“If I was illegal would you like me to get deported?”
“If you aren’t trying to go through the legal process, yeah.”
The above exchange, heard on a recording shared with Richmondside, captured a hypothetical question posed by a Hercules High School sophomore to English teacher, Michelle Gerst. The way the district has handled complaints about this and Gerst’s other politically charged social media comments and posts, has sparked backlash in the school community, raising questions about what should happen if a WCCUSD employee makes statements that could violate the district’s anti-racist and anti-discrimination policies.
The conversation between the student, who is Latino, and Gerst, who is white, took place after some students walked out of her class in February to protest President Trump’s ramped up ICE activities. The 10-second recording ends abruptly as students can be heard responding with a collective “oooh” just before the bell ending class rings.
At every WCCUSD school board meeting the trustees read aloud an anti-racism statement where they commit to doing more than saying discrimination is not allowed. The statement vows that they will actively look for and address policies, practices, or systems that create unequal outcomes for people of different races.
The district touts itself for being the first in the county (and second in the state) to establish an anti-racist policy in 2024.
Since 2018, WCCUSD has also had a policy stating that all students, regardless of immigration status, are protected from discrimination of any kind.
That policy was amended in 2025 to include mandatory training for administrators on how to recognize valid immigration warrants to further protect students. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are not allowed to enter West Contra Costa schools, or access student records, without a valid warrant.
Students and staff say the recorded conversation was not an isolated incident. They said they have reported Gerst to the school’s principal and district administrators, alleging a pattern of racist and anti-immigrant comments, but said those complaints have not resulted in meaningful action.
On Wednesday, a day after this story was published, the district said in a written statement that it did investigate the complaint about Gerst’s February comment and placed her on administrative leave during that process.
It said following that investigation “appropriate personnel action was taken by the district.”
“The District takes any hateful language or discriminatory conduct very seriously,” the statement said.
It went on to say that after additional allegations emerged later in the school year, the district, “immediately gathered these new complaints and ordered an official investigation. That investigation is currently ongoing. While the district cannot specifically comment on any ongoing investigation or any specific personnel action that has been taken or could be taken in the future, we want to reiterate how seriously we take these and any complaints about discriminatory or hateful language by anyone in our schools.”
Richmondside interviewed three Hercules High staff members and five students, most of whom requested anonymity because they fear retaliation. A consistent concern emerged: Students, particularly those who are undocumented or Latino, said Gerst’s comments made them feel unsafe and unwelcome in her classroom.
“She has said things like people resisting in ICE protests deserve to die,” rising junior Alicia Gonzales, who had Gerst for English, told Richmondside. “I feel very unsafe, and, like, uncomfortable, because a lot of the things she’s talking about is usually targeted against either Democrats or minorities.”
Gonzales, a Hercules resident, said while she is a U.S. citizen and not at risk of deportation, she takes offense because of her Latino background. Moreso, she has had undocumented peers tell her that they feel threatened by Gerst’s comments.
“They have told me that they feel unsafe and totally not wanting to go to her class out of fear that she would deport them or get ICE involved,” Gonzales said. “It’s just a hostile environment.”
One student, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, told Richmondside that one of his friends stopped talking to him because of comments Gerst made in class.
“It’s sad that one of my friends changed … We were so close. She now says (LGBTQ+ sexuality is) unnatural,” the rising junior told Richmondside.
He also said that students in her class drew a pyramid on the white board showing white people at the top and black people on the bottom.
“A Black student drew it as a troll or a test and (Gerst) never erased it,” the student said. “It was really weird and uncomfortable that it stayed on the white board so long.”
But he’s mainly concerned about Gerst’s comments about immigration.
“She had stated that everyone that was protesting against ICE were stupid and dumb and the people who died deserved to die,” the student said. “I know someone who is undocumented that is currently in her class, and she fears that if (Gerst) knew that, that something might happen to her family, and that’s something that I’m scared of for her.”
An English language learner student said she dreaded going to Gerst’s class because she often felt scared to speak up. She said one time she asked Gerst a clarifying question and the teacher’s response was “condescending and embarrassing.”
