Earlier today, I told you that Anthony Ruelas, an eighth-grader at Gateway Middle School in Killeen, Texas; may have saved a friend’s life when he saw her having an asthma attack and took her to the school nurse. However, instead of getting commended for his bravery, he was handed a two-day suspension. Now district officials are saying that Anthony had never been suspended at all.
In case you missed it, one of Anthony’s classmates started complaining that she couldn’t breathe, and started gagging and wheezing. The teacher told everyone to stay seated while she emailed the school nurse. When no one responded after three minutes, Anthony picked up the girl and took her to the nurse himself. Incredibly, the teacher sent him to the office for leaving the room without permission. At first, when local media outlets pressed the Killeen Independent School District for answers, superintendent John Craft initially refused to comment, citing privacy laws.
However, on Friday night, Craft told the Killeen Daily Herald that while the matter was investigated, no one was disciplined for any reason related to the incident. He also added that This would probably explain why someone at Gateway called Anthony’s mother, Mandy Cortes, to ask why Anthony wasn’t in school on Wednesday. Cortes had to tell the caller that Anthony was suspended. I’d had a hunch that the call was made because someone in Gateway’s administration who didn’t have his or her head up his or her rear end realized that Anthony had been the victim of a terrible mistake.
Killeen ISD officials also explained the protocol for handling medical emergencies. The school nurse is supposed to be called, with a call to 911 if necessary. They added that if an asthmatic student doesn’t have an inhaler on hand, the school is supposed to call both 911 and the parents. It’s not clear if that protocol was followed.
This still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. For one thing, why was Anthony told he was suspended? Did the teacher follow protocol? Hopefully Craft and school officials will provide them soon.
