Texas substitute teacher at Kimbrough middle school in Mesquite helped coordinate fights during class, officials say

A substitute teacher at a Texas middle school was fired for encouraging students to fight in class.

The unnamed teacher at Kimbrough middle school in Mesquite was fired last Thursday, after district officials obtained video of in-class fights from the previous day.

Condemning “appalling and intolerable” behavior, officials said the teacher helped coordinate the fights.

“Our investigation revealed that this substitute teacher encouraged students to fight each other during class, outlined rules for the students to follow and even instructed a student to monitor the classroom door while the fights took place,” the Mesquite Independent school district said.

The teacher had worked for the district since 6 March. The investigation was referred to Mesquite police.

Video was recorded by a student, who said some others left the classroom bloody, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported. The student, in class with 12- and 13-year olds, was granted anonymity, for fear of retaliation.

In the footage, four students could be seen in two one-on-one fights. The teacher could be heard keeping time, at one point yelling “30 seconds” before a fight began.

The teacher told students not to record the fighting, threatening to take phones away. The student who did record the fights said the teacher would rearrange desks to make more room for the classroom brawls.

“I was devastated. I was like, I couldn’t watch the full video,” said the mother of the student who recorded the fighting. “I had to stop it multiple times because I didn’t think it was real. I was, like, this must be a prank. This is not real.”

The unnamed student was taunted by others to fight with three girls, but was spared when the bell rang.

“Who in their right mind [would do this]?” the student’s mother asked. “Because I trust my child to go to school, but I also trust the staff to keep my kids safe. And then this lady, she just is actually making them fight.”

In its statement, the Mesquite Independent school district said: “As educators, our hearts are heavy knowing that an individual entrusted with the supervision and care of our students could behave in this manner, and we share the disgust that the families of students in this class must feel.”

On Monday, the district did not immediately return a request for comment.