Gig Harbor teacher accused of bullying put on leave
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SEATTLE -- A Gig Harbor middle school teacher accused of bullying a 13-year-old student while cameras were rolling has been put on administrative leave.
After receiving several angry and threatening messages, the Peninsula School District reversed its initial decision and will now keep teacher John Rosi out of the classroom, at least temporarily.
Cell phone video shows students hauling around a middle school student, stuffing a sock in his moth, putting a pillow over his face and holding him down. The alleged bullying is mostly perpetrated by fellow students, but Rosi does appear to take part, too.
After the district got a hold of the videos, Rosi was suspended for 10 days. But after that decision was made, the 13-year-old's mother said her boy faced even more bullying.
"He just said he wanted to kill himself and the kids had blamed him for this popular teacher and the suspension that he received," Karla Kinney said.
Kinney was shocked by the video and wanted Rosi removed.
"I think that somebody that could allow this to happen and participate has no business being in a classroom," she said.
Following his suspension, the plan was for Rosi to be moved to another school, but many parents were outraged by the move.
"I was shocked that they just moved him from one school to another," said parent Kirsten Gallacher. "That's not right."
Parent Vita Gray expressed similar feelings.
"I just moved to the area, so I was a little horrified to hear that because I moved to Gig Harbor because the schools are really good," she said.
After listening to local parents, the district reversed its course Thursday night and placed Rosi on paid administrative leave.
The Pierce County sheriff's office is now sifting through angry -- and sometimes threatening -- voice and email messages left at the school.
"I think the district is looking to us to make sure that we can protect them if need be and ensure their safety," said Sgt. Mike Blair says.
The sheriff's office is also investigating the bullying incident for possible criminal charges. The district plans to keep Rosi on leave at least until that investigation is finished.
After receiving several angry and threatening messages, the Peninsula School District reversed its initial decision and will now keep teacher John Rosi out of the classroom, at least temporarily.
Cell phone video shows students hauling around a middle school student, stuffing a sock in his moth, putting a pillow over his face and holding him down. The alleged bullying is mostly perpetrated by fellow students, but Rosi does appear to take part, too.
After the district got a hold of the videos, Rosi was suspended for 10 days. But after that decision was made, the 13-year-old's mother said her boy faced even more bullying.
"He just said he wanted to kill himself and the kids had blamed him for this popular teacher and the suspension that he received," Karla Kinney said.
Kinney was shocked by the video and wanted Rosi removed.
"I think that somebody that could allow this to happen and participate has no business being in a classroom," she said.
Following his suspension, the plan was for Rosi to be moved to another school, but many parents were outraged by the move.
"I was shocked that they just moved him from one school to another," said parent Kirsten Gallacher. "That's not right."
Parent Vita Gray expressed similar feelings.
"I just moved to the area, so I was a little horrified to hear that because I moved to Gig Harbor because the schools are really good," she said.
After listening to local parents, the district reversed its course Thursday night and placed Rosi on paid administrative leave.
The Pierce County sheriff's office is now sifting through angry -- and sometimes threatening -- voice and email messages left at the school.
"I think the district is looking to us to make sure that we can protect them if need be and ensure their safety," said Sgt. Mike Blair says.
The sheriff's office is also investigating the bullying incident for possible criminal charges. The district plans to keep Rosi on leave at least until that investigation is finished.
