Is this the same person who made fraudulently phone call tapes about 5 years ago? I'm not saying that this didn't occur just curious about who this person is. I am absolutely fed up with teachers abusing their tenure and doing what ever they feel like without fear of any punishment hiding behind tenure and the union. There is no explanation for the mistreatment of any child while in the care of a teacher. If she was guilty of these acts she should be treated no differently then anyone else would be in a different workplace.

I think Mr. Chaifetz should sue the teacher and school for punitive damages then use the funds to set up a trust for Akian or for families who cannot afford proper care/schooling of their autistic child.
An apology would be great, but those can be rendered with no true sincerity.
Nick in OKC, OK

I have been sharing this with everyone I know. I have urged those I know to contact the Cherry Hill School District Superintendent at 856-354-1864 and voice their complete and utter disgust.

Let’s not be so quick to judge information garnered from a secret audio tape, especially from a parent who obviously has had issues with the School District in the past. See courierpostonline: “Chaifetz is no stranger to Cherry Hill schools. He once went on a hunger strike to protest cuts in special ed and twice ran unsuccessfully for a school board seat.” Of course the Dad’s past issues with the school district would not give anyone the right to abuse his child, but they are not irrelevant.

irrelevant.
Everyone has the utmost concern for protecting children, especially special needs children. The school district was quick to identify and terminate an employee involved in this situation. If further terminations were warranted, I’m sure the legal department at the school district is savvy enough to know that being a member of a teachers’ union does not give anyone the right to abuse children and keep his/her job.
I’m not sure that the Dad can accurately attribute all of his child’s behavioral changes on the classroom environment, especially if you listen closely to how he describes an obviously difficult home life and custody/visitation situation. All kids, especially special needs kids have changes in patterns of behavior.
I have heard from community members that the individuals who were not fired, whom the Dad mentions in his video, are well respected by parents and faculty and are active members of their communities. The Dad says that he won’t mention last names; however, it’s pretty easy to figure out who the Dad is trying to threaten. Take a step back everyone and don’t be so quick to judge all the teachers involved in this situation based on a secret tape recording from an obviously upset parent. There was no camera here, only a secret audio tape. Situations can easily be taken out of context when they are secretly taped

I'm also told that some of the teachers who were not fired but villified by the Dad were not even in the room when the secret audio tape was made. Caution everyone, don't jump to conclusions. Of course it's a sensitive subject, but some of the teachers involved are dedidcated professionals whose lives are being turned upside down by this youtube post.

Iam broken hearted. This is not about how long the teacher has been teaching. This is plain and clear child abuse. I don't understand the prin, asst princ, the guidence counsler. no one else in the school did not know what was going on. How many other children are left in this class being taught be this animal? I think you need to contact our Govenare and washinton. I will pray hard this really made me cry and broke my heart. Sorry about the spelling I have epilepsy and a hard time with things

I can't believe that someone is commenting that "situations can easy be taken out of context when audio taped". I really hope that this person isn't a teacher too. They are obviously not a student advocate. That comment is from someone who is trying to defend the school district and the ignorant/bully teachers. How do you take "you're a bastard" out of context? I am a teacher and have first hand knowledge of what goes on in schools. I hope that dad sues that school district and sends his son to a school disteict that doesn't have teachers who are bullies and people who support them on public forums like this one.

@jgligor, this dad has not villified these people, they've done that to themselves. Someones voices were recorded in that room, and it is those people we abhor. Try as I might, I cannot conceive of an appropriate context in which to understand why these teachers/aides are talking about alcohol/heaving, sex, their husbands, sterilization, other parents, IEP meetings, and countless other subjects IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN, rather than TEACHING the children. As an employer, I can say that if my staff spent this much time, on the job, jabbering, instead of doing their jobs, I'd be livid. I cannot conceive of any appropriate context in which to humiliate a child, call him a bastard, belittle his parent, mock him, or order him to shut his mouth. Why are you focused on defending these people? Their names don't matter. More importantly, if the people being held accountable aren't the ones who did this, perhaps you could focus your energy on identifying them and having them held accountable. Your other defenses of them don't ring true. As we know from many cases of priests/coaches/other teachers, just because someone is a professional, active in the community, doesn't mean they can't also be hurting children. Perhaps instead of focusing your energy discrediting the father, you could consider refocusing on the children who were present in the classroom, and who are still present in the classrooms of teachers who jabber about, mock, and ridicule children with special needs.

