Teacher Suspended After Calling 5th Grader ‘Monkeys in a Zoo’

An Indiana school district is facing intense backlash after a fifth-grade teacher allegedly told students they were “acting like monkeys in a zoo,” a comment that quickly ignited outrage among parents and civil rights leaders.

The incident happened Feb. 24 at Merrillville Intermediate School in Merrillville, Indiana. According to district officials, the teacher made the remark during class while trying to address what he described as disruptive behavior from students.

Several children were reportedly sent directly to the principal’s office following the exchange. Word of the comment spread quickly among families, prompting angry parents to confront school leaders during a tense school board meeting days later.

Now the teacher is on paid administrative leave while the district conducts an investigation.

Superintendent Dexter Suggs acknowledged the situation has shaken the community. Suggs said the teacher claimed he was frustrated in the moment and apologized to students shortly after making the comment.

“He said he was frustrated with the students’ behavior and he did apologize, unprompted by administrators,” Suggs told local media.

Suggs also stressed that the district does not believe the remark was intended as a racial slur. But that explanation has done little to calm critics who say the words carry painful historical weight.

Parents packed a school board meeting demanding answers. Some accused the district of initially downplaying the situation and failing to communicate with families quickly enough.

One parent, who said she works as an educator in another district, told board members the comment reflected a deeper problem.

“This is what he thinks about our kids,” she said during the meeting. “You can’t say something like that to children and expect families to just move on.”

Civil rights advocates also weighed in. Stephen Mays, president of the Gary branch of the NAACP, criticized the district’s early handling of the incident and urged administrators to take stronger action.

“You let your kids go back to the classroom for that kind of abuse and people are outraged,” Mays said. “Do your job so we can lower the temperature in this community. Not talking to parents is insulting.”

Another parent, DeLena Thomas, said the controversy highlights the challenges students already face in an increasingly tense national climate around race.

“We’re preparing our kids for a world that is racially tense right now,” Thomas said. “Comments like that make it harder for them to feel respected and safe in school.”

School board members later issued their own apology to families during the meeting, promising transparency as the investigation moves forward.

The Merrillville Intermediate School campus serves roughly 780 students in fifth and sixth grade, according to state education data.

District officials say the investigation into the teacher’s conduct could conclude within days.

The uproar comes amid a broader national debate about classroom culture and racial sensitivity in schools. In recent weeks, several similar incidents involving educators’ comments have drawn national scrutiny, fueling renewed calls for stronger accountability and training.

For many parents in Merrillville, however, the focus remains simple: ensuring their children are treated with respect inside the classroom.