Greenwich Band Teacher Responds to Bullying Allegations

The high school band director in one of Connecticut's wealthiest towns is fighting to keep his job amid allegations by parents that he bullied one student and humiliated another when their actions upset him.

In the 23 years John Yoon has been the band director at Greenwich High School, his groups have won awards and he's turned out professional musicians with a teaching style many parents and former students call tough but caring — and always focused on getting students to be the best they can be.

But Yoon was suspended and put on paid leave in April after parents of two students complained about the way he treated their children. Superintendent of Schools William McKersie is trying to fire Yoon, and hearings are now being held before a neutral arbitrator who will recommend to the local school board whether Yoon should lose his job.

School officials said Yoon called one student "selfish" and removed the student as a band section leader. The father of that student said his son was humiliated. Yoon's lawyer, Daniel Young, said the student had made the band late for a performance and had been purposely misbehaving.

The mother of the other student accused Yoon of bullying her daughter several times during the school year and making her cry once while yelling at her. Young said neither Yoon nor other students in the band remember Yoon making the girl cry. The mother also said her daughter had to miss a performance and was threatened by the assistant band director that her grade might be lowered.

Yoon, in an email to The Associated Press, said he imposed fair discipline on the students for their actions and there was nothing unprofessional about his conduct.

"There will always be students who ... object to the fact that they are being disciplined and required to follow the rules that everyone else follows," Yoon wrote.

"Good teaching is a lot like good parenting," he continued. "It isn't always easy or comfortable to tell a student that he or she has to work harder, that he or she has to be respectful, that he or she isn't being fair to other students. Invariably, these same students thank me sometime in the future, because they all realize how much I care for them. I don't give up on them."

School officials, however, see it differently. At the first of the disciplinary hearings earlier this month, a lawyer for the school district said Yoon isn't fit to continue his employment, the Greenwich Time reported.

"He doesn't recognize the difference between high expectations and discipline — which are hallmarks of the Greenwich Public Schools — and humiliating and abusing students," attorney Thomas Mooney said at the hearing.

McKersie, the superintendent, referred questions to Mooney, who did not return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

School officials have suspended Yoon at least three times and given him six written warnings for his dealings with students and fellow teachers, according to school records obtained by the Time.

Yoon acknowledged getting into a verbal argument last year with another teacher whom he says has routinely disrespected him. He called other complaints against him minor, and said school administrators are exaggerating their case against him.

Yoon's supporters have rushed to his defense. They packed the first disciplinary hearing, and more than 600 people have signed an online petition calling for Yoon's reinstatement.

Doris Moreno Del Priore, whose daughter just graduated and was in the school band, said Yoon is not a bully.

"He's a hard worker and he wants people to be hard workers," she said. "You can't have a good program unless you work hard. He's a great guy. He just doesn't let people slack."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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