Chinook Trail Middle School teachers directed students to affix face masks with tape

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- After an investigation that started several weeks ago, School District 20 in Colorado Springs says a teacher at a local middle school didn't tape a mask to a student's face, but four teachers violated policy and procedure.

A picture circulating on social media in mid-October showed a student at Chinook Trail Middle School with a face mask taped to their skin. The student's parent claimed that a teacher told them they had to keep the mask taped to their face so it wouldn't fall off.

According to an update from D20 on Tuesday, school administrators "examined all evidence" and "determined a policy/procedure was violated by the four teachers within the teaching team."

The district says teachers didn't "affix any student's mask to their face," but investigators found the teachers "did direct students to affix their mask to their face with tape, and students believed they were required, by a teacher, to use tape to affix their mask to their face."

“What we found is that students felt they were instructed to use tape to keep that face mask on their face, and that they did feel that was something they had to do," said D20 spokesperson, Allison Cortez. "So those were the two pieces of the findings that we were a little disappointed in. It was good to know that the teachers had never actually taped the faces, but we did find it out it was a directive.”

D20 didn't say which policy, specifically, was violated by the teachers, and no information was given about follow-up action. Cortez said, "district administrative policy and procedure was followed to address the confidential personnel matters."

“This team of teachers, this was never something done out of malice," said Cortez. "They actually had gotten together and talked about needing to keep students in class. We keep them in class by wearing masks, it keeps them out of quarantines. So the teachers thought ‘if their masks keep falling down, maybe if we just gave them a little tape, that would hold those masks up.' It was a directive, many students felt they were asked to do, but they said they didn’t feel like there was a consequence. Then there was a group of students who also said they thought it was a joke.”

The mother of the girl photographed with her mask taped to her face believes the four teachers involved should never work with kids again.

“I do hope those teachers eventually get fired, definitely," said the mother, only wanting to be identified as Stephanie M. "Because to me, what they did was child abuse. They abused their authority over minors in their care. Even the principal said during the investigation, those students said that they felt they had to put the tape on.”

Stephanie is also disappointed that the disciplinary actions the teachers endured have not been made public.

“What made made me really upset and uncomfortable is the fact they can’t tell you what sort of disciplinary action is going to take place," said Stephanie. "I didn’t understand that. I expected more transparency I guess, but that’s not happening.”

Spokesperson Cortez said in October that different narratives were being spread on social media sites, and she said administrators heard so many various reports that they had to conduct interviews. More than 100 students and 10 staffers were interviewed or provided statements, according to the district.

The situation also prompted a backlash in the community, and a large-scale protest was planned at Chinook Trail Middle School in late October. The district closed the campus in preparation for the protest, but it ultimately never materialized.

Stephanie says because the teachers were not fired, she has since pulled her daughter out of Chinook Trail Middle School. The girl now attends school online through a state approved virtual program.

The district says teachers met with students this morning to discuss the situation. D20 provided an apology letter that was issued by the teacher team at Chinook Trail.

Dear 642 Parents/Guardians,
Teaching and serving your children are a privilege; and we do not take that lightly. Your student’s safety and learning are our top priorities, and we are terribly sorry for the disruption this has caused.

It was never our intent to cause anxiety, fear, confusion, or physical or emotional harm. Our greatest desire was to keep students in our classrooms and prevent quarantines due to COVID exposure. To follow district policy and keep students engaged with in-person learning, our team made a mistake in our methods. Please accept our deepest and most heartfelt apologies.

We can only imagine how the past three weeks have felt for each of you. For us, it has been a time of deep reflection. As a team we made a decision that was not best for our students. We will learn from this situation and moving forward we will strive to do better and always do what is best for kids.

Our team shares a deep love, respect, and responsibility for your child and their well-being. We look forward to returning to normal and continuing along this learning journey with your family.

With our humblest apologies, CTMS Team 642