A principal of Harrison-Morton Middle School, identified as Stephanie Williams, put on a bizarre and unsettling display in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Her strange behavior left the school with no option but to take immediate action.
A video posted on Reddit showed the principal wearing a badge with her name, “Stephanie,” as she staggered unsteadily toward the camera. This act left the students worried, as one student insinuated she was high. “I think our principal is on drugs,” the kid told other students. At one point, she bent over, trying to catch her breath while making strange faces.
“You need Jesus, I’ll pray for you right now,” someone could be heard shouting from behind the camera. The principal continued acting irrationally, as though she couldn’t process what anyone was saying. Another person urged her, “Take your phone.” She ignored the plea and instead carried on with an odd performance, even pretending to count something invisible.
When the person insisted again, she responded by spelling out the word, “SOCKS.” She eventually took her phone, blurting out, “Oh my Gosh, this is the craziest thing ever,” before suddenly running off after someone nearby tried to check her eyes. She mumbled incomprehensible words and picked up a cloth from the floor, promising to put up a show.
As expected, netizens flooded the comment section with reactions. “Not sure how this is mildly infuriating. It’s more majorly concerning,” one person wrote. Another expressed frustration, “Infuriating that the person who’s responsible for the safety of the children while at school is high af.” Another person added, struggling to believe what they saw:
“This is unusual for her. I would wonder if she’s having a psychotic episode or if someone drugged her. I find it hard to believe that she got that far up the educational chain acting anything remotely like that.”
Pointing out traits of drug users, one commenter wrote, “People who do drugs, especially high-functioning drug addicts who hold down jobs, still know to limit their interactions with certain people like cops and kids. I’d bet this is either an accidental overdosage of prescription drugs or a mental break.”
This Redditor speculated, “The kids probably laced her,” with another replying, “I know, I feel bad for her, she looks like she’s trying to have fun but is very confused too?” Others had different takes. “Doesn’t look like drugs, looks like a maniac episode,” one person commented. Mocking the U.S. educational system, another wrote, “American education. Setting a high bar as usual lol.”
According to Lehigh Valley News, Williams was hired in July with a salary of $140,000. She brought more than 15 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in Philadelphia, becoming the third principal of the school. Following the incident, Williams was placed on indefinite paid administrative leave, effective immediately. Attorney Jeffrey Sultanik confirmed the case was under investigation but clarified that Williams had not been arrested. He also revealed that police had not yet provided a report, limiting the details he could share.
Meanwhile, the school appointed a new acting principal, Arcelius Brickhouse, stating,
“We are confident that he will provide strong leadership and support to students, staff and families in the interim.”
