Alisa Scales, a parent of a fifth grader at Valhalla Elementary School, told the Mount Diablo Unified School District Board on Nov. 12 that she witnessed Principal Theodore Pappas publicly shame a fifth-grade class on Aug. 20, 2025.

"She told the children that they were the worst class she's ever had," Scales said, and that he compared them unfavorably to younger grades and told students "you should be ashamed of your behavior," according to her remarks to the board. Scales said teachers were ordered to leave lunch early, students were made to stand or sit silently in roughly 96-degree heat without water, and at least two dozen children were crying afterward. She said her son came home with a headache, sunburn and stomachache and told her he no longer felt safe at school.

The comment was a public-comment item; trustees did not take public action on the allegation during the meeting. After the comment period, the presiding official read the board's closed-session agenda and cited the items the board planned to consider in private: negotiations under Government Code section 54957.6; discipline, dismissal or reassignment of public employees under Government Code section 54957(b)(1); conferences with legal counsel regarding existing and anticipated litigation; liability and claims under Government Code section 54956.95 (the agency named was Mount Diablo Unified School District); an appeal under board policy 1312.13; and a student-records challenge under Education Code section 49070.

Following that announcement the board adjourned the public meeting and moved into closed session to consider the listed items. The board did not announce any public findings or votes on the personnel or litigation items at the meeting.

The allegation by Scales raises questions about staff conduct and student welfare at Valhalla Elementary; the board's stated next procedural step was to consider personnel and legal matters in closed session, which are exempt from public disclosure under the cited Government Code and Education Code provisions. The board did not provide public comment or a public timeline for any follow-up during the meeting.