Earlier this month, an assistant principal at a public school in Corsicana, Texas, whose eye was knocked out of its socket while she tried to defuse a situation involving a student, is not only calling on the school district to do better in protecting students and staff, but she’s calling on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to stop under-funding her district.
Source: GoFundMe
KWTX reported that Candra Rogers, the assistant principal a Collins Intermediate School, was airlifted to a hospital on Aug. 15 after sustaining a serious eye injury as a result of the violent confrontation with an unidentified student in an incident that has been referred to the Navarro County District Attorney’s Office and the Juvenile Probation Department, according to Corsicana ISD.
Rogers explained her recollection of what happened in a statement published by the Corsicana Daily Sun:
On Thursday, August 15th, during lunch, I heard our behavioral teacher call on the radio to administrators for assistance. When I arrived, the teacher and students were outside the classroom. One student was holding his head, having been assaulted by the student remaining in the classroom. I entered, where the student was still irate, and found the room ransacked with overturned furniture. I knew I had to be as calm as possible, and I spoke lowly and slowly so as not to enrage him any further.
He picked up a chair and acted as if he would throw it. He finally did throw it at me, but I caught it mid-air. He picked up another chair to throw at me when another assistant principal entered the room. I used the first chair to block the second. He picked up a third and threw it at the other assistant principal. I used the initial chair to block the one he threw at her.
After blocking the chair thrown at the other assistant principal, he threw a wooden hanger at me, but I could not stop it fast enough. The hanger hit me in my right eye and knocked it out of the socket. I grabbed my face while blood was pouring out of my head and stumbled out the classroom door.
The nurse and 911 were called. I asked for my cell phone to call my husband to come get me, not realizing the extent of the damage. When paramedics arrived, they determined I would need to be airlifted to Parkland Medical Center in Dallas.
I underwent surgery as soon as possible, and doctors were able to reinsert my eye; however, they determined I had been blinded and currently believe that damage to be permanent.
Rogers went on to note that the ” tragedy affected not just my husband, my children and grandchild, my family, and my friends, but it has also negatively affected my school, my district, and my community,” but she didn’t treat the student who attacked her like he’s not a human being. In her lengthy statement, she advocated for the student to be disciplined, but she also included that “overly aggressive students need services to meet their needs.”
“Chapter 37 of our Texas Education Code, which was originally created in 1995 to help protect our marginalized students, with regard to how students are disciplined may need to be reevaluated so that no paraprofessional, teacher, or principal, simply put, no educator should ever be put in this situation,” Rogers said. “I fully understand education laws and the need for students to be educated with their peers. Chapter 37 may need to incorporate changes to address the mental, social, and emotional well-being of these students. As educators, we care about our students and their safety, but we must also care about the safety of our educational staff; our safety is important too. We should never have to fear being in a classroom with an aggressive student. Everyone’s protection is paramount!”
But the real kicker came when Rogers took the time to call out Abbott, who, along with the rest of the Republican party, has proven time and time against that he is no friend to the public school system, particularly, in the state of Texas.
“Lastly, Gov. Greg Abbott holds some accountability in the safety of our students and our staff,” Rogers said. “For years, our schools have suffered unfunded mandates, which have included pay raises. Our basic allotment which funds our day-to-day expenses have not been increased since 2019, even though we have had rising costs on absolutely everything, including new unfunded mandates. This is 2024.
“I’d like to quote a friend who gave me permission to use their words: ‘If our students don’t have what they need to be successful in Texas, this is not simply problematic, I hold that it is immoral,” she continued.
Rogers used the violent attack on her, not to condemn her juvenile attacker, but to address a larger issue. That’s how you do it!
Our schools need to be safe and our children need to be cared for even when they misbehave.
Candra’s daughter-in-law has started a GoFundMe for the principal’s medical bills. Click HERE to donate.