Then, in December, the board recommended the district reach a settlement with Leko that could lead to her leaving the district.
The board also decided to give students the option to leave her class.
Fifteen students in her pre-calculus class and two in her advanced-placement calculus class chose to leave.
Board president Scott Tracy told the La Canada Valley Sun that a settlement could still happen before Feb. 27.
“The board will continue to peruse all options, including a settlement that would result in the employee’s separation from the district at the end of the current academic year,” Tracy said.
Education
California: High School Math Teacher to Be Fired for Calling Student ‘Jew Boy’
- Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:25pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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The La Canada Unified school board in California voted unanimously — 5-0 — to fire a high school math teacher accused of calling a student “Jew boy.” The same teacher was also said to have mocked a disabled student’s speech impediment in June of 2011.
Now, dismissal proceedings for Gabrielle Leko are slated to go into effect Feb. 27.
After initial complaints about the teacher were filed, a substitute was assigned to Leko’s classroom in the fall so that another adult was always present.
KTLA adds:
On the website RateMyTeachers Leko garners an average overall score, but some of the low scored-reviews, issued by disillusioned students, shed light on just what has been going on in the shamed teacher’s classroom, as well as insight into her mindset. Some of the negative reviews are reprinted below, several dating as far back as 2004.
The thing that makes Mrs. Leko a bad teacher is the fact that she will not answer questions. If you ask her to do a problem on the board she’l refuse and respond with a torturingly vague answer “Think about it,“ or ”Its all in the vocabulary.” Sometimes she’ll just make you feel stupid and inadequate. I have always loved math up until now, but she has made me despise it. She does not teach either, simply tells us to look at examples and scribbles on the bored. Needs to learn how to explain things
Extremely unhelpful, and rude to an incredible point, insists on insulting and bringing to light in front of everyone the shortcomings of each person.
One of the worst teachers at LCHS. Very biased. Hates Armenians, Jews, girls,parents in general, etc.
Prejudiced and raciest teacher, should not be teaching. does not fallow any rules as a teacher puts students down, doesn’t help struggling students
By far the worst teacher I’ve experienced in however many years of math. She intimidates students, points out ALL of their flaws (ex. if she doesn’t like their name, she will make a point to embarrass the student in front of the class.)
She has a terrible reputation for incredibly valid reasons. Rude to her students, very unaccomadating to personal needs and/or learning styles (everything has to be done her way), and on top of all this, a terrible teacher strictly in the sense of her instruction. Worst teacher I have ever had to LCHS. I’m a straight-A student.
It seems dismissal proceedings for Ms. Leko should have commenced years ago. Why she has been allowed to remain in her position for as long as she has remains a mystery.
(Editors note: There are some grammatical errors in the student’s reviews published above. To keep their comments true to their original form, they have not been edited for grammar or spelling).
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Comments (86)
Hickory
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:48pmHmmmm, what is her ethnicity?
Report Post »josh345
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:46pmLeko is a South Slavic name (from the Balkans). Why?
Report Post »wheeler44
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:47pmThe only shocking thing here is that the school board actually bucked the system and had enough sense to get rid of her. The teacher’s union must be up in arms about that.
Report Post »And we wonder why Johnny can’t read?
MetalPatriot
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:15pmThere’s always large settlement…enough for most folks to retire or sem-retire on. The process is so long & difficult to discipline a teacher because of the union. The decent teachers are disgusted by this. But, as an adult in community college, I had a teacher that accepted cans/bottles to recycle for credit. Students called him names to his face, didn’t remain seated, etc. He blatantly told the class, “You can report me but it doesn’t matter. I’ll get a settlement for a million dollars and live happily ever after.”
I took that as a challenge. I earned my “A” in the class but still reported him. He no longer teaches there but I have no knowledge of the results.
It should be encouraging to folks here that Calculus students (science majors) didn’t side with the teacher. Glass half full I suppose.
Report Post »Flashdancer
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:31pmAll these attacks on teachers are fine, when you take one snapshot and lump us all in there your dead wrong. I have been teaching 21 years, I have given money to students for groceries, bills, etc. I have let students live with my family when they had no other place to go. Get to the root of the problem to solve it. It is the school boards and the administrators that do not want to give up their large salaries or prestige. I have never joined the teachers union and never will. They don’t have any power in our state and that is fine. If we did not have tenure teachers would be fired at will because little Suzy’s dads on the school board. I witnessed the best principal I have ever worked for pushed out because a bible thumper declared her evil. I have seen more Christian behavior out of this Lady than anyone in the local bible thumper circle. She was first attacked for busting a female teaching having improper relations with a male student and trying to have her fired. The bible thumpers attacked and now she is in the class room and we have a bible thumper for a principal. Test scores going down. You people buy the politicians crap everytime. Yes fire the bad teachers, Stop lumping us all in. Kind of sounds like “we don’t like their kind round here”. Use facts not opinions, and get involved. Good teachers need you to hold our school boards and administrators accountable.
