Indiana teacher awards boy with autism 'most annoying male' trophy
GARY, Ind. - An Indiana school district has apologized after a teacher awarded an 11-year-old student, who has autism, a trophy naming him the "most annoying male" of the school year.
The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports that a special education teacher at Bailly Preparatory Academy in Gary gave the boy the trophy May 23 during a fifth-grade awards luncheon attended by students, parents and the school principal.
“We were blindsided. We just weren’t expecting it,” father Rick Castejon said. “As a principal or teacher, you should never let this happen to any student.”
Gary Community School Corp. issued an apology to the boy and his family in a statement Monday. Emergency manager Peter Morikis called it an "unfortunate occurrence" and noted that the district was taking disciplinary action against the school employees involved.
Morikis declined to comment on the employment status of the workers.