Middle school teacher removed from classroom after assault claims

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A teacher at a DeKalb County middle school has been removed from the classroom after students claimed he physically and verbally assaulted them.

Students told Channel 2 Action News a teacher at Peachtree Charter Middle School assaulted them physically and verbally.

One student said the teacher deliberately tripped her in the lunchroom and another student said the teacher held him to the floor pushing a blow horn to his neck. Students also said the teacher made them watch a graphic video. Both students also allege the teacher made anti-Semitic comments to Jewish students.

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In a sit-down interview with Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes, one of the parents said her daughter is traumatized because of what happened.

"I mean, she was scared for days, she was crying for days," said Michelle Robinovitz.

Robinovitz first heard her daughter say that the teacher was showing the videos to students as part of a social studies lesson. She told her daughter to just tell the teacher she didn’t want to see those things.

But a month later her daughter said the teacher assaulted her

"Dec. 7 is when he tripped my daughter in the lunchroom. He put out his foot, she tripped, dropped her lunch all over the place, was with other kids who witnessed it, he laughed," she said.

Her daughter and the witnesses reported the incident to the principal. Later that day, another student reported a different type of physical assault

School officials took the teacher out of the classroom where the alleged incidents took place and put him in a different classroom, still around kids, while they investigated.

Robinovitz told Fernandes her daughter still sees the teacher in hallways everyday and it gives her anxiety.

School officials refused an on-camera interview with Channel 2 Action News but did admit that they didn't place the teacher on administrative leave until we started asking questions Wednesday.

"The entire school I feel is at risk, in one day he assaulted two children. I don’t know when this guy can snap," Robinovitz said.

The district sent Channel 2 Action News this statement Wednesday afternoon:

"The DeKalb County School District believes that diversity is our strength, and takes any potential violation of that ideal seriously. What we can say at this point is that the employee has been removed from the classroom pending further review and investigation."

Cox Media Group