PASSIONFORCHRIST
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 7:57pmNews Flash! THEY DIDN’T GET RID OF HER BECAUSE OF THE TEACHERS UNIONS!!!! PARENTS HAVE TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN TO LET THEM KNOW WHEN THESE SO CALLED EDUCATORS BREAK THEIR OWN RULES!!!!!! BULLYING, BELITTLING, EMBARRASSING YOU(IN FRONT OF ALL), ETC. THEN THE PARENTS HAVE A BIG LEG TO STAND ON, BECAUSE THESE LIB’S MADE THE RULES THAT WE CAN USE AGAINST THEM.
Report Post »jzs
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:24pmDon’t you get sick of all the PC crap? Why can’t a teacher use racial epithets? It’s only because liberals want to force their PC down our throats, hard, and over and over again, until they are satisfied. Don’t submit! I’m sick of PC. I’ll call anyone anything I like and to heck with PC. Keep this teacher on staff and show the libs we aren’t going to accept this jamming down our throat stuff without a fight!!! To heck with PC!!!
Report Post »Patriot Z
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:23pmflashdancer, nobody is pointing fingers at all teachers. we ARE saying that UNIONS make it near impossible to have bad teachers fired/fired quickly without some big settlement. once a teacher gets tenure its damn near impossible to have them canned. Also union teachers are NOT doing their jobs. all you need to do is look at test scores over the years, and then look at their private charter school counterparts to see the difference. the fact is we have horrible teachers that do not do their jobs to begin with and have agendas in others who cannot be fired unless extraordinary methods are employed. and then they are usually transferred or recieve alot of money. Most of the biased DOE budget goes to union teachers salaries and benefits and not the kids they were supposed to. public union teachers are not worth the money they get and that includes the good ones because they are replaced and hindered by the bad ones so much they become useless.
Report Post »This_Individual
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:24amIf she was a teacher within the LAUSD, she’d receive a raise and would be given a paid vacation.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:01amGood move, but the pedophiles still remain, and the teachers who can‘t and won’t teach. It has to be the politically correct crime for a teacher to be sacked.
Report Post »PATTY HENRY
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:49amThey came first to the schools. Their goal was to corrupt and demoralize the US of A (year: 1955). They passed out a lot of DISINFORMATION; Incorrect facts; they made our founding fathers look like thugs; then they ripped apart our text books. One witch took GOD out of our schools …..all while we sat there and did nothing. Then the Teachers got unionized, unions took their $ and now want it to be an auto-payment and forego privacy in union votes, our schools have deteriorated to a level only seen in 3rd world countries. NOW these COMMIE PLANTS are in every school, at every level, in every state, in our Universities too. Those dopes in the WH that brag about their IVY LEAGUE education are a bigger joke. They don‘t have an ’education’ – they have an indoctrination …by people who have been plotting for almost 70 years. NOW that ALL AMERICANS understand we are about 10 steps away from losing ALL our freedoms, maybe we will take an interest in our local school boards, in our local elections and we will clean out the WHITE HOUSE and thank GOD for a chance to start over…if we make it til November. Teachers should only be retained on merit…not tenure. This sorry example for a human being who would make fun of a child for ANY reason and make a slur like that should be fired with no pension payments; fined to cover expenses of firing. La Canada is a civilized area. This was not civilized. We have so much work to do.
Report Post »maumau
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:54amreally a mystery? uh one simple answer union
Report Post »roni024
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:05amThe teacher shouldn’t be degrading the students, since if one of them made a rude comment to her they would immediately be reprimanded. There can’t be a double-standard here.
Report Post »marhee9
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:09amThe problem is that although the board certainly took the appropriate action, it will take a long time to get rid of this teacher. Even if they’re able to, it will be very costly.
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GEYAbSoYxs
Mikev5
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:45pmI lived in southern CA till 2006 so my schooling was in CA till High school ended in 1974 and it was abysmal at best so many bad lazy teachers just crazy. When I was in junior High school we were crammed into classrooms that were packed like 50 to 60 kids to a teacher it was crazy some classes were so large as you couldn’t see the teacher or the chalk board it was insane. I don’t see how a teacher could teach like this way to many kids to one teacher. I hated it I hated school it was more like a cattle call than getting an education just herd us around and hope for the best.
