A new lawsuit claims that a young 12 year old girl committed suicide after she was being bullied by her math teacher. Check out the photos in the gallery and read more on the sad story after the jump!
Stephanie Almonte committed suicide after she was constantly being bullied by her math teacher Nina Gribetz. Her father, Ivan Almonte, filed a lawsuit accusing her seventh grade math teacher of driving her to suicide. The lawsuit claims that Stephanie hung herself from a bunk bed after being tormented by the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School teacher.
Almonte’s lawsuit against the city Education Department and Board of Education said that the teacher made her “a target” in class and singled her out by subjecting her to “micromanagement, excessive detentions for no reason on a daily basis, embarrassment in front of other students in the same class, negative performance on her report cards and by intentionally getting her in trouble with her parents.” Stephanie’s older brother said that his sister “didn’t want to go to that school anymore…I would put all the blame on that teacher…As a professional, how could you make a student feel that way? As a teacher she should have been helping students, not making them feel lower.”
The lawsuit said that the teacher’s abuse continued even after Stephanie, who battled depression, was in a special program and diagnosed with a learning disability. The suit also states, “If there was any noise or disruptiveness in the class, Ms. Gribetz would always blame Stephanie, even if she had not spoken a word.” The suit added that, “nothing was done,” and Stephanie repeatedly complained about Gribetz to her parents who begged school officials to help but Gribetz’s tormenting didn’t stop. In an interview, Gribetz said that she loved Stephanie dearly and she still remains on the job as a teacher.
One of Stephanie’s friends said that Gribetz was always very hard on her, “Stephanie dropping a pencil would be detention. Just her. If it was me, it would be okay,” they said. But other students said that they find it hard to believe that Gribetz would torment a child. They went on to say, “She’s a very nice teacher, very good at what she does, I don’t think she teased or tormented anyone.” City Law Department spokesman Nick Paolucci said, “The loss of a child is a tragedy no family or community should ever endure. Our hearts go out to them…We will review the claims raised in this lawsuit.”
So sad! Check out the photos of Stephanie Almonte and her teacher Nina Gribetz in the gallery!
