Days after a bunch of young students got hurt in an incident with a substitute teacher in a fourth-grade classroom down in south suburban Country Club Hills, parents are still left scratching their heads with unanswered questions. School officials and the police are keeping tight-lipped about what actually went down. The whole thing went down on a Thursday in a fourth-grade classroom at Meadowview Intermediate School. According to parents and students, a substitute teacher lost it and started chasing, choking, and hitting a young student in a fit of rage. Another student got caught in the crossfire when the teacher supposedly shoved and toppled classroom furniture, trapping the poor kid in a corner.
The incident was described as “serious” in a letter that made the rounds among school parents last week. The letter spilled the beans on how the whole thing went down right in front of everyone in the classroom. Apparently, the school didn’t bother giving parents a heads up about it. They only found out from their own kids, which is pretty messed up if you ask me. During a school board meeting on Tuesday, parents demanded answers about the incident, revealing that their children were feeling scared to even set foot in school. Some parents even mentioned that they wouldn’t be sending their kids back to the school next year unless the Superintendent hit the road.
“He is fearing for his safety,” Jessica Camacho, a parent of one of the students involved, spilled during the meeting. “He has nightmares. I have to be up all night with my child.” Dr. Duane Meighan, the Superintendent of Country Club Hill School District 160, clammed up about the incident during the meeting on Tuesday. But surprise, surprise, he made an unexpected appearance during a press conference held by parents in front of the school on Friday. Meighan finally confirmed that an “incident” did take place, involving a student and a staff member from some other group they work with. He also made it crystal clear that the rumors floating around on social media were way off the mark. The staff member in question won’t be making a comeback, and the safety of the students remains their top priority, or so they say.
When a reporter from NBC 5, Sandra Torres, asked Meighan if there were any cameras in the school that caught the incident on tape, he dodged the question like a pro. Last week, the Country Club Hills Police admitted that a police report was filed about the incident. But now they’re playing hard to get, not responding to requests for more info from NBC Chicago. It’s like pulling teeth trying to get any real answers around here.
