Outrage is growing after a Channelview teacher named a student “most likely to become a terrorist.” Friends of the teacher say she’s devastated over the incident and it was supposed to be a joke. But few found it funny.
We first broke the story Thursday and it has become viral and has blown up on social media.
It happened at Aguirre Junior High when teachers handed out mock awards to students.
Lizeth Villanueva, a 7th grader, said she was embarrassed and didn’t understand why she was named “most likely to become a terrorist.” She also never expected to be part of an international news story and is hearing from people all over the world.
“That they’re seeing me all over the news and everybody’s posting all over social media,” she told us Friday. "I think I'll forget about it eventually, but it's still going to be in my mind.”
Ena Hernandez says her daughter is in an advanced academic program and has never had a discipline problem.
“It doesn’t look good at all, especially coming from a teacher, a grown-up woman,” Hernandez said. “It doesn’t look good because everything that’s going on right now.”
The mock awards were given the day after a terrorist attack left 22 people dead and dozens injured in Manchester, England.
“You shouldn’t be joking like that with all of the events going on in society – that’s just messed up,” said one student.
The League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC, joined calls for the firing of the teacher.
“We want her fired,” said Mary Ramos, a member of LULAC Texas District VIII. “We’ll do whatever we have to do.”
On Facebook, a parent fumed. Latonya Robinson posted a photo of an award given to her daughter for “Most likely to Blend in with White People.”
“This was a joke from my daughter’s teacher,” Robinson wrote. “But I don’t like it. This is stupidity.”
Channelview ISD Superintendent Greg Ollis responded to backlash in a statement.
“Channelview ISD would like to reassure the community that this incident does not reflect the many good things going on in our district,” he said. “The district does not condone the incident that occurred and we are taking this matter very seriously.”
But LULAC wants more than apologies.
“For (the teacher) to even think that it’s okay to do it lets you know that she has to be dismissed,” Ramos said. “To do that to a child, to devastate a child like that is unacceptable.”
Members of LULAC and the NAACP plan to meet with the superintendent late next week.
Some parents defended the school, pointing out that this is an isolated incident.
“Great school, great school,” one mom said. “Just unfortunate.”
Teachers also gave awards for “most likely to become homeless” and “most likely to cry for every little thing.”
Lizeth said other teachers watched and laughed during the mock awards.
We’ve tried to talk with the teacher who signed the “awards” and handed them out, but no luck. She was once named "Teacher of the Year" but Channelview ISD has removed her page from their website.
Channelview ISD issued another statement Friday calling the mock awards “offensive” and saying they’re taking the matter very seriously. They say the teachers involved have been disciplined but aren’t releasing details.