A Rotorua teacher with an "unblemished" career spanning 55 years has been censured for slapping a year 7 student across the face and pushing another.
On Tuesday the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found former John Paul College teacher Valerie Eleanor Cooney committed serious misconduct during the two incidents in 2017.
Cooney had been working at the Catholic secondary school since it was founded in 1987 and was often used to assist other teachers in managing students' difficult behaviour.
In the first incident on October 25, 2017, three male students, including Student A, were sent to Cooney's class because of their disruptive behaviour.
"When the respondent was soliciting an explanation for the disruptive behaviour, Student A started to laugh," the ruling said.
"[Cooney] thought Student A was laughing at her attempt to reprimand the students. Because of this, [Cooney] slapped Student A across his left cheek with her right hand. The student was upset and started to cry."
In a written statement Cooney said the slap was "an involuntary action" which she regretted immediately.
The second incident occured in December 2017 when Cooney was teaching a dance class and "took exception to Student B's uncooperative behaviour and unwillingness to find a female dance partner".
"The respondent put her hand on Student B's shoulder and pushed him towards the girls in the class. Student B pulled away and said, 'get stuffed'."
The ruling said that while neither incident inflicted physical harm on the students, "both were humiliated in front of their peers and as such the respondent's conduct had an adverse effect on their wellbeing".
Both students were in year 7.
Cooney said that the offences occured while she was under stress from the responsibility for disciplining students referred to her by other teachers and her husband's ongoing illness.
But the ruling said: "there are no circumstances in which striking a student across the face can be considered an appropriate disciplinary measure".
The committee also noted Cooney had expressed remorse and cooperated with the investigation, and had long standing service with a "teaching career spanning some 55 years with an unblemished record".
"We agree that the respondent still has something to contribute to the profession and can continue to add value to the lives of the students she teaches."
Cooney has now engaged in restorative justice with the student she slapped and his whānau, resigned from her position and self-imposed a stand-down period of over one year.
The committee officially censured Cooney and also required her to enrol in a professional development course and inform current and future employers of the decision.
