Ohio Teacher Undergoes Brain Surgery after Attack by Student

Colerain Township, OH (WorkersCompensation.com) – An Ohio teacher is recovering from brain surgery she required after a student attacked her.

Police in Colerain Township, Ohio, said a teacher at Colerain High School was attacked on Jan. 6 around 2:15 p.m. by one of her students. School resource officers were called to the classroom where they were told the student ingested an unknown drug, before assaulting the teacher and a classmate, and then running out of the room.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office said the teacher was punched “multiple times in the head,” and was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Officials said her skull cap was removed to prevent damage from swelling, a procedure described as “major brain surgery.”

Her family told WXIX the surgery was successful and that the teacher is awake and responsive, but has a long road ahead of her in terms of recovery. Officials with the school said the student who was assaulted did not suffer any serious injuries.

Police officers said when they arrived at the scene, the 16-year-old attacker was in the school’s career center lobby and appeared to be hallucinating. The police report indicated the student also had a self-inflicted head injury. The student was taken to a nearby hospital and treated before being released into police custody. The student was later taken to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center and was charged with felonious assault. Police said the school will have disciplinary actions to take against the student first.

Colerain High School, part of the Northwest Local Schools District, said it was looking into the incident, Lyndsey Creecy, public information officer for the district said in a statement to families.

“We are actively investigating,” a letter said. “We ask that our parents join us in keeping both our staff member and our student in your prayers.”

The district said the incident appeared to be an isolated event.

An attorney for the student said the boy was not in control of his actions when the attack took place.

“His violent behavior, his erratic behavior, the attack, the assault, was not a result of him trying to attack the teacher,” Attorney Clyde Bennett said in a statement.

Bennett said the attacks were not premeditated, but a reaction to whatever drug he allegedly consumed by using a vape pen.

“I think he was not in control of what he did that day as a result of ingesting or consuming unbeknownst to him drugs that were in that vape,” Bennett said.

Bennett said he will have the teen’s blood tested to determine what he may have taken. Prosecutors told Juvenile Court Judge Stacey Degraffenreid they are building their case including using surveillance footage from the school.

But Bennett said the footage may not help the investigation.

“My investigator says they may have surveillance, but it might not actually depict what happened,” Bennett says.

The attack comes as attacks on teachers and school personnel across the country are increasing.

This past week, a Missouri school is investigating after a video surfaced on social media of a student violently attacking her 65-year-old teacher in a school hallway.

Officials at Normandy High School in Wellston, Mo., said the teacher was hospitalized and expected to make a full recovery. Police said the teacher indicated that the student had left the class but returned to get her book bag. When the teacher told the student to wait, the student pushed past her, grabbed the bookbag and started her attack.

Video of the attack shows the student dragging the teacher out into the hallway and repeatedly punching her. The video has been seen more than 17 million times on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Normandy Schools said in a statement that it is investigating the incident.

“The district is addressing an incident that occurred this morning involving a confrontation between a teacher and a student,” the school district said. “The administration is taking this matter seriously and is fully cooperating with local law enforcement. Additionally, we have launched an internal investigation to gather all the necessary facts surrounding the incident, and appropriate actions will be taken based on the findings of these investigations.”

And in Florida, a teacher is living off of donations as she struggles to get her workers’ compensation claim resolved after being attacked by a 270-pound student.

Joan Naydich, a teacher at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Fla., was beaten unconscious by 17-year-old Brendan Depa last year after she took a video game away from him. The attack left her with five broken ribs, a severe concussion and hearing loss.

“Everybody that knows me or knew me [before the attack] knows that I’m a totally different person now,” Joan Naydich told Fox 35. “My whole life was just turned upside down.”

Naydich said she suffers from slowed speech and ongoing cognitive problems as well as other continuing psychological and emotional problems. Naydich told news outlets she is also struggling to get her workers’ compensation case resolved and feels as if she has been abandoned by the Flagler County School District that she worked for.

Naydich returned to work after the attack, but was later placed on an unpaid leave of absence. Without a steady income, she said, she relies on community assistance and donations.

“Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I’m going to have for the rest of my life,” she said.

Depa is scheduled to head to court for the attack this month, officials said.

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