Rockdale parents demand action after multiple teacher assault allegations

Rockdale County parents called for additional action by the school district after multiple allegations of teachers assaulting students.

Danielle Offett said her 13-year-old son was repeatedly hit by his teacher on Dec. 1 at Conyers Middle School. Offett watched footage captured on the classroom camera, and the teacher, Melvin McClain, was arrested, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Offett, along with other parents, are calling for the district to implement stricter hiring procedures, mental health check-ins for teachers and actively reviewing classroom footage.

“We need to feel like our kids are safe when we send them to school, and right now I don’t feel that way,” Offett told Atlanta News First.

Kianna Chennault, Offett’s attorney with Chennault Legal & Consulting Group, told the AJC this is the firm’s fourth case from Rockdale County schools in the last two years. Three out of the four students have special needs, and two of those students are nonverbal.

“So even though (there’s) a camera in the room, I believe those teachers felt like, ‘Hey, they’re not going to be able to tell their moms what happened.’ So they just thought that they would get away with it,” she said to the AJC.

Yamaya Lyles told Atlanta News First that her son was eight years old when a paraprofessional at Pine Street Elementary School physically and verbally assaulted him in 2023. 

“He tries to intimidate my son in the classroom, and manhandles him around the classroom, then chokes him and takes him to the bathroom,” she said.

Antonio is nonverbal, and Lyles said she wants teachers to receive training on how to treat special needs students.

Rockdale County Public Schools issued a statement saying it provides training for staff, works with partner agencies to address allegations of misconduct, and offers an Employee Assistance Program to support staff needs.

“Rockdale County Public Schools takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and will not tolerate any behavior that harms children,” read the statement. “When employees do not meet our standards, we take swift, appropriate action, and remove them from the classroom. We remain committed to upholding our standards and taking decisive action whenever those standards are not met.”