A California high school teacher has been suspended after berating her students during a Zoom class for their parents’ complaints about the school’s distance learning plans. Alissa Piro, who teaches English at San Marcos High School, was caught on video shouting at students and even telling one student that “whites get everything” in response to a question about a white student union. The recording of the class in session was shared on Twitter by @reopencaschools.
Newly released video of a @SanMarcosUSD HS teacher going off on students and their parents over distance learning and other issues. Originally posted to FB. Apparently this is a common occurrence. pic.twitter.com/pjEN80kLNh
— Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) April 12, 2021
- The parents want their kids back in school full-time. Distance learning is a safety measure put in place to protect students from contracting COVID-19. However, many parents have complained about the policy and Piro was sick of it. She could be heard in the video telling the parents to “come at me” and berating the students for their parents’ criticisms. “I am so sick to my stomach of parents trying to tell educators how to do their job,” Piro says in the clip.
- A question about a student union also caused an explosion. Student Jace Jonas said that he asked a question in the class’s text box about why, since an Asian student union had recently been formed at the school, white people didn’t also have one. “I wanted to make a comment in the Zoom text box, not disrupting the class,” he told Fox News, as per NY Post. “I commented, ‘Why do some races get student unions but others do not?’ We should have a student union for all races or no races for true equality. She started berating me about how as a white male I get everything and it’s my duty to look out for minorities and all these racist remarks against whites and males. She later called me a moron.”
- Jace’s grades dropped after the confrontation. While Jace contacted school authorities and was allowed to take five days away from Piro’s classes before a “restorative meeting” between Jace’s father Jim, Piro, and the school principal. While Piro is said to have apologized at the meeting, a few weeks later, Jace noticed his grades had dropped from an A to a B. Piro later blamed this on a “computer error” and corrected it after she was called out.
- It seems Piro is a bit of a political bully. This incident with Jace was not the first run-in Piro has had with a student. As one mom said, “Because of our history with this teacher, I knew I needed to speak out with the abuse and bullying and frankly racism that I saw on that video. The saddest thing to me is that she created an environment in that Zoom classroom for some of the other students to comment mean things.” Another former student added that they’d pretended to agree with Piro’s views to get a good grade, saying: “She’s a good teacher when she’s teaching but these rants aren’t new. I knew I had to change my political views just to please her and get a passing grade. She’d either yell or fail you, or make us feel small for what we believe in.”
- Now, Piro has been suspended with immediate effect. Something tells me she may not have a job for much longer.
Update: The teacher has been placed on administrative leave. We agree she should be afforded due process.
Let’s hope @SanMarcosUSD will direct their efforts towards their moral and legal obligation of offering substantial, full-time, in-person education to their students ASAP. pic.twitter.com/PDDYFI8soo
— Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) April 12, 2021
