A Colorado school district is investigating an incident caught on video in which a substitute teacher appears to struggle with a middle school student as he attempts to remove the student from a classroom.
The incident occurred Wednesday at Hamilton Middle School in Denver. A 14-second video taken by a student shows part of the altercation, KMGH-TV reported.
In the video, the teacher appears to be pushing the student toward the door. The student appears to be trying to resist the teacher’s force and can be heard yelling, “Get off me.” The teacher can be heard telling the student not to touch him.
The student appears to fall to the ground, and the teacher tells the class to call a school security guard.
It’s unclear what led up to the altercation.
The school's principal, Dr. Christian Sawyer, sent a letter home with students Wednesday that said, in part: "You may hear from your children about an incident involving a substitute teacher working with seventh-grade students today. We are looking into the incident and the substitute teacher will not be returning to the school while the incident is under review."
Naisha Williams, president of the school's Parent-Teacher Association, told KMHG-TV that there have been other incidents at the school recently and that her daughter was the subject of physical bullying from other students last month. Williams said she doesn't think school administrators are adequately handling the incidents.
"I blame the administration at that school because the administration is not taking responsibility. They're not handling situations and are pushing things underneath the rug hoping that it will go away, and in the meantime, our children are not getting their education," she said.
When asked about Williams' concerns, Denver Public Schools released a statement to the TV station that said, in part: "Improving school-wide culture and building an inclusive environment that welcomes and creates a safe school for all students is a focus of Hamilton's leadership team. The school's faculty work every day to push forward in this important work."
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