Aadrina Salean Smith, a 24-year-old substitute P.E. teacher, was arrested Monday after allegedly encouraging five children to beat up another student as she watched nearby.
The incident occurred on Aug. 23 during a gym class in which Smith was subbing for another full-time teacher at North Caddo Elementary Middle School in Vivian, Louisiana. Caddo Youth Services Division alleges that Smith offered to pay five different students five dollars each to tackle their classmate.
“Caddo detectives arrested a substitute physical education teacher who encouraged students to commit battery and bully a classmate,” Officer Steve Prator said, per the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office’s official statement.
The statement further notes that video evidence of the incident exists and shows Smith verbally communicating with the students and appearing to congratulate three of the boys who participated in the assault. Smith also appears in the footage, sitting in the bleachers while the battered victim lay on the gym floor. He later got up, but with no assistance from the substitute teacher who neither helped nor reported the incident.
Smith was ultimately booked and charged with five counts of contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, as well as one count of malfeasance in office. Further, her actions resulted in her termination by the school district.
“The Caddo Parish School Board expects employees to conduct themselves professionally and in the interest of students at all times,” district officials wrote in a statement, according to the Atlanta Black Star.
KSLA reports that Smith was held on a $10,000 bond, and the Caddo Correctional Center’s “Currently Housed Inmates” section suggests that she is no longer in custody.
