Employee at East St. Louis elementary school charged with choking an 8-year-old
An employee at an East St. Louis elementary school has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the beating of a child at the school.
Teriona Y. Ford, 24, of Belleville, was charged in St. Clair County Court on Jan. 2. She is a personal care aide at Katie Harper-Wright Elementary School, said District 189 spokeswoman Sydney Stigge-Kaufman.
A personal care aide, according to a job description from the district, is someone who assists students with special needs in tasks like getting to and from the school bus, eating, going to the bathroom and helping them access the learning materials.
The alleged assault occurred on Dec. 2, the charging documents against Ford state. She is accused of grabbing an 8-year-old boy by the throat and of throwing him against a desk.
Ford was arrested on Dec. 30.
Stigge-Kaufman could not confirm whether or not the boy was a student at the school or if Ford has been disciplined because it is a personnel matter. She did say, however, that a district investigation is ongoing.
“The district always has a practice of thorough investigations when there’s allegations of inappropriate conduct,” Stigge-Kaufman said Monday. “Keeping students safe is the No. 1 priority.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 2:11 PM.
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