A Houston, Texas teacher’s assistant accused of using a racial slur against a student has been fired.
It’s the termination letter Dinah Thomas said she’s been waiting for, because for nearly two weeks she’s been demanding the firing of the teacher’s aide she said used a racial slur on her son.
“It should’ve been nipped in the bud that day. We went up there and she said it,” said Thomas.
Thomas said on April 15, her 19-year-old son, Rodney, was called the “N-word” by a teacher’s assistant at Sterling High School during a heated exchange.
Thomas said Rodney and another student were helping a coach put away chairs in the hallway, but the teens didn’t have hall passes. That’s when Thomas said her son was confronted by the teacher’s assistant.
“I was just shocked that a school professional would even be using that word.”
Since then, HISD officials have released statements saying they’d make a decision on the teacher’s assistant’s future employment once their investigation was completed.
On Tuesday, Tammie Lang-Campbell, the former president of the Fort Bend chapter of the NAACP, got a copy of the certified letter, which was sent to the aide saying her services will no longer be needed.
“I commend HISD for taking the stand against the use of the ‘N-word,’ but at the same time I question the severe punishment the teacher’s aide received,” said Lang-Campbell.
The president of the teacher’s union echoed that sentiment, and said that the union will appeal the outcome.
Thomas said she’s just happy justice was served and that the aide got exactly what she deserved.
“That she’s not going to be there to do this, not only to my child, but to somebody’s else kid,” said Thomas.
several calls to the teacher’s aide and her lawyer, didn’t receive a response.