A preschool teacher who had just won a teacher of the year award was fired when she refused to change the pull-up diaper of a three-year-old in her class. Her bosses said she was guilty of child abuse. But parents are outraged that she was fired.
The teacher, Kelly Hahn of the St. Louis public school system, was fired when she refused to change the pull-up diaper of a 3-year-old who came to school in a dirty diaper.
The pull-up was a violation of the school’s rules and the teacher called the child’s parents instead of changing the diaper herself. Another teacher, though, called the Missouri Department of Family Services and charged the teacher with child abuse.
That led to Hahn’s removal from the classroom in December, just two weeks after she had accepted the Teacher of the Year honor. Soon after that Hahn informed parents she is being fired on charges of child neglect and endangerment.
Parents told Fox2Now that their kids have come home from school crying, wondering what happened to their favorite teacher. Some even thought she had cancer.
“It’s pretty crazy to think that a pull-up would be considered neglect,” parent Nancy Durante told the station. “She deserves to be in the classroom teaching our children, not fighting for her job.”
Dana Evans, the president of the magnet school’s Parent Teachers Organization, spoke to KMOV-TV about Hahn.
“How can something so ludicrous, so crazy having to do with the best teacher in our school district, getting sent out and possibly getting fired over a pull-up issue,” Evans said.
Even the parent of the 3-year-old in question was supportive of the teacher because the incident was minor in the parent’s estimation.