PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – A Portsmouth elementary school teacher is on administrative leave following an incident between her and a sixth-grade student.
The student’s parents say the teacher assaulted the child.
The alleged incident happened on Wednesday at Simonsdale Elementary School.
Michael Penning said his 11-year-old daughter will not be returning to her homeroom.
“I don’t know at what point anybody would think this is an acceptable measure to take,” he said.
Penning said his daughter was in another classroom when her teacher walked in — but he said what happened next is unacceptable.
“She found gum, or another one of the students had found gum, in her desk and decided she was going to staple it to my daughter’s sweatshirt,” Penning said.
According to Penning, the gum was tucked away in his daughter’s desk.
“She put it in a bag, and she tried to staple it to my daughter’s sweatshirt. My daughter, not wanting this, obviously, tried to push her off at which point the stapler scratched her,” said Penning. “It wasn’t horrible, but it was enough to make her bleed.”
Penning said the teacher also scolded the sixth-grader loudly in front of the class.
A spokeswoman for Portsmouth Public Schools confirmed both the division’s Human Resources department and Child Protective Services are investigating.
10 On Your Side is not naming the teacher because she has not been criminally charged.
Penning doesn’t believe the teacher intended to harm his daughter, however he’s upset about how the situation was handled.
“They’ve got my number, they’ve got her mom’s phone number, they’ve got her stepmom’s phone number. They’ve got emails. There are just so many avenues,” he said. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t say in any rule book ‘Hey, let’s staple a bag to a sweatshirt.”
Pennington hopes the investigation reveals more about what happened.
“I want to know if it’s a pattern or if it’s just a one-time thing,” he said.
The teacher will remain on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
