Candra Rogers, Assistant Principal at Collins Intermediate School in Corsicana, Texas, met with the media for the first time since a student seriously injured her on August 15th. She read a statement inside the CISD Board Room but would not take any questions.
While sitting beside her husband, children, and grandchild standing behind her, Rogers discussed her condition and provided additional details regarding the August 15th incident.
Rogers was permanently injured when a student threw desks at a teacher, another assistant principal, and herself. Then he threw a wooden hanger, which hit her right eye and knocked it out of the socket.
Rogers was airlifted to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery to re-implant her eye. Although the surgery was successful, Rogers said her doctors believe the blindness is permanent.
The following is a transcript of her prepared statement in full.
“Good morning. I want to thank you all for being here. Thank you to Corsicana ISD for allowing me to utilize this space to share with you today. The statements I will make today do not belong to Corsicana ISD; they are my own.
First, thank you all from the depths of my heart for all of your prayers. They have given me and my family strength during these very difficult and trying times. Thank you for the meals, the cards, the ways you’ve assisted us financially, and everything else you have done. I am so, so grateful. I will be reading a short statement, but I will not be taking any questions.
On Thursday, August 15th, during lunch, I heard our behavioral teacher call on the radio to administrators for assistance. When I arrived, the teacher and students were outside the classroom. One student was holding his head, having been assaulted by the student remaining in the classroom. I entered, where the student was still irate, and found the room ransacked with overturned furniture. I knew I had to be as calm as possible, and I spoke lowly and slowly so as not to enrage him any further.
He picked up a chair and acted as if he would throw it. He finally did throw it at me, but I caught it mid-air. He picked up another chair to throw at me when another assistant principal entered the room. I used the first chair to block the second. He picked up a third and threw it at the other assistant principal. I used the initial chair to block the one he threw at her.
After blocking the chair thrown at the other assistant principal, he threw a wooden hanger at me, but I could not stop it fast enough. The hanger hit me in my right eye and knocked it out of the socket. I grabbed my face while blood was pouring out of my head and stumbled out the classroom door.
The nurse and 911 were called. I asked for my cell phone to call my husband to come get me, not realizing the extent of the damage. When paramedics arrived, they determined I would need to be airlifted to Parkland Medical Center in Dallas.
I underwent surgery as soon as possible, and doctors were able to reinsert my eye; however, they determined I had been blinded and currently believe that damage to be permanent.
This tragedy affected not just my husband, my children and grandchild, my family, and my friends, but it has also negatively affected my school, my district, and my community. Because of the numerous districts in which my husband and I have worked and the thousands of students I have taught, the impact of my injury is far-reaching.
Chapter 37 of our Texas Education Code, which was originally created in 1995 to help protect our marginalized students, with regard to how students are disciplined may need to be reevaluated so that no paraprofessional, teacher, or principal, simply put, no educator should ever be put in this situation. I fully understand education laws and the need for students to be educated with their peers. Chapter 37 may need to incorporate changes to address the mental, social, and emotional well-being of these students. As educators, we care about our students and their safety, but we must also care about the safety of our educational staff; our safety is important too. We should never have to fear being in a classroom with an aggressive student. Everyone’s protection is paramount!
Overly aggressive students need services to meet their needs, but I do not believe the safety of other students and the educational staff should suffer.
Lastly, Gov. Greg Abbott holds some accountability in the safety of our students and our staff. For years, our schools have suffered unfunded mandates, which have included pay raises. Our basic allotment which funds our day-to-day expenses have not been increased since 2019, even though we have had rising costs on absolutely everything, including new unfunded mandates. This is 2024.
freestar
I’d like to quote a friend who gave me permission to use their words: ‘If our students don’t have what they need to be successful in Texas, this is not simply problematic. I hold that it is immoral.
Texas has the ninth largest economy in the world — not the country, the world. Texas has over a $32 billion budget surplus, yet we spend the 8th least in terms of allotment per student in the U.S. Regardless of what you believe this says about our priorities as a State, this is a choice, and choices have consequences.
Article 7, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution states: A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools. I would argue that for Texas public schools in 2024 to be funded at 2019 levels is unsuitable provision, to say the least. To that end, I believe the State Legislature bears some degree of culpability when our public schools struggle due to improper funding.
Article 7, Section 3a of the Texas Constitution states: One-fourth of the revenue derived from the State occupation taxes shall be set apart annually for the benefit of the public free schools. Without delving too deeply into the proverbial weeds, allow me to simply remind you of an earlier point; the State of Texas has a $32 billion surplus. I am not a mathematician, to have that abysmal level of spending in a booming State economy with a $32 billion surplus simply does not add up.
Simply stated, Texas is vastly underfunded. According to a study conducted by the Kinder Institute, 73% of our Texas public school districts are underfunded.
When schools are underfunded, all school stakeholders suffer. it is important to point out that the decision to continue funding Texas public schools at 2019 levels in 2024, is a choice, and the collateral damage of Gov. Abbott’s choices include, but are not limited to:
• Academic struggles
• Student discipline struggles
• Teacher retention challenges
• Stifled program advancements
• Loss of student enrichment programs
• Lessening of needed student supports
• Erosion of parent/external stakeholder trust
• Decreased student engagement’
To date, Gov. Abbott has failed to release these funds because his political priority is ‘school choice’ and it seems he prefers to perpetuate a system of the haves and have-nots. People fail to realize that public schools are required to accept any student, regardless of abilities. Private schools are not and do not. Public schools are required to have certified teachers; private schools are not. Public schools are required to undergo state-mandated testing, while private schools are not.
These are just a few of the inequities. By further decreasing funds from public schools, which are already grossly underfunded as those of us in education already know, to give to those to who can already afford to send their children to private schools is simply wrong. It’s wrong to have so many mandates that make educating our public school children more difficult. It’s wrong to take money from grossly underfunded schools.
I have been in education for 30 years. I am a proud product of public schools. I believe in public school education. But what happened to me should never happen to another educator. Mr. Abbott, release the funds because you are also culpable for what happened to me.”
To read more about how violence in schools is increasing, try Violent and Destructive Behavior Getting Worse.