“It was a simple question because I forgot what the word meant in English,” the student said as she held back tears. “She then said. ‘It’s OK, I wouldn’t expect you to understand’… it made me feel really stupid but I just forgot the word.”
Gonzales said political discussions were common in the classroom and initiated unprompted by Gerst. She said students who agreed with her statements were given favorable treatment and those who spoke out were treated poorly.
“For example, she would say, like, ‘The mayor of New York is a communist, and no one can vote for him’ and then she would pull up all of these different people running for governor videos and just show them to the class instead of working on actual English,” Gonzales said. “We were learning more about her opinion in politics than English.”
Teacher’s social media comments raise more concerns
In addition to reporting comments Gerst made in the classroom, students and staff also filed complaints about Gerst’s social media posts, which at the time were publicly visible and subsequently found by and shared among students.
On Gerst’s Instagram Threads account, under the handle “shellmears,” she made comments indicating her support of ICE raids and deportations and ones disparaging Muslims.
She uses the name “Michelle Mears” on her social media accounts, the same name she uses as a byline to freelance for the Napa Valley Register.
In response to a November 2025 video showing North Carolina high school students protesting ICE raids, Gerst wrote, “Sounds like there’s a bunch of illegal immigrants that need to be deported with their parents.”
In another thread where people were discussing women’s rights in Islam, Gerst wrote “Islam is the most oppressive political ideology on the face of this Earth. You do not treat women well at all. You actually think that women are lower than goats. You f**k goats as well. That is a fact.”
In a post that defended Renée Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Gerst wrote, “Then she lost her mind and went crazy and got herself killed trying to run over a law enforcement officer.”
She also wrote, “ICE is protecting America and we love it!!”
“It’s shocking that these concerns were raised and nothing seemed to come from it,” an educator at Hercules High told Richmondside. “It seems to go completely against district policies.”
The district does have a “Nondiscrimination, Harassment, Intimidation, & Bullying” policy that reaffirms its commitment to provide safe environments for all students and outlines a zero-tolerance policy for such incidents.
The policy outlines that if a student has experienced racist bullying, harassment or intimidation, then the administration should facilitate a restorative justice practice or require the perpetrator to engage in culturally sensitive programs, as well as regularly check on the victim. Suspension and other disciplinary actions can also be used.
The policy does not outline any consequences for an employee involved in racism, bullying or intimidation. However state law requires that all students, including those who are undocumented, be protected from such hate speech.
School administrators and district officials are silent on the matter — until Wednesday
Gonzales said in response to Gerst’s February comments she and a friend made two separate complaints to the school’s administration.
She said she went to the school office, wrote down a complaint and tried to schedule a meeting with the principal, Rocquel Colbert.
“After that more and more students went to the office and submitted even more reports with the same promise that, you know, people (will) talk to (Gerst), but ultimately nobody did,” Gonzales said. “Two months went by and these reports were still happening, and nothing was being done.”
She then went to Colbert’s office to discuss her concerns.
“(The principal) was like shutting me down again, by saying things like, ‘You don’t know if accountability is being taken because you’re just a student,’ ” Gonzales said. “I still felt really unheard, because I thought a lot more would be done, since (what Gerst said in the recording) is kind of like a threat.”
She said that’s when she decided to file a formal harassment report, called the Uniform Complaint Procedure (UCP) form, that not only detailed concerns about Gerst’s comments, but also her feelings of being “unheard” by Colbert. The report was filed April 20.
Within two weeks, she said, the district referred her complaint back to the school. She said Colbert offered to put her in another English class, but Gonzales said the complaint was not only for her sake, but for other students. Colbert also invited Gonzales to be part of an anti-racist districtwide forum in June, where students discussed and suggested solutions to combat racism at their schools.
However, referring the complaint back to the school is not in compliance with state laws.
Under state law, when a UPC form is submitted, the district must investigate the allegations, implement any necessary interim safety measures and issue a written decision within 60 calendar days of receiving the complaint. This includes findings of fact and what corrective actions, if any, will be taken.
A student can then appeal that decision, if they do not agree with it, within 30 days of receiving the district’s report.
