Authorities say a Virginia Beach middle school teacher is facing charges after he became upset at an eighth-grader and wrote the word “focus” on the student’s forehead.
According to the Virginian-Pilot, Daniel Board had just started working at Landstown Middle School when the incident occurred last month. The 46-year-old math teacher got upset with the student for asking questions and not focusing in class, according to a criminal complaint cited by the paper.
Board, who was arrested and charged Monday with misdemeanor assault and battery, kept the student from wiping the word off his forehead until he finished his school work, the Virginia-Pilot reported.
In a statement sent to The Washington Post, Virginia Beach City Public Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence said the incident “is a painful reminder that harm is not always physical.”
“Without question, this action was humiliating for the student and made him the subject of ridicule,” Spence said. “Certainly, it showed a lack of judgment and empathy on the teacher’s part, and is at odds with our division’s core values.”
The incident occurred Sept. 16. School officials began an investigation after finding out about it three days later, according to media reports.
No one from the Virginia Beach Police Department was available for comment on Saturday.
District spokeswoman Eileen Cox told local reporters that Board, who started working for school district in August, was placed on unpaid administrative leave late last month. He resigned from his job on Thursday.
Efforts to reach Board by phone were unsuccessful.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Kristine Guerra