Report Post »This_Individual
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:01pmAgreed. My wading through the LAUSD is one of the reasons why my children are homeschooled.
Report Post »Listen_then_think
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:44pmPerhaps Mrs. Leko is a spelling/grammar teacher also?
Report Post »kangaroo
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:16pmIn this day and age, it seems the teachers need a yearly test just to teach. In english of course.
States should go back to being States, this united thing is not working out
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:54pmIf I’m not mistaken, that sounds an awful lot like “hate speech” to me. Isn’t that a “crime” in California? You’d think unions would use continuing education requirements for teachers as opportunities to remind “staff” of responsibilities associated with such an esteemed and high visibility position. Such as decorum. Reserve. Stoicism. Associates and Associations. Colleagues. Your own reputation and self respect. Mom.
Teachers are too liberal for a ‘going postal’ kind of ‘scream’. They prefer to go out right in the class room. On a stretcher from a nervous breakdown. Benefits are better, drugs are better, pension starts sooner. Yeah, you can heal pretty quickly on an easy 6 figures a year. But, he’ll never play the piano… like motzart.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:14pmThere has been a push to make teachers saints in the country. Well they aren’t. Some are very good, some are passable and some are just plain bad.
Report Post »The bottom line is they are human and just as in every occupation around some need fired and their liscense revoked.
This woman is not a nice human much less a good teacher.
SHOWMESTATEGUY
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:57pmMom is right. Maybe if unions cared more for the kids and a little less about teacher tenure some of the bad ones could be culled. This isn’t going to happen anytime soon. The Democratic Party will defend the teachers unions at the expense of the kids everytime. They have to keep those campaign dollars flowing.
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:34pmAlbert Shanker, the teachers’ union president who, years ago, first turned teachers unions into a national political force, callously said, “When school children start paying union dues, that‘s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.”
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:14pmSome can and do. Some can’t and teach. Yay NEA and teacher’s union-outed again…
Report Post »DD313
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:59pmI’ve always heard it was “Those who can,do; those who can’t, teach; and those who can’t teach, teach in education schools.”
Report Post »sharkeydana
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:13pmWow. How many never really read the story. It’s a chick. “She” should be fired and never allowed to teach anywhere again.
Report Post »Dodsfall
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:11pm“Why she has been allowed to remain in her position for as long as she has remains a mystery.”
It’s no mystery, it’s the union.
The grade school I attended was the “dumping ground” for bad teachers that the district couldn’t fire. It was simply the one furthest out on the wrong side of the tracks. There are a lot of horror stories that I could relate, such as the 4th grade teacher who abandoned the class for most of the day every day and never taught a single assignment. We got to go on a couple of field trips, but that was the extent of the education that year.
Report Post »Mikev5
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:21pmI know what you mean but I went to a kind of upper class high school were all the rich kids went Newport Harbor High school in Newport Beach CA. Rich kids galore but we had a lot of very progressive teachers there and ex Hippies this is the 1970’s we had one that played beach boys music all day in class and another that was an alcoholic that taught nothing that I could ever tell she was the joke of the school but never got fired you just wonder how they keep their jobs? We also had a PE teacher that was the nastiest schmuck ever treated kids like dirt every PE class he berated you every chance he got just a bastard he never got fired.
It doesn’t matter Rich or Poor bad teachers are everywhere so don’t think it’s only in the poor neighborhoods my friend.
Report Post »kangaroo
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:10pmUnions are a cancer
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:05pmGee, I wonder if she’s related to my engineering school Statics teacher? He treated us like that; we learned not to ask questions. I dropped the class; my best friend at the time survived and went on to become an engineer. With young people, humiliation is not very helpful as a tool for learning. When I was a teacher, I chose other routes to their figuring it out and triumphing.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:09pmThe mask slipped from the lefty/liberal teacher. It’s abundantly clear that the left is anti-semitic. It veils it’ hatred of Jews by calling their actions “anti-zionist”.
Report Post »justangry
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:22pmGood for you Elena. Sounds like you were a level-haded teacher.
@Avengerk, How do you know this person was lefty? I don’t recall seeing a political affiliation mentioned in the article. Also how are you determing that lefties are anti-semetic?
Report Post »One Man Progressive Wrecking Crew
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:03pm“The same teacher was also said to have mocked a disabled student’s speech impediment in June of 2011.”
What a guy…typical left coast leftist Union pig. They’re really being uncovered left and lefter lately huh? The two sex sickos causing an entire school staff to be cut loose, a US first by the way, and now this freakin’ idiot? There’s a real anti semitism going on from the left and their Muslim agitator buddies… yet another thing Glenn’s been right about all the way.