First, let me say my sorrow goes out to the victim and his parents, for they truly appear hurt and distraught by what happened. I know what has been presented in the news. I'm sure there are facts that I am not aware of. So, should I pass judgement on the district's decisions? Teachers have contracts. If the teacher is terminated without a thorough investigation and later determined some extenuating circumstance, the district could face wrongful termination. Also, regardless of the video, it has not been determined that he is at fault. It is the districts decision to remove him from the class, so they are required to pay him until a determination is made to terminate. If he is charged with a crime, his career will be over. If in the investigation, he is truly wrong, then that would be appropriate; however, if it was only "horse play" and a SIGNIFICANT error in judgement, yet otherwise an outstanding teacher which is ALSO info that I am not aware, should his career be ruined and society lose a good teacher? What I have seen and heard regarding this incident, I can not imagine engaging in such behavior as a teacher. Yes, I was also a teacher with a spotless record and reputation for excellence in working with some of the most difficult and disruptive students in our school systems. And, I always had the support from every parent and student that I worked with. One day while trying to intervene with a extremely disruptive student as he was leaving my classroom, I placed my hand on the student to stop him. The student complained, I was IMMEDIATELY placed on paid leave and the police cited me within 30 minutes of the incident. I was directed not to talk to the district who did not complete an investigation for over a month. I was terminated primarily due to insubordination during the investigation. The charge was later dropped, but the damage was done. My career went from EXEMPLARY to non-existent in 30 minutes. Was my incident worthy of the loss of a good teacher who made a SIGNIFICANT error in judgement? From the information I present here? Maybe so. From what I have seen, this was totally inappropriate and possibly criminal and definitely worthy of significant consequences; however, we all should always investigate all the information, facts, options, etc. before we make decisions, judgements and choices. Especially those which may permanently impact a life. Would parents get a divorce without investigating the impact it has on children and investigating alternative options? Maybe.
FIRE John Rosi NOW!Â
Don't waste another taxpayer dime debatng whether he should go.
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Get rid of this scumbag and ban him from ever getting another teaching job. He has no business being around kids.
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He had a mandate as an educator to uphold and protect the rights of his students.
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He should be jailed for malicious harrassment and assault.
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If they let the teacher from Morton have his job back after molesting kids, there is no way this guy is going to lose his job. Go WEA!
What was going on in this classroom must have created quite a bit of noise and it really surprises me that one of the other teachers didn't go check on the ruckus or report it to the principal. I'm glad the boy didn't get physically hurt and I hope that he can overcome the emotional aspect of this out of control situation. It's hard for a child to go to school if they expect to be bullied everyday when they get there. More could be done at home too. Parents need to let their children know that bullying someone for any reason isn't acceptable.
Welcome back.  Fire the teacher, expel the kids...it's on video.  Zero tolerance for bullying.
At the end it talks about another story where 5 hoodlums are under arrest for breaking into another school. I guess it's a bigger crime to assault a building than a human being. Heck, teach kids how to bully and you get a free paid vacation.Â
 @Insomniac Dreams I suspect the "paid vacation" as you put it, may be a very temporary reprieve. It's important for the school district, and in this case, possibly criminal authorities to conduct an investigation before anyone is summarily fired. That said, if this pans out like it's appearing it might... the individual (despite the rhetoric spewed by some on these news forums) will very likely get fired, if not prosecuted as well. I for one support a full investigation and if wrong-doing has occurred as it appears it has, firing and even criminal prosecution in my opinion would be fully warranted. This includes not simply the teacher involved, but the students who participated as well. Bullying is not some "right of passage". It results in life-long impacts to some of these kids, and in some cases leads to suicide and/or homicide.Â
 @TruthinAdverts  @Insomniac Dreams While I agree this incident needs to be fully investigated I disagree that the teacher should be on on PAID leave during the investigation. Put him on UNPAID leave and then if the investigation exonerates him (unlikely in my opinion) then pay him for his time loss.
Fact---Bullying can lead to suicide by the individual being bullied, or sometimes result in the fatal
retribution against those that bully others. Bullying can be fatal to both the bullied, and to those
that opt to be bullies. Recent events have proven both types of results to be true.
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With that in mind I feel that this teacher should never again be a position to allow, much less to
be an active participant in the such bullying.  The state should pull his teaching certification to
help guarantee that he can not be allowed to ever be in a situation that this can re-occur as he
passively sits by, and/or eventually becomes an actual participant in the bullying of a minor.
the trouble with "protecting" a child from bullies is that bullies stay in school and make life even worse for the kid who is being bullied. Teachers and admins don't do anything except talk. That's why we have so many suicides and cases of repressed rage that turn into bloodbaths.
