Report: American Heritage Teacher Strikes Student

Updated, 9:23 a.m. April 20

An teacher allegedly hit a student so hard last month, his hand print was visible on the boy's chest for an hour after the blow, according to a report.

Richard Grossman, a language arts teacher at the Sixes Road private school, "was arrested and bonded out yesterday," Lt. Jay Baker wrote in an e-mail to Canton-Sixes Patch Tuesday afternoon. "The charge was Simple Battery."

The incident occurred on March 3, but wasn't reported to law enforcement until March 10. That's when the 14-year-old student and his parents walked into the and told this story, detailed in a 4-page incident report:

On March 3, the boy reached the top of a staircase inside the school and turned around. In front of eight to 10 peers, Grossman used the back of his hand "in an open hand to strike the juvenile across the chest" and ordered the student to "stop it."

The report does not indicate what may have preceded the blow to the student's chest. "That is unknown," Baker wrote in his e-mail.

The boy's mother appeared on WAGA-Ch. 5, Atlanta's Fox affiliate, Tuesday evening. Holly Hudson, a teacher at the school, told reporter Aungelique Proctor that her son was "being silly, walking backward up the stairs.

"And he went to turn around, he was met by his teacher. And he backhanded him in the chest."

It's not clear if anything was captured on the school's cameras. Taj Zipperman, the boy's father, asked about that in a March 4 meeting with two of the school's principals.

In that meeting, principal Sharon Day and lower school principal Mary Ann Radnovich could not confirm if the incident had been recorded. Zipperman said that in the same meeting, Grossman admitted to striking the student across the chest one time.

He was suspended sometime later, but has returned to the school. Grossman has not had any previous infractions in Cherokee County, Baker said.

After news reports of Grossman's arrest, American Heritage students created an online petition to show their support for their teacher. By 9:23 a.m. Wednesday morning, there were 39 signatures.

Zipperman declined an interview with Canton-Sixes Patch on Tuesday, but said his son no longer attends American Heritage.

The past two months have been rough for the school. . Officials announced in an April 12 letter to parents that they found one at New Life Church, 154 Lakeside Dr., Holly Springs.

American Heritage serves 325 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. It's unknown how many of those students will return to the institution next school year.

A message left for Day has not been returned.

Meanwhile, , the county's first charter school, has announced that it will move into 2126 Sixes Road when American Heritage vacates the building.

Check back with canton-ga.patch.com for updates on this story.