An eighth-grade special-education teacher at George Washington Middle School has been charged with assaulting one of her students. Dollie Adams, 56, has been charged with assault and battery for hitting a 14-year-old boy in the face at the school on Jan. 3. She was formally charged on Jan. 25.
“The summons was served Thursday evening,” said Amy Bertsch, a spokeswoman for the Alexandria Police Department. “After that, she was immediately released on summons.”
School officials say that Adams has been employee of the division for 15 years, although not all of her tenure has been at George Washington.
“Once we receive notification of the allegations, the teacher was placed on leave,” said Amy Carlini, a spokeswoman for Alexandria City Public Schools. “The school followed ACPS procedure by contacting Child Protective Services and we are fully cooperating with the investigation.”
John Kennedy, co-president of the parent-teacher association at the school, said that he is not concerned about the safety of his son who attends the school but is not a special education student.
He said that he is confident that school officials and police authorities will conduct a thorough review of what happened on Jan. 3.
“We have to let the process be completed,” said Kennedy. “What we need to do is get to the facts, and that’s what the investigation is doing at this point."