Former Miss Montana under fire for tweets about her special-needs students

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - SEPTEMBER 14:  Miss America 2014 contestant Miss Montana Sheridan Pope appears in the 2014 Miss America Competition Parade at Boardwalk Hall Arena on September 14, 2013 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Credit: Michael Loccisano

Credit: Michael Loccisano

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - SEPTEMBER 14: Miss America 2014 contestant Miss Montana Sheridan Pope appears in the 2014 Miss America Competition Parade at Boardwalk Hall Arena on September 14, 2013 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

A former Miss Montana-turned-West Fargo, North Dakota, teacher whose winning platform was inclusive education for students with disabilities is under investigation for tweets about her special-needs students at Liberty Middle School – and their parents.

According to WDAY, Sheridan Tihista, formerly Sheridan Pope, is under fire after anonymous concerned parents printed out 20 pages of tweets from the teacher they deemed offensive.

In one tweet, Tihista reportedly referred to moms of children with autism as “monsters,” and in another she called the students “Satan.”

WDAY reported that another tweet said the best part of teaching children with autism is that her lesson plans never have to change because the kids "loooove routines!"

"I yelled at my student today and accidentally called him by my cat's name…. not even ashamed bc that's how annoying he was" and "I'm going to start a blog under a pseudonym called '[Expletive] My Students Say'" were also among the controversial tweets.

Tihista’s Twitter account had been fully public but was made private after the complaints were lodged. Now the Twitter account is completely gone.

Although she declined to be interviewed, she did send a text to WDAY.

“My tweets may have been distasteful but don’t illustrate what kind of educator I am,” she wrote.

Interestingly, Tihista had been in the news before for being bullied out of a sorority.

Her conduct is currently under review and her future at the school uncertain.

About the Author