“After he’s adopted, he’s got his head.” Parents of some children from a school in Bucharest, outraged by the behavior of a teacher / The director of the school resigned

Parents of children from The “Ferdinand I” Secondary School in Sector 2 of the Capital protested on Wednesday, accusing one of the teachers that he behaves inappropriately, after offending several times and even hitting a student. Moreover, in May 2023, the teacher allegedly kicked a student who was sitting under the bench, threw him out of the class and then said, in front of the other children: “After he is adopted, he is also with his head “. The parents say they have since complained about the situation, but nothing has happened. After Wednesday’s protest, the School Inspectorate announced that the headmistress resigned.

After making several reports to the school management, to the Bucharest Municipal School Inspectorate (ISMB) and to the Ministry of Education, and the answers did not satisfy them, the parents decided to organize a protest in front of the school.

On Wednesday, several parents gathered with placards in front of the “Ferdinand I” Secondary School, demanding that the teacher be sanctioned and the school principal resign, for the way she handled the situation.

“What’s more shocking is the impact on the other children, because my child, after that, always said he was adopted. At first I didn’t understand why he was saying this, that he hadn’t told me about the incident, he only told me after two weeks. The image simply shocked me,” one of the mothers present at Wednesday’s protest explained to HotNews.ro.

“The lady had said nasty words before, at one point my child tried to write them down in a notebook”

She says that the incident in May 2023 was not an isolated one, at least from the point of view of the words that the teacher uses during the lessons. The words range from “sick,” “headed,” to “frustrated fat,” according to the mother.

“Because there had been incidents where the lady had said nasty words, at one point my child tried to write them down in a notebook, on his own initiative. Except that another colleague sued him. The lady took his notebook, tore the page and said: “Your mother doesn’t make the law”, because she thought I was the one who made him write it down”, she says.

“He was also telling me that the teacher was screaming, that she didn’t want to go to school, and I realized that I had to do something. I have since moved him to another school. That was the easiest for me,” explains the child’s mother.

Meanwhile, the parents of the child who learned from the school that he was adopted decided to move the child to another school, in order not to encounter such situations again, the child’s mother told HotNews.ro.

The parents of the child who was allegedly hit by the teacher sent a notification to the school as early as May 2023, but the answer came only in the fall of the same year, after they insisted on receiving an answer, according to their words. In the school’s response, which HotNews.ro consulted, it is written that “the teacher stated that you believe it was a misunderstanding, which she undertook to clarify in the discussions with you, later the teacher told us communicated that he met with you and you did not express any further dissatisfaction, as a result I could conclude that things have cleared up”.

The parents say it is not true and deny that they ever met the teacher again after she hit their child.

“They (n. ed.: the parents of the child who was allegedly hit) took steps and nothing happened. They also moved their child. Again, you’re trying to find a better place, but you shouldn’t, all schools should be safe,” concludes one of the mothers who participated in Wednesday’s protest.

HotNews.ro contacted the principal of “Ferdinand I” Secondary School, but she said she did not want to comment on the case and directed us to ISMB.

Many reports, unsatisfactory answers

In September 2023, one of the mothers whose child is in the class taught by the teacher accused of inappropriate behavior claims that she tried to discuss the situation in the classroom, but was met with a refusal.

“We couldn’t get along, it was chaos. The teaching staff inciting the participants present at the meeting to defend him through aggression, diversions and manipulation, intended to disturb those present. I said that I would make a written complaint in the hope that it would be understood what I am talking about”, explains Nicoleta Florescu.

In the following months, she filed complaints both with the management of the “Ferdinand I” Secondary School and with the ISMB.

The school replied that the headmistress had issued an “Observatory Note” to the teaching staff.

“I searched through the laws, Google, I asked 100 Romanians, but nothing, this term does not exist. There was no point in wasting any more time, so I went to the Ministry of Education”, says Nicoleta Florescu.

ISMB told him in October 2023 that the school’s governing body, the Board of Trustees, had appointed the commission to begin the actual investigation “into alleged wrongdoing.” That commission decided that “there are not enough solid arguments to justify the initiation of the disciplinary investigation procedure.”

The same reply was sent again to Florescu, in a new address from January 2024. The Ministry of Education sent Nicoleta Florescu, in a reply dated March 26, 2024, that the situation she reported “was presented for analysis to the Council of the administration of the Ferdinand I Secondary School, which decided, by vote, that the conditions are not met for the initiation of a disciplinary investigation of the respective teaching staff”.

The headmistress of the school resigned

In a response to HotNews.ro, ISMB reported, on Wednesday evening, that the director of the school, Liliana Maria Costinean, resigned on March 28.

Moreover, a general inspection is to take place in the school, between April 15-19.

“The School Inspectorate of the Municipality of Bucharest took note of the resignation of the director of the “Ferdinand I” Secondary School, Costinean Maria Liliana, according to the request submitted on 28.03.2024, and tomorrow, 04.04.2024, the general school inspector will appoint secondment of a teacher to the vacant director’s position”, ISMB transmitted.