Gig Harbor teacher in trouble before hazing
Aug 31, 2012, 5:37 AM | Updated: 11:34 am
A Gig Harbor middle school teacher at the center of a hazing controversy caught on camera has been in trouble with the district before.
John Rosi received a letter of reprimand in 2005 after the Peninsula School District found he helped students prepare for the state WASL exam after seeing a copy of the test, KING 5 reports.
Investigators determined Rosi got a copy of the exam the day before his students were scheduled to take it and he reviewed “concepts that you knew would be on the test,” according to KING 5.
The word comes amidst controversy over Rosi’s role in a videotaped hazing incident at Kopachuck Middle School.
Many parents are outraged he allowed and took part in the incident, where students held down a 13-year-old student, stuffed a sock in his mouth, held him down and dragged him around the classroom. The district suspended him but many wanted him fired.
Parent Jeannie Cullip tells KING 5 the WASL incident is just another reason why the teacher needs to be fired.
“I really, really don’t want to see this happening in my school,” she said.
Rosi has apologized for the hazing incident. He wrote a formal apology to the district following the WASL investigation, saying, “I pride myself on providing students with a safe, ethical, and productive learning environment and will continue to practice this now and in the future.”
