Local Teacher Resigns After 5-Year-Old Girl Suffers Second-Degree Burns During Classroom Project
WARNING: Some of the photos in this story may be disturbing to some readers.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher whose 5-year-old student got second-degree burns after a classroom project has resigned.
Amour Cleckley attends kindergarten at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. Her class was creating a potion, using hot water, at the beginning of January.
The cup spilled, giving her burns that stretch across her stomach.
The girl's grandmother said her granddaughter's teacher called her about an accident at school. But she's upset that the school told her it was just warm water and that the child needed to be picked up.
Nothing was mentioned about the injuries, the grandmother said.
The Pittsburgh Public School Board met on Wednesday night and accepted the teacher's resignation.
The family told KDKA the teacher, who is not being named, was originally suspended for two days after the incident.
This is a photo of Cleckley now, still recovering, weeks later.
"It's hard to imagine what the teacher was thinking when she introduced water to a child that young," the family's attorney Todd Hollis said.
Hollis says the district still need answers as to how this could have happened.
"The why is what we all want to know," Hollis said. "I would imagine as we proceed with the lawsuit, we'll get closer to the why."
KDKA's Lindsay Ward Reports:
The family's attorney said the little girl is undergoing therapy, but he says the family recognizes this was an accident.
They plan on reaching out to the district solicitor to file a complaint.
They also want to make sure policies are put in place so no child will be hurt like this again.
