BROOKFIELD, WI- A middle school teacher in Brookfield, Wisconsin, is under fire after she made an anti-Semitic gesture and an anti-Semitic remark during her class. She claimed, however, that she did not “intend to cause harm,” The Blaze reports.
In a newsletter titled, Elmbrook Community Needs to Know, it was revealed the teacher, who is employed at the Wisconsin Hills Middle School, did a Nazi salute and said “Heil Hitler” to her class on Sept. 21. The teacher, who teaches eight grade math, was suspended for a week and was permitted to return to class.
Hired in August 2023, the instructor, who has not been identified, previously worked as a high school math teacher in New Berlin and previously worked in Greendale and Madison, all in Wisconsin. According to community members, there have been previous complaints concerning how this teacher ran her class.
Local news reported, “The principal at Wisconsin Hills Middle School in Brookfield sent a letter to parents confirming the incident took place last Thursday, Sept. 21.”
The letter went on to explain the incident was investigated by the school. It was determined that “the teacher did not intend to cause harm” while acknowledging she did violate school policy. The letter continued that the teacher was subjected to “corrective measures,” but did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, as the school district employs teachers such as this, the same newsletter reports that 35% of Elmbrook students are not proficient in English, while 26% are not proficient in math, according to Spring 2023 MAP tests.
The letter sent by Principal Matt Schroede to all parents of middle school students was confirmed by Fox News Digital.
“Regrettably, one of our teachers made an antisemitic gesture and remark during class that is highly offensive to Jewish and non-Jewish individuals, something we would not tolerate from any student or staff member at Wisconsin Hills,” the letter read.
“Following a complete investigation, it was our determination that the teacher did not intend to cause harm, yet it was a clear violation of our staff professional responsibilities.”
In addition to “antisemitism education,” the letter explained the district does not tolerate such behavior.
“To be clear, the behavior described above is not condoned, nor does it represent the attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors of our staff members. As we do with our students, we will hold our staff to the highest standard of professionalism and respond quickly when that standard is not met.”
Some parents, however, are not convinced this is an isolated event. One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said the latest episode is “part of a pattern of inappropriate behavior in staff at Elmbrook in the last few years.”
The parent referred to a sex survey provided to students, an inappropriate link included in an email signature, and explicit books brought into the school that violated policy guidelines.
Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that five volumes from the “Assassination Classroom” series were added to Elmbrook school libraries. The series details a plot by students to assassinate their alien teacher. The school district’s librarians endorsed the series, Fox said.
Upon receiving criticism over the series, the district removed it from their schools.
“After applying our current book acquisition guidelines to this series, we have decided to remove these books from our collection,” the district wrote to Fox News Digital. The description of Volume 1 in the series notes that it “contains explicit violence; mild profanity; and sexual activities.”
The series, part of the science fiction “manga” series, shows numerous attempts by students to assassinate their alien teacher and includes “sexualized content and pictures of students bringing guns and knives into class,” Fox wrote.
In one book of the series, Fox wrote that a female assassin is hired as an English teacher at the school and uses “womanly charms” to kill her targets.
The school district initially spoke out in support of the series, with the city’s director of library services telling a parent who complained that “context is always important.”
“Front and center in our discussion should be the fact that the teacher in this series is an alien octopus determined to destroy Earth,” Director of Library Services Kay Koepsel-Benning told the parent. “This is a science fiction manga (comic or graphic novel originating from Japan) series.”
The parent was concerned due to the number of school shootings that have occurred in the past and believed the series promotes gun violence against teachers, a claim disputed by Koepsel-Benning, who said the claim was “inaccurate” while adding that district librarians “are professionals promoting reading and learning, working day in and day out serving our learning community.”
Parents meanwhile told Fox News Digital they were concerned about the district engaging in “hypersexualization of minors” and fomenting a “disconnect between community values and the values promoted by public schools.”
In a newsletter titled, Elmbrook Community Needs to Know, it was revealed the teacher, who is employed at the Wisconsin Hills Middle School, did a Nazi salute and said “Heil Hitler” to her class on Sept. 21. The teacher, who teaches eight grade math, was suspended for a week and was permitted to return to class.
Hired in August 2023, the instructor, who has not been identified, previously worked as a high school math teacher in New Berlin and previously worked in Greendale and Madison, all in Wisconsin. According to community members, there have been previous complaints concerning how this teacher ran her class.
Local news reported, “The principal at Wisconsin Hills Middle School in Brookfield sent a letter to parents confirming the incident took place last Thursday, Sept. 21.”
The letter went on to explain the incident was investigated by the school. It was determined that “the teacher did not intend to cause harm” while acknowledging she did violate school policy. The letter continued that the teacher was subjected to “corrective measures,” but did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, as the school district employs teachers such as this, the same newsletter reports that 35% of Elmbrook students are not proficient in English, while 26% are not proficient in math, according to Spring 2023 MAP tests.
The letter sent by Principal Matt Schroede to all parents of middle school students was confirmed by Fox News Digital.
“Regrettably, one of our teachers made an antisemitic gesture and remark during class that is highly offensive to Jewish and non-Jewish individuals, something we would not tolerate from any student or staff member at Wisconsin Hills,” the letter read.
“Following a complete investigation, it was our determination that the teacher did not intend to cause harm, yet it was a clear violation of our staff professional responsibilities.”
In addition to “antisemitism education,” the letter explained the district does not tolerate such behavior.
“To be clear, the behavior described above is not condoned, nor does it represent the attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors of our staff members. As we do with our students, we will hold our staff to the highest standard of professionalism and respond quickly when that standard is not met.”
Some parents, however, are not convinced this is an isolated event. One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said the latest episode is “part of a pattern of inappropriate behavior in staff at Elmbrook in the last few years.”
The parent referred to a sex survey provided to students, an inappropriate link included in an email signature, and explicit books brought into the school that violated policy guidelines.
Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that five volumes from the “Assassination Classroom” series were added to Elmbrook school libraries. The series details a plot by students to assassinate their alien teacher. The school district’s librarians endorsed the series, Fox said.
Upon receiving criticism over the series, the district removed it from their schools.
“After applying our current book acquisition guidelines to this series, we have decided to remove these books from our collection,” the district wrote to Fox News Digital. The description of Volume 1 in the series notes that it “contains explicit violence; mild profanity; and sexual activities.”
The series, part of the science fiction “manga” series, shows numerous attempts by students to assassinate their alien teacher and includes “sexualized content and pictures of students bringing guns and knives into class,” Fox wrote.
In one book of the series, Fox wrote that a female assassin is hired as an English teacher at the school and uses “womanly charms” to kill her targets.
The school district initially spoke out in support of the series, with the city’s director of library services telling a parent who complained that “context is always important.”
“Front and center in our discussion should be the fact that the teacher in this series is an alien octopus determined to destroy Earth,” Director of Library Services Kay Koepsel-Benning told the parent. “This is a science fiction manga (comic or graphic novel originating from Japan) series.”
The parent was concerned due to the number of school shootings that have occurred in the past and believed the series promotes gun violence against teachers, a claim disputed by Koepsel-Benning, who said the claim was “inaccurate” while adding that district librarians “are professionals promoting reading and learning, working day in and day out serving our learning community.”
Parents meanwhile told Fox News Digital they were concerned about the district engaging in “hypersexualization of minors” and fomenting a “disconnect between community values and the values promoted by public schools.”
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