Mom: Teacher Susan Burke Accused of Choking Never Aggressive

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Sharon Durham thought there may have been a misunderstanding when her son said his first-grade teacher grabbed him around the neck and choked him while he was standing in line with classmates at Greencastle Elementary School in Silver Spring.

Durham said she confronted the teacher, Susan Burke, about the incident, but Burke did not seem to know what she was talking about. Durham didn't get a chance to talk to the principal about her conces before Christmas break. On Jan. 4, Burke was removed from the classroom after other students made similar accusations.

Burke seemed a little frazzled at times, but never aggressive, Durham said. Her 7-year-old son told her that Burke had choked him on two occasions and that he had seen her push other students, sometimes to the ground, she said.

"I don't know what triggered it. Maybe she had short patience," Durham said outside the school on Wednesday moing. "But that doesn't excuse what she did."

Burke, 35, of Laurel, Md., was charged Tuesday with nine counts of second-degree assault in the attacks that police say happened in December and March. Several students witnessed the assaults, said police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks.

Police began investigating on Jan. 7, when officers were called to a police substation for a child abuse report involving a boy who said his teacher had assaulted him numerous times. Detectives interviewed all 16 students in Burke's current class and determined there were nine victims, police said.

Nine of the 6- and 7-year-old students reported that Burke choked them, and some said she also kicked, punched or scratched or tightly squeezed their arms. Eight said the attacks happened in December and a ninth in March, authorities said.

Burke was released late Tuesday after posting $75,000 bond, according to online court records, but there was no answer at a listing for Burke in Laurel. It is not clear if she has a lawyer. A woman who answered the phone Wednesday evening at the Montgomery County Education Association, the union for county teachers, counselors and media specialists, declined to comment.

Court records show that Burke is in the process of getting divorced, and that she and her husband are listed as defendants in a foreclosure case. Records also show that Burke was charged with fraud, credit-card misuse and theft last year in Carroll County, but the charges were dropped.

Burke was removed from the classroom and placed on administrative leave when staff leaed of the allegations, school officials said. Counseling has been made available to students and their families, and the school notified parents of the arrest.

Durham praised the principal's response and said the school has been in constant communication with parents.

Kendra Tyler, the mother of a fourth-grader and second-grader at Greencastle, said she was shocked the accusations involved such young students -- especially because the staff is so friendly.

She said she couldn't imagine why a teacher would do such a thing if the accusations are true.

"Maybe she was banking that the kids would not tell," she said.