Pittsburgh elementary teacher quits amid probe into girl burned during class project

A Pittsburgh elementary school teacher has resigned amid the district’s investigation into why a 5-year-old girl suffered burns to her chest during a classroom project last month, officials said.

The employee of Pittsburgh King, a K-8 school in the Allegheny Center section of Pittsburgh’s North Side, submitted the resignation letter Wednesday, Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh confirmed. Pugh declined to comment further on the ongoing personnel investigation.

The district has not shared any details about the incident.

“The district has not reached out to the family to provide them with any information, so that’s disappointing,” said Pittsburgh attorney Todd Hollis, who is representing the family.

The family plans to file a civil lawsuit, but nothing has been filed yet, Hollis said.

Photos shared by the family show blistered skin and large pieces of gauze on the child’s stomach and chest. Family members told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV they believe the incident may have involved hot water boiled during a science experiment.

It’s not clear why the liquid was so hot or how it became so hot, and whether other teachers were involved, Hollis said.

“The child is still healing,” Hollis said. “The child has been dealing with some emotional issues, so we’ve tried to provide emotional support. We don’t know what the issues are that led to the teacher’s resignation, whether that was at the request of the school board or if the teacher did that unilaterally.”

Staff writer Jamie Martines contributed.