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Teacher suspended after rescinding recommendation letter, says students

STOUGHTON, Mass. — A Stoughton High School teacher is suspended after she rescinded a student's college recommendation letter because that student made a swastika and other offensive comments, said students.

Students told FOX25 the teacher is a veteran and is suspended for 20 days after reaching out to the college and telling them why she rescinded the letter of recommendation.

"She's a teacher and I really do like her as a person, so it was really surprising that all that happened,” said Natasha McCloud, a Stoughton High School senior.

During the week of Thanksgiving, a student made a swastika using a piece of tape while working on a project and made another offensive comment to a fellow student. At that time, the student was disciplined.

According to a letter sent to parents by the superintendent, "the administration took appropriate action to address the matter, including consulting with police, who determined that this was not a hate crime or hate speech."

Students told FOX25 the teacher had written a college letter of recommendation for that student, but following the incident rescinded it and contacted the college about why she was withdrawing support for him.

Students say the teacher is suspended because she reached out to the college. The Stoughton Schools administration will not comment on personnel issues or suspensions

At this week's school board meeting, the incident, the suspension and reprimands were made by public by Stoughton Teacher’s Association president John Gunning.

The superintendent fired back, saying the situation should not be discussed in public.

"The people speaking about these issues don't know what they're talking about,” said Dr. Marguerite Rizzi, Stoughton Superintendent of Schools.

The superintendent would not comment about the suspension.

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