Report Post »Living In NYC
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:03pmSend this racist pig teacher out the door with no more pay and let the parents sue of both children him personally!
Report Post »kangaroo
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:02pmWell its all going on in California, guess it ain’t all beach and frizbees is it
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:16pmEasy Kangaroo….that’ll cost you a $1000.00 if you’re not careful.
Report Post »mobynowak
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:59pmThe ‘best’ and the ‘brightest’ in our society.
Report Post »Mikev5
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:55pmI really don’t know how hard they check new teachers background out now as a manager of a restaurant an employee was finishing his schooling to be a teacher he had only a few months to go. Well one day he shows up for work one hour late so I confronted him about why he was late and he turned around grabbed me by the throat and started to strangle me he put me in a head lock then let go boy was I shocked.
I knew this guy I went to his home many times and helped him out many times and knew he had a bad temper and admitted he used to go to bars just so he could get into a fight and kick someone’s but he liked doing this.
This guy got his teaching job but you just wonder what would set this guy off in a class room and grab some kid and put him in a strangle hold because he is in a bad mood one day.
If I irritated him and he did that to me what do you think he could do to an irritating student?
Report Post »kalli
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:54pmThe misspellings alone shown by these students, one a straight A student, should be enough to shame teachers today into getting back to the basics of reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic! Stop the indoctrination of our students into this political-radical idealogy that has nothing to do with why kids go to school. Our youth are failing in every aspect of education because there is no passion to teach students to excel in knowledge that is so desperately needed in order to be able to attain a good job and pay for their future. Home schooling is much more valuable than sending your children to a school that only wants your dollars.
Report Post »Marengo Ohio Patriot
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:09pmthese comments were typed by a blazer.. i figure they (blaze editor) just figured they were correcting the students ‘mistake’.
Report Post »kalli
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:33pmMarengo:
Report Post »I disagree with you. Typing errors occurred only in the statements made by the students. Even if it were errors made by the Blaze typist, it still confirms that people are not being taught how to spell, or maybe in this case, proofread. And, I have seen this since the 80′s…many people cannot spell correctly.
josh345
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:39pmHypocrite. I’m thirteen and can see two spelling mistakes in your first post alone. Ideology isn’t spelled “idealogy” and homeschool is one word. So don‘t go around criticizing people when you’re the one that needs to be criticized (not that those kids weren’t worse than you at spelling — their spelling was atrocious)
Report Post »josh345
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:41pmAlso, “even if it were errors” from the second post should be “even if THEY were errors” — when referring to multiple objects, use “they” and not “it.”
Report Post »LDSmommy
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:09amJOSH345, Can I adopt you?
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:51pmKalifornia really has some rotten teachers. Thank the Lord I don’t live there. I’d be in their face every single day.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:48pmMore evidence, sucked in with money, protected by unions. Government schools are the social problems.
Report Post »Jackie Rogers, Jr.
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:45pm“Hates Armenians, Jews…” Leeko, what is that, Turkish?
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:08pmIt’s Democrat.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:17pmIt’s lefty.
Report Post »Jackie Rogers, Jr.
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:17pmIt’s misspelled
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:43pmSo thats what it takes to get them fired?
Report Post »Jamesjim
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:39pmShe was probably screwing somebody.
Report Post »Mikev5
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:36pmGood luck on that more like he will just get moved to another school the unions will not let any teacher get fired for any reason unless its child abuse even then they will probably put him in the rubber room it’s called all that means he can never teach again but he still get all his pay and benefits for years and years for doing NOTHING.
Look here http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2012/01/29/nyc-teacher-making-100k-in-rubber-room-refuses-to-retire/
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:32pmWill he be fired or sent to a rubber room?
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:31pmThats just to PC.. if he is Jewish.. and he is a boy.. then he is a freaking jew boy.. get over it!
Report Post »kcmorse
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:44pmThat’s a pretty lame statement you just made! By your logic a black student can be called a ***** then. Calling a kid of Jewish faith a jew is a derogative term and it should have never been said
Report Post »Caballosinnombre
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:50pmYour insensitivity impies that you’re anti-semetic. O.K. we get it, you dirtbag.
Report Post »Marengo Ohio Patriot
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:12pm@tick
Report Post »hmmm.. you have an azz which has a hole…. guess that makes you an………
so get over it!
football lady
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:31pma pretty silly argument.
Report Post »tzion
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 7:51pmWhy not refer to him by name? Are you saying it wouldn’t be derogatory to call the only black student in a class “black kid”? It’s not what she said, it’s what she was implying by saying it. By not calling the student by name she’s demonstrating a derogatory view of him. She can refer to the fact he’s Jewish but she should show him the respect to call him by name.
Report Post »