A Corsicana assistant principal says an enraged student blinded her during a "disruption" in a classroom earlier this month and that underfunded schools and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott are partly to blame. Meanwhile, the student accused of causing that injury is not allowed back on campus.
Collins Intermediate School Assistant Principal Candra Rogers has been home for more than a week recovering from a severe injury to her eye after being rushed to a hospital by air ambulance on Aug. 15. While it's unknown when Rogers will be able to return to work, she read a statement to reporters on Tuesday morning sharing her account of what happened in the classroom.
Rogers entered the district's board of trustee chambers Tuesday morning, guided by her husband holding her hand.
Thank you all from the depths of my heart for all of your prayers. They have given me and my family strength during these very difficult and trying times.
Candra Rogers
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While the district hasn't elaborated much on what happened when Rogers was injured, citing privacy laws, they did confirm last week that Rogers was in a classroom with fewer than 10 students when she intervened in an unspecified situation and was hurt.
Surrounded by family members Tuesday, Rogers filled in the gaps. She said a behavioral teacher called for assistance over the radio and that when she arrived at the classroom, the teacher and all of the students but one were in the hallway. One of the students, she said, was holding his head after having been assaulted in the classroom.
Rogers said she walked into the classroom with the aggressive student and saw that it had been "ransacked" and that furniture had been overturned.
"I knew I had to be as calm as possible. I spoke lowly and slowly as not to enrage him any further," Rogers said. "He picked up a chair and acted as if he would throw it. He finally did throw it at me, but I caught it mid-air."
Rogers said the student picked up another chair and threw it at her as another assistant principal entered the room. She said she blocked that chair with the first one.
"He picked up a third and threw it at the other assistant principal, and I used that initial chair to block the one that he threw at her," Rogers said. "After blocking the chair thrown at the other assistant principal, he threw a wooden hanger at me, but I couldn't stop it fast enough."
Rogers said the wooden hanger hit her and knocked her right eye out of its socket.
"I grabbed my face while blood was pouring out of my head and stumbled out of the classroom door," Rogers recalled. "I asked for my cellphone to call my husband to come get me, not realizing the extent of the damage."
Paramedics responding to the call for help determined Rogers needed to be airlifted to Parkland in Dallas. Once there, Rogers said she underwent immediate surgery and that doctors were able to reinsert her eye in the socket but that they believed her vision loss was permanent.
I've been in education for 30 years, and I'm a proud product of public schools. I believe in public school education, but what happened to me should never happen to another educator.
Candra Rogers
Rogers said she'll need at least one additional surgery on her eyelid and that she may eventually lose her right eye.
"I still believe in God for a miracle, for restoration of my eyesight," Rogers said Tuesday.
Rogers heaped praise on the Corsicana community and those who provided her family with meals, cards and financial support as she recovered.
"I'm so, so, very, very grateful," Rogers said.
INJURED EDUCATOR SAYS GOV. ABBOTT PARTLY TO BLAME
Corsicana Assistant Principal Candra Rogers began her statement Tuesday by asserting that the words were hers, not those of the Corsicana ISD.
While discussing her injury Tuesday at the hands of a student, Rogers said the state may need to modify Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code, the chapter dealing with discipline and law and order, to better protect people working in schools.
"[It] may need to be reevaluated so no paraprofessional, no teacher, or principal, simply put no educator should ever be put in this position," Rogers said. "As educators, we care about our students and their safety, but we must also care about the safety of our educational staff. Our safety is important, too. We should never have to fear being in a classroom with an aggressive student. Everyone's protection is paramount. Overly-aggressive students need services to meet their needs, but I do not believe the safety of other students and the educational staff should suffer."
Rogers said the situation that led to her injury could be traced back to a lack of funding and blamed Gov. Greg Abbott and the state legislature, at least partly.
"Gov. Greg Abbott holds some accountability in the safety of our students and our staff. For years, our schools have suffered unfunded mandates, which included pay raises," Rogers said. "Our basic allotment, which funds our day-to-day expenses, have not increased since 2019 even though we have had rising costs on absolutely everything, including new unfunded mandates. This is 2024."
Rogers said that as schools struggle with funding, more could be done to improve policies that support students' mental and emotional health. She said some of the state's $32 billion budget surplus should be used to better fund education and the needs of all students, but the governor is not releasing those funds "because his political priority is school choice."
"I'd like to quote a friend who gave me permission to use their words. 'If our students don't have what they need to be successful in Texas, this is not simply problematic. I hold that it is immoral. Texas has the ninth-largest economy in the world. Not the country, the world," Rogers read. "Texas has over a $32 billion budget surplus, yet we spend the eighth-least in terms of allotment per student in the U.S. Regardless of what you believe this says about our priorities as a state, this is a choice, and choices have consequences."
STUDENT REMOVED FROM CAMPUS, EXPECTED TO FACE CHARGES
The student involved in the incident that blinded Rogers is a juvenile, and their name has not been released. The Corsicana ISD said the Navarro County District Attorney's Office and juvenile probation department are involved in the investigation, and district officials said the student is expected to face charges as a juvenile.
According to Corsicana ISD, "The student has been restricted to a specific location and cannot be on campus."
“Our focus remains on Mrs. Rogers, her family, and our students and staff at Collins,” said Howell in a statement. “This incident affects our whole district, as well. We want our teachers and staff to feel safe at work, just as we want our students to feel safe in school.”
