Tacoma 9-year-old gets explicit report card through app used by teachers



TACOMA, Wash. – A Tacoma mom said her 9-year-old daughter received a virtual report card over the weekend full of expletives and profanity. She said the grades came from someone claiming to be a teacher at McCarver Elementary where the 4th grade girl attends, using the app ClassDojo.

The app allows teachers to grade students daily. Students are given a plus or minus for behavior and at the end of the day, parents can log in and read the virtual report card.

“She got +1 for being responsible and this is by the teacher,” read Darylann Pease. The report card her daughter A’mya received on Friday was glowing. “Another +1 for being responsible, +1 for persistence,” she said. The list went on to make up 9 +1 reviews, which meant her daughter received computer time that night.

“I told her about the app and we had been going over it each day and she gets computer time based off of that app,” she said.

Pease received a new notification over the weekend. It stated her daughter had a new report card on ClassDojo. They logged on to read it together.

“A -5 for having a big butt,” read Pease, censoring the report card as she went on. “How could somebody write this about a student,” she asked. “A child that young.”

Her 9-year-old was getting rated and berated by someone who said they are a teacher at her Tacoma school, McCarver Elementary.

“She was crying and really hurt and asking why the teacher thought she was a b****, and why were people talking about her butt,” she said.

The report cards created in ClassDojo are password protected. Parents receive a unique code that allows them to access their child’s card. Pease said she entered private information once in the app.

“I think the teacher needs to be fired, or whoever is at fault for this they need to be terminated for doing that or allowing the information to be leaked,” she said. She is hoping that the person responsible for the card isn’t a teacher, but rather a hacker playing a cruel joke.

We reached out to the Tacoma School District when we learned of report card on Sunday. They had not heard about the incident, but said they will begin an investigation immediately. They were able to confirm they do not have any teachers at McCarver Elementary with the name used on the ClassDojo card. They said they will begin working with the Pease family and staff at McCarver to find out what happened with the app.

“Even if it was a prank or a hoax or whatever it was, to write that about somebody’s child is not ok,” said Pease. She said her daughter is devastated and Pease is worried another student will be hurt too.

“You know with all the suicides going on right now, I think it’s a big issue for somebody’s self-esteem to read that,” she said.

The Tacoma School District told Q13 News that some teachers at McCarver have been using the app as a way to reinforce positive behavior. The district said their tech team will also be conducting an investigation into the app itself to see if there was a security breach and just how far it may reach.

Pease said her daughter deserves an apology from the school.