3.Johnathan Stone — Direct

JOHNATHAN STONE: Johnathan Stone, S-T-O-N-E.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Currently, at Saxe Gotha Elementary. I'm actually transferring to Gilbert Primary School the beginning of next school year.

JOHNATHAN STONE: This will be my fourteenth year.

JOHNATHAN STONE: A decade, ten years.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Started off in third grade and I taught several years, in kindergarten for six years and this year, I'm actually teaching second grade.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I was teaching kindergarten.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, I do.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir. We called him Tahn.

JOHNATHAN STONE: He was a quiet kid, but everyone loved him. He seemed to light up the world when he walked into the classroom. He had the biggest smile on his face. And everyday when he walked in, you couldn't help but not have a smile on your face because when you saw him, he was very loveable and very approachable. He was quiet often and he just wanted sometimes to come to you and give you a big old hug because he loved everyone.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Sure. It was one of those relationships like I have with most of my students. Those kids are with me seven and a half hours a day, five days a week and it's kind of hard not to develop a relationship. But with him, it was a very special relationship because he seemed to need a little more support than others. Very caring and sometimes emotional. So I would sometimes just call him up and give him a hug and say it's going to be okay, buddy, if he was having a bad day when he walked in in the morning.

JOHNATHAN STONE: At the beginning of the school year, yes, sir, I had a little communication. But towards the end of the year, I kind of ceased and desist, there was no communication.

JOHNATHAN STONE: We had e-mails. We sent home a newsletter and everyday, we had a parent communication folder, which went home everyday, Monday through Friday, even the weekends, where we would send newsletters or any important things or even if we needed to get in touch with the parent, that was out go-to. So we would send them home everyday. The first thing in the morning, my assistant would actually check it to see if there was anything, any notes or anything that we needed to address or I needed to call or e-mail about.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Amy Shearer.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Not that I recall, no, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Typically, in K5 is the first year for a lot of the students and parents are really involved. Parents come to most everything that we have if they're available and they're not working. It was very typical for a parent to come in and to call or to send e-mails if something was going on just to keep up with their son's or daughter's behavior and academics. So it was something that for first-year parents, especially students who were in kindergarten, would often do.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, not that I recall.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, sir, never.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Nahtahn was the type of person that would always smile, but towards the middle of the school year, I sensed that sometimes he would smile, but he was not actually happy. He would just put on that smile because he wanted people to think that he was happy. Very emotional. Sometimes, like I said, he would come in and you would just have to give him a hug and you would have to reassure him that there was a safe place to be and he was at school and he was loved by me and everyone else and that he would have a good day.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Sure. I have a seven-year-old now that was a two-year-old and I'm a father. And as a father, you know when you have to fill that role. And as a father, I felt like there was something missing in his life --

JOHNATHAN STONE: -- and I wanted to fill it.

JOHNATHAN STONE: That it may not have been a good environment. Considering the other students in the classroom, his emotional state was sometimes a little erratic. He didn't always come in happy even though we sensed that he had a smile on his face. Then sometimes, he was just upset. And that comforting role that me and my assistant played was very important.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: It had a lot to do with physical punishment. Not beating per se, but physical activity.

JOHNATHAN STONE: He stated that -- Nahtahn stated that when he got in trouble that he would often have to do burpees or run in place.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Burpees are something that you are -- is a very physical thing where you actually drop on the floor, you do a push-up, jump back into the air and you repeatedly do that while you're in place. It was kind of odd because during that time, I was actually into cross-fit and that's something that people in cross-fit normally do and he was actually able to show me exactly how to do that burpee one morning. And it was pretty shocking because a five-year-old doing a burpee is something that most normal adults don't do either.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I felt like he was always getting in trouble, yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: His work that would go home, we actually had a parent communication folder and in there, we kept a daily behavioral log. And in that behavior log, we would actually give him a smiley face or something that would happen during that day that was maybe not a major infraction, but a minor infraction, like he may not have had a good day and may have been talking in class repeatedly, we would either put a smiley face or put what that problem was so mom and dad would know and would be able to address the issue at home. Towards the middle, end of the school year, we noticed that when he may have gotten a frowny face or something in his communication, that the next day, he would come in and he would be very emotional. And that is when I told my assistant to just put smiley faces in there because of the behavior and we dealt with his behaviors in class. Because we felt like if that was the case at home, we wanted to address it at school so it wouldn't spill over into the household, into the home life. So that's what we -- what I actually told my assistant to do.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I felt like school was a safe place for him. When he came to school, it was one of those places where he was loved and he was cared for and he got everything he needed. I wasn't positive whether he did or did not get that at home.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir. He did everything everyone else did. He loved his classmates. He loved learning. He loved interacting and playing on the playground. He loved everything about school.

