LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK) – A mother is calling for the termination of an Arkansas kindergarten teacher after her child says he was forced to dig in the toilet with his bare hands.
Ashley Murry said she was horrified when her 5-year-old told her what happened at school.
“It’s degrading for a child so I don’t feel like any child should have to go through this,” said Ashley Murry, mother of the 5-year-old, “They basically made him go in the toilet and get his feces and the dirty tissue out of the toilet.”
Ashley’s son is a kindergartener at Crystal Hill Elementary School. She said as soon as she found out, she jumped into action.
Ashley pulled her son out of the classroom and enlisted the help of her mother, Tami Murry.
“You want a child to put their hand in there physically and clean out the commode- no no no no no. He’s not a janitor, he’s not a custodian, he’s not maintenance, no, not at all,” said Tami Murry.
Pulaski County Special School District said in a statement it has begun the process to dismiss the teacher. Officials noted in the statement that there would be a hearing with the district’s board of directors prior to any final decision on the teacher’s employment.
Meanwhile, Ashley said the teacher called her personally.
“She got on the phone with me and she said she didn’t have an explanation, she just knew she was wrong. But she stated to the principal that she was trying to teach how not to stop up the toilet,” said Ashley.
“I told her that’s not good enough for me,” said Tami.
The mother/grandmother duo said something more than a phone call is needed.
“She needs to be terminated because you don’t treat kids like this. He is a kid,” said Ashley.
“I don’t ever want this to happen to another child again,” said Tami.
According to the school district, the teacher has been placed on administrative leave while the situation is being investigated. The teacher could not be reached for comment.
