Teacher 'thought pupil was her dog' as she was 'so high on cocaine'

A teacher allegedly brought cocaine into her classroom and got so high that she thought one of her students was a dog.

Melissa Martin, 47, was working as a substitute teacher at a primary school when she was charged with cocaine possession and reckless endangerment, when she was supposedly caught with the drugs while on the job. Martin was working at the Barre Town Middle and Elementary School in Vermont when the incident took place. Police rushed to the primary school on the morning of October 1 following reports of an adult "under the influence of drugs", Barre Town Police said.

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The teacher is said to have admitted to having cocaine in her jacket pocket when police arrived at the school. Local cops said a K-9 search found more cocaine in her jacket and backpack. Cops seized less than 2.5g of the white powder drug from the substitute teacher, according to court documents.

Barre Town Police Chief William Dodge said: "The charges that we have cited her for are possession of cocaine and reckless endangerment, based on the fact that she was under the influence while she was in control of the students in her classroom."

A mum, who said her name was Brittany, claimed her son, who was in Martin's class that day, immediately noticed something was off with the substitute teacher.

She told NBC5: "He looked visibly shaken and upset, and I asked what had happened today. He said that his substitute teacher was clearly on drugs and was acting crazy. Those were his exact words."

Brittany claimed her boy saw the teacher nearly fall asleep before and during the lesson, before she quickly ran out of the classroom. Her son then claimed the teacher thought he was her pet dog, after he followed her out of the room.

The mum said: "So he followed her, and I guess found her, and [Martin] said to him, 'Hey Teddy, why are you off your leash?' and my son was like, what?" It was later revealed that Teddy is the name of Martin's dog.

The superintendent of the Barre Unified Union School District, Joan Canning, said: "He did the right thing, and that is part of the curriculum. If you hear something, you're concerned about something, you say something."

Canning added that Martin has been a permanent substitute teacher for around three years but was fired after the incident.

Martin pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of cocaine possession and reckless endangerment. She was released on court conditions - which included not entering school grounds.

Canning told parents that despite the allegations, they should not feel worried. The superintendent added: "The person is not at school now. The parents should feel totally confident that their students are safe."