Schools

Parents: We Don't Want RSM Teacher who Pushed Child Back on Duty

The incident, caught on video, happened last year off campus. Cielo Vista teacher Thomas Hammer has been on administrative leave. Until Monday.

Originally posted at 11:32 a.m. May 20, 2014. 

Parents of students at Cielo Vista Elementary School are outraged at the return of a teacher caught on tape snatching a skateboard from a child, threatening to hit another boy with it and trying to hurl it onto a balcony while off duty.

According to a parent, the incident happened last June. But Monday, Thomas Hammer, a second-grade teacher, returned to duty.

"Parents are outraged that he was allowed in the classroom," the mom told Patch. 

Tammy Blakely, spokeswoman for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, told KTLA the teacher has not returned to a classroom teaching assignment but is supporting other students until the end of the school year.

"We are committed to working toward a resolution in this matter," she said.

KTLA said Hammer was originally charged with allegedly committing a felony crime, but the offense was dropped to a misdemeanor.

Some parents vow to keep their children out of school in protest, several media outlets report. 


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