A substitute teacher in a Virginia public school district was reportedly suspended after making statements supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Arlington Public Schools (APS) informed substitute teacher John Stanton on Tuesday that he had been suspended due to an allegation of statements made to kids during instructional hours regarding sensitive world events with Russia and Ukraine.
Stanton was given five days to file a plea for reinstatement, according to APS’s letter, but he declined.
On Friday, Stanton allegedly made the comments while teaching an eighth-grade Spanish class at Swanson Middle School.
Stanton also stated that he advised pupils to study a variety of news sources, including the state-run Russian news organization Sputnik News.
Stanton, 65, previously worked as a correspondent for Sputnik News, but was sacked in 2018 after providing information about the organization to an undisclosed third-party source.
Stanton was chosen from a pool of substitute instructors who don’t have to have any experience in the subject area they’re working in, according to APS spokesperson Frank Bellavia, who declined to comment further on the event.
