CHEYENNE — Laramie County School District 1 says it’s aware of a video that shows the aftermath of a physical altercation between a male teacher and a female student that includes the teacher on his knees repeatedly telling the girl, “I did something very wrong,” and promising to report himself to school authorities.
At one point in the video, the man can be seen on his knees with his arms stretched out, speaking directly to the student in front of McCormick Junior High School in north Cheyenne last week.
“I’m on my knees right now. Come here, please,” he says, gesturing with his hands for her to get closer.
“No!” the girl responds.
“OK, I need to know your name so I can report on myself,” the man says.
“You want to report you grabbing me by the shoulder and grabbing me by my hair and dragging me and making me bleed!? You want to report yourself?” the girl says.
“Yes, yes, I do. Listen, listen, I did something wrong. I did something very wrong,” he says, then repeating himself. “I did something very wrong, OK? I did you very wrong.”
LCSD1 Superintendent Stephen Newton responded Tuesday to a list of Cowboy State Daily’s questions about the incident last week with a short email statement saying the district “is aware of the video circulating on social media and has responded by following all required processes.”
He also said school district employees “are expected to follow all Board Policy in interacting with students,” adding that “LCSD1 cannot comment further on personnel matters or open criminal investigations.”
The Cheyenne Police Department has said it’s investigating a report about the incident, which involved a man, now confirmed to be an eighth-grade McCormick math teacher.
Parents Not Happy
Parents of students at the school said Tuesday’s short response acknowledging the video is better than the “no comment” issued Monday when Cowboy State Daily asked about it.
But that still doesn’t explain why they weren’t at least notified when it happened and told that it’s being addressed.
“I am outraged at the lack of communication and response from the school, the district and the Cheyenne Police Department,” said Jessica Parish, who has two students at the school, including one in the math class of the teacher under investigation.
“The man in the video … is a teacher of one of my students,” Parish said. “I’m very upset as a parent. This is beyond what is acceptable as a teacher to a student in any kind of setting.”
Not knowing whether the teacher is still on the job and still teaching her student’s class is upsetting, Parish told Cowboy State Daily.
“I don’t think he should still be teaching,” she said. “I understand innocent until proven guilty, but it takes a lot to send your kids to school today, and he did something wrong. He said it.”
Jeff Clark, an active military dad of a seventh grader at McCormick, said his daughter knows the teacher, but isn’t in his class.
He also said that a lack of transparency about an altercation between a teacher and student is what bothers him the most.
“They didn’t send anything out, nothing in the little communication apps we use, saying, ‘Hey, there’s an incident. It’s being handled.’ That’s all they needed to do,” Clark told Cowboy State Daily. “To just say nothing, that’s kind of trash, to be honest.”
McCormick Responds
At 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, about three hours after Cowboy State Daily reached out to Superintendent Newton with questions about the video, McCormick Junior High sent out a statement to parents.
“Dear McCormick Families,” it begins. “Our highest priority remains the safety and well-being of every student in our care.
“We want to take a moment to address an important matter with care and as much transparency as we can,” the statement continues. “Many of you have heard rumors, seen videos or have read news stories about an incident that occurred last week.
“While we are unable to share specific details due to legal and privacy considerations, we understand that incidents of this nature can be distressing and raise questions for both students and families.”
Whether the teacher is still teaching at the school or if there’s an internal investigation into the incident wasn’t disclosed.
The teacher was “unavailable” when Cowboy State Daily called McCormick Junior High School on Tuesday and asked for his room. The operator offered to take a message or transfer the call to his voicemail.
A voicemail message left for the teacher wasn’t returned by publication time.
In his response, Newton also referenced policies all staff are expected to follow, including Chapter 8, Section 12 that deals with forcible physical contact with students.
That policy says such contact “should be limited to emergencies when ensuring the safety of students, self-defense, or defense of other students is necessary and reasonable.”
It also addresses physical contact when a student’s behavior “requires that a district employee forcibly hold, move, or seat a student” should happen “only with sufficient force to accomplish the purpose of restoring the safety of students, staff, and the learning environment.”
It goes on to say that “all incidents requiring forcible physical contact with a student shall be thoroughly reviewed, documented, and parents shall be notified.”
‘It Pissed Me Off’
Clark said that no matter the circumstances, he thinks the teacher crossed a line.
“It pissed me off, and it wasn’t even my daughter in it,” he said. “If I’d been in the pickup line that day, I’d have gotten out of my vehicle. He wouldn’t have lasted very long if it had been my daughter.
“And she would’ve probably hit him back, to tell you the truth.”
Getting down on his knees to beg the student, and his own admissions captured on video, make it clear in Clark’s mind that the teacher believed he crossed a line with his behavior, he said.
“It’s a weird reaction to a situation like that: ‘I’m on my knees, please give me your name,’” he said. “That’s creepy. I don’t know how to take that. Who does that?”
Parish said that before the video came out, she hadn’t had any problems with her stepdaughter’s math teacher.
“We haven’t had any kind of issues with him in the past or with my stepdaughter,” she said. “I got the video and I called her. She said, ‘Yeah, that’s my math teacher.’”
The main thing for Parish, now that people know about the incident, is that the school and district keep parents in the loop going forward.
“At this point, being transparent needs to happen,” she said. “That’s best in any situation, and reassuring parents. That’s not happening at all. All we want is, ‘Hey, this is what’s being done.’”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
