New London — A high school student is facing criminal charges related to an alleged assault last month on a school administrator.

The name of the juvenile and details of the Oct. 29 incident at New London's Multi-Magnet High School Campus were withheld by police because of the student's age. The arrest comes on the heels of an unrelated report in September of an assault on a middle school student by fellow students.

Zato Kadambaya, supervisor of math for grades 6-12, was reportedly slapped, punched, yelled at and had a backpack thrown at him by the youth in the Oct. 29 incident at the high school. The juvenile was charged with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct and referred to juvenile court, police confirmed.

Kadambaya, reached at his home this week, declined to discuss any details of the incident and said he did not want to exploit the situation. He had sought treatment for his injuries — ice and Tylenol — at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and did not miss any work as a result.

“I’m OK,” Kadambaya said. “My hope is this child will get some help.”

Kadambaya said administrators pitch in to help usher students through the hallways as part of their normal duties. That is when the incident happened. When asked about the school climate this year and the behavior of students in general, Kadambaya referred to the issues facing schools across the country.

“I think the whole nation, we are really trying to find a way to help the kids who have had almost two years off. Having our children at home for two years and coming back ... it’s been very hard for some to adjust," he said. "It’s very sad, but hopefully we can get a handle on this this year. The goal here is helping the kids."

"Sometimes something unusual happens," he added. "It doesn’t mean that’s the whole picture."

Kadambaya credits the school district with implementing procedures this year to address social and emotional needs of students but said it might take some time for the procedures to take hold.

School Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie also declined to discuss any specifics of the incident, citing privacy concerns. She did say the school district, which no longer employs a school resource officer, has security personnel on the premises and regular meetings with the New London Police Department to discuss any issues in the community and at the district schools.

The school district also has added programs and staff this year — guidance counselors, social workers and mental health specialists — to address challenges faced by students in the district, Ritchie said. She said specifics on discipline of any individual student are not made public.

Kate Fioravanti, president of the New London Administrators’ Education Association, said she was glad Kadambaya was OK and said any time an administrator’s safety is at issue, it is of significant concern to her union.

“The NLAEA is willing to work with the district to determine how best to minimize these types of risks going forward, not only for administrators, but for all students and staff,” she said.

Saying that Kadambaya is right, Fioravanti noted that "nationwide, many students are struggling getting back on track. We are still having to redesign how we educate. Kids being back in school (after a year and a half) doesn’t mean we can simply resume how things used to be."

And though the state Department of Education has prioritized student and staff wellness, she said, "there is no such thing as a 'how to' manual for educating" during or after a pandemic.

The October incident wasn't the only report of an assault in the school district.

Adriana Davis, parent of a 13-year-old at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, said her daughter was the victim of an assault by at least two other students on Sept. 15 and again on Sept. 16.

Davis, on Wednesday, said in one incident her daughter was pulled to the ground by her hair and struck, and in another incident was attacked by another girl, slapped and hit with a container of underarm deodorant. Davis said she was at the school on one occasion and was approached by the girl who assaulted her daughter. The student was wielding a baseball bat, she said.

“The kids are absolutely out of hand,” Davis said.

Davis said she has reported the incidents to police. Police did not immediately respond to a request for information.

Davis said the school has set up a safety plan for her daughter and she has had multiple meetings with school staff, the latest on Wednesday, but remains uncomfortable considering the girls involved in the assault on her daughter are still walking the halls of the school.

“I feel like she is in an unsafe situation,” Davis said of her daughter. “I don’t feel like the school is doing enough. I tried to explain if you have a splinter in your finger, you remove the splinter and not the finger.”

In a message to the school district posted on Facebook this week, Davis said, “What concerns me most, as a parent, is that the violence from the students is escalating and the school has demonstrated a significant lack of concern. What else is happening at the school, who else is experiencing the same things, and how much will the violence escalate?”

g.smith@theday.com