A middle school teacher was arrested for letting students fight in her classroom.
Angel Footman, a teacher at Griffin Middle School, was charged with four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and booked into the Gadsden County jail on Thursday.
According to records, Griffin students allege Footman, 23, allowed girls to fight in her classroom. Videos of the incidents show Footman standing nearby or sitting at her desk while the fights occurred, according to the probable cause affidavit.
“The fighters informed me that Footman asked them whether they wanted to have a ‘friendly fade’ before the fights began,” wrote Leon County Sheriff’s Office detective Hannah Parry. “She made statements such as ’30 seconds, no screaming, no yelling, no phones,’ and she even asked two of the girls whether they wanted to come back during her 6th period planning period to ‘run it back’ (fight again).”
Several parents who saw the fight videos notified school administration, and Footman was fired March 24.
Leon County Schools spokesperson released a statement about the classroom fighting: “The district was made aware of a situation at Griffin Middle School involving serious allegations of misconduct by a teacher. The teacher involved was immediately terminated (March 24) and Superintendent Hanna requested law enforcement to draw up legal charges related to the incident. The Leon County Sheriff’s Office initiated a criminal investigation which led to the individual’s arrest on April 7.”
The incident comes as the district seeks to amend its policy for mandatory reporting of misconduct. According to the Leon County School Board’s meeting agenda, the revision to this policy adds a section regarding parental notification of arrests of employees.
The district will notify parents within 24 hours after an employee has been arrested for a felony, or a misdemeanor involving abuse of a minor child, or the sale or possession of a controlled substance.
Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a first-degree misdemeanor.
“The Principal shall notify parents of enrolled students who had direct contact with the employee and include, at a minimum, the name and specific charges against the employee,” the new policy states.
In a press release announcing the arrest, LCSO stated they appreciated parents and others reporting the fights to school administrators.
“This is a perfect example of ‘See Something, Say Something,’ to reduce harm in these types of situations,” the statement reads.
