DIANE MONTELIUS was stressed.
The 31-year-old rookie teacher was so upset after a run-in with some rowdy students at Philadelphia High School for Girls in March that she left the school crying and didn't return for two weeks, students said. On Wednesday, she warned students in her freshman world-history class that if she caught them doing assignments other than hers, she would burn them up.
She kept her word.
Shortly after 9 a.m. yesterday, Montelius snatched a Metro newspaper from the hands of one of her students, dropped it in her empty metal trash can and set it on fire in front of 25 stunned students, police said. Once Montelius saw the flames reaching out over the rim of the trash can and smoke filling the room, she threw water from a flower pot onto the flames, said Lt. Winton Singletary of Northwest Detectives.
By the time firefighters and members of the city fire marshal's office
arrived a few minutes later, the blaze was out and a smoky odor filled the room. One student complained of smoke inhalation and was going to be taken to a family doctor, police said.
The fire was ruled an arson, and Montelius was awaiting arraignment last night on charges of arson and causing or risking a catastrophe. "She seemed very stressed," said Cassandra Suarez, 18, a senior at the school, on Broad Street near Olney Avenue. "It's not that she's not a nice person; it's just she's not equipped to handle us. These girls can be rowdy."
Authorities were horrified by what could have happened. "You've got kids in a crowded school, and you can cause all kinds of injury
and panic," Singletary said. "If something in that trash can had ignited or exploded, we would have had a serious situation here."
Capt. Armand Gershbach, of the fire marshal's office, said that situation easily could have occurred because several cardboard boxes were right above the trash can, which was in front of a radiator. "There was potential risk for an extension of the fire from the waste can," he said. "This could have easily gotten out of control." Paul Hanson, a school district spokesman, said Montelius would be assigned to a nonteaching position (not in a school) after she makes bail. "The school district is shocked and appalled by such a total failure of professionalism and by this teacher's utter disregard for the safety of her students," he said. "We will pursue all our options vigorously." Those options include dismissal, he added.
Ted Kirsch, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, could not be reached for comment about Montelius last night.
Another teacher from the school, who asked that her name not be used, admitted the incident was "really, really poor judgment on the part of the teacher" but said the media was blowing it out of proportion. "She's not an ax murderer," she said. "It's my understanding the fire was out when the administration became aware of it. There was no fire drill in the school. It should have been handled, but it shouldn't have been the lead story on the 6 o'clock news."
Gershbach said more than 145 fires have been set in city schools this school year, an increase from previous years. He said there were sometimes two or three a day, and now someone from the fire marshal's office goes on each call. Fire Commissioner Harold Hairston is supposed to address this issue today at a news conference, he said.
The Girls High fire, which did not activate smoke alarms, caused about $250 worth of smoke and fire damage in the ground-floor classroom, officials said.
Montelius, of Morrisville, Bucks County, began working for the district in 1999, Hanson said. She took a leave of absence in 2000 and began teaching social studies at Girls High last October, he said. He did not know where she worked in 1999 or why she had taken a leave of absence. Students in her homeroom class said she never seemed to be able to handle the students.
In fact, right before Easter break in March she got into a confrontation with a group of rowdy girls, said Patricia Davis, 18, another senior. "She started to cry and left the school," Davis said. "She didn't come back for two weeks." The girls said she rarely arrived by 8:05 a.m. when school started so they
often got the key to their classroom from another teacher to let themselves in. "She'd make it in by 8:15 or so," said Catrina Cope, 18, another senior. "One time we asked her why she was always so late every day. She said she lived two hours away."
While the girls said students were shocked by what happened, Cope said she felt sorry for Montelius. "She's really nice," she said. "She just wasn't able to handle some of the girls that come through here." Added Suarez: "I don't think she's a bad person. I just think she had a bad day. A really bad day."
Teacher Strikes Back
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