Arkansas private school director accused of orchestrating 'child fight club'

[LiberalArkie]

May 2, 2025

JONESBORO, Ark. — A private school director and three employees are facing charges of permitting child abuse for what the prosecuting attorney is calling a "makeshift child fight club."

The charges come after Craighead County Judge David Boling and Prosecuting Attorney Sonia Hagood found probable cause to charge the four people after law enforcement officials viewed a video showing a student striking another while in the presence of 50-year-old Mary Tracy Morrison, the school director.

The other three arrested are 45-year-old Kathrine Mae Lipscomb, 38-year-old Michael Bean, and 36-year-old Danielle Bell. All four a being charged with permitting child abuse.

Police say that in the video Morrison, who is the founder of The Delta Institute for Developing the Brain in Jonesboro, can be seen sitting in the middle of a circle with a students and surrounded by 18 other students.

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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/crime/arkansas-private-school-director-orchestrating-child-fight-club/91-3e33447f-233c-48da-9018-6b6d209789ef

[SheltieLover]

1. OMG! And Mary founded the Delta Institute for Developing the Brain?

Is she trying to foster the development of the reptilian part of the brain? Guessing so. Shame on them!!!

[Irish_Dem]

2. Do private schools have the same oversight as public schools?

One of my neighbors is paying quite a bit of tuition money so her son can attend a highly respected private school. However the Spanish teacher speaks not one word of Spanish and lectures
from a book titled "Spanish for Dummies." There are more examples along the same lines.

[ret5hd]

4. well, how much spanish do they really need?

“Back to work losers…no breaks here!”

“No, payday is NEXT week. I know i told you it was this week, but it’s next week!”

“Don’t make me call ICE!”

[LiberalArkie]

5. No, they do not have to pass the same tests as public schools.

Lawmakers reject testing requirement for private schools that take LEARNS vouchers

[Irish_Dem]

7. So the private religious schools could be GOP grifting.

At least the local Catholic schools here have high academic standards.

[LiberalArkie]

8. More than likely are. As just about all of them started to avoid integration and in a large number of wealthy schools

to just avoid having their kids to have to associate with "those other kids".

[Irish_Dem]

9. The irony is that the local schools here are excellent.

The spanish teachers actually speak excellent spanish.

So yes I wonder why so much money for a bad private school.

[LiberalArkie]

12. Usually parents put their kids in private schools so their kids do not mix with poorer kids or kids not their race.

[Irish_Dem]

13. Yes, this could be the case.

[OldBaldy1701E]

14. Oh, it is. It most definitely is. (n/t)

[Midnight Writer]

10. As John Barth said, it's easy to teach something you know all about.

But to teach something you know nothing about?

That takes skill!

[jls4561]

3. Does this school receive voucher money from the state?

[IjustDontlikeRepugs]

6. Don't they know?

The first rule of child fight club is to not talk about child fight club.

[Midnight Writer]

11. Raising future cannon fodder for Whiskey Pete's He-Man Women-Haters Army