A vice principal has lost the sight in one eye and is at risk of becoming completely blind after an aggressive middle school student threw a hanger at his face.
Candra Rogers was responding to a call of students fighting in a classroom at Collins Middle School in Corsicana on Aug. 15 when a child hurled chairs at Rogers, who dodged them, before the coat hanger struck the principal in the eye. WFAA reported.
“The hanger hit me in the right eye and dislocated my eye from its socket,” Rogers told reporters at a news conference Tuesday, her first since returning to school.
“I stumbled out the classroom door, clutching my face, with blood pouring from my head,” the educator recalled.
The injuries were so severe that paramedics who responded to the school determined Rogers needed to be transported by helicopter to hospital.
Ms Rogers will be blind in one eye, possibly permanently, she said, and if it proves incurable, doctors will have to remove her eye.
“I still believe in God to miraculously restore my vision,” Rogers said.
She will also have to undergo reconstructive surgery on her eyelids.
School officials said in a press release Monday that one student was taken into police custody on suspicion of assault. The case has been forwarded to the Navarro County District Attorney's Office and the Juvenile Probation Department, and the school expects charges will be filed.
The student has also been banned from campus, according to the school district.
Rogers only joined the Corsicana community last semester, and her husband, Eugene Rogers, is in his first season as Corsicana High School's football coach this year.
Officials have provided an estimate of when Rogers might return to work.
The vice superintendent said Tuesday that school districts and the state need to provide more protections for teachers.
“No one should have to be afraid to be in the same classroom as an aggressive student,” Rogers said.
“While overly aggressive students need services to meet their needs, I don't think that should come at the expense of the safety of other students or education staff,” she said.
She criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the state Legislature for refusing to increase funding for public schools, despite a $32 billion budget surplus.
“It is important to note that the decision to continue funding Texas public schools at 2019 levels in 2024 is a choice,” Rogers said.
“The collateral damage of Governor Abbott's choice includes, but is not limited to, academic difficulties, student discipline difficulties, teacher retention challenges, stunted program progress, loss of student development programs, reduced needed student supports, diminished parent and external stakeholder confidence, and reduced student engagement.”
