Aide taken to hospital after attack at exceptional student center in Jacksonville

Staff at Jacksonville's Palm Avenue Exceptional Student Center near Edgewood Avenue said a violent high school student jumped onto and beat an educational aide and stabbed another aide in the head with a pen during music class Thursday morning.

Parents and guardians received a phone call from the principal to let them know all students were safe but a paraprofessional had to be taken to a hospital for treatment, according to the Duval County school district.

The call to parents said the Sheriff's Office is handling the situation with the student.

"As you know, privacy laws prevent us from addressing any details as it relates both to the student and the employee," the principal said. "However, we are a close community here at Palm Avenue, and I wanted you to be aware of what happened."

Chris Guerrieri, a teacher and blogger who works at Palm Avenue, said the district in recent years has put children who are emotionally disturbed in classrooms with students who have intellectual disabilities. 

Guerrieri said some of those placements are inappropriate, especially since some disturbed students have histories of violence.

"I think the district is putting the kids and staff at risk by putting ultra-violent kids into these classrooms," he said. "The staff and school administration here are very professional and are working hard, but we're just being put into a position where it's very risky and unsafe."

Guerrieri has complained to the district about being battered by students over the past two years, and Thursday he sent an email to Superintendent Diana Greene.

"He was not stabbed by a PRIDE [Positive Response Intervention to Develop and Educate] student placed here because the district didn't know what to do, so I do take some small consolation in that," Guerrieri said in the email. "But the student in question does have a long and detailed history of violence and my colleague joins a half dozen others who have been seriously injured over the last two years."

He said the district has also had trouble filling some of its paraprofessional educational aide positions.

Terrie Brady, president of the Duval Teachers United union, said her office was not notified about Thursday's incident.

"Having a teacher beat up and a paraprofessional stabbed in the head is bad, but we have to follow the process," Brady said.

Times-Union staff writer Denise Smith Amos contributed to this report.

Joe Daraskevich: (904) 359-4308