1st-Grade Teacher Placed On Leave Over Bullying Allegations

REDONDO BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Parents of students at a Redondo Beach elementary school are asking district officials to remove a teacher accused of bullying her classroom, according to reports Thursday.

KNX 1070's Megan Goldsby reports more than a dozen Madison Elementary School parents have pulled their kids from Amanda Steinacher's first-grade class.

Parents have asked the Redondo Beach School Board to remove Steinacher from the district permanently after she allegedly screamed at her students, intimidated them and made them cry on at least one occasion, according to reports.

One alleged incident on Oct. 22 reportedly involved Steinacher screaming, "Whose lunch box is this?" and throwing it in the trash after it went unclaimed, the Daily Breeze reported.

Steinacher also reportedly sent out emails calling on parents to discipline their children at home and even identifying as many as two students by name for their "poor behavior," according to the Breeze.

One Madison Elementary mom with a daughter in kindergarten said the recent reports are troubling.

"I want to make sure that she's not being bullied, especially by the teachers," she said. "You already have enough with kids, and then the teachers doing it?"

Tom Stekol with Redondo Beach Unified would not comment on specifics, but he did suggest that an investigation was ongoing.

"We take allegations that involve the safety our students very seriously, and we take immediate action," Stekol said.

Steinacher is reportedly on personal leave, Goldsby reported.