A Sicklerville couple is demanding the termination of one of their son’s teachers at Winslow Township High School after reviewing a profanity-laced tirade he said he secretly recorded of her cursing at students and telling them, among other things, that their class is a zoo every day.
The parents, Pastor David and Geneatha Wright, came forward days after the school suspended their son, Jai, 16, for reasons the family said were not disclosed.
Rev. Kevin McCall, an activist working with the family, said that on Thursday, Jai sent his parents a recording of his teacher cursing at students. They immediately contacted the school and asked what was happening. Afterward, he said, Assistant Principal Richard Dawkins went to Jai’s class, pulled him out, made him delete the recording and suspended him for four days.
When the Wrights questioned the punishment the following day, McCall said Principal Kurtis Marella gave no reason but insisted it would stand.
In the absence of an explanation or documentation, the parents believe school administrators punished Jai for recording a teacher of color who they said suffered no consequences for her actions, and they’re livid.
“This should not be happening,” said Geneatha Wright. “And to know this is happening and no one is batting an eye about it makes me very uneasy.”
David Wright agreed, saying, “My son has been dealing with this for a while, and sometimes I wondered why he didn’t want to go to school. I’m used to a teacher being able to grade my son, not degrade my son.”
McCall, who joined the family in addressing the media outside the school on Tuesday, criticized the administrators’ response.
“How do you suspend a kid and not reprimand the teacher for their actions?” he said. “She still has a job to come to, and the school is taking a lackadaisical approach to the situation.”
On Tuesday, the teacher said she could not speak about the incident. Dawkins, Marella and Schools Superintendent H. Major Poteat did not return calls and emails seeking comment.
Jai’s suspension last week was his second this school year involving the teacher. The family said he received a one-day suspension in November for having his phone out during class. At that time, Jai complained to his parents about the teacher’s use of foul language. His dad spoke with school officials, the teacher apologized and the school assured the Wrights that it would take action, the family said.
Jai, a junior, said the teacher on Thursday noticed his cell phone sitting on his desk and began yelling at him. He said he started recording when she started cursing and telling the room of mostly Black students that “it is a f****** zoo in this class every day, every day.” He said he knew that using his phone in class was not allowed but that he recorded the teacher because it wasn’t the first time she had cursed and degraded students.
“I am distraught and disappointed that this happened,” he said.
In a recording obtained by NJ Advance Media, for at least 2 minutes, the teacher goes on an expletive-laden tirade using the f-word multiple times.
“Knock it the f*** out ‘cause you do not go around behaving like this in front of your parents. Don’t do it in front of me either. Period. Am I understood?
“So, if you’re done the test, please actually put it in the Chromebook cart and plug the s*** in. Stop leaving s*** around.
“You done already lost your game privileges, which actually gives you chances to earn extra credit, just ‘cause you’re trying to be funny. And then you’re taking that away from other people who actually care about their f****** grade in here. And that’s not OK.”
David Wright, a Brooklyn native, said this is traumatic and something he wishes he could have shielded his son from.
“These words that she was using to describe my son, calling him an f****** idiot in front of the class, caused him to be so depressed.
I moved my family here because I didn’t want to raise my kids around what I was used to,” he added. “Growing up in Brooklyn, we heard that type of language all the time. And for my son to have to deal with that in what I thought was a safe haven. I’m still in disbelief.”
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Deion Johnson may be reached at djohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DeionRJohhnson
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