NJ District Names Acting Principal After Administrator Is Accused of Mocking Student Teacher

A New Jersey school district sent an email to parents Tuesday saying it had named an acting principal at a school where teachers said its regular principal mocked a student-teacher who is a little person. 

But a spokeswoman for the School District of South Orange and Maplewood said it could not comment on the status of Marshall Elementary School principal Bonita Samuels, who is under fire for allegedly sending a fellow staffer a photo of a student teacher with the caption "LOL."

Earlier in the day, interim superintendent Thomas Ficarra sent the note saying assistant principal Shannon Glander would head up the school for an undetermined amount of time. The spokeswoman said it sent the note after parents asked about leadership at the school last week.

On Monday, the Black Parents Workshop of South Orange and Maplewood said in a letter obtained by NJ.com that Samuels was serving a two-day suspension for the matter and that she had previously been suspended for two days earlier in the month. 

In the letter, NJ.com reported that the group compared the suspensions to "double jeopardy" and that "the district is treating Ms. Samuels like the FBI treated Hillary Clinton over her email server. The only difference is that Ms. Samuels has accepted responsibility for her part in the incident."

An emailed request for comment to Samuels listed an automatic reply saying "if you need immediate response during my absence, please contact Ms. Shannon Glander."

Last week, more than one hundred parents attended a school district meeting in South Orange to find out more about the allegations against Samuels. It came after teachers at the school sent the district a letter of concern about the text message.

"You don’t typically expect that from the leader of a school," said parent Chris Avila Hubschmann. "Especially one that really is proud of promoting an inclusive environment."

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In the letter obtained by The Village Green, the news blog covering Maplewood and South Orange that first reported the unconfirmed contents of the text message, Samuels also laughed about the student teacher in the teacher's lounge after sending the message in December. They also said the incident was "the latest in a pattern of bullying that has plagued" the school since Samuels was named principal. 

The letter writers also said Samuels apologized to the staff in a meeting before winter break but never specifically mentioned the text message.

"It is impossible to forget the duress she has continually placed on fellow staff members and the insensitivity she displayed toward this student teacher who is someone's beautiful child," the teachers wrote. 

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