JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A mother is speaking out after her 8-year-old daughter had her teeth knocked out at school, and she plans to file a lawsuit against Duval County Schools for what she describes as a failure to protect her child.
In an exclusive interview with Action News Jax, April Wallace shared her heartache over what happened to her daughter, Brooklyn, at Beauclerc Elementary School last September. Nearly five months later, Brooklyn is still missing her front teeth and still has no answers about the incident.
Wallace expressed her frustration, saying, “Any time I take pictures of her, it’s like ‘Mommy, let me see, I don’t want to show my teeth.’ And for Christmas, she told me all she wanted was to get her teeth fixed.”
On September 20th, Wallace received a call informing her that Brooklyn had broken her two front teeth at school. The nurse’s report said, “The student was taken down to the floor by an adult where she broke her two front teeth.”
Wallace said no teacher could explain exactly what happened, but Brooklyn, who is part of a special needs program, shared her account of the incident. She explained that another student hit her in the face with wooden blocks. After the second incident, Brooklyn pulled the child’s hair. According to her, the teacher then removed the other students from the classroom, and it was when they were alone that the teacher allegedly picked her up and slammed her to the floor from behind.
A few days later, Wallace spoke with a detective who claimed the incident was an accident. The detective explained that the teacher had been trying to restrain Brooklyn and had tripped and fallen. Two witnesses supported this version of events, but Wallace remains unconvinced.
“Right now, it’s my daughter’s words against the school district, and I believe my daughter because her story never changed,” she said.
Despite the investigation, Duval County Schools confirmed that the teacher involved is still employed by the district, though he has since been transferred to another school that specializes in special needs and disabilities.
“I’m having to home-school her now because I will never trust Duval to educate my child,” Wallace stated.
Brooklyn is still in pain and waiting on a dental procedure, with an eight-month wait list to have her teeth repaired. Wallace is determined to seek justice for her daughter and said, “They need to fix her teeth. I trusted them to take care of my child, and they didn’t.”
Wallace has filed an insurance claim against the school for damages but is still waiting to hear back. Action News Jax has requested the details of the investigation and the teacher’s personnel file.
Cindy Pearson, the school board member for Beauclerc’s district, released the following statement:
“Any time a child is hurt, my first concern is for the well-being of the child. Mom-to-mom, I hope that the student is ok. As a board member, it would be inappropriate for me to address a specific case because it would prejudice my role in the employee disciplinary process. However, I can say that the board has instituted strong policies and procedures for handling professional standards allegations. It is my full expectation that the superintendent and his team have followed those procedures in this situation.”
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