A paraprofessional at Okaloosa Academy Charter School has been arrested on a felony charge of cruelty towards a child. On October 24th 57-year-old Bernard Heyward was trying to remove a 13-year-old student from his class who he said was being disruptive. The student refused to leave and Heyward was said to have grabbed the boy’s wrist, then grabbed him around the neck and pushed him out of the room. Heyward did not follow Okaloosa Academy’s policy on the removal of a disruptive student and did not adhere to the Crisis Prevention Institute training.
