ASCENSION — An Ascension parish Mom was heartbroken when her son, Ryan, 8, who has autism and cerebral palsy, returned home from school on August 26 with unexplained bruises. Paige Harris says what began as a small mark noticed by his teachers and an Ascension Parish paraprofessional, escalated into a discovery that would shake Harris’ trust in the system meant to protect her child.
“When I picked my child up from his school, all three of his teachers mentioned a small mark on his neck. Nobody seemed to know what happened. At first, I didn’t question it much because, with his conditions, he’s prone to bumps,” Harris said. “But when we got home, I realized how bad the mark really was. There were finger-shaped bruises on his arms. Someone had grabbed him.”
Fearing for her son, Harris tells UWK she immediately went to the school the next day, filed an incident report and requested to see video footage. However, she says she was met with resistance from the school’s special education director, who allegedly downplayed the incident initially.
“She skimmed through seven hours of footage but gave me only brief clips—no audio, and she was hesitant to show even that,” Harris recalled. “It was clear there was more she didn’t want me to see. I later found out Ryan wasn’t the only student hurt. Others had (allegedly) been abused by the same paraprofessional.”
The school’s silence enraged Harris.
“I immediately stormed to the school to remove my child out of the class, because for two weeks, these people knew what they saw, and they still had my child in the classroom with these people, two teachers and one other paraprofessional sat in that classroom and watched the other paraprofessional do this to my son, and nobody spoke up,” she said passionately.
MORE FROM UWK: Ascension: Paraprofessional arrested, accused of physically abusing special needs student
Within days of Harris demanding answers, the Gonzales Police Department retrieved the full video, issuing an arrest warrant for the paraprofessional involved. The Ascension paraprofessional, Danyel Anderson, 47, was arrested. The charge: cruelty to the infirmed.
“(He has a) traumatic brain injury, is autistic, non-verbal and has cerebral palsy. She aggressively put him in a chair he couldn’t get out of, took his communication device so he cried the only way he knew how to communicate. She then pulled his head backwards from behind and aggressively wiped away his tears,” Harris shared.
Harris says she feels that a chain of mandated reporters—people legally required to report abuse—had failed Ryan and other vulnerable students. According to Harris, the district’s superintendent, Dr. Edith Walker was only informed after a parent advocate intervened. “If I wouldn’t have posted on Facebook publicly, asking for advice and what to do and how it was handled, I don’t think it would have went anywhere,” she said. “Posting on Facebook is how the parent advocate saw it, and she immediately sent it to Dr. Edith Walker.”
Harris said she was most concerned that no one stood up on her son’s behalf.
“Not one mandated reporter said anything. Not one person stepped forward,” Harris said, her voice cracking with emotion. “But once the superintendent found out, she was amazing. She was devastated that she hadn’t been told sooner.”
Harris was notified that the special education director, was no longer employed. “They couldn’t tell me whether she resigned or was fired, but either way, she’s gone. It’s a step toward justice.”
Still, Harris’ fight is far from over. She’s demanding accountability for everyone involved. “These are children who can’t speak for themselves. My son—he couldn’t tell me what happened, but I could see the fear in his eyes. I want every single person who failed him to be held accountable. I won’t stop until they are.”
UWK reached out to Ascension Public Schools.
“In Ascension Public Schools, we uphold exceptionally high standards for all teachers, staff, and anyone interacting with our students. The safety and security of our students and staff are our highest priorities, and we enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy toward any adult who endangers a student. This individual is no longer employed with Ascension Public Schools,” said Dr. Edith M. Walker, Superintendent of Ascension Public Schools.
For Harris, the pain of what she says is ‘betrayal’ lingers, but her resolve is stronger than ever. “No family should go through this. Our children deserve to be safe. Ryan deserves justice.”
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