Tulsa Mother Speaks Out After She Says Son Was Punched By Teacher

<p>A Tulsa Mother is speaking up after she says an Edison teacher punched her son. </p>

Wednesday, February 7th 2018, 9:09 pm

By: Amy Avery

Tulsa Mother Speaks Out After She Says Son Was Punched By Teacher

A Tulsa Mother is speaking up after she says an Edison teacher punched her son. The Teacher went on leave for a few months but is now back in the classroom.

Rynesha Minor said after she and her husband found out about the incident back in October, they immediately contacted the principals at Edison who said they were handling it.

But now, three months later, the teacher is back in the classroom and she says her son is dreading going to school.

Rynesha Minor said her son, Quan, was sitting in reading class when the teacher was trying to get by him. She says because Quan's chair was in the way, the teacher punched him in the arm.

“If you need to get by to write on the dry erase board, a simple excuse me would do,” said Minor. “We teach our kids to use manners. Obviously, you didn’t show yours.”

Minor says the teacher, Ursula Mueller, went on leave only to return last week.

“A kid asks Ms. Mueller why were you gone so long and she just points at Quan and starts laughing,” said Minor.

Minor says the teacher also slammed a keychain on Quan's desk that said, "Ground rules: don’t touch me, don’t stare at me, don’t talk to me."

"You assault a kid and you come back and then you walk into a classroom that you are not supposed to be in and pick on this child,” said Minor. “Then you give him a gift like that. That’s not a gift; that is harassment.”

Minor said her son went to the principal's office immediately but they said they couldn't take any further action.

“She tells me, her hands are tied [and asks] what do I want her to do. [She says] he’s at a catch 22 with this and Ms. Mueller has rights, and I said, what about my son's rights?”

Minor says her son doesn't even want to attend class anymore, and she is upset with the way it was handled.

"I should be able to feel that he is safe and know that he is not going to get assaulted by a teacher, at that, or bullied by a teacher or have to worry about, ‘Am I going to see her in the hallway? What do I do?’ He shouldn’t have to worry about that,” said Minor.

Minor says there are a lot of good teachers at Edison Prep and hopes the school will be looked at a little closer.

“Just because you have high test scores don't mean you're a good school,” said Minor, “I’m not saying that all teachers are bad because there’s some good ones there that really care, but there’s been a couple bad apples so this is really spoiling the bunch.”

Tulsa Public Schools says the teacher, Ursula Mueller, was on leave for reasons unrelated to this incident.

They went on to release this statement:

“Positive and supportive teacher-student relationships are foundational to great learning experiences, so we respond as quickly as possible to investigate and respond appropriately to any allegation of misconduct. In the event that we receive this type of allegation, we would take immediate steps to ensure that our students remain safe. We would also work with any involved students and families to ensure that we are addressing concerns and taking any necessary next steps. While we are not able to discuss confidential personnel matters, we are following all appropriate processes and protocols.”

Minor says that she and her husband are working with social activist Marq Lewis to get a meeting set up with the administration.

Lewis says he’s been in contact with several parents and teachers at Edison Prep and hopes something can be done to change the negative atmosphere at the school.

The family tells News on 6 they have also filed a police report.