PANAMA CITY — A former Bay High School teacher was reprimanded recently for telling a disruptive student “everyone in the class hates you” and making other derogatory statements two years ago, according to the state office of professional practices.
The teacher, Rebecka Epps, no longer works for Bay District Schools.
Epps signed a settlement agreement in January with the state Department of Education after a March 28, 2012, written letter of reprimand from the superintendent for her misconduct.
In addition to telling the student his classmates hate him, the complaint quotes Epps as telling the student, “Your teachers can’t stand you, your classmates hate you and I can’t stand you. You’re a jerk, you’re obnoxious and I refuse to teach you.”
The comments were made in March 2012 in Epps’ third-period physical science class. The student was removed from her class, according to documents.
Epps, whose current occupation is unknown, declined to comment when contacted by The News Herald.
In May 2012, Bay High Principal Bill May decided not to renew Epps’ annual teacher contract, ending her employment on the last day of the school year in 2012. She had been employed since 2008. She had received an “effective” rating in a previous evaluation.
According to the final order, Epps also violated policy when she instructed some of the student’s classmates to write down what they thought about him.
In a response to the allegations, Epps wrote to district administrators that the student was disruptive and harassed her on several occasions. She had reached out to school administration for help regarding the student’s behavior, but no one was available, she wrote in a letter to Bay District Schools after the allegations surfaced in 2012.
May said he doesn’t recall Epps ever contacting him about a student she was having trouble with.
“I don’t recall that,” May said. “Our job is to support teachers in the classroom, and when they’re having a problem with the kid, we got to fix that so that the kid is successful in that classroom.”
According to her letter, Epps made several efforts to avoid conflict in her class with the student, from sending him out of the class on three occasions and changing seating arrangements to rewarding him for positive behavior and contacting his parents.
Even after the student was removed from her class, Epps wrote, “his harassment towards me has continued.
“Because I felt the need to show administration the severity of (the student’s) inappropriate behavior,” Epps wrote, “I asked four students to write down their observations of his behavior as evidence for administration to take the need for their intervention seriously.
“At no time did I ever publicly embarrass” the student, she wrote.
At a parent and teacher conference, she apologized to the student and his parent, directly.
The agreement requires, effective Jan. 23 this year, that Epps complete a two-year probationary period, which includes paying $500 in fines; taking a three-credit-hour, college-level course in the area of classroom management or constructive discipline; and fully complying with all School Board regulations and school rules.
If Epps violates the provision, her teaching certificate could be permanently revoked, with no chance to reapply, the document states.
“We work with the schools, and we work with the HR department to decide what’s the best and the fairest thing to do,” Superintendent Bill Husfelt said, noting a full investigation took place. “Our main goal is to protect and take care of students.”