A North Carolina mother wants a middle school teacher to be terminated after he allegedly used a racial slur and threatened her 13-year-old daughter. According to CBS 17, the April 16 incident occurred at Archer Lodge Middle School.
And Whitney Dean’s daughter recorded the incident. Dean told the news outlet that the teacher’s alleged threats have made her fear for her daughter’s safety.
“I dare you to get me fired,” a man is heard saying in the video that Dean’s daughter recorded. “If she got me fired over saying that word, and I’m out of this school after 16 years, I would haunt your family for the rest of your life. You’d never know I was around, but I’d be doing stuff to make your life miserable all your life,” the man is also heard saying.
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Dean said the science teacher, identified as Michael Melchiorre, “decided to use the N-word in class.” “Other things happened prior to that with the students, but I feel it’s irrelevant because he’s the adult in the situation,” she added.
Dean said her daughter then decided to take out her phone and record. “What if I’m recording?” Dean’s daughter is heard asking. “Go ahead. Go ahead,” the teacher responds.
Dean also said this incident adds to other issues they’ve had with Melchiorre. “We’ve had run-ins with him in the past with things that he said that are disrespectful and a bit racist, such as calling my son a thug and referring to the kids as monkey,” she claimed.
She said she did not officially complain about Melchiorre’s previous actions. But she wants him to be held accountable this time around. “You threatened her and told us we would never see you coming,” Dean said.
“So, I will prepare for that. If it had been the other way around, and a kid was threatening a teacher, that kid would be immediately out of school,” she added. “I’m angry because I’m not getting enough information. [He] threatened her. My goal is for him to lose his job.”
Dean also told CBS 17 that Melchiorre has since not returned to class, adding that the school’s principal said his return date has not been determined. The school also did not provide details about the incident after it was contacted.
