When parents send their kids to school, they expect them to be safe.
What they don’t expect is for the teachers to be mean to their kids and even bully them. When a young autistic boy named Camden was accepted into Hope Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the family was thrilled.
The school had a great reputation as one of the top schools for children with disabilities.
Camden’s mother, Milissa, was happy that her son was going to get the education and special attention that he needed. Things started out well, but before long, the family started to notice that Camden wasn’t acting like himself.
He was always a happy little boy with a smile on his face, but after attending school for just a short time, he started to become aggressive and began wetting the bed. They started to suspect that something was going on at school. Melissa worried that someone might be bullying Camden.
She went to the school several times, but they brushed it off.
She even went to the school board, who still didn’t offer her any help or suggestions. She was determined to find out what was going on with her son.
Then, she got an idea. She bought a small recording device and hid it in Camden’s backpack. It recorded a lot throughout the day, and it took some time for her to listen to it all. What she heard on the tape was awful. It turns out Camden was being bullied, but not by another student.
His teachers were treating him badly and saying horrible things to him.
The teachers were heard saying:
“Camden, why don’t you have anything written down? That’s why you can’t sit with the other kids. Tell your momma that.”
Another conversation involved a teacher saying:
“You’re just writing the word, what is hard about it?”
Camden can then be heard making a noise and the teacher repeats it to make fun of him.
A third shocking conversation involved two teachers discussing Camden and his family. It said:
“Let’s see what they do with him in f***king public school. He was going to go to Live Oak Middle School. Uh uh, he wouldn’t make it for a minute.”
Milissa was in tears by the time she finished the tape.
She couldn’t believe that the people who were supposed to be teaching and nurturing her son were actually saying these horrible things to and about him. She turned the tapes over to the school board, who had no other choice but to take the matter seriously.
The principal fired the two teachers who were recorded saying those awful things, and Milissa pulled her son out of the school.
She also contacted an attorney and posted the recording online so other parents could be made aware of what was going on at the school.
The school made a statement about the incident.
The principal said:
“On March 23, 2018, a recording posted to social media was brought to our attention. Apparently, a parent sent a student to school with a recording device in his/her backpack. The recording appears to be a compilation of audio clips, many of which involve private conversations between two adults with no other persons/children present. The recording contains regretful conversations between these adults.
“The parent never brought the recording to the attention of Hope Academy before posting it on social media. The parent has also refused to meet with Hope Academy to discuss the actions we have taken to address the issue. The persons involved in the communications are either no longer with the school or will no longer be with the school after this semester.
“Over these many years, Hope Academy has built a strong reputation for competently serving the educational needs of the special needs community. These recordings are not an indication of who we are. We ask that the community not let the actions of two persons reflect on the reputation of and the mission of our school – a mission we have tried so hard to build. We again extend an invitation to meet with the parent involved to discuss this incident further.”
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Second teacher fired after school staff caught mocking autistic child in audio recording
WATCH: Tonight the mother of a special needs student who was mocked by his teachers is thanking Baton Rouge and the rest of the nation for standing behind her son: “It would just make his day to know that this many people cared about him.”
FULL STORY: http://www.wbrz.com/news/second-teacher-fired-after-school-staff-caught-mocking-autistic-child-in-audio-recording
Posted by WBRZ Channel 2 on Thursday, April 12, 2018
