Latest news with #AdamRahman
Miami Herald
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Teacher calls Muslim student a ‘terrorist' and resigns after backlash, PA reports say
A middle school teacher accused of calling a Muslim student a 'terrorist' has now resigned from her position following public backlash, Pennsylvania reports say. As calls for action against the unnamed teacher intensified, members of the Central Dauphin School Board announced her resignation during a meeting Monday, Jan. 27, according to WHP and WPMT. The incident occurred at Central Dauphin Middle School on Jan. 16 when a Palestinian-Lebanese-American seventh-grade student asked to change his seats. 'I do not negotiate with terrorists,' the teacher said while denying the student's request, according to the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The teacher was placed on administrative leave after the remark came to light, WHTM reported. A district spokesperson told the station the matter was being investigated internally. Adam Rahman, the student's father, said the teacher admitted to making the comment, according to WGAL. 'The problem is if you have an opinion and you're racist, just keep it to yourself,' Rahman said, WGAL reported. 'But to embellish on it and to loosely say it in front of the class, there's a major problem.' Dozens of people attended Monday's school board meeting to speak on the matter and urge the district to handle the situation more swiftly, according to Before they were able to speak, board president Michael Jacobs said the teacher in question had resigned, according to WHP. 'Central Dauphin School District has a 'Zero-tolerance' for hateful speech,' the district said in a statement to the news outlet, adding that the resignation was approved. 'This district, this board, and this administration are all proud of the diversity of our schools, and we strive to provide an inclusive environment. Any incident of this nature goes against staff policies and the values that our district is built upon.' Rahman told WGAL the family plans to take legal action against the school and press charges against the teacher. He said the teacher's comment made the 12-year-old feel 'belittled (and) marginalized.' CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Tekelioglu said in a statement 'racist language' will not be tolerated. '(Central Dauphin) can take this seriously and take meaningful, concrete steps to offer inclusion and equity training to its staff, to make sure that the curriculum is reflected, and that humanization of the Palestinian Americans, Muslim Americans take place,' he told WPMT. In a statement to WHTM before the teacher's resignation, a district spokesperson said the incident 'goes against staff policies and the values that our district is built upon.' 'Central Dauphin School District has zero tolerance for hateful and racist speech,' the spokesperson said. Central Dauphin Middle School is in Harrisburg, about a 105-mile drive northwest from Philadelphia.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania teacher accused of calling Muslim student a 'terrorist' is put on leave
A Pennsylvania middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave, accused of calling a Muslim seventh grader a 'terrorist.' The incident is alleged to have taken place Jan. 16 at Central Dauphin Middle School in Harrisburg after the student asked the teacher to change seats, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, said in a news release. 'I do not negotiate with terrorists,' the teacher told the student, according to CAIR, which described the student as Palestinian Lebanese American. Adam Rahman, the boy's father, said at a news conference Monday evening that his son is doing 'OK' but that the incident will 'always resonate in his head' and he'll 'wonder if the next teacher will say the same thing.' 'He felt like the room was spinning and he was the only one and there was nobody to help him,' Rahman said. 'These teachers are supposed to be the mentors, the people who you look up to, and if that fails, there's nothing.' The Central Dauphin School District said it was aware of the allegations that the teacher 'made a derogatory comment' to the student during an after-school program at the middle school. It did not identify the educator. The district said the allegation incident goes against the district's values and the policies set for staff members. 'Central Dauphin School District has zero tolerance for hateful and racist speech, and we have launched an internal investigation into this matter,' it said in a statement. 'While we cannot comment publicly on personnel matters, the teacher involved in the alleged incident is on administrative leave pending our investigation.' Rahman said that it is not the first time his family has experienced 'red flags' in the school district but that this was the 'tipping point.' 'When teachers say it, that's when I have to go to the school and confront this,' he said. Rahman called for more education in geopolitics in the district so students can 'learn more about different backgrounds, especially in the Middle East.' Community leaders demanded cultural sensitivity and anti-bias curriculum and training at Monday's news conference. In a statement, the Harrisburg Palestine Coalition said what it described as the teacher's "deeply embedded racism" may stem partly from "exposure to misinformation and war propaganda by mainstream news coverage of Palestine." "Central Dauphin School District must do more to ensure that education on Palestine is correctly taught in its classrooms," the coalition said. In a statement, CAIR's Philadelphia branch called the incident a 'racist, anti-Palestinian verbal assault' that made the teacher 'unfit to teach any students.' The district's superintendent, Eric Turman, said Sunday that there was no update on the investigation to share. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania teacher accused of calling Muslim student a 'terrorist' is put on leave
