Teacher's Aide Fired After Allegedly Giving Special Needs Student A 'Wedgie'
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (CBS Local) -- A teacher's aide at an elementary school in St. Petersburg is out of a job, one month after she allegedly gave a special needs student a "wedgie" in front of a classroom of his peers.
The Pinellas County School Board voted 7-0 to fire Dominique Diamond Armstrong, 25, during Tuesday's meeting.
"Pinellas County Schools expects staff to treat students with respect and dignity," the district said in a statement. "The actions of Miss Armstrong are unacceptable."
Armstrong allegedly used excessive force on a special needs student at Mount Vernon Elementary School on Sept. 12. According to school disciplinary records, she grabbed the boy by his underwear, pulled them up and explained to the class, "Look! (boy's name) has a wedgie!"
The student, whose age was not released, became upset, left the room and overturned a table in the school's courtyard, district records show.
Mount Vernon Elementary, in St. Petersburg, Florida, as seen in video by Pinellas County Schools. (Credit: Pinellas County Schools)
Armstrong denied that the incident took place during a meeting with the district's Office of Professional Standards, according to records.
Armstrong was previously accused three times of using excessive force at the school. According to the district, the incidents included inappropriately grabbing a student by the shirt and forcibly removing a student from a school bus.
Records also show Armstrong refused to work on Sept. 21, when an assistant principal saw her on her phone, drawing pictures and sitting alone in the back of the classroom. "I am not doing anything today," she allegedly told the assistant principal.
