International Academy 15

International Academy ranks 15th on Bridge Magazine's list of the 2014 report of Academic State Champs, has the highest percentage of black students of the top 250 ranked districts and an even higher percentage of minority students. Sam Owens | MLive.com

(Sam Owens)

FLINT, MI -- A woman claims she was fired from her teaching job at a Flint charter school over fears the school would be sued by the parents of a student she claimed assaulted her in a classroom.

Priscilla Collazo filed a lawsuit Feb. 24 against the International Academy of Flint charter school over claims she was wrongfully fired after teaching for more than 12 years at the school.

Collazo claims she was attempting to remove a disruptive student from her class when the girl allegedly made physical contact with her, nearly knocking her over, according to a lawsuit filed in Genesee Circuit Court.

The lawsuit claims Collazo reported the incident to the school's administration, but the school decided to fire her because it "did not want litigation problems with the (student's) parents."

"Here she's getting assaulted by this child, she reports it and gets fired," said Collazo's attorney, Tom Pabst.

International Academy director Kendra Giles could not be reached for comment on the allegations. The school has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit does not indicate when the alleged incident happened and City of Flint spokesman Jason Lorenz said there is no record Collazo filed a complaint with police.

In the filing, Collazo claims the student who allegedly assaulted her previously created problems when the student would disrupt class by acting out, rolling her eyes, talking during lectures and sleeping during class.

The lawsuit does not indicate the student's age or grade.

Collazo claims she contacted the student's mother to try and help the child get back on track in the class, according to the lawsuit.

However, the lawsuit alleges that the student's actions intensified the next time the girl was in Collazo's classroom.

The student would put her legs in the aisle whenever Collazo would walk by, talk under her breath as Collazo addressed the class and disrupt the other students trying to learn, the lawsuit claims.

Collazo claims in the lawsuit that she ignored the student's behavior until the child got out of her chair, rushed up to the front of the classroom and began yelling at the teacher.

The lawsuit claims that Collazo asked the student to leave the classroom and report to the office. But, on the student's way out, she turned around, made physical contact with the teacher and nearly knocked her over, Collazo's complaint says.

Collazo claims she reported the incident to the school's student management director, who allegedly told her "there's nothing I can do."

The school, a charter school that bills itself as a college-preparatory K-12 facility with more than 1,000 students, initiated an investigation into the incident, the lawsuit says.

Collazo claims she was terminated a week after the investigation was finalized because the school feared court action from the student's parents.

Damages, such as lost wages, emotional distress and damage to the teacher's reputation, exceed $100,000, according to the lawsuit.

No new court dates have been scheduled in the case.