Cypress Creek Elementary teacher under investigation for using derogatory term for students

Volusia County Schools officials are investigating a Cypress Creek Elementary teacher accused of calling her fourth-grade class a derogatory term for individuals with disabilities, according to the parent of a student who was there.

Karim Bouaziz said his 9-year-old son told him the incident occurred as students packed up their belongings to leave Samantha Fuster’s classroom at the bell on Feb. 16.

“That Friday before Presidents Day, she, I guess, really had a bad afternoon, lost her temper and yelled at the entire class, basically because they couldn’t get their stuff packed up in time for the bell,” Bouaziz said, relaying what his son had told him. “‘You’re a lost cause. You almost have to be retarded.’ That’s what she yelled at them.”

Teacher has had 'meltdowns' before

Bouaziz said he was concerned that she used the term because his son has an individualized education plan for language and speech.

Bouaziz also said that this behavior isn’t entirely unusual for Fuster, claiming she's had "meltdowns" before, which he also mentioned in an email to the school's principal, Kristina Kania.

“She’s had these several times in the afternoons, you know, usually yelling at the kids,” he told The News-Journal. “It’s not about classwork. It’s about packing up at the end of the day, and the kids are excited to leave, so she tends to yell at them. She calls them stupid or slow or, you know, or she asks rhetorically what’s wrong with them, that sort of thing.”

Typically, Bouaziz said, he takes these stories “with a grain of salt” since “it’s coming from a 9-year-old.”

But when he heard the latest comment, Bouaziz said he verified the incident with another parent, who confirmed that she heard the same narrative from her child.

Another caregiver to a student in Fuster's class, who didn't want to be named in this story, told The News-Journal that her student also said Fuster used the word in the classroom.

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Teacher would remain at school

Bouaziz first reached out to Principal Kania by email on Feb. 20 to inform her of the situation.

On Feb. 21, Kania responded, saying that Fuster would be out of school on a scheduled absence until Feb. 22. In her email to Bouaziz, the principal also noted that she was working alongside the district’s Office of Professional Standards, as she would for any alleged misconduct, and that Fuster would remain at school through the investigation.

According to Bouaziz, an agent from the Florida Department of Children and Families investigated on Feb. 23. That same day, Kania told Bouaziz in an email that Fuster would no longer be in the classroom during the investigation, but did not explain further.

When reached by phone, the DCF agent did not want to be quoted in this story.

Sandy Hovis, Volusia's manager of professional standards, confirmed Monday in an email to Bouaziz that the investigation is still open.

Tracy Carpenter, the district's public records custodian, also told The News-Journal last week that the investigation is still open. Once it is closed, there is a 10-day waiting period before it can be released, she said in an email.

Cleared to return

Fuster was cleared to return to the classroom March 1, according to an email sent March 5 from Kania to Bouaziz. Since she was out sick March 1 and March 4, she did not return until March 5. Kania did not say in the email why Fuster was cleared to return during the ongoing investigation.

When The News-Journal reached out to Fuster, the Cypress Creek Elementary receptionist said Fuster told her she had "no comment."

The News-Journal also reached out to Kania and the district’s Office of Professional Standards for more information. Kania did not respond to The News-Journal's request for an interview and the Office of Professional Standards directed The News-Journal to the district’s community information department.

Danielle Johnson, Volusia’s director of community information, declined to speak with the News-Journal on the phone.

“This is an open investigation at this time, and as such, we are unable to share any further details,” she said in an email.

Bouaziz said he is “far more than unimpressed” with how the school and school district has handled this incident thus far.

"(I'm) disturbed,” he said. “The problem is, where’s the line? What if, instead of yelling ‘retarded’ at them or calling them all ‘retarded,’ she had put her hands on somebody? Right? Or she had, you know, called a kid the n-word? Right? Like, where’s the line that, that causes the school system to take this … seriously?”

Bouaziz said he is also concerned by the lack of transparency from the school and district.

“It makes me feel like the school system as a public entity doesn’t respect or care about the parents who fund it, right?” he said. “The complete lack of communication and just trying to sweep it under the rug until DCF stepped in was just a pretty bad play.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida teacher accused of addressing fourth-grade class as 'r-word'