A James W. Lintott Elementary School teacher is facing misdemeanor assault charges in Chehalis Municipal Court for allegedly assaulting two preschool students in October 2024.
The teacher, …
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A James W. Lintott Elementary School teacher is facing misdemeanor assault charges in Chehalis Municipal Court for allegedly assaulting two preschool students in October 2024.
The teacher, identified as Lisa Marie Bratina, 62, Toledo, is accused of slapping one student in the face and roughly grabbing another student by the arm on Oct. 22, according to an incident report released by the Chehalis Police Department.
Bratina has been on administrative leave since the incidents were reported to school administrators the same day they occurred, according to the Chehalis School District.
“As soon as these incidents were reported to district officials, the staff member was removed from the classroom and has not been back since,” Chehalis School District Public Information Officer Carrina Stanton said in an official statement to The Chronicle.
The two students, who were ages 3 and 4 at the time of the incidents, are both part of the district’s preschool program and are nonverbal.
The incidents were reported by two other Lintott Elementary School teachers.
One teacher reported seeing Bratina “storm over to the climbing area” and said she “yanked (a student) off the climbing structure” on Oct. 22, according to a narrative case report written by Chehalis School District Security Officer Todd Thornburg.
The teacher noted that “Bratina’s fingers were dug into (the student’s) upper arm,” according to the report.
The teacher said she “responded to assist and remove (the student) from the situation.” She reportedly noticed red marks on the student’s arm where Bratina had allegedly grabbed.
The teacher reported that she washed the student’s arm, applied ice to it and took a photo of the marks, which was included in the incident report.
That same day, another teacher reported a separate incident involving Bratina and a different preschool student. The teacher reported that a student “may have been slapped by Bratina,” stating that while she was helping students, “she noticed hands waving in the air near Bratina” and that “she believed she observed Bratina’s hand contacting (a student’s) face.”
The teacher said she saw the student fall to the ground “looking slightly disoriented, rubbing his face.”
The teacher said that she “noticed one side of (the student’s) face was visibly more red than the other side, and it was clear that one side had been contacted,” according to a Chehalis Police Department incident report. She noted that the student’s demeanor the rest of the day “was more calm than his baseline behavior and he seemed scared and did not want to be near Bratina,” according to the incident report.
When interviewed over the phone by a Chehalis Police Department officer about the alleged slap, Bratina allegedly said the student had “swiped at her and slapped her across the face” and, in response, she “put her hand up to block and probably pushed him away,” according to the incident report.
When asked clarifying questions, Bratina allegedly “told me she did not know that she pushed him,” which “immediately contradicted the last statement she had made to me,” the officer reported. Bratina reportedly said the student “then hugged her and they had a ‘recover thing’ for both of them,” according to the incident report.
When asked about her allegedly grabbing a student by the arm on the playground, Bratina allegedly said the student was pulling another student’s hair while on a foam climbing toy, and she had stepped in to intervene.
When asked “if she pulled (the student) off the toy,” Bratina allegedly “said ‘yeah, I probably knocked him down, yeah,’” when she was trying to separate them but advised she does not remember actually pulling him down,” according to the incident report.
When asked for clarification “regarding Bratina telling me she might have pushed (the student) back,” Bratina allegedly “told me it was instinctive and she was trying to block.”
The officer reportedly asked “if it was possible that she had, either accidentally or on purpose, slapped (the other student) in the face while doing this,” to which Bratina allegedly “told me yes, that was possible,” the officer reported.
The Chehalis School District reported the alleged assaults to Clear Risk Solutions, an insurance program administrator and risk management servicer connected to the district’s insurance, for an independent third-party investigation, which “determined there was enough probable cause to make a report to the Chehalis Police Department,” Stanton said.
Chehalis School District Security Officer Todd Thornburg compiled a narrative case report on Dec. 2 and delivered it to the Chehalis Police Department on Dec. 3, at which time the Chehalis Police Department opened its own investigation.
While Thornburg’s report states that the Chehalis School District had notified the mothers of each student about the incidents and told them the case was being forwarded to the Chehalis Police Department, the Chehalis officer conducting the investigation Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 reported that the one mother he did get ahold of told him “she was not informed of any of this from the school and advised she had even asked them about the absence of Bratina.”
The officer reportedly attempted to call the mother of the other student “but received no answer or option to leave a voicemail,” according to the incident report.
The Chehalis Police Department forwarded the case to the Chehalis Municipal Prosecutor's Office, with a recommendation for two counts of fourth-degree assault against Bratina, on Dec. 4. The Chehalis Municipal Prosecutor's Office filed those charges against Bratina on Monday, Jan. 13, according to court documents.
Arraignment is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 29 in Chehalis Municipal Court.
“While the case is pending, we cannot comment any further. We will continue to follow state guidelines and cooperate with any further investigations,” Stanton said.