JOHNATHAN STONE: He was particularly fond of Woody in Toy Story. He often wrote about Woody and Woody was one of his favorite characters. He just loved Woody. And there was something I remember because I remember growing up and I remember Woody and I remember pulling -- in the video, the movie pulling his string. And when he showed me some of the pictures, it was very detailed and I could tell that was something he really cared about and loved.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: That would be my assistant's writing. We often do writing in school. And especially in kindergarten, that's when they develop their writing and start to write for the first time. And that's something we do to help them progress in writing. And that would be Ms. Shearer's writing, my assistant, helping him out with his writing and fixing his mistakes.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I love Woody because he is my favorite TV show because he is goofy.

JOHNATHAN STONE: That would be Nahtahn.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, I was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I was trying to make him feel loved and wanted and try to make him have a normal life. When he walked into that school, I wanted him to be a part of a family. I wanted him to leave the school knowing that if he had problems at home, when he came back the next day, he was still part of a family.

JOHNATHAN STONE: All the time.

JOHNATHAN STONE: He would often come to school with a piece of pizza or he would come to school with a piece of bread and grapes. He would also come to school with those meals -- and towards the middle of the school year, he actually had a water bottle that broke. And after the water bottle broke, he didn't have anything to drink, so me and Ms. Shearer would always get him a cup and fill it up with water so he would, at least, have something to drink. Also, during snack time and even breakfast if he was hungry, we would always be willing to give him extra food. Because he would often say, But I'm hungry, Mr. Stone or I'm hungry, Ms. Shearer. And we would go to the cabinet and get him food so he would be able to eat and have that food in case he didn't get it at home.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes. There was one instance towards the end of the school year where he was very emotional one day and he was just on the floor and he was crying. So that day, I picked him up to try and comfort him and I noticed that he was very, very light. I had a two-year-old at the time and he was the same weight as my two-year-old.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, I did become aware of that.

JOHNATHAN STONE: My assistant, Ms. Shearer.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, I did, that morning.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I observed around his neck, it looked to be a handprint. It looked to be a thumb on one side of his neck and on the other side, I could also see the other four fingers where there was an impression. It looked like it was bruised and even red.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Oh, it was definitely not a child's hand. It was a lot bigger, like an adult's hand.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, it was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, that was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, I do.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, I did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Quite afraid.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, sir, he wasn't.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, I was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, it is.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Timothy Jones got upset with Nahtahn. He choked him around the neck and pushed him against the wall as he held him there. The child has a bruise on his neck that resembles a thumb and a fingerprint.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, sir, it was the exact same.

JOHNATHAN STONE: His father.

JOHNATHAN STONE: All I could tell him was, I'm sorry.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: He was very distant. He didn't want to say too much to anyone. He came in very quiet and sat down and ate his breakfast.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, I did. Like I do with every other student every morning they come in, I greet them and tell them hello and ask them how their day's been and try to be inviting.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, it was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, I did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: The communication I had kind of ceased and desist. There was no more communication from that point forward.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, we did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, we did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, never.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, there was.

JOHNATHAN STONE: We, actually, over the weekend -- we got the homework folder back that Monday morning and it was ripped. These folders are not normal typical folders, they're made out of heavy plastic because the students have accidents. The folder was ripped in two.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, I did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes.

JOHNATHAN STONE: All I could say was, I'm sorry, buddy, it will be okay.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, they do.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, they do.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Of course. It's kindergarten. That's the first year that their kids graduate. It's something that's special. I mean, it's the first year they're in school and it's something very important. So, typically, all the parents do show up that day.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, they do.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, sir, he did not.

JOHNATHAN STONE: No, sir, they were not.

JOHNATHAN STONE: It's a graduation diploma for Nahtahn Jones.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, it is.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, I believe that is correct.

JOHNATHAN STONE: It appears to be Nahtahn Jones' handwriting.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I believe it's also Nahtahn's.

JOHNATHAN STONE: It's something that we give our kids as a graduation announcement to parents, but it also is given to them on the day of their graduation so they can take home so moms and dads can remember their first year in school.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, it is.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, that's a picture of Nahtahn in his cap and gown.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Here I come, get ready, get set because here I go. I'm ready to show all you that I know. I've graduated kindergarten and now I'm done. I laughed and learned and it's been fun. First grade, first grade ready, set, go. I'm ready to show you all I know. Get ready first grade because I'm on my way. I've graduated kindergarten, hip, hip, hooray.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir, he did.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I broke down, like any other father or any other teacher would do. I remember going up to the front office and our director of elementary education was up there at the time and I looked at her and I said, Ms. Shealy, I need to go home. And she said, Okay. At that time, I had a two-year-old. He was with grandpa because grandpa is the babysitter. And I went straight from the school, picked him up and just grabbed him and held him. And that afternoon, me, my wife and my son just were together and how thankful he was alive.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes and no. After the initial response to what happened, kind of was hush-hush for a while and I kind of got over it. But then when everything came back, it just hit me like a brick, a brick wall.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Yes, sir.

JOHNATHAN STONE: I see him everyday in his little white tee-shirt with his little pizza stains on it. I see him walking in the kindergarten hall and I look and he's there one minute and the next minute he's gone.

JOHNATHAN STONE: Because of him. Because I can't stand to be at that school and see him in the halls everyday. I need a change and that change is something that's going to allow me to move on with my life, hopefully, because it's really affected it.