Gonzales said an investigator, contracted by the district, reached out to her on June 22 and scheduled a hearing for July 9 to discuss the allegations.
The district was supposed to have had completed its investigation and provided a written decision of its findings by June 19 to be in compliance with state law.
Gonzales said she also emailed school board trustee Jamela Smith-Folds, who represents the Hercules area, but said she didn’t respond. So, she started an online petition asking for district leadership to take action and reassure students that they are safe in the classroom.
As of Tuesday the petition had 117 signatures.
Gerst and Smith-Folds did not respond to Richmondside’s multiple requests for comment.
Colbert said she is “not able to discuss an employee’s status,” and referred Richmondside to the district’s human resources department, which did not provide any comment.
District spokesperson Liz Sanders said the district is “unable to comment on personnel matters or active investigations,” and referred Richmondside to a number of policies relevant to student allegations and social media posts.
“The West Contra Costa Unified School District takes any use of slurs or harmful language very seriously and fully investigates incidents as they are reported,” Sanders wrote in an email.
Sanders also added that the district’s social media policy currently only prohibits staff from interacting with students on social media for any purpose other than school business. However, the human resources department is working with its employee unions to update the professional standards “with additional guidance regarding social media and technology.”
But on Wednesday, the district sent Richmondside a statement from Superintendent Cheryl Cotton:
“There is no place for hate in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. Our diverse and vibrant community is our strength and our pride, and we have no tolerance for any discriminatory language or behavior. We are taking the allegations regarding Ms. Gerst’s conduct with the utmost seriousness, and we hold our educators to a very high standard for creating a safe, inclusive learning environment. While we cannot share information about an ongoing investigation or about specific personnel actions, it is deeply important that our students and families know that they can and should continue to use official complaint processes when they see concerning behavior from an adult, beginning with the school principal, and we will continue to investigate complaints as they are received.”
This isn’t the first time that parents have pushed WCCUSD to respond to accusations of racism. At a 2025 baseball game between Pinole Valley and Albany high schools, Pinole players hurled racial slurs against East Asian players on the Albany team. Parents from Albany High, which is in another school district, demanded WCCUSD take disciplinary action. The district said in a statement it would investigate the students’ conduct, but Albany parents wanted more serious consequences, such as ending the baseball team’s season, to send a strong message.
“”
“We are committed to the conscious and active effort to identify, challenge, and correct racial inequities in the systems and institutions within our schools and community.“
— WCCUSD’s anti-racism policy, established in 2024
The baseball coach was suspended during the investigation, according to news reports, but later reinstated.
Two educators close to the situation no longer work at the school
Gonzales said that one of the educators she leaned on for help reporting Gerst’s comments was the high school’s librarian, Liz Herring.
Herring, who worked at the school for two years, said she was not rehired for the 2026-27 school year. Students and staff told Richmondside they believe this was in retaliation for reporting Gerst.
Herring did not share details with Richmondside on the record, but when asked about the situation she became very emotional.
“The last thing I wanted to do was leave. I loved my kids, and I loved the work that I did, and if, if Miss Gerst had anything to do with why I am not returning, then I hope that there will be some justice for that,” Herring told Richmondside.
One of the students who spoke to Richmondside on the condition of anonymity said he was devastated to see Herring leave because the library was his safe space, especially during his freshman year as he struggled to navigate a new school and make friends.
“I did rely on her and she was a major part of my high school life and to see her gone next year, it hurts a lot,” the student said. “Students are supposed to be the priority of the district, and they are putting a racist teacher ahead of them and that’s just crazy.”
Hercules High’s English department chairperson Kriste Rabe is also not returning to the high school, by choice, after teaching there for four years. Rabe declined to speak to Richmondside on the record. However, staff and students believe she’s being retaliated against.
“There is that kind of thing, like if you call out anything, you do get reprimanded, you do kind of get that retaliation,” a teacher told Richmondside.
The teacher speculated that Gerst isn’t being disciplined to protect the school’s image. Hercules High has the best test scores and outcomes compared to other high schools in the district.
