"She grabbed him by the shoulder because he ran after a girl": A teacher near Novosibirsk was dismissed following an incident with a first grader.

In the Novosibirsk region, parents of first-graders are requesting the return of their class teacher. The teacher was dismissed due to a conflict involving a repeating student. Details can be found in the material by KP-Novosibirsk.

“HE HIT THE BOYS AND SPILLED JUICE ON A GIRL”

28-year-old Ekaterina Petrova* worked as an elementary school teacher for 6 years. In 2024, she received a new class. According to parents, everything was fine until November, when 9-year-old Misha* was transferred to her class.

- This year, there was supposed to be one first grade with 35 students. I managed to have it split into two classes. I found another teacher. In the end, I had 22 students, and the other teacher had 10. Misha was transferred to my class. By his mother’s decision, he was held back a year due to poor understanding of the curriculum. They were getting a certificate from a medical commission, and the process took a while, so he only started attending classes in November, - Ekaterina Petrova told KP-Novosibirsk.

The newcomer did not adapt well to the class. According to other parents, he regularly got into fights: he hit one child in the groin and another on the head. After one incident, one of the mothers reported it to the police.

- My daughter came home from school complaining of a headache. I asked what happened, and she told me that Misha had hit her. We went to the hospital, and the certificate stated “concussion”. A report was filed with the police, - said the mother of the first-grader to KP-Novosibirsk. – Unfortunately, there were no witnesses to this situation.

The conflict escalated in January 2025. The children returned from vacation, and according to the class teacher, the boy spilled juice on a classmate in the cafeteria.

- The girl ran away from him to the changing room, and he ran up to her, hitting her on the head. She ran out, he chased her, and when the boy was running out, I grabbed him by the shoulder to prevent him from running further. This moment was captured by the surveillance camera that covers this part of the changing room, - says Ekaterina Petrova. – The school principal happened to be passing by at that moment, approached us, and was already talking to him.

“SHE THREATENED TO BREAK HIS ARM”

On January 24, Ekaterina Petrova was called to the principal's office. She was informed that an internal investigation would be conducted regarding the incident where she grabbed the child by the shoulder.

- The boy's mother wrote a statement to the school principal, claiming that I allegedly used force. I was asked to provide an explanation. A few days later, I was called in and informed about the inspection report, and in the evening, I was notified of the dismissal order. I was fired for “the one-time use of disciplinary methods involving physical and psychological violence against the student’s personality,” - says the teacher.

According to the results of the internal investigation, one of the teachers was a witness to the incident near the changing room. According to his testimony, the teacher threatened to break the boy’s arms if he touched the girl again.

Ekaterina Petrova has filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office and plans to appeal the dismissal in court. The parents of the first-graders are also unhappy with the decision. They wrote a petition and are gathering signatures in support of the teacher. They want to appeal to the principal, the head of the administration, and the prosecutor's office.

AND WHAT DOES THE BOY'S MOTHER SAY?

KP-Novosibirsk spoke with Mikhail's mother. She believes that the teacher has taken a dislike to her son and has previously used physical force against him:

- Yes, we were held back a year because my child has health issues. My son did not constantly hit the other children. He hit a girl on the head once because they had an argument. I talked to him, and my son said he wouldn’t do it again, - Mikhail's mother told KP-Novosibirsk.

According to the woman, after that incident with the girl, the teacher began to treat her son unfairly.

- Well, she would grab him by the shoulder, or by the sleeve, pulling him back and forth. My son told me about this when we were discussing the situation at home regarding him hitting the girl. The teacher even scared him with an orphanage! - the woman says. – We can’t understand why this is happening. We really wanted him to be in Ekaterina's class... My son is not a beast. And I cannot allow him to be treated like this.

The woman transferred her child to another class. She says that after what happened, the boy needs psychological help.

KP-Novosibirsk also called the school to hear their side, but the principal stated that she “forbids the publication of anything she says.”

*names changed