Substitute teacher fired by Richland School District after report of displaying Nazi salute in classroom

RICHLAND, Wash. – The Richland School District said it will no longer allow a substitute teacher to teach in its classrooms after they said multiple reports were made regarding the person's behavior.

In a letter released to parents on March 13, RSD did not specify what had happened in the classroom, or any of the reports that were made, but said after an investigation, it was determined the teacher could not return.

The message provided to families reads:

Dear RSD Families,
Richland School District was notified of behavior by a substitute teacher in a classroom at Richland High School yesterday that was inconsistent with District policy. The District takes this matter seriously and immediately launched an investigation. This matter has been addressed in accordance with our policies. The substitute teacher will not be returning to the Richland School District.
Richland School District is committed to maintaining a learning environment where all students feel safe, valued, and respected. We remain dedicated to fostering an inclusive and supportive community for all students. This is an important opportunity to remind our students, staff, and families that any concerning behavior may be reported anonymously on the district website.

Madison Jennings said she first learned about what happened from her daughter, who is a freshman at RSD. Jennings said her daughter told her a substitute teacher in her college prep class did a Nazi salute three times throughout the course of the class.

"It started out he was introducing himself, and he said that his grandfather fought in World War II," said Jennings. "Essentially, he said something along the lines of, 'that's right kids; Hitler' and then he proudly threw the Nazi salute."

Jennings said her daughter reported the second salute happened when a student in the class raised their hand to ask a question and the teacher said 'yeah, that's right', pointed at the student and did the salute a second time. Jennings said her daughter reported a third salute also happened before the class was over.

Jennnings said she got the name of the substitute teacher and reported what she had learned to Richland High School. Jennings said the school principal called her back to tell her an investigation would be done and they would talk to several others who were in the class. According to Jennings, she said school administrators also talked to other students who were not in this particular class, but had the substitute teacher for other classes. Jennings said she doesn't know details beyond that, other than the message that was sent out later from RSD that said the teacher would no longer be at the district.

"They couldn't give me the exact feedback on what happened, which is totally fair," said Jennings. "I understand that there's privacy laws, but I did say that I wanted some type of follow-through, because I wanted to know that action was taken."

Jennings said she has heard from other parents of students who had the teacher as their substitute in other classes and said she felt as if things should have been addressed earlier. As for what happened in her daughter's class, Jennings said people need to stand up to hate and to racism. Not only does it not have a place in the classroom, it doesn't have a place in our community or our country.

When it comes to what made her to decide to speak up and make the report, Jennings said it's about treating each other right.

"I want better for everyone. I want better for this community. I want better for this country," she said. "I don't want to see our world fueled by hate, but, that's where we are and we we have to come together and stop it."

Jennings said teachers from multiple school districts across Washington State have reached out to her to ask what the teacher's name is so they can warn their districts. She said that is the type of community-coming-together that she wants to see.

While she is thankful the school responded and the teacher won't be back in the district, Jennings said she isn't satisfied with what RSD told parents. The message sent by the district called what the teacher did in the classroom as behavior that was inconsistent with the district's policy. Jennings said she wished the district would have been more detailed in what happened in the classroom so people understand why it needs to be taken seriously.

"This hate, this racism, is becoming so normalized, and this is just like this is just one overact. But there's a million, million ways that the racism is showing up in our community right now," Jennings said. "This is about more than the Richland School District. This is about every single human being coming together and recognizing where we are as a country and doing better like we cannot tolerate hate in any capacity, and we have to do better."