Lesson on ‘trigger words’ gets Killeen teacher fired

Maya, who did not name the fired teacher, said the lesson was taught to a group of middle school students in a behavioral support class, and there were fewer than 10 students in the class.

The incident prompted Killeen ISD Superintendent John Craft to send a letter to Rancier parents and staff.

“Killeen ISD immediately launched an investigation upon learning of an appalling and extremely disturbing assignment distributed by a now-former Rancier Middle School teacher,” Craft said in the letter.

“Trigger words and phrases are those that cause a listener to feel strong emotions because of previous experiences,” according to the website for Psychology & Counseling Associates. “While the phrase is used in a number of different ways, we’re using it here as many people now do, to refer to words or phrases that trigger memories and emotions from traumatic events.”

As part of the lesson, the teacher passed out a worksheet that included racial slurs, and other words such as “fat” and “crackhead,” according to a report by KXXV, a Waco-based ABC affiliate.

“The assignment does not support nor reflect Killeen ISD’s core values,” Craft said in his letter. “There is no argument to condone such an offensive gesture, and we deeply regret the assignment was ever created and distributed to even a small group of students. As a district, we expect and will continue to demand high expectations and assignments that challenge students to reach their full academic potential. The classwork was inappropriate, insensitive, and failed miserably to support our mission.”

Maya said the teacher began working for the district in August.

“The district continues to investigate and interview all people who may have had knowledge of this atrocious matter,” according to Craft’s letter. “We regret that this incident occurred, and we are committed to dealing with these type of situations expeditiously. The parents of the students in the class, affected by this matter, have been personally contacted by the campus principal.”

The news of racial slurs being used in a classroom lesson was alarming to local parents and education advocates.

“I wouldn’t want anyone like this teaching my kids,” said parent Briana Greene, who has children in Killeen ISD schools.

She and local special education advocate Stephania Williams said KISD officials should publicly name the teacher and take action to remove the teacher’s state certifications.

“She could still teach anywhere,” Williams said, adding KISD is trying to minimize the damage by saying fewer than 10 students were in the class.

“It doesn’t matter if there were 40 in the classroom — It was done,” Williams said. “This isn’t the first time they’ve had a racial incident at KISD,”