A Pennsylvania middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave, accused of calling a Muslim seventh grader a 'terrorist.' The incident is alleged to have taken place Jan. 16 at Central Dauphin Middle School in Harrisburg after the student asked the teacher to change seats, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, said in a news release. 'I do not negotiate with terrorists,' the teacher told the student, according to CAIR, which described the student as Palestinian Lebanese American. Adam Rahman, the boy's father, said at a news conference Monday evening that his son is doing 'OK' but that the incident will 'always resonate in his head' and he'll 'wonder if the next teacher will say the same thing.' 'He felt like the room was spinning and he was the only one and there was nobody to help him,' Rahman said. 'These teachers are supposed to be the mentors, the people who you look up to, and if that fails, there's nothing.' The Central Dauphin School District said it was aware of the allegations that the teacher 'made a derogatory comment' to the student during an after-school program at the middle school. It did not identify the educator. The district said the allegation incident goes against the district's values and the policies set for staff members. 'Central Dauphin School District has zero tolerance for hateful and racist speech, and we have launched an internal investigation into this matter,' it said in a statement. 'While we cannot comment publicly on personnel matters, the teacher involved in the alleged incident is on administrative leave pending our investigation.' Rahman said that it is not the first time his family has experienced 'red flags' in the school district but that this was the 'tipping point.' 'When teachers say it, that's when I have to go to the school and confront this,' he said. Rahman called for more education in geopolitics in the district so students can 'learn more about different backgrounds, especially in the Middle East.' Community leaders demanded cultural sensitivity and anti-bias curriculum and training at Monday's news conference. In a statement, the Harrisburg Palestine Coalition said what it described as the teacher's "deeply embedded racism" may stem partly from "exposure to misinformation and war propaganda by mainstream news coverage of Palestine." "Central Dauphin School District must do more to ensure that education on Palestine is correctly taught in its classrooms," the coalition said. In a statement, CAIR's Philadelphia branch called the incident a 'racist, anti-Palestinian verbal assault' that made the teacher 'unfit to teach any students.' The district's superintendent, Eric Turman, said Sunday that there was no update on the investigation to share. This article was originally published on
NBC News
27-01-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Pennsylvania teacher accused of calling Muslim student ‘terrorist' placed on leave
A Pennsylvania middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly calling a Muslim seventh grader a 'terrorist.' The alleged incident took place Jan. 16 at Central Dauphin Middle School in Harrisburg after the student asked the teacher to change seats, according to a news release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group. 'I do not negotiate with terrorists,' the teacher allegedly told the student, according to CAIR, which described the student as Palestinian Lebanese American. At a press conference Monday evening, Adam Rahman, the boy's father, said his son is doing 'OK' but that the incident will 'always resonate in his head' and he'll 'wonder if the next teacher will say the same thing.' 'He felt like the room was spinning and he was the only one and there was nobody to help him,' Rahman said. 'These teachers are supposed to be the mentors, the people who you look up to, and if that fails, there's nothing.' The Central Dauphin School District said it was aware of the allegations that the teacher 'made a derogatory comment' to the student during an after-school program at the middle school. The district did not identify the educator but said the alleged incident goes against the district's values and the policies set for staff members. 'Central Dauphin School District has zero tolerance for hateful and racist speech, and we have launched an internal investigation into this matter,' the district said in a statement. 'While we cannot comment publicly on personnel matters, the teacher involved in the alleged incident is on administrative leave pending our investigation.' Rahman said this is not the first time his family has experienced 'red flags' in the school district, but that this was the 'tipping point.' 'When teachers say it, that's when I have to go to the school and confront this,' he said. Rahman called for more education on geopolitics in the district so that students can 'learn more about different backgrounds, especially in the Middle East.' At Monday's press conference, community leaders demanded cultural sensitivity and anti-bias curriculum and training. In a statement, the Harrisburg Palestine Coalition said the teacher's alleged "deeply embedded racism" may partially stem from "exposure to misinformation and war propaganda by mainstream news coverage of Palestine." "Central Dauphin School District must do more to ensure that education on Palestine is correctly taught in its classrooms," the coalition said. In a statement, CAIR's Philadelphia branch called the incident a 'racist, anti-Palestinian verbal assault' that made the teacher 'unfit to teach any students.'
