KIPP Investigated for Assault on Five Year Old

From St. Louis:

ST. LOUIS - Tammy Howard is still trying to make sense of what happened to her five-year-old son.

On Tuesday, Howard went to her son's kindergarten classroom at KIPP Victory Academy in St. Louis, when she noticed cuts and bruises to her son's face and neck.

When Howard questioned her son about what happened, he told her a school administrator grabbed his arm and took him to the coat closet.

"He said he grabbed him by the face with both hands," Howard said.

Howard immediately called St. Louis Police. The department's juvenile division has launched an investigation. Howard also took her son to the ER, where a doctor treated him for contusions.

"To be aggressive, to leave bruises, that's just too far for me," she said.

The staff member is now on leave. Kelly Garrett, the executive director of Kipp Victory Academy Charter School, sent Newschannel 5 the following statement:

"On Tuesday, November 10, we were notified by the police of allegations of physical misconduct between an administrator and a student at KIPP Victory Academy. We have communicated with police and Child Protective Services, and placed the administrator on administrative leave pending an investigation. At KIPP, we place a high priority on student safety, and act swiftly to address any and all allegations of inappropriate behavior."

Howard said she is now considering pulling her son out of KIPP.

"I want to see justice. I want justice done. He should not be around children," Howard said.