The Jersey City Board of Education is probing allegations of a teacher’s aide pulling out a five-year-old elementary student’s hair, BOE President Dejon Morris said.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“The administration is reviewing all the facts surrounding this unfortunate news as we need to guarantee that all of our students are educated in a safe, nurturing environment,” Morris told HCV in a text message.
ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported that Aaquilah Perez’s daughter, Zuwena, a pre-K student at Public School No. 26 (also known as the Patricia M. Noonan Elementary School) who has ADHD and other special needs, had a braid ripped out by a teacher’s aide on March 15th.
“I think they really have to take this matter seriously because I don’t want anybody else’s kids to get hurt or I don’t want any other parents have to experience what I just experienced like three weeks ago,” Perez told the TV station.
“Because it’s a terrible feeling to send your child to a place where they’re supposed to be safe and for them to come home with their hair pulled down and sad seeing that their teacher hurt them, it’s really heartbreaking.”
ABC also reported that the Jersey City Police Department is investigating the incident as well. A city spokesman deferred comment to the school district, where administration officials did not return inquiries seeking comment.
