A North Carolina woman is speaking out after she says her daughter had been threatened by her teacher.
Whitney Dean is alleging that her 13-year-old’s science teacher, Michael Melchiorre, used the N-word in an Archer Lodge Middle School classroom in Wendell, North Carolina, WNCN reported. The teen recorded part of the interaction that took place on April 16.
“The teacher decided to use the N-word in class,” Dean told the outlet. “Other things happened prior to that with the students, but I feel it’s irrelevant because he’s the adult in the situation.”
In the video shared by the news station, the daughter is recording the teacher while the camera is pointed toward the ground: “I dare you to get me fired.”
“If she got me fired over saying that word, and I’m out of this school after 16 years, I would haunt your family for the rest of your life,” the teacher said. “You’d never know I was around, but I’d be doing stuff to make your life miserable all your life.”
When the teen insinuated that she was recording, he replied: “Go ahead.”
Dean is appalled by the teacher’s behavior, saying that she is taking additional security measures at her home, WRAL reported. Her daughter has not returned to class since the incident.
“We’re talking about a 50 or something-year-old man talking to my 13-year-old daughter. Threatening her. Because you got out of line in class,” Dean added. “The whole situation was not something that I wanted to take lightly. At all.”
It’s unclear if Melchiorre remains at the school, but he told the outlet that there’s “two sides to every story.” He still appears to be a staff member based on the school’s website.
Dean wants Melchiorre to be terminated and pointed out that her other child has had a similar interaction with him.
“We’ve had run-ins with him in the past with things that he said that are disrespectful and a bit racist, such as calling my son a thug and referring to the kids as monkey,” Dean explained to WNCN.
