STEVENSON, Wash. - A 15-year-old girl shouts in pain in a classroom in shocking video uncovered by KATU’s On Your Side Investigators. It’s one of two videos that show students being pelted with Koosh balls at a local high school under the direction of a chemistry teacher.

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

In a cell phone video reportedly shot in Patteson’s classroom in May, a boy cowers in a corner with a book over his face as students pelt him with Koosh balls. Students say it’s a punishment that Patteson has been doling out for at least the past two years.

In another video shot last week, a voice identified as Patteson’s can be heard directing students.  This time Zoey Zapf, a 15-year-old sophomore, says she was being punished.

“I was chewing gum in class,” Zapf said. “She looked over and she told me to spin the wheel and that's like a normal thing."

Zapf says when she spun the so-called "wheel of misfortune" Patteson kept in class, it landed on “cush firing squad”. After that, Zapf says nearly 30 students and Patteson, a former semi-pro baseball player, lined up to take turns hitting her with a Koosh ball. Zapf says it hurt.

"I clearly said that I didn't want to do this, and after that I found out that you can opt out with a lunch detention,” Zapf said, “and when I said I don't want to do this, she said ‘too bad ‘or something and I got pelted."

KATU obtained the videos with the help of the local newspaper, the Skamania County Pioneer.

"I'm gonna be honest,” Zapf said regarding Patteson, “I'm hoping she gets fired because it was beyond humiliating."

Dan Read, superintendent of the Stevenson-Carson School District, says administrators didn't see the latest video until this week. They decided to pull Patteson out of the classroom Thursday evening.  

KATU has tried emailing and Facebook messaging Patteson but as of the time this story was published she had not responded.

Read sent KATU 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.”