ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. - A Benilde-St. Margaret's School teacher has been fired after the school says he had "inappropriate communications" with students.
School President Bob Tift named Jon Hickman in the email as a senior high engineering teacher and that he had been "dismissed" from his employment effective Tuesday.
"Mr. Hickman has had inappropriate communications with BSM students," wrote Tift. "We understand that Mr. Hickman has had interactions with BSM students through non teaching activities. Any such activities including senior photographs or artistic modeling are not connected with or endorsed by BSM."
President Tift would not go into much detail about what happened but did confirm Hickman's dismissal and confirmed some of the details as to why.
"There had been inappropriate communications and that was the gist of what we sent out," Tift told KARE 11 Wednesday evening.
"We're a community of faith so it's about keeping everyone in our prayers, everyone involved in the whole situation and our entire school community."
Parents and students were surprised to hear the news.
Students that KARE 11 spoke with described Hickman as a good teacher and very well liked.
KARE 11 reached out to Hickman by phone and stopped by his house Wednesday but no one answered the phone or the door.
Tift says the school had become aware of the situation recently and acted immediately, but he would not go into details.
