Rantz: Seattle school pulls teacher after suspected indecent exposure in remote class
Jan 13, 2021, 8:30 PM | Updated: Jan 14, 2021, 10:49 am
Catharine Blaine K-8 School.
A substitute teacher at Seattle’s Catharine Blaine K-8 School is suspected of indecent exposure during an online class. Seattle Police are involved, and a school investigation is underway.
The school’s principal emailed parents to alert them to an incident. He says: “Some students and parents reported seeing one of our substitute teachers on camera in his home, and what was seen caused enough concern for the district to open an investigation regarding what happened.”
The police report is being withheld at this time because the incident is alleged to be sexual in nature and/or involves juveniles, according to the SPD.
“We acknowledge there is a police report, however we’re not going to provide any information or comment at this time, until we can talk to the follow-up unit,” a spokesperson with the Seattle Police Department explained.
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The alarming allegations
The incident occurred in an online class via Microsoft Teams, since the school is still in a remote learning environment.
The email does not name the substitute, nor explicitly detail the alleged incident. But the Jason Rantz Show has spoken to a parent of a student at Catharine Blaine. She says she spoke to a student in the class who said the substitute was allegedly seen “masturbating” on camera.
Seattle Public Schools will not confirm this detail.
Principal Ryan LaDage confirmed to parents that the school “took swift action and removed the person from the Teams class.”
Why was the sub in the digital classroom?
At the time of the incident, a Catharine Blaine teacher was running the class.
It’s unclear why the substitute teacher was in the classroom to begin with. The district says they’re still trying to find out all the details of what happened. In the meantime, the district restricted the substitute teacher’s access to materials and students.
“Additionally, the district took immediate action to stop this staff person from accessing SPS Microsoft Teams and Blaine Schoology pages, and they are unable to take on substitute work for the district,” the email reads. “In alignment with District reporting protocols, SPS security was contacted and a report was made to the Seattle Police Department. Because the investigation is still ongoing, we are not able to share specific details.”
The district has not yet determined how long the alarming incident took place before the teacher noticed.
An investigation
LaDage asks students or parents with additional information to contact the school.
Seattle Public Schools released a statement with similar details to LaDage’s email. It notes that the substitute “will not teach or perform any other work for Seattle Public Schools” for the time being.
Since it’s an active investigation, “we are not able to share further details.”
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