As an employer, I'm sure you can understand that if one of your employees brought in secret audio taping devices, you would have a difficult situation on your hands. Perhaps you would hear some damaging information and need to terminate some employees... but some employees may not have been involved or even present during the taping. It's not fair to lump together all employees who worked that day just because some of the employees behaved poorly. That's my only point. As I said, everyone has the utomost concern for the well being of all children. However, there may be some dedicated professionals who did nothing wrong who do not deserve to be attacked on youtube!

@realist- Mr. Chaifetz did not make an illegal recording. Legality hinges on whether the persons taped had a "reasonable expectation of privacy". This was a classroom in a public school not a private home or phone conversation. @jgiglor- The teacher may be a "respected member of the community" but has no business teaching children with special needs or running a classroom. It was her responsibility to demand a level of professionalism from her teacher assistants. It is irrelevant if she was the one to use foul language, yell, scream, etc. She was responsible to maintain order, to utilize the services of the aides to educate the students, and to maintain a level of respect and calm. None of which was achieved. Mr. Chaifetz may be colorful, have a checkered past with the school district, or be just plain wackadoo. These factors do not matter when students who cannot advocate for themselves are put in abusive and unfair situations.

@kptree Legality does not hinge on whether there was a reasonable expectation of privacy. It is illegal to record a conversation under the Wiretapping Act when the parties to the conversation have no knowledge of and haven't consented to the recording.

I can"t believe what I just heard on this tape absolutlely horrified. The teacher and aide should be fired. No questions about it. Very very upsetting. What does legality of the tape have to do with the inappropriate conduct of supposedly professionals especially special education teachers who are trained to deal with learning disorders. Apparently what we have here is a teaching disorder.

It's time to start recording teachers at school. Our tax dollars are paying their salaries. I have a cousin who is a teacher, and she's one of the sweetest people in the world, but if I heard her saying the things that were on that tape, I would be appalled. There is no 'out of context'. It's inappropriate behavior for an educator, hands down. You can't 'edit' those things together to make it sound bad, those things shouldn't ever be discussed around students, Period.

This is so disturbing that a teacher could handle herself in such an appalling manner and treat a child with such disrespect most especially a special needs child. In my opinion all children are special and have needs and shouLd feel safe in a classroom. The teacher should without a doubt be fired and her teachers certification revoked. A public apology is not enough as far as I am concerned. There should definitely be a law suit filed immediately. Carole siskind

@jgiglor... who are you? The father is an animal rights worker who also does not nod at the status quo in the schools? What trouble has he caused you.. speaking of ulterior motives.. what are yours? As the mother of five, my parents neck hairs are standing up and I smell a rat... and it looks a lot like you.

Many schools districts now have web cams and audio feeds streaming live feeds from classrooms so that parents can drop in and observe via the internet. I suggest the Cherry Hill NJ school district implement this capability immediately if they are serious about fixing this problem.

Are you kidding me? To those who said that he cut and edited to suit his needs....IT WAS over a 6 hour recording!! Of course he is going to put in more relevant points to get his point across. People are stupid and will try to match anything to their agenda.

That is not true...as long as person tapping is part of the conversation....AIKAN...was part of conversation...it's his class!

Alot of the comments on here....are definitely from the 3 or 4 or 5 stooges heard on the audiotape...jgligor....realist....rfg..whs....sound like they are. Trying to defend these heinous women...EDUCRATS/GUILTY...turn this into a wiretapping issue...REALLY? Their rights were relinquished when they became a public employee and walked thru the school doors....this is not the issue...THE ISSUE IS...HOW CAMN THAW ANIMALS DEFEND THEMSELVES....No a,out of careful editing can rectify their behavior. They got busted....REALLY BADLY.

Edited? Edited? Seriously people! WTF?! So instead of, "Shut up!" it was, "Shut up little sweetheart" or "Shut up my precious" and instead of, "Oh, Akian you are a bastard" it was perhaps, "Oh, Akian you are a bastard--not!" or, "Oh, Akian, you are bastard and by bastard I mean a wonderful kid!" And by them talking about puking and drinking that are teaching the autistic kids life lessons? Did they edit out the part where they talked to them about not drinking and driving as well?? These "teachers" are MONSTERS. You can tell by their voices. You can hear it in their words. BULLIES who knew that these poor kids were prisoners of their ABUSE and could not tell a single soul--not their parents, not another teacher, nobody. And these kids endured this everyday. Not just during these 6 hours. EVIL lives people. No editing required.

so....those who think it's "doctored" those who think he's a right-wing activist, those who think teachers have a hard job I ask you this...
At what point and in what situation is someone allowed to tell YOUR child to "shut your mouth"?

