An undated photo of Fort Vancouver High School in Vancouver, Wash.
Photo by Baltakatei via Wikipedia
Teachers at Fort Vancouver High School walked out of a staff meeting this week over safety concerns related to an anonymous social media account.
The Instagram account shared altered photos and videos of teachers that included political and sexual references. The account included AI-generated videos that appeared to target educators based on their religious beliefs, according to Jamie Anderson, president of the Vancouver Education Association, the union that represents some district staff.
Posts showed teachers’ faces edited into animated videos with photos of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Things that could be very career damaging and personally damaging to the individuals involved,” Anderson said.
The Instagram account has since been removed, but it had been around for about a month before teachers left the staff meeting on Wednesday morning.
The walkout ultimately occurred, according to Anderson, because of online comments responding to the images. Those comments included what Anderson described as “direct threats” related to a Fort Vancouver assembly that was scheduled later the same day.
In a written statement, teachers said inaction from school officials left them in an environment where they felt “unable to ensure student safety.”
“We told our administration that the lack of appropriate action from either school or district administration in unsafe situations, poor communication, and ineffective or nonexistent support for students or staff facing threats of violence, make us feel unsafe in this school,” the teachers wrote.
The Wednesday assembly was later cancelled.
The walkout was not an authorized union action, according to Anderson, but she also said the teachers have the union’s support, and it will get involved to protect the due process rights of staff if they face disciplinary action from the district.
A spokesperson for the Vancouver Public Schools could not immediately be reached for comment about how the district will respond to future social media concerns or whether the teachers who walked out could face disciplinary action.
The Vancouver Police Department has not been able to find out who made the account, according to spokesperson Kim Kapp.