“We are like one good year away from becoming a California Distinguished School, which is unheard of in an urban district like this,” the teacher said, noting that this could tarnish its reputation.
Gonzales’ mother Amparo Salgado, who was present during Richmondside’s interview with her daughter, said she was horrified to hear what happened. She is shocked that the district and administration haven’t taken any visible actions to protect her daughter or the other students.
“It actually kind of even brought fear into the home …(It was this realization that) ‘Oh, no one’s really safe because of the color of your skin or the language you speak,’ ” Salgado said. “And I’ve seen how it has affected my daughter since this started. It’s just kind of consuming her and (she’s) not wanting to go to her class, so I fully support her in what she’s doing.
Gonzales and her Salgado have been trying to raise awareness and have urged other parents to demand that the school and district take action.
Staff told Richmondside Gerst is expected to teach junior English this coming school year, which means many of the students she taught this year may be in her class again.
Free speech vs. professional responsibilities
While some might argue that anyone has the right to exercise their right to free speech on social media, the context matters, one legal expert told Richmondside.
Clare Norins, attorney and director of the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, told Richmondside these issues were explored in Pickering v. The Board of Education, a landmark 1968 Supreme Court case that essentially created a balancing test.
“Public employees, like school teachers, do have First Amendment rights outside of work on their own time, on their private social media,” Norins said. “However, if your speech activities outside of work start to impair your ability to do your job effectively, your employer may have grounds to punish you or terminate you, and the court will do the balancing.”
When asked about Gerst’s conduct, she said there are elements that could support her or hurt her. For example, the fact that Gerst uses a different name for her social media accounts suggests she is attempting to draw a line between professional and personal.
However, Norins said the fact that students say they’re now afraid to have Gerst as their teacher because of her political beliefs suggests that her language is hindering her effectiveness in the classroom.
Norins, who helps represent clients in federal and state court on a range of First Amendment and media law issues, also emphasized that context matters, such as whether Gerst shared her beliefs about immigration during a class as opposed to during a break while chatting with students.
“If she’s saying those things while she’s teaching a class, then the school has the authority to reprimand her or punish her, because while she’s in the classroom, she is a public employee carrying out her public official duties,” Norins said. “The government gets to sort of control what she can say in that context.”
However, the recording of her answering a question about deportation, for example, may not be as clear cut because she was responding to a question asked by a student while most of the class had left, Norins said.
In the case of Jeanne Hedgepeth, a social studies teacher at Palatine High School in Illinois who was fired after posting inflammatory comments on Facebook about George Floyd’s death, a district court of appeals sided with the district in upholding her dismissal last year. The district found that not only did the posts violate district policies, they “prevented her from effectively performing her job as a teacher.”
Norins said if WCCUSD did decide to discipline or terminate Gerst, the district could face litigation and the case could go either way, depending what investigations reveal.
“On one hand, (her immigration views) could be viewed as very discriminatory. On the other hand, it could be viewed as somebody who’s aligned with … the current administration’s policies,” Norins said.
“An important thing to remember is that the First Amendment is designed to protect unpopular speech,” Norins said. “Just because you have an unpopular, even an offensive take on something, if it’s outside of your public workplace, there’s a strong presumption that the First Amendment protects it, but the presumption is not absolute.”
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Thank you so much for this excellent piece!
I encourage folks to sign the petition—even if you live outside of the Contra Costa Unified School District—and call on the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond , to investigate as well. Parents need to be calling and demanding their child not be placed in Miss Gerst’s classroom. This conduct is outrageous and has no place in this state or in our schools.
Signed!
The WCCUSD should adhere to it’s policies and protect students. UTR should also step up and stand for students since Gertz and Colbert are clearly not looking out for their members, students and other staff. Unfortunately, the district has a long history of providing minimal services to immigrant students and English learner students. Too bad the board doesn’t force the Superintendent to take action. This is what the beginnings of Nazi Germany looked like. Termination for cause of Gertz is appropriate and the district should prevail in any litigation. Thank you for this important story.
“Feel unsafe” – ridiculous! Persecuting a teacher that believes in respecting US law is sadly the norm today….it’s no wonder our once great nation is going down
I feel unsafe reading your comment! US Law is what this teacher is breaking. Our “great” nation has been going down since the “Make America HATE Again” movement.
