PORT ORANGE, Fla. — A Port Orange middle school teacher who was arrested Tuesday for playing loud music with the intent to disrupt students taking the Florida Statewide Assessments test posted the whole incident on Instagram while it was happening.
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Martin Reese, an art teacher at Creekside Middle School, was arrested for disrupting a school function and for disorderly conduct, Port Orange police said. He has since been dismissed from his position.
Hired just a few weeks ago, Reese said he felt disgusted by what he was witnessing. Stressed students from tough home situations, sitting down after two years of chaos and upheaval for a test that was being retired after this spring.
Police responded to the school on Airport Road around 12:10 p.m. for a disturbance. Reese refused to turn off the music and caused a disturbance while being escorted to the principal’s office, police said.
“I think that’s unfair,” he says in the video. “I f***ed up the way that they were testing today.”
With somewhere between a half dozen and a dozen students sitting around the edge of his classroom, Reese detailed his plan. He would play music so loudly that students in nearby classrooms would have trouble concentrating.
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If they complained, they’d have to be given another opportunity to take the test, he reasoned.
“That means that all of these tests have to be thrown out, because you can’t possibly put that type of pressure and weight upon a student because of what a teacher did,” he said.
His video lasted a total of 50 minutes. At times, he interacted with his students, discussing their home lives, equating the pressure put on them to a type of slavery and even discussing his marijuana use.
See the full video below:
He advised them not to partake in the drug until they were adults.
After some time, an administrator came in and dismissed his class. He attempted to reason with Reese.
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“I brought you here to teach these kids in the school, and you’re blaring music, and you’re not listening to a simple directive,” the administrator can be heard complaining. “I’m confused.”
Port Orange police said they locked down the school briefly while the episode was playing out, including during a moment when Reese caused a disturbance in the hall.
The teacher is facing charges for causing a disturbance and disorderly conduct. A judge set his bond at $1,000 Tuesday night.
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Reese did not appear to regret his actions in a video posted to his account after he was escorted out of the classroom.
The school was placed on lockdown until the situation was resolved.
At no time were students endangered, and no weapons were involved, police said.
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The school district has not yet responded to a request for additional information, including whether students were able to complete their tests later in the day.
Reese has since bonded out of jail.
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