A Texas school district has terminated a substitute teacher after she allegedly encouraged students to engage in violent in-class fights at Kimbrough Middle School in Mesquite. The district discovered that fights took place in her class on Wednesday, describing the teacher's actions as "appalling and intolerable."
Video and information from Beatriz Martinez, a concerned parent of one of the students, revealed that the fighting was rough enough for some students to leave the classroom bleeding. The substitute teacher's role allegedly went beyond encouraging violence; she is accused of laying down rules for these fights and assigning lookouts.
Two separate incidents were captured on video and audio recordings, providing evidence of this disturbing behavior. This incident comes shortly after a Florida teacher was charged Monday with four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor after allegedly facilitating classroom fights among girls at her Tallahassee middle school.
The Texas school district released an official statement condemning such actions: "We take our responsibility to provide safe learning environments very seriously. We will not tolerate any form of violence or encouragement thereof within our schools. This individual's actions are deeply disturbing, and we have taken prompt action by terminating her employment with our district."
Beatriz Martinez expressed her horror upon discovering what had transpired during her child's time in that particular class: "I never thought something like this could happen at my child's school," said Martinez. "It breaks my heart knowing they were exposed to such aggression under their own teachers' guidance."
As local authorities continue their investigation into these incidents at Kimbrough Middle School, parents are left questioning how such events can be prevented in the future.
Jennifer Thompson, another parent from Kimbrough Middle School stated: "It is crucial now more than ever for us as parents to come together with educators so we can ensure proper safety measures are being implemented within our schools."