What would you know about ‘unsafe’? It is more than unsafe for a teacher to use speech in the classroom that discriminates against their students or makes them feel less than equal due to their skin color or language. English teachers have great latitude in what material they present, but they also have the responsibility to present it without bias, which seems to be the problem with this teacher. The teacher also has the ability to discriminate against them for asking questions, or bringing down their grade without good cause, which could adversely affect the students’ grade point average, and potentially miss out on getting into the college of their choice. The reason our once great nation is ‘going down’ as you put it, is because unqualified and prejudiced people in our government are not following the letter or spirit of our US Constitution. This teacher is just the latest example of that.
Kudos to Richmondside for airing stories such as this that bring the ignorance of some school teachers to light. A teacher’s job is to teach an academic curriculum that has nothing to do with their personal, political and religious beliefs. Shame on the school district for allowing this woman to say whatever racist or politically toxic statements she pleases TO HER STUDENTS. If I were a parent of a child in this class, I would remove them from her class. I also would and will sign any petition for her to be removed! There should be no room for hate in schools, especially from TEACHERS!
This raises some serious questions.
From what has been reported, it appears the student recorded the teacher while asking a politically charged question that was likely to produce a controversial response. That alone raises concerns about context and intent, especially when a short exchange is later turned into a public controversy.
It is also worth considering that in some school environments, conflicts between students and teachers can arise over grades, discipline, or other classroom issues. In that context, there is a concern that recording a teacher in a charged moment could be used to escalate a disagreement rather than resolve it through normal school channels. Even if that was not the intent here, the possibility highlights how easily trust in the classroom can break down.
If students are recording teachers in the middle of emotionally charged or political conversations with the goal of capturing a damaging soundbite, that changes the entire dynamic of trust in a classroom. Schools are supposed to be places for open discussion, not environments where people feel they are being tested for viral moments.
It also raises another question why are students allowed to walk out or leave school to support certain political causes while a teacher can face public backlash for expressing support for enforcing federal immigration laws. Regardless of where someone stands on immigration policy people should be able to discuss public issues without automatically risking their reputation or livelihood.
If a teacher can become the subject of hit piece used on a brief out of context exchange everyone should be concerned about due process and whether the full context is being considered before conclusions are drawn.
There is also a broader concern being raised in the community about whether some educators have left Hercules High School over the past couple of years amid controversy involving student complaints or allegations. I cannot verify the details of those situations, but if there are repeated misunderstandings, miscommunications, or unverified claims leading to public harm against staff, that is something worth serious attention. Teachers should not feel they are working in an environment where a single accusation or viral moment can define their career without full review and due process.
There is also a real concern about how this story is being handled publicly. When reporting leans heavily on short clips, selective framing, or limited context, it can quickly shape a narrative that feels complete even when it may not reflect the full situation. In cases involving schools, students, and educators, the responsibility to report carefully and fully is even more important because reputations and careers are directly affected.
When one posts on the internet and social media, you are posting to the PUBLIC. This teacher’s posts tell you everything you would want to know about this person’s beliefs, personality, politics and racist views because SHE posted them for the world to see. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. If a recorded conversation by a student can act as evidence of her disregard for her student’s feelings, then I hope more students record her. The district seems not to be doing anything about it.
Why is the Hercules English teacher allowed to continue to teach? Why hasn’t she been reprimanded? Why hasn’t she taken the mandatory training? What does she have on someone that she continues to behave in an anti-racist manner and still teach in West Contra Costa unified school district
I had gerst, and she was pretty horrible. On top of this, the retaliation from HHS administration is very very real. On multiple occasions, the principal has been demeaning, dismissive, and even petty at times when issues regarding the school have been brought up. Often, Principal Colbert will completely ignore what a student has to say and twist their words against them to make them stop talking. I witnessed this firsthand at one of (very few) Student Council meetings. My peer was called upon, and they brought up issues regarding the way the school handles things. My peer was promptly shut down, and there were no more Council meetings after that.