A South Jersey teacher has resigned after a student recorded her profanity-laced tirade to the class

A South Jersey teacher has resigned from her position with the Winslow Township School District after her profanity-filled tirade to her class was recorded by a student’s cell phone.

The incident occurred Feb. 2 shortly after Jai Wright, 16, a junior at Winslow Township High School, had completed a quiz in Spanish class, according to his father, the Rev. David Wright.

Wright said his son had placed his cell phone facedown on his desk, a violation of school rules prohibiting students from having the devices out during class, he said.

The teacher, identified by Wright as Melanie Lewellen, took the phone from Jai but later returned it, he said.

“She gave [the phone] back in a cussing tirade,” said Wright. “She begins to curse and curse.”

Wright said his son recorded the rant — directed at Jai, as well as other students — for about three minutes. The teacher said the class was like a “zoo.”

Jai was written up for the cell phone use and sent to the office. An administrator gave him a four-day suspension, his father said, and made the teen delete the video from his phone. But the teen had already sent the video to his parents.

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It was the second time the teen was reprimanded by Lewellen for having his phone out, his father said. Profanity was used in that incident in November, and the teacher later apologized to the parents, he said.

In the latest incident caught on video and provided to The Inquirer, Lewellen reprimanded the class about their behavior. She told them to put away their Chromebooks in a cart “and plug the sh— in. Stop leaving sh— around.”

The teacher said she felt very disrespected and was “over it.”

Lewellen had been a teacher with the Camden County district for 10 years. She previously taught Spanish to fourth through sixth graders at a district elementary school for several years.

“It’s a f— zoo in this class, every day,” she said on the recording. “... You do not go around behaving like this in front of your parents. Don’t do it in front of me either, period. Am I understood?”

Wright and his wife, Geneatha, complained to district officials. They said they were told that the teacher’s behavior was “egregious,” but their son’s suspension would stand.

Wright acknowledged that his son violated the school’s policy, which states that “cell phones must be turned off and should not be in use or visible during school hours.”

A day later, Wright said he was told that Lewellen had been removed from the classroom. The couple were satisfied with that action, he said.

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“I don’t think any teacher that uses that kind of language toward our children should be working with our children,” said Wright, a gospel artist along with his wife, and pastor of Life Impact Worship Center in Berlin. “It was not just my son in there, but there were other students in there as well. You’re calling them animals.”

The school, which enrolls about 1,100 students, is predominantly Black. Lewellen is Hispanic, according to her social media profile.

Lewellen did not respond to email and social media messages. In a social media post that was later removed, she said she would make an announcement soon about landing a new position.

In a statement provided Thursday, Superintendent H. Major Poteat said: “The behavior demonstrated in that video was simply unacceptable. Such behavior cannot and will not be tolerated by the Winslow Township School District.”

Poteat declined further comment, citing a personnel matter. Union officials also did not respond to messages.

At a Winslow school board meeting Feb. 8, the board approved Lewellen’s resignation, effective immediately. No reason was given. Most school districts typically require 60 days’ notice.

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A former colleague who worked at the district’s School No. 5 with Lewellen said she was not surprised by the outburst. She said Lewellen had difficulty with classroom management and often complained about student behavior.

“She was the type of teacher that always seemed stressed,” said the teacher, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. “In the classroom, she was always frazzled.”

Wright said his son has received harassing messages from teachers and students blaming him “for getting my favorite teacher fired” and was reluctant to return to school until Thursday. The family plans to file an HIB (Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying) complaint, he said.