CA teacher caught berating students in leaked Zoom over push for in-person learning, 'Come at me'
By Yael Halon | Fox News
EXCLUSIVE: A California high school teacher was caught on camera berating students for their parents' collective push to end remote learning and return children to their classrooms full time.
In a video shared on Facebook, San Marcos High School teacher Alissa Piro can be heard raising her voice at several seniors during a virtual lesson over Zoom.
Piro, who teaches English, appears to be referencing an ongoing lawsuit launched by a coalition of parents against Gov. Gavin Newsom and six North Country school districts seeking eased COVID restrictions and an accelerated return to physical classrooms, though local unions say doing so would constitute judicial overreach.
"If your parent wants to talk to me about their profession and their opinion on their profession, I would love to hear that...," she says.
"However, if your parent wants to come talk to me about how I'm not doing a good enough job in distance learning based on what you need as an individual? Just dare them to come at me. Because I am so sick to my stomach of parents trying to tell educators how to do their job."
The video was reportedly filmed by a family member of a student in attendance, and was shared to a private Facebook group aimed at reopening schools in the district. After over a year of remote learning, the district recently agreed to a hybrid model which allows students to attend in-person learning two days a week. The local union reportedly voted to keep the hybrid model for the duration of the school year, outraging parents and students anxious to return to in-person instruction.
In another video shared on the platform, Piro can be heard aggressively yelling at a student inquiring about a "White student union."
"You don't need a White student union, Jake. You get everything," the teacher retorts.
A mother of a student in Piro's class told Fox News that she brought the videos to the attention of the school principal Adam Dawson several weeks ago. Dawson agreed that Piro's behavior was "inexcusable" and vowed to address it, but failed to follow up. Dawson did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment.
"She's a bully," the mother wrote in the "Open SM Schools" private Facebook group. "These rants were so often my child said he "tuned her out" and was just trying to get thru the class...this is exactly what's wrong with education and if the school district sweeps this then they are just as responsible."
The mother said she "cried" after the video was sent to her by her child while at work.
"These poor kids have endured so much. I held onto the video for 3 months and hardly told a soul fearing retaliation...I shared it with some of my close friends a few weeks ago when I saw her behavior was continuing this term and I felt awful for not standing up for these kids sooner."
A different mother posted that Piro had previously taught her daughter at a High Tech elementary school but that she was eventually fired and appears to have "gone down hill" since then.
