Substitute teacher shows'graphic' video to fifth-graders, gets fired
By Erika Norton
VERNON — A substitute teacher showed an animal cruelty video to a fifth-grade class at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School in January and was fired.
On Jan. 28, Vernon Township School District substitute teacher, Sheena Masters, showed a video from PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) YouTube channel titled, “Official 'Glass Walls' Video by Paul McCartney” The 12-minute video includes expletives and shows animals being slaughtered with the intent to encourage watchers to become vegetarians, according to PETA's YouTube description of the video.
Gary Krauss, a parent of a 10-year-old fifth-grader, said his daughter appeared “emotionally upset” after arriving home from school and told him about the video.
“Most of the kids in the class had to watch the entire thing,” Krauss said. “There was one kid that actually got up and walked out. My daughter, however, stayed and watched the whole thing because she thought she was going to be tested on it. She didn't eat for three days. Not even just meat, she didn't eat. We had to almost force feed her with bread and stuff like that.”
When The Advertiser-News viewed the video on YouTube, the paper was prompted with a “content warning” stating, “this video may be inappropriate for some users,” and required that we sign in and confirm to being at least 18 years of age, clicking “I understand and wish to proceed.”
After emailing school officials, Krauss went to the school on Feb. 29 with his daughter, another parent and her daughter to talk about the incident with school officials. Krauss said he saw Masters being escorted off school grounds. According to the Vernon Township Superintendent Arthur DiBenedetto, Masters admitted to showing the video and was immediately removed from the school.
“You're supposed to follow the plans and if you run out of plans, you give them an assignment within the confines of, or the context, of the class,” DiBenedetto said. “You don't show them a video that has nothing to do with what they're talking about and which has the potential to upset young kids.”
Guidance counselors in the school also spoke to the students and told them the video should not have been shown, according to an email Krauss received from middle school principal Edwina Piszczek. Counselors, teachers and administrators were available throughout the day to discuss the situation with students if they wanted.
Krauss filed an incident report against Masters with the Vernon Township Police Dept.
The case is under review with the Vernon Township police Detective Bureau and the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office. No charges were filed at press time.
“I'm pretty satisfied with the school's response with how quickly they handled everything,” Krauss said. “I was a little disappointed that I had to actually go to the Prosecutor's Office and file charges when I pretty much feel they should have done that because this is the Board of Education, and one of their responsibilities should be the safety of the children.”
According to DiBenedetto, no legal action was taken against Masters from the school district's end.
“We interview every sub that we hire in this office; I interview everyone,” he said. “I remember that young lady. She showed significant potential as a substitute. Since that time, I spend time talking to all of the subs we interview on the importance of sticking to the script; and if they have any personal or ethical or religious or political views, they're not to be demonstrated in the classroom. It's against the rules and will lead to immediate dismissal.”
To view the video shown click here