A middle school teacher in Georgia has resigned after sending an 11-year-old student to the emergency room after the boy told her to stop talking about his mother in sexual terms.
Delen Middle School teacher and football coach Betreylin Elder was captured on video last Friday roughly grabbing an 11-year-old student by the shirt, throwing him several feet and slamming him into a desk on the way down to the floor.
The victim's mother gave her name as “TJ.” said WTOC alleges Elder shared “inappropriate” comments about her that sparked the argument.
“I heard he said some things that weren't appropriate to TJ and said some things about me, and my son wasn't happy about it,” Shenelle Russell said. “So my son went to the front of the class, approached the teacher and said, 'Stop talking about mom.'”
“The teacher then approached my son. He again said, “Don't talk to me about mom,'' and said he wanted to call me as well. From that point on, he was casually grabbed and thrown to the floor,” Russell said.
One of the comments Elder allegedly said was, “He left his shoes at TJ's mom's house.”
Toward the end of the video, shot by another student, the teacher can be seen standing over the child, who remains seated on the floor.
“Then he grabbed [TJ] They then pushed him out of the classroom and the vice principal witnessed it…he was thrown out of the classroom…again he was aggressive,'' Russell said.
Russell said she took her son to the emergency room later that day, where his mother determined he had a concussion and multiple bruises.
Mr. Elder has not yet been criminally charged but has resigned and said Savannah Morning News “I will not be making any statements at this time until the legal work is done,” he said.
Russell wants the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) to show more accountability.
“I feel like they failed me. They let me down. It's heartbreaking. It creates a lack of trust in the school system. Something needs to be done,” Russell said. spoke.
“[Elder] needs to be put in jail. He hurt my son. It broke my heart because I wouldn't want that to happen to my child. His father never did that to him. So it's disgusting that he takes the initiative to do it. what are you doing at home? Are you hitting your children? Are you hitting your wife? ” added the mother.
In a statement obtained by the newspaper, SCCPSS officials said Elder was “reassigned” to a location where he had no contact with students before resigning.
“On December 6, 2024, an incident involving a teacher and a student at Delen Middle School was reported to school district officials. In response to the report, a thorough statement was taken and the teacher was instructed to have no contact with the student. “He was immediately reassigned to another location for further improvement,” school district officials said. “Over the weekend, the teacher submitted a letter of resignation, which was received and accepted by SCCPSS Human Resources.”
“Please be assured that this is an isolated incident and we take matters such as this very seriously. The safety and well-being of our students is of paramount importance to us and we will “We are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for people,” SCCPSS added.
