Police say students dragged the teacher into the hallway, where he was punched and kicked
File photo of Irvington High School where a teacher was attacked by five students this week.IRVINGTON — Muideen Oladoja was wrapping up his eighth-period Algebra 1B class at Irvington High School on Monday afternoon when a student walked into his classroom and began knocking things off the teacher’s desk.
The boy eventually left and Oladoja locked the door. But another student unlocked the door and let the boy back in. The 15-year-old, known to Oladoja, walked up to Oladoja and punched him in the face, police said today.
The 44-year-old teacher tried to fend off the attack but was dragged into the hallway, where four other students continued to punch and kick him, according to accounts from police and district officials.
Deborah Ellis, president of the Irvington teacher’s union, described the attack as the worst school-day incident involving a teacher she has encountered in her 32 years in the Essex County district.
"I don’t remember anything like this happening, not to this extent," she said.
The five students — three boys and two girls, ages 14 to 16 — are being charged with aggravated assault and face expulsion, police and district officials said.
Four of the five were taken into custody shortly after the 2:40 p.m. incident by a police officer stationed at the high school, said Lt. Michael Tomich, the police department’s coordinator of crime control strategies.
The boy who allegedly initiated the attack fled the building, Tomich said. He has been identified and is expected to be in custody soon, he said, adding that police still do not have a motive for the students’ actions.
Oladoja was taken to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center after the incident, Tomich said. He was treated for unspecified injuries and released a few hours later.
Oladoja, a third-year teacher at Irvington High, was recuperating tonight at his home in Newark. Friends and family at the house last night said he did not want to discuss the incident.
Ellis said Oladoja appeared to be in pain when she spoke with him earlier this week, but was in decent spirits.
Superintendent Ethel J. Hasty did not return calls for comment today and the school’s principal, Burnett Davis III, could not be reached.
Board of Education President Paul Inman called the attack despicable. He said the five students, who were not named because of their ages, face serious consequences if they are found to have participated in the assault.
"The district has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to that," Inman said. "After reviews, if they are found guilty they will be expelled from the Irvington school district."
Inman said the matter would be on the board’s agenda during its March 16 meeting.
Tomich said what would otherwise have been simple assault charges were elevated to aggravated assault because, under state law, teachers are considered public servants, similar to firefighters, police officers and bus drivers.
"These people are charged with protecting children," Tomich said. "We take this situation very seriously."
Ellis said many students at the high school were distressed by the incident.
"When the kids are upset, that means this is a teacher that’s liked and well-respected," she said. "Our main concern is that we have a safe environment for staff to work in and our students to learn in."