SLIDELL - An employee at a Slidell-area elementary school was arrested after allegedly hitting a special needs student in the mouth. 

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's deputies were called on Friday by school employees that saw 44-year-old Margarita Shevchenko "pop" a 7-year-old student in the mouth on Thursday. 

Shevchenko was a paraprofessional working with special needs students. She was arrested Monday and released on a summons for one count of simple battery.