Twitter/Alyssa Rupp
Alyssa Rupp Bohenek should be fired from her job as a second-grade teacher at Valley View Elementary School after she called a student’s math worksheet “absolutely pathetic,” according to a Change.org petition.
At the time of writing, the petition has gained more than 10,000 signatures on the way to a 15,000 goal. The blurb for the campaign reads, “Alyssa Rupp Bohenek is a teacher for the Valley View school district that thinks it’s ok to bully and talk down to her students, and needs to be removed. Fire Alyssa Rupp Bohenek.” The Valley View School District is located in Archbald, Pennsylvania, 10 miles northeast of Scranton.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Child’s Father Wrote on Facebook that Bohenek Has Been ‘So Rude to Him & Myself All Year’
FacebookThis is a photo of the math worksheet that was posted online on April 16.
The saga began on April 16 when a man posted a photo of his son’s worksheet which included the comments, “Absolutely pathetic he answered 13 in 3 min! Sad.” The man wrote in his post, “My son’s teacher has been so rude to him and myself all year he comes home with this and I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs work such great motivation.”
Speaking to the Scranton Times-Tribune, the superintendent of the school district, Rose Minniti, said that her office is investigating the incident.
Minniti told the newspaper, “It’s a personnel issue and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media. It’s going to be dictated by the facts and evidence… As always with everything, we’re going to try to do what’s best for the students and what we need to do for the employee under investigation.” The Times-Tribune was the first outlet to identify Bohenek as the teacher involved in the incident.
2. At the Start of the School Year, Bohenek Told Parents That Parents Had to Help Their Kids With Math
Screengrab via Valley View Elementary School
A letter that Bohenek sent to parents about what they should expect during the 2018/19 school year included remarks about students’ behavior. Bohenek said that students would be rewarded for displaying “positive behaviors” during the school year. In a section regarding math, Bohenek told parents, “Please review and complete math homework with your child every night. Homework is to be completed together with an adult, NOT alone!!”
3. A Counter Petition Has Been Setup to Help Save Bohenek’s Job
Facebook/Chris Piland
A counter Change.org petition in support of Bohenek’s actions has been set up. That petition is titled, “For Alyssa Rupp Bohenk [sic] from the Valley View School District to keep her job.” At the time of writing, that petition has 204 signatures. The blurb on that petition says that Bohenek “should be reprimanded” for her actions, but not fired.
4. Bohenek Was Paid Just Over $50,000 in 2017
Facebook/Valley View Cougars
According to Bohenek’s profile on the Valley View elementary school website, Bohenek grew up in the Archbald-area and is “very happy to be working in the school district I grew up in.” Bohenek is a graduate of Valley View High School and East Stroudsburg University, graduating with a bachelor’s in Elementary Education. While at East Stroudsburg, Bohenek was on the school’s track-and-field team. In May 2015, Bohenek attained a Masters in education from Wilkes University.
Online records show that Bohenek has been an elementary teacher in the Valley View district since 2013. During the 2016/17 school year, Bohenek was paid $50,544. As the scandal became a viral story, Bohenek deleted her Facebook page. Her father, Kenneth, is a teacher at Valley View High School.
5. Bohenek Is Expecting a Child in June 2019
Bohenek married Joseph Bohenek in Archbald, Pennsylvania, where the couple lives, in September 2018, according to a Scranton Times-Tribune wedding announcement. The couple’s engagement announcement was published in the same newspaper in August 2017. According to an online registry, Bohenek is expecting a child in June 2019.
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