Corsicana teacher blinded by “irate” student

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News says a Corsicana Independent School District administrator said her right eye was knocked out of its socket after a student threw a wooden hanger at her during the first week of school. Candra Rogers, an assistant principal at Collins Intermediate School, said at a news conference Tuesday morning that during lunch Aug. 15, a call for assistance came over the school radio. When Rogers arrived at the classroom, she said the teacher and other students were outside the room, with one student holding his head after being assaulted by an “irate” student who remained in the classroom. Inside the room, Rogers said furniture had been overturned. She said she tried to calm the student, who then picked up a chair and threw it at her. Rogers said she was able to catch the chair, and she used it to block two chairs the student threw at other assistant principals who arrived to help. The student threw a wooden hanger at Rogers, which struck her in the face and knocked her right eye out of its socket, she said.

“I grabbed my face while blood was pouring out of my head and stumbled out of the classroom door,” Rogers said. “Nurses and 911 were called, and I asked for my cellphone to call my husband to come get me, not realizing the extent of the damage.” Rogers said she was airlifted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, roughly 50 miles away. Doctors were able to reinsert her eye back into the socket, but Rogers said she will likely be permanently blind. Rogers said she still needs to have surgery on her eyelid and said it is possible her damaged eye will have to be removed. “I still believe in God for a miracle for restoration of my sight,” Rogers said. A Corsicana ISD statement said the student has been “restricted to a specific location” and is prohibited from campus. District officials said the matter has been referred to the Navarro County district attorney’s office and the Juvenile Probation Department. The statement said district officials expect the student’s actions will be handled through the juvenile court system.