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I hope the victim can find protection that actually protects him, and that his mom can keep him safe.
 @chandler that's why in bullying cases, school district and criminal authority action needs to be firm. The days of bullying being some idiotic "right of passage" are over. Those who bully, and those in authority who either support it or allow it should face serious ramifications.
Transferring this POS to another school is the same as the Catholic church transferring child molesting priests to a different parish.
I remember Kopachuck. Back in those days the teachers just drank and sexually harassed girls though!
I remember as a kid being tortured just like this video, but I always knew that most of the other kids went through this by the same neighborhood kids. I guess that  makes it a little different. I also remember going into the seventh grade and being told to watch out for you may get scrubbed! Scrubbed? WTF is that? Scrubbed??? Yeah, I found out all right, they held me down on the way home from school and scrubbed me with lipstick until I was a complete mess. When I got home, my older sister laughed for the rest of the day. My mom had to laugh also and then let me know that this probably wouldn't happen again. And it didn't, I was ready to k-ass at the first sight of being cornered by the big bad bullies of the ninth grade. It wasn't right that there was a teacher involved, he should be launched to the moon!
WTF? Â Every single one of those kids should be expelled or arrested for assault. Â The teacher should never be allowed to teach again. Â How someone could watch that video and still give the teacher another teaching job is beyond comprehension. Â Yes, the school district should definitely be afraid for their gross negligence regarding the teachers continued employment. Â Parents have every right to be pissed.
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I'm all for punishing kids that need it and being firm with discipline, but the above video is in a completely different league of it's own, way out of control.
Or you could just fire him! I've read comments from people who had him as a teacher in the past and I get the tone that they weren't really surprised and didn't have high opinions of him.
I was sickened by this video, the teacher was taking part in the abuse and deserves to be FIRED ! Even if this child was misbehaving, there is ZERO justification for what took place and again, obviously sanctioned and partaken in BY THE TEACHER !  Fire him now and ensure that his record reflects his abuse of children. Make sure he is not allowed to teach anywhere in this country !Â
Sounds like the kid should have had his butt paddled and then sent home. Should be zero tolerance in school for disruptive kids. If you don't want to learn go home.
Sounds like it is time to expel the students involved in this assault as well... PERMANENTLY.
First of all, thank goodness for cell phone video these days. Secondly, had this child been mine that this guy bullied? He may not  have made it to school the next day to teach. Having this guy go teach at another school is a joke, he needs to be banned from being around kids PERIOD.
This is more than just a case of bullying. They stuffed a sock in the kid's mouth and covered his face with a pillow! He could have died and this teacher gets a 10 day suspension?!?! What the eff. What happened to the children who were also involved? Were they suspended? Expelled? I thought Washington State had a zero tolerance for bullying.
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This is just outrageous.
Just another sign that we are a nation of wimps and crybabies.
 @StringerJoe Of course if you were the bully you would feel that way. This is abuse, both by other students, and the teacher for not stopping it immediately. If the kid had had a panic attack and stopped breathing, we'd be hearing a totally different story. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior, and to report it is not being a wimp or a crybaby. You go ahead and think that, but just remember the next time a kid commits suicide that this kind of behavior is a major factor.
 @chickysgirl  @StringerJoe He's just got a hankering for the good old days you know. Back when things were better and everybody beat and humiliated kids, when more women died in child birth, people owned other people, and there were good old fashioned hangings to entertain us. Yeah, that's got to be it.
 @StringerJoe There is nothing wimpy about kids who are bullied. If anyone is a wimp it's an adult who finds enjoyment in terrorizing vulnerable children.
Is it paid leave? Â He needs to be fired. Â In any other profession, he would be so why do we accept this for our children?
@makeadifference According to the News Tribune it is paid leave.
I guess I would like to see the lesson plan for the day. Learning target? State standard? Just goes to show you that somepeople just don't think