Groton ― A video of a teacher shoving, grabbing and swearing at a student at Ella T. Grasso Technical High School on Friday circulated widely on social media over the weekend, outraging parents.

The Connecticut Technical Education and Career System is now investigating, with assistance from state police.

Grasso Tech Principal Patricia Feeney informed families Saturday that “we had an unfortunate situation occur at Grasso Tech yesterday.”

She added, “Please know that Administration has take (sic) all of the necessary steps to address this situation. The safety and well-being of our student body is extremely important to us.”

In a phone call Monday, Feeney declined to expand on what “necessary steps” were taken and said that “due to confidentiality reasons, we’re not able to share anything about personnel matters.”

The video shows one student walking away from the teacher’s computer as the teacher audibly shoves another student in the chest and grabs the front of his hoodie.

“Yeah, I just grabbed you and I just shoved you. Go cry and tell somebody, ‘Mrs. Ebdon pulled me, ahhh!’” the teacher says. “I’m so sick of you nosy-ass little (expletives) not doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

The roughly one-minute video ends with the teacher saying, “You guys act like such asses. You understand what asses you act like? So big. Bigger than you can ever even imagine, and if you want to tell your parents that I said this to you, go ahead, because I would love to have an opportunity to talk to them.”

Feeney would not confirm the name of the teacher, the grade level or subject of the class, or the nature of any actions the district took. The online staff directory for Grasso Tech lists Sandra Ebdon as a substitute teacher, and parents of the students in the class Friday confirmed that Ebdon was substitute teaching that day for a 10th-grade math class. Parents also said this class hasn’t had a permanent math teacher this year.

Ebdon could not immediately be reached for comment. She did not immediately respond to a Facebook message or an email sent to her Grasso Tech email address. A reporter calling Grasso Tech was told Ebdon was not in the building on Monday.

Asked if parents would get more information on the actions taken, Feeney said, “probably not. Due to confidentiality reasons, we’re not able to share anything about personnel matters.”

Feeney said “we’re still investigating” and that police are aware. Grasso Tech has a school resource officer. State police spokesperson Sgt. Christine Jeltema said in an email, “Troop E was notified and are assisting with their investigation.” Groton Town Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro said state police usually has primary jurisdiction of state facilities.

Feeney referred further comment to the CTECS central office. Communications director Kerry Markey repeatedly responded to questions with, “We can’t provide any details because it’s a personnel matter.”

She said in a follow-up email, “When school administration is made aware of an issue involving staff they collaborate with other CTECS departments, like Human Resources or Labor Relations, as appropriate. The responding investigative department(s) vary depending on the nature of the incident. This investigative process may include steps such as taking statements or reviewing video footage.”

Video spreads from kids to parents

As the video spread from students to parents, adults shared the video widely on Facebook, commenting with anger and disgust. Some called for the teacher to be fired or arrested, while others expressed how difficult it is to be a teacher nowadays or voiced that they wanted to know the other side of the story.

Lindsay Masse and Dawn Lemire each have a son in the class where the incident happened Friday, and each recalled her child texting or calling about the incident before seeing the video.

Masse said her son called her a little upset while she was at work and told her what happened. She thinks someone sent the video to her son on Snapchat, and he showed it to her.

Lemire thought at first her son was exaggerating but said “when he had come home and showed me the video, I was devastated, because this wasn’t an exaggeration.”

She felt that regardless of what happened before the incident, “by no means should she have ever put her hands on that student,” and that the teacher should’ve called security or somebody in the office.

She confirmed that the class had a different math teacher Monday, this time a regular math teacher at the school.

Parent Alyson Hagar said her daughter had Ebdon in the past and really liked her, and Hagar questioned, “She shouldn’t have put her hands on that kid, granted, but what brought her to that point?”

She commented that her children ― her son is also at Grasso ― weren’t surprised the teacher was pushed to that point because of the bad behavior they’ve seen, and that children who want to do well can’t due to distractions in class.

Tiffany Tucker said children were sending the video around on Snapchat, and her daughter ― who wasn’t in the class Friday ― showed her the video when she got home from school. Tucker said she sent the video to the vice principal and posted it on social media, because “I know people who have kids in Grasso Tech, so they need to be aware of it too.”

Tucker said she has had other issues with staff at Grasso Tech and hopes that with information coming out, the school can see how teens are being treated.

Day Staff Writer Kimberly Drelich contributed to this article.

e.moser@theday.com