GARDENS TEACHER WHO DISSED HAITI MAY BE LET GO
He is accused of making derogatory remarks to student.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — A Palm Beach Gardens High School teacher accused of making derogatory remarks to a Haitian student may be out of a job.
A recommendation to dismiss Keith Tillman, a math teacher, has been made by Principal Larry Clawson and the matter will be taken up when the county school board meets June 20.
Tillman is accused of violating three school board policies including using abusive language on a student and employing “inappropriate/disrespectful language in reference to a racial/ethnic group ... “according to an investigative report obtained Tuesday by The Palm Beach Post.
Tillman declined comment when reached on Tuesday.
A cellphone video of the incident shows Tillman berating the 11th-grade student for apparently getting out of her seat. Tillman follows by telling the girl she is from a Third World country where they didn’t have doors.
“It’s called a door,” Tillman, 61, tells the unidentified student. “Let me show you how it works. Now I don’t know where it works where you’re from, down some Third World island country where they don’t got. ... Let me show you what it’s like in ‘Merica.”
Tillman also warns his class not to walk out of the classroom before class ends, saying that anyone who does so “is going to be Lefty.”
Tillman told school district investigators that the video captured only a portion of his comments and that he “never intended to be a threat or disrespectful to the student as she was a good student.”
During a meeting May 14 with
Clawson and officials from the school district’s Office of Professional Standards, Tillman said that in retrospect he “wishes he would have used different language” but added that he liked the student who was targeted and that his intent wasn’t to disparage any group.
“This incident is out of character and does not capture” who he is, Tillman said, according to notes taken during the meeting.
An unidentified student in Tillman’s class told investigators that the teacher was trying to be funny “but went too far.” The student described the girl singled out by Tillman’s comments as not proficient in English and “normally very quiet.”
After the video emerged, a protest was held outside the school on May 11 asking that Tillman express regret for his comments.
James Leger, a local Haitian radio-show host who organized a protest against the teacher, said he would have been satisfied with just an apology from Tillman, but hopes the firing will show teachers there are consequences to their words.
“It’s a lesson learned for other teachers,” Leger said.
Tillman has worked as a teacher and football coach in Palm Beach County for around 20 years and had never been disciplined before, records show. He retired from Royal Palm Beach High School, but returned last August to teach at Gardens High School and was working under a proba- tionary contract.
Tillman served as a football coach at Atlantic High in 2001 and 2002, leading the school to a 23-4 record and two district titles.
Among those who played for Tillman at Atlantic High were Brandon Flowers and David Clowney, who both attended Virginia Tech before playing in the NFL.