Posted For: Hauviette
A Texas kindergarten teacher is facing a felony charge after allegedly injuring a 5-year-old student by forcefully grabbing his arm and pushing him into a classroom corner as punishment for breaking a pencil, according to police.
Pamela Mitchell, 64, was accused of the Jan. 8 incident while teaching at J.H. Hines Elementary School in Waco, local CBS affiliate KWTX reported.
An arrest affidavit obtained by the station states that Mitchell briefly stepped out of the classroom and returned to find a broken pencil. After a school aide told her what had happened, she allegedly confronted the child and assaulted him. The affidavit says Mitchell grabbed the boy’s arm, twisted it behind his back, forced him from his chair, and pressed her knee into his back to push him into a corner.
The child later reported arm pain to school officials, prompting both an internal school review and a Child Protective Services investigation. During interviews, the student told the principal that Mitchell’s actions hurt him, according to the affidavit cited by KWTX.
Police with the Waco Independent School District arrested Mitchell and charged her with felony injury to a child. A district spokesperson said she had been employed at the school since October 2025, was working toward teacher certification, and had previously served as a substitute. As of Friday, she was no longer employed by the district.
“Waco ISD is committed to the safety and well-being of every student,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We take every incident that risks the safety of our students seriously and investigate every report thoroughly to ensure our schools remain safe, supportive environments.”
The district also told KWTX that the student has recovered and no longer has injuries. Officials said they remain focused on student safety as the case proceeds.