Amy Jones, 23, did not work for the school, the district or the substitute teacher agency. But on September 24, she walked through the doors of Rufus King International High School in Milwaukee and left the office with a classroom assignment.
According to the complaint, she made it through security mixed in with the students, heard staff talking about a substitute teacher company, said she was from there and signed the check-in sheet. A week earlier, according to media reports citing court documents, she had gone to scout the building and asked a student how to sneak in. A real teacher prepared materials with her during the first 20 minutes. When that teacher left, prosecutors say, the trouble began: profanity, racial slurs, sexual comments, and students grouped by race and gender. Eight teachers were absent that day. Three class periods went by before she was escorted out.
Jones reportedly admitted to a detective that she had a conversation with the students about sexuality and acknowledged that it “was not appropriate”. She also said it was because she was bored. Her attorney tells a different story: that she was experiencing a manic episode due to bipolar disorder, triggered by a delay in receiving her medication. She has not been convicted, but faces six felonies and up to 21 years in prison. She was released without cash bail, with an order to stay away from the school. The preliminary hearing is on October 20.
