lunch while several other students held their ears. “I did not injure, hit, strike or hurt (him) at all,” Williams said. She also said he had repeatedly hit, bit and kicked students and teachers and is frequently “out of control” at school.
The CMCSS letter of reprimand, signed by Schools Director Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder, states that video footage confirms that Williams pulled the child’s hair and grabbed his arm. Clarksville Now requested a review of the video, but that request was denied.
The letter from Minglewood, signed by Principal Emily Clark, states, “At no point was the student a harm to himself or others, and your actions were not warranted or an appropriate response to the child’s behaviors.”
Williams’ attorney, Christopher Clark, gave Clarksville Now this statement on her behalf: “Ms. Williams is a veteran teacher with 28 years of experience. She loves and respects all students. Additionally, Ms. Williams respects the privacy of her students as well as the privacy policies of her employer, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System.”
Investigation and response
When the incident was reported, Williams was assigned to remote work pending an investigation, according to CMCSS. Law enforcement and DCS investigated. On Oct. 4, when the investigation was complete, Williams was reprimanded, suspended without pay for three days, and required to complete a training webinar titled “Building Communication Skills with Autistic Students: Focus on Behavior.” No criminal charges resulted, the DCS investigation was closed, and no actions have been taken by state education agencies.
Crockett didn’t learn about the 10:20 a.m. incident until after school had let out for the day, she said. Her husband had picked up their child early after he received reports that he was having a bad day, and school officials didn’t tell him at the time what happened. Her son had signed to her that someone pulled his hair, but she didn’t realize it was a teacher. She later got a call at 2:30 p.m. telling her about the incident.
When Crockett learned that criminal charges would not be filed, she said, she went to the District Attorney’s Office and met with DA Robert Nash, who reviewed the video with the family and declined to pursue charges.
Nash told Clarksville Now that while the actions shown in the video may be inappropriate and may violate school policy, they did not rise to the level of criminal assault under the laws of the state of Tennessee because there was no bodily injury. He said the parents conceded to him that the child was not injured. Also, the law has to apply to all parties involved.
“If I find that it did (violate the law), then both (the teacher and student) would be subject to that statute, and I’m not going to arrest a 4-year-old,” Nash said. “It’s better for the school system to handle this as a policy violation by the student or the teacher.”
Rep. Glynn connects mom with DCS
Crockett ended up attending a Feb. 17 town hall meeting with state Rep. Ronnie Glynn of Clarksville. He connected her with DCS officials who reviewed the matter further and told her they were reopening the investigation. Crockett said that since then, DCS has conducted additional interviews, including with her son.
Glynn said Crockett was having trouble getting in touch with the right people. He told Clarksville Now that his role was just to make sure she connected with the right people to get the answers she needed, to ensure that “no steps were missed.”
DCS confirmed to Clarksville Now that they have an ongoing investigation in this case, but the agency is unable to disclose further information.
Crockett is now waiting to see if if the DCS investigation leads to more action.
“I used to be a teacher,” Crockett said, adding that she worked with preschoolers for seven years in Massachusetts. “I get it – working with kids is very difficult, and it’s not a job for everybody.” But to behave that way with a special needs child, she said, “that’s not acceptable.”
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