A teacher at Andrews Elementary School has been arrested for multiple acts of physical abuse that she allegedly inflicted on disabled students under her care.
Members of Burlington’s police force took into custody on Monday based an inquiry that the city’s police department had launched after it learned of the alleged mistreatment on Friday.
The results of this investigation are spelled out in a series of arrest warrants that the police department has since filed with the local court system.
These warrants accuse the 26-year-old white female from 185 Granite Mill Drive in Graham of four separate acts of abuse that reportedly occurred over a six-week period. These alleged indiscretions, which involved at least two different students, include pinching, kicking, and – in one case – biting a disabled girl on the arm.
Based on these allegations, the city’s police department has charged Edwards with four misdemeanor counts of assault on an individual with disabilities.
According to the city’s police department, Edwards has been placed under a secured bond of $15,000.
Edwards has been employed with the Alamance-Burlington school system as a teacher within the Exceptional Children’s program since August 2020, based on information that ABSS officials provided Wednesday in response to a public records request by The Alamance News.
Though she currently has a four-year certified contract, effective from the 2023-24 school year through June 2027, Edwards was suspended from work on Monday, according to ABSS. Her annual salary, including benefits, totals $55,560.50.
