Wake Co. teacher suspended; burn list circulates with insults about 5th graders

A Wake County teacher is suspended after a handwritten note surfaced showing disparaging comments about elementary school students.

WRAL News is blurring the text of the note to protect the identities of the 15 children named and because some of the name-calling includes obscenities.

The list, circulating among students and parents at York Elementary, includes names and descriptions that range from cute and sweet to lazy and the use of vulgarities, even comments about one student's pimples.

Parents tell WRAL News that the list was found by students in a teacher’s notebook.

“This is not appropriate, period, as an adult," said Onica Johnson, who has a student in the York Elementary fifth grade.

"We are supposed to be showing love and care for everybody, and we are not doing that," she said.

The reason behind the list remains unclear.

Another Wake schools parent, Jacque Aslakson, wondered, "How is she going to make the students be productive if she has that negative attitude towards them?"

York Elementary School Principal Kate Williams said a fifth grade teacher is suspended, but she did not name the teacher.

"While privacy laws limit the amount of information we can share regarding personnel, I wanted to assure you that we are aware of the situation and are taking it seriously," she said "Know that our top priority is to provide our students with optimal learning environments, and we continue to do this."

“That’s not a caring person," parent Elizabeth Brown said of the person who wrote the list. "I am supposed to trust my child is in good hands when I am gone and they are getting the education they need and that is the complete opposite.”

Michael Gross, father of three elementary students in a different school, said he'd have questions if such a letter surfaced at their school.

“I would not be happy. I would seek to understand more context, of course," he said.