Bradford High School officials in Kenosha, Wisconsin, are investigating a teacher who allegedly hurled derogatory language in front of her students.
An Italian instructor at the high school who reportedly said “nigga” multiple times was caught on video by a student who recorded the incident on Nov. 29, Kenosha News reported. A mother of one of the students who attends the class said the situation began after the teacher heard two students using the word toward each other during their conversation in class. The teacher then chimed in and asked the students why it was OK for them and not others to say the word.
Bradford High School teacher on paid leave after allegedly using racial language. (photo: CBS 2 screenshot)
“Her reason for her saying it was that she had a nanny of color and people called her nanny the n- word and she decided that it was OK,” said Kristal Manthe, a parent of one of the students. “What she was trying to do is get students to agree with her, that using that word was fine.”
Manthe said many of the students in the classroom felt extremely uncomfortable after the incident, and some didn’t speak for the rest of the class.
Kenosha Unified School District officials said they were just made aware of the incident on Monday, Dec. 10, and immediately began an investigation into the allegation.
“The employee was placed on paid leave and will remain as such while the investigation is completed,” said Kenosha School District spokeswoman Tanya Ruder.
However, Manthe said her husband informed Bradford’s Principal Kurt Sinclair of the incident on the same day it happened.
“He talked to Dr. Sinclair, and he said he was going to handle it, and then he didn’t do anything about it,” she said. “I’ve got children at home uncomfortable that the teacher used this word. We, at the very least, expected him to talk to her and to have her apologize to the class, and nothing was done about it.”
Kenosha Unified School District stated on Monday, “The district was made aware of this incident today and has launched an investigation. The employee has been placed on paid leave while the investigation is completed, however, no additional details can be shared due to personnel privacy rights.”
One student who was inside of the classroom at the time of the incident told CBS 58, “That’s not a word anyone should use in school, let alone a teacher. … It’s not a class that I feel like I want to participate in anymore.”
