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Candra Rogers, an assistant principal at Collins Intermediate School in Texas, is speaking out after an altercation with a student reportedly left her blind in one eye.
According to CBS News, an altercation unfolded in a school classroom during lunchtime on August 15. A behavioral teacher reportedly called Rogers for assistance.
Furthermore, when she arrived, Rogers reportedly noted that the classroom was “ransacked” and the student was “irate.”
“I knew I had to be as calm as possible, not to engage him,” she told reporters.
Despite her demeanor, the student allegedly threw chairs at Rogers and a second assistant principal. Furthermore, the student allegedly threw a wooden hanger at Rogers “knocking her right eye out of the socket.”
“The hanger hit me in my right eye and knocked it out of the socket,” Rogers explained per WFAA. “I grabbed my face while blood was pouring out of my head and stumbled out of the classroom door.”
Rogers was immediately airlifted to a hospital to undergo surgery on her eye, placing it back in its socket. However, doctors reportedly believe the assistant principal “is blinded and the damage is permanent.”
According to the outlet, Rogers will likely have to undergo another surgery to remove her right eye completely.
According to WFAA, the student was taken into custody after the incident. Furthermore, they are reportedly forbidden from being on campus, and “the school expects charges to be filed.” Fox 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth notes that the student reportedly has a “mental health condition.”
On Tuesday, Rogers addressed reporters at a news conference. Furthermore, she “emphasized the need to provide teachers with safety in the classroom.”
“We should never have to fear being in a classroom with an aggressive student,” she stated. “Everyone’s protection is paramount. Overly aggressive students need services to meet their needs, but I do not believe the safety of other students and the educational staff should suffer.”
Additionally, Rogers reportedly addressed the governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, while speaking on the need for more funding for public schools in the state.
“It is important, to point out that the decision to continue funding Texas public schools at 2019 levels in 2024 is a choice,” Rogers added. “The collateral damage of Governor Abbott’s choices include but are not limited to academic struggles, student discipline struggles, teacher retention challenges, stifling program advancements, loss of student enrichment programs, lessening of needed student support, erosion of parent and external stakeholder trust, decreased student engagement.”
Watch the assistant principal’s comments below.
According to Fox 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, it remains unclear when Rogers will be able to return to work.
The incident at Collins Intermediate School isn’t the only one to make headlines in the state amid the back-to-school season. As The Shade Room previously reported, a junior student named Andrea Rodriguez Avila was found dead in her dorm room on Monday, August 26 the university’s first day of classes.
Subsequently, authorities discovered the body of an unknown male in Avila’s dorm and determined that she was apparently killed in a murder-suicide.
The incident led to the president of the university speaking out as an investigation reportedly remains ongoing.
