Of all the great teachers who have passed through Mira Costa High School, Timothy Hirsh might be the best, students say.

But his second year at the Manhattan Beach high school, one of the highest performing in the state, looks to be his last.

Stunned students and parents are rallying around the beloved French teacher, outraged over his dismissal by the school board last week and demanding answers. Students are even considering a sit-in outside the administration building on campus if his job is not restored.

“The fact that he’s being dismissed is a travesty. It upsets me,” student Jacob Hands said. “Because I promise you, you’re not going to find many more teachers who care about their students as much as that man does.”

Students, parents and colleagues flooded the board room last week, a few struggling to talk through sobs, pleading with the school board to rescind its decision.

“This is so upsetting. I’m just at a loss for words,” said senior Marisa Pippin. “Of all the classes I’ve taken at Costa, I don’t feel like I have learned more or ever been more invested in my studies. … You are robbing future students of such a great learning experience.”

Students said they are excited to go to French class, which Hirsh makes engaging, participatory and comfortable. If a student does not understand the material, he finds other ways to present it to make sure everyone keeps up, students said. Despite teaching six periods each day, they said, Hirsh has boundless energy and passion that rubs off on his students. Many hang out in his classroom at lunch, before and after school, or find him in the hallway to discuss a personal problem.

“In every other class, I just sit there and don’t participate at all because I don’t feel comfortable,” said sophomore Maddy Otto. “I look forward to French class my entire day. He’s so passionate about it, it makes us passionate about it.”

Hirsh, 30, came to the high school midsemester in January 2013 when the French program was in tatters. What he did for the program was nothing short of outstanding, many said.

“Timothy came into a volatile classroom situation midyear and, through his hard work, talent and the power of his personality he de-escalated an otherwise wasted year for the students,” wrote Mira Costa Principal Ben Dale in a spring 2013 evaluation. “The students in those classes were able to recover what they had lost and all of them signed up for another year of French. Truly an amazing job.”

In a 2014 evaluation, Dale again gave Hirsh rave reviews, as did his students and their parents.

However, less than a year later, Dale called for Hirsh’s dismissal at the end of the school year.

In his final evaluation, he called the teacher “intemperate,” stating that he did not demonstrate proper respect when he gave a speech at a welcome event for eighth-grade students.

“Mr. Hirsh rambled in an unfocused and defensive manner about why students should learn French. … (He) appeared to be unrehearsed and indifferent,” he wrote.

Dale also called Hirsh out for “lack of preparation in providing appropriate lesson plans” for a substitute teacher last November.

“As a result, the students lost valuable instructional time,” Dale wrote, adding that when Hirsh was counseled about the matter, he showed a lack of maturity.

The reasoning for his dismissal left Hirsh at a loss for words at first. Now, he has plenty.

“Everyone knows I belong here. Clearly, something is going on and not adding up,” he said. “Up until now, all of my evaluations have been sparkling. … Dale has personally given me multiple positive reviews. He never cited any unprofessionalism or lack of competency.”

Addressing the lack of preparation for a substitute, Hirsh nodded to the ominous threats to Mira Costa posted over the social media app Yik Yak in November, forcing the school to shut down for two days to ensure student safety.

In an email to staff the first day, Dale told teachers if they were afraid or felt threatened and did not want to come in the next day, that was understandable, but they had to make arrangements for class coverage.

“You will not be judged,” Dale wrote. “Everyone responds to these things differently, and you should not be made to feel badly either way.”

Hirsh, who witnessed his father’s death as a teenager and still deals with acute stress anxiety from certain triggers, told Dale and the superintendent that he thought it best to stay home that day and he arranged for a sub.

In the next month’s school newsletter to parents, Dale wrote, “Afraid or not, I could never in good conscience vouch for a teacher or a staff member who knew you were here, who believed you and the school were in danger and did not think enough of you to show up and stand with you, and whose only thought for you was to abandon you and run.”

Stunned at Dale’s contradictory remarks, Hirsh filed a grievance against him.

Hirsh said he was subsequently written up in January for his substitute lesson plan during the Yik Yak debacle.

In the lesson plan he prepared, along with the regular curriculum, he also included 25 minutes of “free time.”

“I knew the kids had probably been through a lot,” he said. “I made a judgment call and made the lesson plan light so they would not be worked overly hard by a sub in such a traumatizing time.”

The next month, he received the final evaluation calling for his dismissal.

“Anyone can look at those things and compare it with my reviews and popularity and see that something doesn’t add up,” Hirsh said. “Something fishy has got to be going on.”

Hirsh, who as a probationary employee does not enjoy tenure, said he became active in the teachers union last year, speaking out at public meetings over a misappropriation of funds that the district later owned up to publicly and against a health care plan the district proposed that would have cost the teachers a higher premium for fewer benefits.

“I’ve never been a person to keep my mouth shut just because I’m a ‘rookie,’ ” he said. “That’s not how I was raised. I was taught if I see something (wrong), to speak up about it.”

Manhattan Beach Unified Teachers Association President Shawn Chen said she has heard of other districts using the pilot teacher evaluation process in order to get rid of teachers for reasons other than their effectiveness.

“The fact that Mr. Hirsh has been vocal in his criticism of some tactics of the administration — criticisms which were later found to have merit — is concerning to teachers,” Chen said. “We hope that an evaluation tool is not used in (the district) to create a chilling effect on the free speech and freedom from illegal job actions, which all citizens have rights to enjoy.”

Dale did not return calls for comment.

Superintendent Michael Matthews said he cannot comment because personnel decisions are confidential.

“I certainly am aware of the comments from students and parents. We take many factors into consideration when making personnel decisions, and a decision to not re-elect an employee is always made considering all of those factors,” he said.

He did confirm that Hirsh’s dismissal was not a layoff or the annual release of a temporary employee.

Asked if the school board has the ability to rescind its decision, Matthews said he is looking into it. Hirsh can appeal the board’s decision.

Meanwhile, students are continuing to drum up support for Hirsh, drafting a formal petition and creating a photo campaign and videos to present at future school board meetings. Led by students Akela Aguas and Wyatt Wiggins, a Save Hirsh student group on Facebook now has more than 160 members.

“I was honestly disgusted and appalled to hear about Mr. Hirsh’s dismissal,” Aguas said. “I knew I had to take a stand. If we are determined and united, we can hopefully save his job.”

Although he has refrained from getting involved in the students’ actions, Hirsh said he is “moved and touched” by their intentions.

“(Their response) is completely amazing,” he said. “I never thought I would see anything like this.”

Hirsh said he doesn’t believe he should have to look for another job.

“I love what I do. The kids are amazing,” he said. “I don’t want to leave them.”