Ms. Jessica Bauer is the K-5 technology teacher at Springhurst Elementary School.  She has a history of verbally and physically abusing children during her tenure in the Dobbs Ferry School District.  

Details of the Incident for Context
On November 2, 2022, my daughter (who is dyslexic) was struggling to complete a task when a TA offered to assist her.  Ms. Bauer interjected and harshly said, “I don’t allow quitters in my classroom (amongst other things)!” in front of the entire class. My daughter left the classroom and immediately sought emotional support from trusted adults at Springhurst.  Later that day, Ms. Bauer sought my daughter out and attempted to force her to apologize for leaving technology class earlier that day.  My daughter assertively expressed that she did not wish to speak to Ms. Bauer at that time because she had hurt her feelings earlier in the day.  My daughter attempted to walk away. Ms. Bauer grabbed her by the wrist/arm and tried to pull her back to force an apology. My daughter was not a danger to herself or anyone else; therefore, grabbing her was utterly unacceptable.  This incident was witnessed by another adult who reported it to the principal and made it very clear that my daughter did nothing wrong.  

Additional Stories (shared by other members of our community)

• A DFHS graduate reported that when she was a senior in high school, Ms. Bauer followed her boyfriend by car to the border of Dobbs/Hastings.  When her boyfriend exited the vehicle, Ms. Bauer shouted profanities at them. She threatened to call the police on the boyfriend for smoking his vape while driving despite her being on the girlfriend's family's property.  The boyfriend had already graduated from DFHS at the time of this incident.  Ms. Bauer made the young couple feel highly uncomfortable.  They wanted to call the police on her.  The young lady reported this incident to the dean at DFHS at the time but was told they could not do anything.
• A current middle school student reported that Ms. Bauer smacked her on the arm.
• A parent said that when her daughter was in Kindergarten, Ms. Bauer made her daughter face the wall and harshly told her that "there is no crying in Kindergarten."
• A current Springhurst student reported that students are not allowed to ask questions during Ms. Bauer's class, or she would yell at them.
• A current middle schooler said Ms. Bauer made her cry several times and was always "mean."
• A current Springhurst parent reported that during virtual learning, Ms. Bauer singled out her son for having "bad Wi-Fi."  She stopped the class and insulted the student for his poor Wi-Fi connection until the parent overheard what Ms. Bauer said and interjected.

*All of these incidents happened to students of color.*

• While protesting on 3/22/23, I heard many other parents from our community report that their children described Ms. Bauer as mean (and more).
• I received this message from another parent "My 1st grader is in her technology class and I asked her if Ms. Bauer ever seems to be mad during class.  She said yes, on two occasions when children started the exercise before she said it was okay to do so she slammed their computers shut.  My daughter asked if she could demonstrate with my laptop-I gave her a book-and she slammed it as hard as she could and said "like that, but louder".  I asked her how she would feel if that was done to her and she said "scared". "

I created this petition to request your support. Ms. Bauer was suspended from November 4-February 8, 2023, for the incident with my daughter.  She returned to Springhurst on February 9, 2023, and could continue teaching our children for years.  I have spoken to several community members whose children have also had negative experiences with Ms. Bauer.   While I realize that there are some people who may have not had the same experience with Ms. Bauer, I urge you to ask yourself, "what what I do if this was my child?" or "what would I do if this happened to myself or my friends?" Overall, Ms. Bauer does not create a safe and nurturing environment for our children.  I believe now is the time to band together to tell the district that we will not allow this type of person to teach our children.  Our children deserve better!  Enough is enough!

Ways to Support

• SIGN THIS PETITION
• SHOW UP AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING ON 4/11 at 7pm.
• REPORT INCIDENTS TO THE ADMINISTRATION, NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL!
• Spread the word!

Thank you in advance for your support! Please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or text if you have any questions!  For individuals who may want more concrete facts such as correspondence from the district and other parents, please reach out; I am happy to provide it. I want everyone to be able to make their own informed decision regarding this matter but it is my hopes that if you're reading this, you recognize the seriousness of this situation and take action!

In Solidarity,

Maura K.