BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem Area School District is investigating after a video on social media appears to show a Northeast Middle School staff member trying to wrestle a phone out of a seventh-grade student’s hands.
A statement was posted on the district’s and middle school’s websites Friday. It was also sent out to the school's parents.
“We take all matters involving student and staff interactions seriously and are conducting a thorough review,” the statement reads.
“We appreciate the cooperation of our school community as we follow the appropriate procedures.”
The statement also said the district prioritizes both students and staff having “a safe and respectful learning environment.”
Superintendent Jack Silva confirmed Friday the district’s statement refers to a video in which a staff member can be seen in a physical altercation with a student.
Silva declined to comment on the identity of the staff member in the video, citing it as a personnel matter.
But Octasha Stafford, the student's mother, claims the staff member in the video is Brian Heller, who is listed as a sixth-grade math teacher on Northeast Middle School's website.
She claims Heller was serving as a substitute teacher for her son's math class when the incident occurred Friday, March 21.
Heller is being investigated for alleged child abuse of Stafford's son by the Children, Youth and Families Division of the Northampton County Department of Human Services, according to a document provided by Stafford.
The document from Children & Youth, which is dated March 24, states that Heller is being investigated for "per se acts," which constitute abuse even without any resulting injury.
When contacted Sunday, Bethlehem Education Association President Laura Keding declined to comment on the incident from the video, saying she can't discuss personnel matters.
LehighValleyNews.com also requested a comment Sunday from Heller via his BASD email.
What's in the video?
LehighValleyNews.com obtained the video footage of the incident from Stafford. She said her 13-year-old son received it from another student who recorded the altercation.
In the 29-second video, a male staff member can be seen trying to confiscate an object from a seated male student, who then stands up.
The object is later referred to as a phone and a black rectangular item can be seen.
Once the student is standing, the staff member can be seen touching the boy's forearms and hands as he tries to pry the phone out of the student’s grasp.
As the student stands up, the staff member can be heard shouting, "Get off me, get off me." The student responds, “Stop touching me."
After a couple similar exchanges, the staff member threatens to get “an officer," to which the student says, "Go ahead."
The staff member says, "I will," but continues holding onto the student while saying, “drop the phone, get the phone down and sit down.”
While doing so, the staff member appears to slowly push the student, forcing the student to turn his body and bump into the top of a desk.
The staff member then corners the student, who is backed up against a chalkboard.
The student says something inaudible, and then the staff member shouts, "You are not in charge right now."
The student then asks, "You about to fight me?" and the staff member responds, "Oh yeah, is that what you're worried about?"
The staff member can then be seen pointing at the top of a desk while yelling for the student to "sit down."
At this point in the video, both the staff member and student bring both their hands up to grab onto the phone, each struggling to gain control of it.
The staff member pulls upward, forcing the student to knock into the same desk that then topples over. Students can be heard reacting to the incident in the background.
The staff member then appears to stand in a lunge position, pinning the student up against the chalkboard while yelling for him to "sit down" and reaching for the object.
The student then gains control of the phone, holding it away from the staff member.
The two are face-to-face in close proximity at this point until the staff member walks away, saying, "Alright, you're going," and the video ends.
Incident's aftermath
Stafford, the student's mother, said she spoke with a school administrator via phone on the day of the incident after receiving the video from her son.
Stafford said the administrator told her he was aware of the video and that the teacher "lost his cool," according to Stafford.
She said the administrator told her the protocol for responding to a student when they have their phone out consists of: a verbal warning, a write-up and then having a school resources officer remove the student from the classroom.
Stafford said her son had his phone out to check the time. She said she understands that he shouldn't have had it out. But the situation shouldn't have escalated, she added.
“I’m not against him being disciplined for something that he did," Stafford said.
Stafford said she kept her son home from school two days following the incident because he "just didn’t want to see the teacher," she said.
Stafford said her son's mental health has suffered as a result of the incident, which she said scared him.
"My son has issues with people yelling at him because he has past traumas," she said. "You have to talk to him or he’s going to shut down.”
Additionally, the incident has been stressful for Stafford, she said.
"Its overwhelming," she said. "I’m really annoyed it got on social media.”
When asked if she plans to file a lawsuit over the incident, Stafford said she's "going to do whatever I have to."
According to Stafford, the district reported the incident, which is how the county's Children, Youth and Families Division got involved.
Representatives from the agency spoke with her son about the incident the week after it happened, she said.
They also told Stafford that Heller is on administrative leave, she said.
This incident is the second controversial situation involving a BASD staff member that has gotten attention on social media in recent months.
In January, the district said it was investigating after a teacher at Nitschmann Middle School gave sixth-grade students an “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” assignment that included prompts about slavery.
Photos of the assignment posted by a district parent on Facebook garnered outrage.
Superintendent Silva said Friday that the district resolved that investigation and the teacher in question still is employed by BASD.
He declined to comment further on how the incident was handled, saying it is a personnel matter.
