HOUSTON -- A Memorial Middle School teacher is on administrative leave following allegations that she instructed all of her students to kick one boy for having kicked another child last Friday.
“All of us had to walk around and kick this kid,” said Taylor Reed, a 13-year-old student who was in the 8th grade U.S. history class. “Some people drop-kicked him and kicked him really hard. He sits next to me and when I saw his legs they were all red and bruised up … his face was really red and he was starting to cry.”
Emily Glendinning, another student, said the boy was in trouble with the teacher.
“He apparently kicked someone in the class, and he kicks a lot of people and the teacher was like, ‘Since you kick people we’re going to let people kick you.’”
Alex Arazola, who has the same teacher, said she wasn’t surprised by what happened.
“You definitely don’t want to push her. She gets mad if you don’t follow her,” she said.
On campus the students were quiet about the incident during school hours.
“I heard they are giving out detentions if we do talk about it,” Arazola said.
Spring Branch ISD issued a formal statement which reads in part:
“A middle school teacher was notified and placed on paid administrative leave on Friday, March 5, following an alleged incident involving inappropriate discipline of a student.”
Becky Andress, a parent who is also a substitute teacher, said she is waiting for the full results of the investigation.
“My initial reaction is not ‘oh that bad teacher’ -- but there must have been a special circumstance surrounding that,” Andress said.
