Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Mothers of students at St. Patrick’s School have come forward with allegations of mistreatment, claiming staff retaliate against children over disputes with parents. In a press conference, they detailed incidents including the detention of a girl against her will and threats to fail another student.
The press conference followed days of controversy on social media, with accusations exchanged between affected mothers and school staff. The mothers denied that their complaints stemmed from fee disputes or mere gossip, asserting a pattern of abuse at the school confirmed by other parents.
Melissa Urías, who previously shared her two children’s cases online, presented a criminal complaint filed against a teacher, later expanded to include the school, for physical aggression against her six-year-old son, who was scratched on the face allegedly by a teacher.
Urías said she withdrew her son from the school but allowed her 11-year-old daughter to remain to finish the school year, as exams were approaching. However, she claimed teachers gave her daughter dirty looks. On the last day, when her ex-husband dropped the girl off for a school gathering, police were at the entrance and told him the girl would not be allowed in because Urías had posted comments against the school that the principal considered aggressive.
Urías had been reacting to the school’s social media posts since her son’s assault, which the principal took personally. The officers, who said they were there to protect the school’s interests, told the father they would let the girl in only if he deleted the negative comments, which he did without knowing the context.
When Urías found out, she went to the school and demanded her daughter be released, but the principal confronted her at the entrance and refused. She called 911, and more police arrived, followed by the Gender Violence Attention Group (GEAVIG). A video taken by Urías shows the principal, who introduced himself as coordinator, angrily shouting that she was attacking them with social media posts. He ordered the school gate closed, preventing the girl from leaving until GEAVIG arrived to clarify the situation.
During the press conference, Urías said the man showed a summons he had received from the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding her son’s assault, telling police it was a restraining order and that she could not be there. He even claimed she was being prosecuted, when the opposite was true. The educator repeatedly asked others to look at messages as proof of her alleged aggression, and claimed she had told her daughter to cause a scene, when she had only texted her that she was outside and to come out.
Since the controversy, Urías added, other parents have come forward saying their children are harassed due to disputes with school staff. This includes the case of a girl who was suddenly expelled, not allowed to retrieve her books or say goodbye to classmates, and who suffered physical and verbal aggression.
“The principal takes it out on the children, that’s how he operates!” Urías exclaimed.
Another mother, Evelyn Castellanos, said she was pushed out of the school after arguing about a tuition fee she believed was incorrect. Following the incident, she said the principal claimed her daughter was already failing due to absences, even though there are 40 days left in the school year and she had passed all three partial exams. Castellanos said she no longer allows her daughter to attend the school for fear of retaliation.
Castellanos detailed previous run-ins with the school, including being charged 2,500 pesos for supposed educational materials that turned out to be just a notebook. Her complaints, she said, led the principal to hold a grudge, and on the day she went to review the tuition, he ended up shouting and insulting her.
The mothers also alleged that teachers at the school lack social security benefits and that for a long time, payments had to be made to the principal’s personal account.
