UPDATE:
GARY, Ind. (AP) — A school district in northwestern Indiana says it's seeking to fire a principal after a special needs teacher awarded an 11-year-old autistic student a trophy naming him the "most annoying male" of the school year.
The update from Gary Community School Corp.'s Emergency Manager Pete Morikis came Tuesday night during a school board meeting. Morikis says the planned termination of Bailly Preparatory Academy Principal Carlita Royal comes after an internal investigation.
The Associated Press sent an email Wednesday seeking comment from Royal.
A Bailly Preparatory Academy teacher gave the boy the trophy May 23 during a fifth-grade awards luncheon attended by students, parents and the school principal.
The teacher and two others were notified last week that the district will seek to cancel their contracts.
ORIGINAL POST:
GARY, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana school district has apologized after a teacher awarded an 11-year-old autistic student a trophy naming him the "most annoying male" of the school year.
A special education teacher at Bailly Preparatory Academy in Gary gave the boy the trophy May 23 during a fifth-grade awards luncheon attended by students, parents and the school principal.
The boy's father said his family was blindsided.
Gary Community School Corp. issued an apology to the boy and his family in a statement Monday.
Emergency manager Peter Morikis called it an "unfortunate occurrence" and noted that the district was taking disciplinary action against the school employees involved.
Morikis declined to comment on the employment status of the workers.