Grove High School Teacher Assaulted By Student

NewsOn6.com & Craig Day, The News On 6

GROVE, OKLAHOMA -- Grove High School went into lockdown mode Wednesday morning following a report of an assault on a teacher.

School officials say that at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, a male student assaulted a female teacher in English class. There were six other students in the classroom when the incident occurred.

The teacher called the school office for help, and high school employees were able to detain the student in the classroom until Grove Police arrived.

"It was handled quickly and without much incident," said Chief Mark Morris, Grove Police Department.

Police and school leaders won't say how the teacher was assaulted, but say she wasn't hurt and that any type of assault is taken very seriously.

Grove Public School's public safety officer said school employees go through a yearly safety briefing. The officer said they will review to see if anything could have been done differently, but they believe the incident was handled quickly and properly.

While the situation was handled quickly, and is considered an isolated incident, school violence is becoming more of a concern for educators nationwide.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics in their last study on school crime, 8 percent of teachers reported being threatened by students.

"As you know, times have changed, and we have to be prepared for that. That is why we practice lockdown drills, fire drills, tornado drills, you have to be prepared at all times for anything that could happen in the public schools." Sandy Harper, Grove Superintendent.

The male student could face simple assault charges, according to the Delaware County District Attorney.

The DA's office will decide if the male student would be charged as adult or youthful offender.