Dallas Mother Talks to FHjr about the Treatment of Her Daughter at the Dallas School District
I interviewed Evelyn Jefferson mother of Joe Evelyn Jefferson the Dallas ISD student who’s arm was broken by a male teacher at Zumwalt Middle School. According to Ms Jefferson her daughter was being held in the school cafeteria while the school had a school wide assemble.
She mentioned receiving a text message from her daughter stating that she was being denied the opportunity to go to the bathroom by her teacher. According to the parent, she instructed the child to ask the teacher nicely, and if the teacher refused to allow her to go to the bathroom, she was to quietly go to the bathroom without permission.
In my interview, I asked the parent exactly where did the incident take place, and according to the parent the male teacher cornered her child in the hallway and threw her to the floor. While attempting to wrestle the child’s arms behind her back, the male teacher broke her daughter’s arm.
After breaking the student’s arm, school officials failed to render aid to the child, and refused to allow the child to call her parent. Ms. Jefferson also said that it was the teacher who broke her daughter’s arm who was giving the directions as to what kind of aide the child would received. Joe Evelyn Jefferson was simply sent her home in pain by members of the Zumwalt Middle School staff including the principal.
It wasn’t until the child was taken to the hospital by the parent where the broken arm was discovered, and hospital officials quickly called the Child Protection Service suspecting that the parent was the cause of the child’s injuries.
Ms. Jefferson was investigated for possible injury to a child by CPS, but she was quickly cleared when it was discovered that the student received a broken arm at the hands of her male teacher while at school.
According to the parent Dallas School officials never called the Child Protection Agency, nor did the school file a report with the its own police force which is required by Family Law.
It was the parent who placed a call to the Dallas Police Department to report the incident, but the DPD quickly referred the incident back to the Dallas Independent School District Police Department, citing a lack of jurisdiction prohibited their involvement in the case.
During my interview, Ms. Jefferson expressed her disappointment, along with anger about what happened to her daughter at school, and the school district’s lack of actions taken against the teacher.
I shared with the parent what actions should have been taken by the teacher which could of prevented the injury to her child, and instead of getting physical with students there is a established guideline on each campus spelling out how to manage student discipline.
I explained to Ms Jefferson that each school have guidelines for dealing with student behavior which starts at the lowest level such as a completion of a referral/discipline form and sending it to the school official in charge of student management.
It appeals that at Zumwalt Middle School the referral system in place is to manhandle the students at all cost.
DISD officials stated that the teacher who injured student Joe Evelyn Jefferson has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation, but a source inside the school said that the teacher is not on administrative leave, and is still in the class room teaching special needs students.
In the meantime Ms. Jefferson has been told by DISD’s Police Department that they are conducting an investigation, and they will call her with the findings, but as far as the status of her child who’s arm was broken, she has been withdrawn from Zumwalt Middle School, and the Dallas Independent School District.
The child is being home-schooled, and the medical bills are starting to pile up according to Ms. Jefferson, but the real question to ask DISD, is why is the teacher still in the class room working with the students in the school district.
