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Police probe fight between teacher, 55, and student, 14

Published: Sat, March 5, 2011 @ 12:07 a.m.




Police are investigating a fight at a Youngstown school between a teacher and student that sent the 55-year-old teacher to the hospital.

Police were sent to the University Project Learning Center on Ford Avenue at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday for a disturbance. There they found the teacher had been assaulted by a student.

Several special-needs students attend the school.

According to reports, the 14-year-old student came to school that morning and declared that he was not going to do any class work. He then became disruptive in the class by playing loud music and misbehaving.

The altercation started when the teacher pulled the boy’s chair in an attempt to get him out of the classroom.

Reports say the boy fell to the floor then got up and pushed the teacher. The teacher reportedly pushed the boy back.

According to police, the boy punched the teacher in the head with a closed fist, knocking the man to the ground. The teacher told police he struck his head on a pipe when he fell to the ground after the blow from the student.

The teacher got up from the floor, but the student hit him in the face a second time knocking him back to the ground. As the teacher again tried to stand, reports say the student struck the teacher a third time knocking him back to the ground.

The altercation ended when a teaching assistant came to the teacher’s assistance.

Principal Debbie DiFrancesco refused to talk about the incident Friday afternoon. She referred all inquiries to the board of education.

Reports say the teacher was taken to the hospital, but offers nothing about his condition. He was able to give his account of the incident to police, and Karen Ingram, school-district communications director, said the teacher is no longer hospitalized and appears to be doing well.

Reports say the student was placed in “time out,” however, Bill Morvey, the district’s chief of security, said the student was removed from school.

“The student was removed from school and will go through the due-process hearings,” he said. “This is a more specialized school for students with some issues and concerns so sometimes they get disruptive, but they [school officials] know how to handle the kids. This is one of those unfortunate situations.”


1timOthy(802 comments)posted 3 years ago

Press charges !

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2foxyglo(372 comments)posted 3 years ago


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3gs8488(2 comments)posted 3 years ago

press charges????theyll reduce the charges to disorderly conduct because its a school for students with issues and concerns

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4Photoman(933 comments)posted 3 years ago

This type of behavior almost always is indicative of really poor parenting. There is generally no role model in the home and the child finds role models in the street. Authority does not exist for this child, however, he cannot be allowed to continue in this setting. Sure wish I had an answer as to how we can correct these situations.

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5newsboy34(1 comment)posted 3 years ago

Sorry, guys, things like this never end well for the teacher. He will lose his job over this. It will come down to the fact, as I was once told, don't try to remove the student by yourself. An administrator will end up saying the teacher should have left the classroom unattended, and gotten a principal to remove the student.

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6mother4earth(3 comments)posted 3 years ago

If this is a special school for youth with behavioral issues, I suspect the teen may have some type of mental health or autism spectrum disorder, which creates behavioral disruptions. Pressing charges is not the answer here, it will then thrust the youth into the juvenile justice system where those exact behaviors become worse. The youth may be a product of a loving home environment but due to his diagnosis, may have those same very issues at home. Unless you know and understand the circumstances which lead to this horrific act of violence, one cannot make a judgment on the end results. There is no excuse for the attack on the teacher, there should have been safe guards put into place which would have ensured a better outcome, especially if you're working with this population of youth.

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7palbubba(662 comments)posted 3 years ago

mother4earth. people like you are part of the problem, blaming the teacher instead of the "child". This is not a child it is an animal that has no respect for anyone or anything but himself. That is why he is there in the first place. There should be armed guards on the premises, in the classroom if necessary and appropriate action taken in every disruption.

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8steelwagon(284 comments)posted 3 years ago

Special needs,he has problems and every excuse under the sun to baby and placate the little snot.

I say beat his a$$ until his nose bleeds,remove him from the school and put his little tough guy a$$ to work under tough supervision where his wise a$$ attitude won't be tolerated and if he puts his grubby little rat hands on anybody he'll quickly learn just how bad and tough he is.

You can't reform and teach these punks by talking to them like the're babies or by pleading with them to behave.
The only things they respond to or respect is a good old fashion a$$ kickin.

The fact that this little snot eater put his filthy rat hands on a teacher who was trying to help him says enough about him and where he comes from.
And for you bleeding hearts who think we should try to "understand" him will think twice about that when he's running the streets robbing and commiting violent crimes maybe against you or someone you love !!

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9stewie(108 comments)posted 3 years ago

Just throw the little dirtball in prison now and not prolong the inevitable.

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10cambridge(2904 comments)posted 3 years ago

This teacher should have his pay and benefits cut and lose his collective bargaining rights.

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11Moonmaedyn(7 comments)posted 3 years ago

"The altercation ended when a teaching assistant came to the teacher’s assistance."

Well, I'm wondering if that is in their job description? I don't think you should be doing something that isn't in your job description. Maybe without collective bargaining, this could have been avoided....

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12EricLW(66 comments)posted 3 years ago

Just make him kneel down ... put a 45 to the back of his head ... pull the trigger. Then send the bullet casing to his family to pay for the bullet. I think we are wasting too much taxes on trash like this. It's just stupid. Instead we fire a teacher and have a big court hearing for scum like this? Way to set an example.

