(NJ.com) — Parents of Edison special education students are furious in the wake of accusations that Edison schoolteachers participated in an online chat that insulted the types of kids they’ve spent their lives advocating for.
“This is my district, and it hurts even more,” said Andrea Siragusa, an advocate for special education students like his son, a 7th grader in Edison’s schools. “What is the rest of the class learning from a teacher like that?”
The Edison Board of Education will decide tonight on the fate of the teachers’ employment after the schools chief filed tenure charges against Tyler Van Pelt, Maria Weber and Maryellen Lechelt. Tonight’s meeting will take place at Woodrow Wilson Middle School at 7 p.m.
The three elementary-school teachers are accused of participating in a chat on Oct. 23 that speculated about their colleagues’ sex lives and disparaged lower-performing students in their classes. The teachers apparently believed the chats were private. They were not.
