An Ohio parent whose child was coming home from school covered in bruises from other students caught her son’s teacher badmouthing him on a Zoom call after she shared her concerns, according to a local report.
The mother had requested to meet with her 6-year-old son’s teacher at Reynolds Elementary School in Toledo because she said he came home saying he wanted to kill himself after other students allegedly beat him up during class, local ABC affiliate station 13 Action News reported.
“He was coming home with multiple bruises bloody noses. He was coming home saying he was going to kill himself. Just a numerous amount of things,” she told the station.
But instead of reassurance, the concerned parent got a damning earful from the teacher and a special education administrator who stayed on the scheduled Zoom call after the mom left the meeting, according to the outlet.
The parent, who was granted anonymity, was sent a recording and transcript of the full call — including the six minutes the teacher and administrator remained on the call after she logged off — by the school district.
In what the pair apparently believed was a private conversation, the teacher allegedly called the 6-year-old “annoying” and admitted that half of her young students say they hate their life and invoke suicide, the news station reported.
“He is annoying AF. It’s not like I don’t excuse this but I tried to tell mom this is a behavior classroom. All these kids are in here for a reason,” the teacher allegedly said.
The teacher also claimed that the child’s statements about killing himself were something he picked up from other students in the special education class.
“And he’s getting hurt and the thing about wanting to kill himself that’s a learned behavior,” the teacher reportedly said to the district administrator. “You know my class. All day long he screams, ‘I hate my life. I hate my life. I’ll kill myself’ and he did learn that in here. Half my class says that all day long,” the teacher said.
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The little boy’s mom was shocked by what she heard.
“My 6-year-old saying he wanted to kill himself and it not being reported and her just saying it so calmly that’s a regular behavior in my class. It should be reported because kids are taking their lives every day,” the mother told Action News.
The teacher also allegedly spoke about another student, who was accused of beating up the parent’s child. The accused student’s name was redacted.
“[Redacted] beat him up? Oh yeah, [Redacted] is mean. Everyone always sees [Redacted] and like why is he in this class and I’m like [makes a face]… They’re like why is [Redacted] in that class because like he’s an attempted murderer,” the teacher allegedly said while laughing. “He will chase you down with his pencil.”
The Toledo school district has since launched an investigation, according to the local station.
“Toledo Public Schools is working with the administration at Reynolds Elementary to address questionable comments by two staff members following a parent meeting last Friday morning. The meeting was videotaped unbeknownst to those involved, and the district sent a link to the parent,” James Gant, Esq. Deputy Superintendent said in a statement to Action News.
“Toledo Public Schools holds its employees to the highest professional standards and will take additional and appropriate steps following the holiday, including possible disciplinary action.”
While the hurt mother said she hoped the school would do something about what happened on the call, she had already removed her son from the school, according to the outlet.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.