An elementary school art teacher faces a 30 day suspension after two kids are hurt when he threw chairs in class.
The Duval County Public Schools investigation we've obtained in to James Garren includes statements from more than a dozen Whitehouse Elementary 5th graders who were in the room. Investigators say on Friday, March 6th, Garren became angry after students wouldn't quiet down to be dismissed, and then one of them kicked a chair.
Garren then got up, pushed a table toward a student, and pushed and even threw chairs- which hit two kids on their legs. The investigation says he then got in the face of the student who had kicked the chair initially and said he wasn’t scared of the child or of losing his job over the child.
During the course of this investigation, many of the students reported being afraid of Garren’s behavior and didn’t want to return to class. Most of them also said he has yelled at them in the past, generally to “be quiet” or “shut up”. Several students also reported prior statements from Garren that dealt with fighting students, including “if you were 18, I would beat you up,” and “when you’re eighteen, come and see me, I will smash you.”
Garren was removed from the classroom shortly after the school became aware of the allegations and the investigation began.
The student who kicked the chair says he was angry that his classmates were making fun of his weight, and they wouldn’t quiet down so he was concerned he would miss the bus. His mom doesn’t have a car and wouldn’t be able to pick him up, and he told investigators he kicked the chair after students made a comment about not caring about his mother. One student who was hit- and bruised- by a chair was standing in the back of the room.
While several of the students who spoke with investigators had prior disciplinary records, including referrals, none listed specifically dealt with any incident with Garren. Ultimately, investigators determined there were enough commonalities in the statements to sustain the charge against Garren.
Because Garren has no prior disciplinary issues with the District, the DCPS Office of Equity and Inclusion/Professional Standards has recommended he be suspended for 30 days without pay. The Duval School Board will vote on that recommendation Tuesday night. The Florida Department of Children and Families also verified the claims against Garren and deferred the case to the State Attorney’s Office. A SAO Spokeswoman tells us their investigation is still active.
A Duval Teachers United Attorney issued a statement to DCPS reading, in part, that Garren admits to moving a table and chairs to get to a student who was acting out, but did not intentionally hit a student and doesn’t believe any student was hit by the furniture. The attorney also denied Garren ever talking about fighting his students.
Garren has until Friday to appeal the findings of the investigation but, at this time, DCPS says he has not filed an appeal. Three other teachers face disciplinary action at Tuesday’s School Board meetings but, at this time, those investigations have not been made available as public records.
