A Pennsylvania middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave for spewing racist remarks at a parent after the two got into a fender bender on Thursday morning.
In a video posted on Facebook on Thursday, the Drexel Hill Middle School teacher can be seen going into a racist rant against parent, Rasheed Noel, after the two got into a minor car accident during the school's student drop-off period. The school district has not officially released the teacher's name.
"You're probably on welfare," she can be heard saying while she tries to buff her truck's bumper.
"It's because I'm young and I'm black, and [that's] the reason why you would say that," Noel says.
"That's right, [it's] because you're black," the teacher responds. "Always looking to milk the system. And you see me, a white woman, so you think I got money."
"Go back to your welfare or your section 8 house," the teacher later added, referring to the city's low-income housing. "Do you see the big truck I have? Look at the piece of s*** you have."
Noel rebuts the woman's claims, saying he makes "six figures a year" and has "a 3,200 square foot home." After he repeatedly calls her "mad and nervous," the woman responds, "Oh, you go f*** off" and then called him a racially derogatory term.
Noel met with Upper Darby School District superintendent Daniel P. McGarry after the incident to voice his concerns, according to the district's director of communications, Aaronda Beauford.
In an email to parents on Thursday night, McGarry called the teacher's behavior "deeply troubling" and announced that she had been placed on administrative leave due to an ongoing investigation into the incident.
"The comments and actions made by this teacher do not align with our core beliefs of Opportunity, Unity, and Excellence," the email read. "We are a community of many cultures and backgrounds, and we value our diversity. It strengthens us."
"We intend to vigorously address this issue," the email continued. "We will be working with our District’s Deep Equity Team to develop ways to reflect on this incident with staff across the District."
Noel applauded the district's decision to investigate the teacher's behavior and place her on leave.
"I commend the Upper Darby school district for taking quick action on this teacher at Drexel Hill Middle School," Noel wrote in the Facebook post of the video. "They are doing everything in their power to make sure people like this teacher become non existent in any school."
The teacher has worked at the school since 2008, according to Beauford.