SES instructors dubbed ‘prey’ before teacher assault

Silsbee Elementary School teachers began the semester listening to a motivational speaker compare them to a herd of llamas, aiming to avoid the predatory students who might devour them; they ended the semester with more questions than reassurances from administrators after a fifth-grade teacher was left concussed from an attack by a 10-year-old student who harbors a history of violence.

“We’re not being heard by administrators at all,” said one Silsbee Elementary School teacher close to the victim. The Examiner is withholding the outspoken instructor’s identity to protect her position.

“The school year started with teachers very unhappy because administration (Dr. Gerald Chandler) has been on us and blaming us for a variety of things, like STAAR test scores, which were low last year, and this, that and the other,” she explained.

She said principals blamed teachers’ classroom management for lackluster performances and poor behavior, adding, “Teachers are tired and frustrated. We are tired of being blamed for poor test scores. We are frustrated at the lack of support from school administrators. We are tired of sending misbehaving students to the office only to have them return to the classroom with candy. We are frustrated to be told that the reason students misbehave is our lack of classroom management. We are tired of disrespectful students. We teachers are tired and frustrated—to the point of leaving the profession entirely.”

At a Jan. 10 Silsbee ISD meeting, Taylor Hargrave said, “I’m here on behalf of some members of the community here tonight. The district has a problem. There are 16 open, posted jobs at the administration office. The biggest reason for this staff shortage is behavior and discipline problems in our school.

“Teachers feel like they don’t get the required support to handle these. It’s chaos. What’s happening at the elementary school can be described as downright negligent.”

From threats to assault

“(The victim teacher) had discussed this student with the principal several times; she thought they were productive conversations,” the anonymous teacher revealed, saying they agreed that this student needed to be supervised during transition times, “because this student was known to have behavioral issues and triggers that could just pop out of nowhere, and she would become violent. This was a well-known thing from kindergarten on. I talked to people who had her in kindergarten, and they said, ‘Yea, this is not uncommon for this student.’”

“She just didn’t get the full services she needed for whatever reason,” the teacher summed. “She would fixate on people, and last year, she fixated on a pregnant woman. She would say things like, ‘I’m gonna kill your baby.’ (That) wasn’t anything out of the blue.”

The student followed through on her threats of violence on Dec. 13, 2022. According to teachers’ testimony, the victim was walking in the main corridor during dismissal. The student was running from the bus ramp toward the gym and just happened to see the teacher. The student grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the ground. Other staff began trying to intervene, while administrators were slow to arrive on the scene.

“The entirety of the fifth grade teaching team is appalled and infuriated. Something is not right in Silsbee.”

As horrible as the situation is for the victim, teachers – including the concussed instructor – agree that the person who will suffer most is the student.

According to a Silsbee ISD Police Department incident report obtained by The Examiner, a 10-year-old student was charged with assault, causing bodily injury to a public servant, for the December incident.

“A preliminary investigation reveled (sic) that the victim had already left the scene,” reads the police incident report. “Officers met the complainant Dec. 14, 2022, and an investigation was initiated. A directive to apprehend was issued by a magistrate, and the child was arrested and transported to the Hardin County Juvenile Detention Center (on) Dec. 15, 2022.”

Silsbee teachers say the only response they’ve gotten from principals amounts to a single paragraph buried in an email about other matters.

“Teachers need school administrators who have clear communication with each other, as well as the staff,” she implores. “Teachers need support from assistant principals, principals, board members, and the superintendent. Teachers need adequate time to effectively plan so they can effectively teach. The pressure on this pot is building and it is not sustainable. Something needs to change or there will be no educators left.”

‘Predatory’ pupils

Months before the educator was assaulted by this historically violent student, Silsbee Elementary teachers were actually compared to prey, specifically llamas.

During the beginning-of-the-year professional development seminar which preceded this school year, educational consultant Doug Curry told teachers they were like a pack of llamas, and students – hungry tigers in this metaphor – are “looking for a victim.”

While teachers were insulted and already baffled by the simile, according to the online fact-checked encyclopedia Britannica, llamas and tigers are not indigenous to the same continent.

“The students are the predators, and they will latch onto and bring down the slow, weak ones,” she said of the man’s motivational speech.

“Teachers do not need to spend precious time listening to a consultant ramble about strategies they already implement. Most teachers will probably be multitasking and working on any one of the million tasks that will need to be completed before students arrive the next day. Teachers are tired of being gaslit. We are tired of being blamed. We are tired of blatant disrespect and disregard. Teachers are tired of being voiceless and are leaving in droves. However, some teachers are ready to fight narcissistic districts and give a voice to the voiceless.”

SISD didn’t respond to request for comment by press time.