Teacher: Rensselaer relationship application was taken out of context

A Rensselaer teacher said that the relationship application that got the school district’s attention was taken out of context.

The form was given to at least one female student at Rensselaer High School. It asked her questions like if she was dating anyone and “Will your grades be impacted by this relationship?”

Now, district officials are saying that application was never supposed to get out the way it did.

“The community posted inappropriate comments on Facebook and just one thing fed into another,” said Tricia Steck, a teacher in the Rensselaer City School District, at a school board meeting on Wednesday. “It was supposed to be a springboard for a discussion with a student and they were supposed to talk about relationships and positive things and things that students could do to make their connections with other students better.”

The application was given to a female student at the school. The form contained personal questions like who is she dating and if she felt her grades would be affected because of the relationship.

Steck says the form was meant to be a conversation starter, but instead it’s been used as a witch hunt against the staff member.

Parents were upset about the application. Teachers at the meeting said those feelings have calmed down.

The district says it wants to focus on more pressing issues.