Mom accuses Aldine teacher of beating up special needs student
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- "I can't believe that I sent my son to school in perfect condition and he came back home basically beat up."
A mother in Aldine ISD says her son was beaten up, but not by the hands of another student.
Instead, she says a P.E. teacher left her son with a swollen face, bruised and scratched after an encounter in gym class.
Ashley Degrate says the principal of the Aldine Education Center called her last Thursday to warn her about the incident, but says she wasn't given the full story.
"He informed me that my son was involved in an incident that occurred in the playground area outside, and that he had fractured his face and that it might look bad, but it's not as bad as it looked."
But when 10-year-old Cavontrell got off the bus, Ashley was stunned.
"It was just like, 'What happened to my son?' and his face was swollen. It was bruises, scratches everywhere," she said.
Cavontrell's mother called the principal back immediately, but says she still hasn't gotten answers.
Her son, however, made some frightening claims about what happened at school last week.
"I asked him, 'Who did that?'" Ashley said. "He said, 'The P.E. teacher, mom. The P.E. teacher slammed me on the concrete four times, and he was saying cuss words in my ear, mom."
Cavontrell, who's attending the school because he has a behavioral and emotional disorder, says he was in trouble after an incident involving another student.
He says the teacher asked him to go with him, but Cavontrell said he was afraid.
That is when the teacher allegedly cursed at him. Cavontrell said the teacher then grabbed him by the neck, slamming him to the ground repeatedly.
The alleged violence left a large knot on the boy.
"I started screaming for my mommy," Cavontrell said.
Ashley is not only angry over the incident but also how it was handled.
She feels her son should not have been put on the bus, but taken to the hospital. She says doctors said Cavontrell did not have a concussion, but he was blurry-eyed and that he may have headaches.
Today school officials told Eyewitness News the teacher has been put on administrative leave.
They sent ABC13 this statement saying: "Aldine ISD is aware of the allegation and the incident is currently under investigation. Once the investigation is complete, the district will take appropriate action."
"I think you should pay for what he done is wrong, he did not have a right to put his hands on my son," Ashley said. "My son did not deserve that, no child deserves that."