At what time would you think it's okay for someone to tell YOUR child "Who are you talking to? Nobody?" and laughing.

So...you're telling everyone here you wouldn't have a problem with a grown up discussing having so much to drink the night before they're heaving before coming to school? That's okay for you? Good to know.

I hope your children don't experience abuse. Because it sounds like you're okay with it and wouldn't do a darned thing to stop it.

I applaud Stu! Tenured teachers shouldn't be untouchable.

I was just browsing the net looking for ways to deal with stress related to classroom, being a teacher myself. Wow, instead of thinking of self I found myself crying and upset tht these ppl were allowed to do such a thing. The sad part is the district had to knw these teachers were doing something wrong. I'm saddened tht children r treated this way. Esp, those who have difficulty speaking. Those who disagree tht this poor child was the victim, just think if it were your son/daughter/niece/nephew/grandchild or jus an innocent child of no relation. Good going dad!

It amazes me to read some of the comments on here defending the despicable actions of this teacher and aide. The only reason I can imagine that someone would defend these ladies would be because; a) you ARE one of the people on the recording, b) you're one of their friends/relatives/kin and you feel compelled to defend them because in your view they're being 'picked on' or unfairly targeted by others (oh the irony...), or c) you don't particularly like the father for your own personal reasons. Frankly, none of these are sound enough to defend the blatant bullying and abuse of power in the recordings.

As a teacher, I can tell you that this sort of bullying happens. It is never ok to bully someone put under your care. It doesn't matter how hard your day has been, how tired you are or how many times a child has asked you the same question - you (and I, and many, many others) are trained, paid professionals who owe their students a duty of care. Yes it can be a hard job, I know that all too well, but goodness knows we need more people who take genuine pride in their work as educators, not people like these ladies. We owe it to ourselves to do the best damn job at teaching our students as we possibly can - so please, stop defending the actions of these women who clearly make themselves feel better by picking on this poor young boy - ladies, you're a disgrace to the profession - you should have put on your big girl pants and done the damn job you were supposed to do.

I find it hilarious that anyone would defend a teacher that bullies her students. Is that you Kelly Altenburg or your family and friends because it boggles my mind that any parent would think what you did was ok. Since you morons think what Kelly did was just fine and what the father did was wrong give me the address of your child's school so I can bully them myself seeing you condone such actions! Unbelievable that I share this planet with people who think like you. Good for the father for following his intuition and defending his son who can not speak against monstrous bitches like Kelly Altenburg. A thousand curses upon you you cantankerous wench. Be prepared for the public SHAMING that is coming for you because once this story goes national you will be screwed! If you think for one second you will continue being a teacher after this scandal you are out of your mind lady.

@jgligor. It's pretty obvious you are connected to the teachers / aides of this classroom or perhaps one of them. Perhaps you feel sorry for those teachers / aides for the hot mess they're in.
Well I don't. I feel sorry for the children who were in their care. The children who are entitled to a safe and positive classroom.
Shame on Cherry Hill school district. Can't you revoke tenure under these circumstances? You're lucky the father hasn't sued you. I hope someone convinces him otherwise. It seems that Cherry Hill needs some seriously house cleaning. I'd start by firing the principal and the superintendent.

@JGLIGOR- ARE YOU SERIOUS! I agree with Margo's comments. You most likely share a connection with this teacher/aid. There is absolutely NO justification for the inappropriate comments made on this audio. You cannot deny what has been heard. I urge everyone to reading this thread to contact Susan Bastnagel the Public Information Officer for Horace Mann Elementary, to express their concern and discontentment of how the children of this school are being treated. Her number is: 856-429-5600 ext. 4325. I personally will be starting a petition to have the teacher terminated. Furthermore, I will be writing a letter to my Senator, urging him to review this case and the laws protecting this MONSTER of a teacher.

