Updated: LCUSD Delays Decision on Ethnic Slur Teacher

Updated 7:45 p.m.: After meeting in closed session for less than two hours to discuss the fate of controversial high school math teacher Gabrielle Leko, the Governing Board emerged to announce it had made no decision on the teacher's fate.

The board slated another meeting for 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 26, at which time they are expected once again to take up the matter.

Previously: Dozens of students Wednesday night spoke out in support of math teacher Gabrielle Leko, who faces possible dismissal after using inappropriate language in class.

Moments before the Governing Board adjourned to a closed-door session to discuss Leko's continued employment, student after student stepped to the microphone and publicly stated why he or she believes Leko is an exemplary teacher who cares about her kids.

“I come forward today to support Ms. Leko. My main concern is not much the issue at hand, but the process in which it was handled,” said Will Swanson, a current student in her AP Calculus course who first took the podium to speak.

“The career of a teacher and the education of her students is put in jeopardy, in my perspective as a student, as almost a political ploy," he said, adding: "The board fails us students, too, judging by advertising a job opening for a new upper level calculus teacher with the first day of paid employment as Jan. 9, taking away a teacher in the midst of a semester and before the AP exam. In doing this, the board concedes victor to these few parents in their future quest to rid the school of teachers that they don’t like. ”

Student Alyssa Cuervo echoed her peers’ sentiments and broke down while speaking about her experiences with Leko. Cuervo, a former student of Leko's who is currently enrolled in a mathematics teaching credential program at Occidental College, said, “She gave me the confidence and strength that I needed to be successful in calculus. I always wanted to work at [La Cañada Unified School District] so that I could work with teachers such as Ms. Leko, … great teachers that I had. If anything happened to Ms. Leko, you would be losing an amazing teacher who inspires students to do their best.”

The flood of comments present a stark contrast to the veteran teacher who parents and other students have accused of using gender and ethnically biased language--calling one student a "Jew boy''--in class. A district investigation deemed the "inappropriate'' lanaguage to be "exchanges of banter with students in an attempt to develop a rapport with students.'' Leko was not present at the open forum.

While the students who spoke out on Leko's behlalf encompassed her upper level classes, it was in ninth-grade honors geometry where the "inappropriate'' language was used during last school year.

Last June, then-school board member Parents who had relayed their concerns to administrators as long ago as two years were surprised that their previous complaints had not led to a more comprehensive investigation.

Wilcox, whose seat on the governing board expired earlier this month, is asking for Leko's dismissal. She told board members at the Dec. 6 meeting that at the very least, another adult should be in Leko's room if she is to continue teaching. Assistant Superintendent Patricia Hager told Patch Tuesday that a substitute has been sitting in on her classes.

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