A recent video uncovered by The Columbian shows a 15-year-old girl shouting in pain in a Stevenson High School classroom as students pelted her with Koosh balls under the direction of chemistry teacher, Kem Patteson.

Zoey Zapfe, a 15-year-old sophomore, was being punished for chewing gum in class.

Patteson kept a "wheel of misfortune" in her classroom for students to spin for their punishment. Zapf was told to spin the wheel and it landed on "cush firing squad." Nearly 30 students and Patteson, a former semi-pro baseball player, took turns hurling a Koosh ball at her.

When Zapf asked Patteson if she could opt out for a lunch detention, Patteson responded with "too bad."

A previous video shot in May shows a similar scene of a boy with a book over his face being battered with Koosh balls. Students told The Columbian that it's a punishment Patteson had been giving out "for at least the past two years."

Patteson is now on administrative leave from her job at Stevenson High School in Skamania County.



Dan Read, superintendent of the Stevenson-Carson School District, said administrators didn't see the latest video until this week. They pulled Patteson out of the classroom on the evening of Oct. 9.

Read sent the following statement:

"Our first priority is the safety of students. The Stevenson-Carson School District strives to provide students with optimal conditions for learning by maintaining a school environment where everyone is treated with respect and no one is physically or emotionally harmed. Therefore, we take any type of reported bullying very seriously and begin investigating the situation immediately.



The SCSD District Office received a formal complaint on Thursday, October 9th that one of our high school teachers was using a controversial classroom management technique that has been construed as inappropriate and a reported form of bullying.



We take any matter of concern voiced by parents and students seriously. When the high school initially became aware of the incident at hand, it was dealt with in a prompt manner by the school principal.



The district has secured a third party investigator with the assistance of our district personnel office to look into the complaint. In the meantime, the teacher has been placed on administrative leave.



The SCSD provides a safe and nurturing environment for all children. If you have any questions or concerns regarding what is happening in your child's school, please don't hesitate to contact the district office."

Watch KATU's report:

-- Samantha Bakall