Hello! I am a teacher who happens to be home with a sick child today, and should note that I do not live in NJ. First of all, my sincerest apologies to the residents of Cherry Hill. Those teachers and the administration clearly failed your students. However, I hope the parents will keep in mind that not all teachers are like this. I feel bad for the teachers in that district that have to live with this shame, but had nothing to do with those terrible acts committed by a few. I have to say, good teachers would have no problem being taped on a daily basis. If anything, it would help me reflect on me teaching, as well as support a teacher if a false accusation is made. Good teachers have nothing to hide. My last point is, why was this such a shock to administration? I frequently have had my principal, vice-principal and team leader pop through my classroom for unannounced observations and visits. Especially with the parent having all of those meetings...didn't the special ed. administrator at least want to pop in after the behavior specialist's report? This district needs some accountability. This is isn't simply a union issue. Residents of Cherry Hill, you need new administration, a new evaluation system for teachers and accountability like those of us in high performing schools have. The expectation for learning will only be as high as you demand. There are a lot of people looking for jobs right now, don't be afraid to say you deserve better.

hello, i am not a teacher , but i am a nurse. We care for your loved ones also and are given the trust from these families to take good care of their loved ones when they can not be there. we have bad nurses too, and not all should be punished for one bad nurse. As a mother I trust my children;s teachers to protect THEM from bulling and abuse, I have come accross abuse from daycare employers that were paid to care for my young child while i worked or was in school. The key is ,parents , watch your childs behaviors , if it changes ,start asking why, and check up on them. I would and still will just show up at school , or a daycare. I have had to threaten the administration in my oldest son's school with the local news and the police. if something was not done about bulling , yes from a teacher. My heart go's out to this father and this little angel. . And i think if more parents vidio, audio taped , babysitters, daycare workers, teachers, hospitals , nursing homes. maybe then the goverment would have to do something to protect our children. SHAME ON YOU Kelly Altenburg,, I hope your name gets out their and you can not work with another child ever again. be thankful this father is not sueing you, because i would. HOW DARE YOU? WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO DO THIS TO CHILDREN, I hope you are not a mother , and SHAME ON THE CHERRY HILL SCHOOL SYSTEM! and where are all the other children's parents? aren't they concerned that it was going on to their children?

I have come across inapropriate behavior in the past with my son's home therapist. Their agency's policy was that a parent had to be out of the room where the child was being taught ABA (my case was the living room) and so I was instructed to stay in my son's room for the 1hr x 3x a week that my son was in therapy. Not long after this "therapist" started "teaching" my, at the time, 4yr old son, I noticed changes in him. His appetite was different and there were more self injurious behaviors. Well... since I couldnt be in the room w/them, I put in a hidden baby video monito in the room. I was apalled at what I saw. She over fed my son and had him drinking juice pretty much the full session...in between having him jump on his mini trampoline to tire him out. Texting as she "taught" him to count up to 100! meanwhile he was laying on the floor, feeling nauseaus. Incredible the kind of people out there who are "qualified" to be in this type of profession. Since the incident, I have always listened to my gut feeling when I think something is not right. My son cannot tell me himself. I think there should be a law that all parents have the right to pop in at their childrens's classrooms with out notice (not to disturb the class but to observe). I still don't understand why some school districts have regulations preventing parents from doing just that. It should be an open door policy....if you have nothing to hide.

You cannot be serious. We expect the Cherry Hill School District to do what is right on their own. Has anyone seen "Waiting for Superman". Teachers that are charged with inappropriate behavior are kept on salary for endless months and then shifted around to other school districts. It's a disgrace! Use your voice to put an end to tenure! That's the first step. No one has the right to a job . . . you must earn your job daily!

Wow apparently some ppl on here need their ears checked. Point blank, its on the tape. Most of his arguments are true. If this were a normal public school and teacher is speaking about alcohol night before. If anyone smelt her breathe, she would be put on suspension with no pay! Also in a public school telling a child to out right shut up or belittle a child could go to principal to defend there rights! My friend teaches autistic children n it is understood that it is not easy. But this child in no form is violent, gropey or filled with bad language. This is pure Disgust n all teachers n aides present on this day should have their teaching rights stripped away! I think sueing the school for misconduct n emotional rewards is suit for this child. Also agree funds should be put in place by this childs name for other children who cannot be placed in schools that fit there specific needs. Last but definitely not least, this should be forwarded to NEWS12 n given to Christie's office. Bc boy would he have a field day with these teachers! I would love to be a fly on the wall during that reprimanding!

