Last thread of the week.
TLDR
TLDR
- Robert Mueller-Owens, 52, a positive behavior support coach and assistant principal, is accused of assaulting a student at a Wisconsin middle school
- The student's mom says her black daughter was pushed and punched by the white educator who also allegedly pulled out three of her braids
- Mueller-Owens was placed on leave and video footage of the aftermath of the incident will not been made available until the police investigation concludes
- The behavior coach also once attended a conference to 'Rethink School Discipline' at President Obama's White House in 2015
Positive behavior' coach at a middle school placed on leave after accusations he pushed an 11-year-old black student, punched her and ripped out three of her braids
An educator in Madison, Wisconsin, has been put on leave after a student claimed he shoved and punched her and pulled out three braids of hair from her head.
Robert Mueller-Owens, 52, an administrator and positive behavioral support coach with at White Horse Middle School in the Madison Metropolitan School District, allegedly attacked the student on February 13,WISC news reports.
'Just the whole experience is just traumatic and devastating and just confusing,' Mikiea Price, the student's mother said on Wednesday. 'I'm just disgusted at this whole incident.'
Price said her daughter called her last week claiming she had been jumped by her teacher, and when she arrived at the school, her daughter was holding three braids allegedly ripped from her hair, had a cracked, bleeding lip and was crying.
Mueller-Owens, as the dean of students, apparently had been called in to deal with Price's daughter and another student who had sprayed too much perfume or body spray and refused to leave the classroom.
While surveillance footage from outside the room has not been released to the public, Price and her Pastor Marcus Allen, relayed what they saw.
'A big tall man and an 11-year-old girl being pushed from one classroom to the other side of the hallway and then falling on top of her,' Allen said of the video. 'It's a very disturbing sight to see.'
The video does not show what happened before the hallway, but Price told WISC news that her daughter said Mueller-Owens asked her step out of the room and she initially refused. He then told the rest of the class leave.
Price's daughter alleges she then decided she would leave, and that the administrator shoved her with both hands as she made her way out. She then claims she said, 'don't put your hands on me,' and that's when he pushed her again and began to punch her, Price's mother told Madison365.
'As a District we take any situation of this nature very seriously,' Rachel Strauch-Nelson said in a statement for the Madison Metropolitan School District.
'All of our students need to be safe and supported in school, and we have a thorough investigation process and protocol that we follow. While we cannot talk about the details of a specific student or personnel situation, it is our responsibility to consider all of the facts of the situation and determine the right next steps.'
In the meantime, Mueller-Owens remains on leave until the conclusion of the investigation with any next steps to be determined by the findings.
'It's still being investigated and we are trying to sort out what happened,' spokesman Joel DeSpain for the Madison Police Department said. 'We know there is a parent involved who is making a lot of claims as to what transpired, and we of course are checking out those claims and any other facts that we can glean so we can come to a conclusion.'
Robert Mueller-Owens, whose background is in positive behavioral support, attended a conference on reforming school discipline at President Obama's White House in 2015. He has spoken in the past of the need for cultural literacy in order to rethink school discipline.
The irony was not lost on Mikiea Price, whose black daughter was involved in the incident with Mueller-Owens who is white.
'If he has all that training, why would you approach that and why, when a kid told you don't touch me, why did you come and meet them with more force?' she said.
Mueller-Owens is one several employees of the school district who have been investigated for racial incidents since last fall, according toMadison.com. Teachers, substitutes and a bus driver have had to leave positions after allegations of racial slurs and abuse.
Mueller-Owens has worked for the Madison Metropolitan School District for more than four-and-a-half years according to his Linkedin profile
Educator accused of pushing 11-year-old black student, punching her and ripping out her braids | Daily Mail Online
