A teacher in Ohio was fired this week after she was photographed dragging a student by the arm down a school hallway.
The teacher, at Youngstown school in the Mahoning County Head Start program, was employed by Alta Care Group, a non-profit company which services the early education program.
“I want to make sure it is clear that the individual who was terminated does not reflect the values of the dedicated and skilled professionals at Alta Head Start,” CEO of Alta, Joe Shorokey said Wednesday in a statement.
“These fine teachers and aides should not be unfairly portrayed as anything less because of the person who was terminated. “
‘We took action immediately’
The student nor the teachers name has been made public.
Shorokey did not indicate the student’s age either, but confirmed the student was in the Head Start program. The Government-funded Head Start provides education to students between the ages of 3 and 5.
“We took this matter very seriously,” Shorokey said Thursday. “We took action immediately. We apologized to the parents, as well as to the community.”
The picture of the incident was reportedly taken by a Youngstown City Schools teacher working in an administrative capacity.