Hi all, FYI, Stuart Chaifetz posted a follow-up video on YouTube. We have coverage here: http://patch.com/A-sHLD

Maybe someone will bully/mentally abuse one of the teacher or teacher's aides "Jodi's" or "Kelly's" children. By someone I mean an adult that they would think their child would be safe with or have entrusted their child too. Then they will truly know what damage their actions caused this child and his family. The fear and terror that child felt in the classroom with those two individual's can never be taken back. I would hope they both would run up against someone who would instill the same fear and terror in them. They are cowards and do not belong in a unsupervised setting with any living being.They have already proved themselves unworthy. "Character is what you say or do when you think no one is watching." I hope this parent sues every which way he can. A word of advice for parents and guardians of school aged children. Make yourself known at the school/s they attend. I wish the Best for Akain and Stuart.

Forget the father, forget the child. The school district does not care about either. What they care about is their responsibility to cover up what happened and for this to be forgotten. That is all they care about. BELIEVE ME

If they apologize they will be admitting to what happened which leaves them wide open to sanctions by both the state and feds. So that will not happen.

Sue them In fact, this should be a class action on part of all the children who had this teacher and aide for the year. Each and everyone of these children were placed in jeopardy when they were left with these people ergo each and every one of their IEP's were violated.
Verbal battering, belittling, swearing, and taunting are not educational plans. Or maybe in this school district they are. Our educational system jumps on every new band wagon there is trying to educate our children, just maybe this school district will become a shining new example of a new educational program.

Sue the hell out of them.

@jgligor @realist - You must be "Jodi" and "Kelly" because nobody else would be dumb enough to defend what is on those tapes.

seeingiperson This is so upsetting. Why did these women go into this profession? Perhaps it's because they are like other perverts who enjoy hurting children.

How sad that these women are so miserable they, apparentley enjoy tormenting children... Vulnerable children. Very provoking story. Rarely do I hear of something that makes me think, “Hell exists for people like that... God, save me from whatever happened to them.“ But the dad triumphed. He did a world of good by bringing this to light. He is to be commended.

P.s.
My mother, Mrs. Stirling, was a special needs teacher and these kids were a welcome challenge, not a frustration or, in this case target. These women should have been fired right away. They do not represent the spirit of the profession. They are twisted perversions. Most teachers are good, good people. They don't do this hard work for prestige, certianly not pay. My mom constantly spent her own money on school supplies, little rewards for the kids. To have kept these bully teachers on the payroll was a dishonor to the whole profession and to all good teachers.

@Jgligor & realist - Thank the LORD that neither of you are in charge of our children in any school district..What rock did you crawl out under. This man took a stand for his child whether prior to the recording or after. Those aide's/teacher damned their OWN self by their own words and actions and NOT ONE of them stood up and said STOP. You can hear them laughing this off on this recording. I find it hard to believe that he altered any of this for his own agenda. Neither of you can justify what ALL of us have heard. Seriously, go find another cause to pick apart. Both of your posts & your justifications trying to villianize this father is asinine...

It's okay guys... Jgligor and realist have stopped commenting. Obviously they realized that their bull**** was being unheard and probably went to go troll some other article. We know that Stuart is right and that those b*****s were in the wrong. The fact that Jgligor and realist were defending the teachers just shows the types of people that they are. Let's forget about them and get back to the issue which is justice for Aikan and all other children bullied by teachers.

Anyhoo... Stuart was completely right to do this and has not done anything wrong. There is no one-sidedness as Kelly says that there is. She called Aikan a MEAN word and that should be enough for firing. Plain and simple. Obviously it is not we need to spread the word - one user posted the superintendent's number and that is a good start. GET THAT "TEACHER" FIRED!!!! CALL THE SUPERINTENDENT! CALL THE SUPERINTENDENT SO MUCH UNTIL HE OR SHE CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE AND FINALLY DO WHAT IS RIGHT!!!!! JUSTICE FOR AIKAN!!!!!!

I read the teacher has been transferred to another school (I am betting the poorest one in the district) but not fired. Is that correct?

Totally understand that the firing process is slow (in the white collar world where bogus wrongful termination suits are difficult to combat no matter what the employee's circumstance), but if this person is in front of kids at the moment...that's an outrage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_aMbg9FK-c

This is my son please help and send