A video posted to Facebook shows a California high school teacher disparaging parents who are in favor of in-person learning, Fox News reported Sunday.
“If your parent wants to come talk to me about how I’m not doing a good enough job in distance learning based on what you need as an individual, just dare them to come at me,” the teacher said to her class on Zoom. The teacher’s Zoom name reveals her to be Alissa Piro of San Marcos High School, according to Fox News.
“I am so sick to my stomach of parents trying to tell educators how to do their job. I have never once gone to a doctor’s appointment and told my medical health provider how to treat me. You know why? Because I know nothing about that. I didn’t get my degree in medicine,” Piro continued.
She then said that her rant is part of her “go off period.”
A class parent told Fox News that she showed the video to San Marcos High School principal Adam Dawson. However, Dawson failed to follow up with her about corrective action. The same mother described Piro as a “bully” and “exactly what’s wrong with education.”
“We are deeply concerned about the recent videos that have surfaced regarding one of our employees; this is a matter that we take very seriously and it is receiving our highest scrutiny. As a personnel issue that is under investigation, and consistent with District practice, we are limited in the amount of information that we can share. The employee has been placed on administrative leave and will be afforded due process and privacy rights,” interim Superintendent Tiffany Campbell said in a statement.
San Marcos Unified School District is employing a hybrid education model for its schools, according to The Coast News. A group of parents is suing San Marcos and five other school districts to force them to reopen, but the parents say that the district is not complying with a judge’s temporary order to lift some restrictions. (RELATED: Parents Appeal To Reopen California Schools After Initial Suit Dismissed)
Many teachers groups dismiss reopening arguments as steeped in “privilege,” even as non-white parents advocate for their children to return to classrooms. The entire school board of a San Francisco Bay Area elementary school resigned in February after board members were caught on video insulting parents who advocated for reopening the school.