Teacher, 24, who expressed his love for a young student in a three-page handwritten letter and showered her with gifts, learns his fate
- Nicholas Latella is no longer allowed to teach
- He attended Como Secondary College in Perth
- Caught in serious misconduct with a female student
A young teacher has been banned from class for more than a year after writing a three-page letter expressing his feelings to a student he repeatedly called his “favourite.”
Nicholas Latella, 24, had taught at Como Secondary College in Perth but was found not to have adhered to professional boundaries with one high school student.
He asked to meet the girl outside school hours and gave her two pairs of earrings and a cuddly toy.
His career finally came to a halt when the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia received a complaint from the Department of Education in March 2021 alleging Mr Latella had engaged in gross misconduct.
Following further investigation, an administrative tribunal ruled this month that Mr Latella was unfit to work as a teacher, barring him from registration for 16 months.
Nicholas Latella, 24, had taught at Como Secondary College (pictured), in Perth, but was found not to have adhered to professional boundaries with one high school student
The tribunal heard that in November 2020 the student was disappointed because he was not given a leadership position at the school.
After comforting the girl, Mr. Latella asked her to write him a letter explaining what had happened and what he meant to her.
He also suggested that after she graduated, they could “hang out” and have “bubble tea” and that the student’s girlfriend could also “hang out” with them, the tribunal’s findings said.
The student explained in a letter what had happened to the position and said she considered Mr. Latella a brother.
Mr. Latella then replied with his own handwritten letter, but told the student not to tell anyone about the note.
The student was ‘disturbed’ by this and saw it as a ‘big red flag’, the tribunal ruled.
The teacher had expressed his feelings towards the student in the three-page letter, telling her that she was his favorite and that he “would be a great brother to her.”
The student was emotionally distressed by the letter.
That same year, Mr. Latella had showered her with gifts and told her countless times that she was his favorite.
The pair have not met, nor did Mr. Latella contact her outside of school hours.
Mr Latella faced the tribunal on March 2 and admitted that he had engaged in serious misconduct that made him unfit to become a teacher.
In November 2021, he voluntarily canceled his education registration.
The inappropriate behavior appeared to have taken place at a time when Mr Latella was ‘experiencing difficulties’ in his personal life and receiving counselling.
“Mr. Latella expressed remorse and showed some degree of insight into his behavior,” the findings concluded.