Honk News (Miami-Dade, FL) – A teacher in South Florida has been released from jail following her arrest for reportedly striking a 5-year-old student in the face with a ruler.
Footage showed Chrishawn Nicholson exiting the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade on Friday night. The educator, clad in a pale hoodie, obscured her face and chose to stay quiet.
Earlier in the day, Nicholson appeared in front of Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer. A 25-year-old individual is charged with one count of child abuse.
“There’s a video where she did say, ‘I did pop him,’” said a prosecutor.
“This was a gash. This wasn’t just a hit, this wasn’t just a little minor cut that you can just put a Band-Aid. This was a deep cut that required him to get stitches,” said the mother.
A parent, wishing to remain anonymous, reported that the event took place on November 19 at Aspire Preparatory Academy, situated close to Northwest 34th Avenue and 213th Street in Miami Gardens.
“I received a message from the teacher with her telling me that he was injured,” said the mother.
The arrest report reveals that Nicholson informed the parent that her son had been playing with a pencil and sustained a cut near his eyebrow. The child revealed an unexpected account as they rushed to the emergency room.
“I asked him what happened, and he let me know his teacher did hit him with a ruler,” said the mother.
The young boy required three stitches. Following the report made by his mother, an investigation was initiated by the Florida Department of Children and Families. The findings indicate:
“During his medical evaluation, the victim reported, ‘My teacher hit me with a ruler,’ and then demonstrated how he was hit.”
Nicholson surrendered to authorities on Thursday. Her attorney requested that Glazer permit her to continue her role as an educator.
“This is a very minor hiccup or confusion, that I don’t believe that she should be strayed away from being able to work with children,” said the attorney.
“I’m not going to order her that she can’t work in her profession, because this could be an isolated incident,” said Glazer.
“No matter how frustrated you are, you shouldn’t take it out on that child, to where now this child, it could’ve been his eye; it was so close to his eye. Then he would have been blind for the rest of his life. Then what?” said the student’s mother.
Glazer instructed Nicholson to maintain distance from the 5-year-old student and Aspire Preparatory Academy.