A Texas teacher has resigned from her position after taking a photo of herself with her foot on the neck of a 10-year-old black student. The unnamed teacher was employed at Lamar Elementary School in Greenville when the incident took place on April 20. The student’s aunt, Lakadren Moore, revealed that her nephew was reprimanded for acting out in class, at which point the teacher threatened to put her foot on his neck if he didn’t finish his assignments. The students called her bluff, which is when the 10-year-old got on the floor and the teacher took the photo.
#NEW A Greenville ISD teacher is on administrative leave after a “staged photo” shared online showed the employee placing her foot on a student’s neck.
The family of the boy shared this photo with me. pic.twitter.com/SWkvnkXDSo
— Alex Rozier (@RozierReports) April 21, 2021
- The school immediately launched an investigation. After the school received word of the incident, they began an investigation and placed a discussion of the teacher’s termination on a draft agenda of an upcoming Greenville Independent Schools District’s Board of Trustees meeting. When the teacher caught wind that she was soon to be dismissed, she submitted her resignation via her lawyer and Lamar Elementary accepted it with “immediate effect.”
- It was supposed to be a joke, apparently. Kendra Jackson, the student’s mother, revealed that the teacher sent her the photo herself as a joke. Jackson went on to reveal that she has a “genuine” friendship with the teacher in question, who Jackson believes has a “heart of gold.” The family did not want the teacher to lose her job.
- Jackson dismissed the likeness to the George Floyd murder despite Derek Chauvin’s recent conviction. “The whole situation is not what it was made out to be. Should the picture have been taken? No. Should the picture have been posted? NO. Should she lose her job? NO! Should her dirty shoe be on my son? NO!” Jackson said in an interview with Fox 4. “Bad decisions were made in BOTH ENDS. Things we will both have to live with the rest of our lives. Lessons learned is the best way to look at this. Stop making everything BLACK AND WHITE. Because in this case, unlike many, THIS IS NOT IT.”
- The school district superintendent has apologized for the incident. As reported by Newsweek, Greenville Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins gave a statement in which he revealed that the incident and the teacher are still under investigation and she may lose her teaching license. “We deeply regret the distress this incident has caused, and I am accepting the teacher’s resignation. Nonetheless, we will report what occurred to the State Board for Educator Certification. They will determine what action might be taken concerning her teaching certificate.”
— Greenville ISD (@GreenvilleISD) April 23, 2021
