Student hurt, teacher on leave in incident

• By KORAN ADDO
• Advocate Westside bureau
• Published: Dec 4, 2008 - Page: 8B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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MORGANZA — A ninth-grade student was taken to a hospital for treatment and a teacher was placed on administrative leave following an altercation between the two at Pointe Coupee Central High School.

An ambulance responded to a 911 call from the school Monday afternoon and transported a patient to Pointe Coupee General Hospital, said Keith Simon, a public relations official with Acadian Ambulance, on Wednesday.

The media relations director with Advance Baton Rouge, the nonprofit that runs the charter school, Annie Morrison, also confirmed Wednesday that an incident had occurred and as a result, a student had to be taken to a hospital to receive stitches.

Morrison said the student has been suspended from classes and the teacher would remain on administrative leave until the school completes an investigation.

“We’re taking every necessary precaution to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again, “ Morrison said.

Deputies responded to a call about the incident Monday afternoon, said Lt. L.J. David, of the Pointe Coupee Sheriff’s Office.

David said evidence shows the 14-year-old student was misbehaving in class and was escorted to the school’s main office by a school resource officer.

After bringing the student to the office, David said, the resource officer left to attend to other business, leaving the student in the office with a teacher and members of the office staff.

The student then became belligerent and threatened to “punch (a supervising teacher) in the mouth,” David said.

Moments later, the student got up from a chair, took off his jacket, approached the supervising teacher and attacked the teacher, punching the teacher several times, David said.

In an effort to protect himself, the teacher grabbed the student and attempted to escort the boy to another room where the teacher believed the school’s resource counselor had gone, David said.

As the teacher escorted the flailing teenager from the office, the student’s head hit a door frame, causing an injury and prompting school authorities to dial 911, David said.

An investigation into the incident is continuing, but David said evidence indicates the teacher acted appropriately during the dispute.