Student Walk-Out Succeeds In Getting Music Teacher His Job Back

A Los Angeles-area high school is getting its music teacher back thanks to dozens of students who walked out of class in protest.

Wes Hambright was notified earlier this month by school officials that he was being removed from his role at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in Lake Balboa, California, due to a lack of enrollment in his class.

Hambright started as a substitute teacher in 2015, eventually becoming a full-time teacher in 2016.

World Music Day and all concerts at the school were subsequently canceled due to Hambright's displacement, prompting students to take action.

According to MyNewsLA, a walk-out was organized for Monday to protest the decision and show support for Hambright. At 3 p.m., over 100 students marched from campus to the Los Angeles Unified School District North District offices located next to the school.

The demonstration proved effective, and the school district relented, agreeing to reinstate Hambright effective immediately.

The teacher admitted to feeling a certain sense of resentment towards the school over its initial decision to let him go.

"A little bit of betrayal, after being here for the amount of time that I have, and building the program, building the rapport with students," Hambright told The Pearl Post. "So there was a little bit of betrayal."