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13cheybaby2(102 comments)posted 3 years ago

YOU PEOPLE ARE ALL STUPID, MOTHER4Earth Has All The Right Answer's. First Off A Lot Of These Kids Have Mental Problems like ADHA Among one. And Autism All Kinds Of Problems That's Why There In That School FairHaven Is another one For Disabled And Problem Kids and the blind. YOU PEOPLE NEED TO GO SEE FIRST HAND what goes on with These Kids. I raised a Son who is ADHA. Its Not The Parents Fault, Its Not The Child's Fault & Its Not The Teachers Fault. These Kids Have Problems. So Get Over Yourselves . You People Make Me Sick. My Brother Had 2 Retarded Boys, They Were Violent and Attacked My Brother All The Time. He Would Hold Them Down, Talk To Them Till They Calmed Down. After They Both Turned 18 Yrs Old The State Finally Put Them In an Adult Assistant Living facility after my Brother was Attacked and His Glasses were ripped off his face and broken.
You Can Be The Smartest People in this World And Still Bare a Special Needs Child. Lack Of Oxygen During Delivery is a Big Cause. I hate No It All's Grow Up Leave these Kids, Teachers & Parents Alone. Go Volunteer Helping These Kids, Do Research, And Don't Run Your Mouth Unless You have knowledge about what your talking about. BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T A CLUE !

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14Freeatlast(1989 comments)posted 3 years ago

What we need is more low paid teachers with no benefits , who went to school 4 to 10 years learn how to help some of these kids if they can . Boy is that smart . SB5".stands for stupd bill #5 in a long list to come

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15Lifes2Short(3864 comments)posted 3 years ago

"My Brother Had 2 Retarded Boys"

My, my, isn't that politically incorrect to use that term in today's society?

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16gr8cape(1 comment)posted 3 years ago

Oh yes, slash those benefits, abolish those collective bargaining rights and now the teacher won't be able to receive merit pay either because he brought negative attention to the school system and the kid will be too traumatized from the incident to pass his tests!

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17JME(801 comments)posted 3 years ago

Oh, so if the teacher could have some outragous wage/benefits, this type of behaivor from a student would be ok?

This has nothing to do with SB5.

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18Brit(18 comments)posted 3 years ago

This isn't the 60s or 70's anymore. Kids nowadays many times take guns and knives to school. They are a threat to teachers and it is not unusual to see in the news about kids killing and threatening classmates, teachers, principals, even their own parents! People think teachers don't deserve what they have gone to college and worked hard to earn?

Try being a teacher and you have to babysit 20-30 kids for eight hours a day, 5 days straight and on top of it you have to teach them, prepare lesson plans, keep grade books, have conferences, make bulletin boards, organize the room, grade papers, meet with parents, write notes to parents, prepare tests, run off copies of teaching tools, deal with kids that are trouble and deal with parents who are in some cases as immature and delinquent as their kids, and far more!!!!! These teachers work before school, after kids go home, and at nights and on weekends on school related stuff. I know! I am married to a teacher. The pressure is unbelievable what they go through. They don't have enough time in the day. They work 60 hour weeks if you include what they do at home for school. They use their own money to buy kids supplies without reimbursement. Many parents won't buy their own kids supplies. Teachers pay huge amounts out of their pay check for health care. Teachers are invested with one of the most important jobs in our country and they are over worked, under paid, under appreciated and vilified by ignorant people who obviously need an education of their own. These people have gone to college and are "professionals". You know what the lowest paying professional job is for college grads? Teachers rank second behind social workers. They deserve respect and support not foolish attacks. If not for teachers there would be more ignorance and it is education that creates success for people and our country. Education and teachers should be supported! The alternative is ignorance.
Teachers deserve far more pay, credit, and benefits than they have.

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19r0n724(56 comments)posted 3 years ago

This is a perfect example of what happens when children gained rights while parents and teachers lost rights.
In my book, children have no rights.. you do as I say.. when I say to do it.. or pay the consequences. When I was teaching, paddling was still allowed. If this kid would have come at me in this manner... there would have been 2 hits.. me hitting him.. and him hitting the floor. Thanks to todays laws this teacher is not allowed to knock the living crap out of disruptive and disrespectful kids... nor are their parents, for that matter. I say...the government needs to stay the hell out of how " normal" parents raise their kids. I"m all for spare the rod and spoil the child!

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20janpentz(25 comments)posted 3 years ago

This is my school. where I am a teacher. These children have special needs and like other schools similar to ours,there are incidents. This is not new or somehow unique to Youngstown. To report on and sensationalize an incident in a school like mine is not news and is a cheap shot. If there was an incident at Fairhaven, or Leonard Kurtz, or Betty Jane in Akron I don't think the Tribune or Akron Beacon Journal would report it as "news". Our school is full of caring professionals who do the best they can everyday. Sometimes it goes badly, most times we make a difference in ways the Vindicator never reports on. Youngstown deserves better.

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21cambridge(2904 comments)posted 3 years ago

rOn724....You sound like every nun I had in grade school.

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22nowyouknow(1 comment)posted 3 years ago

Please tell me how this teacher should have dealt with this student? I'd love to hear from the great enlightened who understand the diagnoses of the violent. Please enlighten the rest of us who actually think that discipline is for a student's good and for a civil society to endure. Please let us know how you would proceed while this student is in the midst of his display? All l read was that the teacher "moved his chair" I didn't hear that the teacher laid a hand on this kid except to defend himself while he was being attacked. Maybe you have a better way?

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