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Teacher at San Jose Private School Investigated for Alleged White Nationalist Ties

SAN JOSE (KPIX) -- A prominent South Bay private middle and high school has launched an investigation into one of its longtime art and music teachers after allegations surfaced that he has ties to a controversial white nationalist group.

A spokesperson for Valley Christian School confirmed to KPIX that teacher Kyle Scheuerlein has been removed from the classroom and suspended pending the results of an internal investigation.

"Any membership or affiliation with a racist group of any kind is not only against our conduct standards, it is in conflict with our mission. If proven true, these allegations are not acceptable and will not be tolerated," Valley Christian COO Robert Valiton wrote in an e-mail responding to a request for comment.

The school which sits atop a rolling hill in south San Jose is investigating claims that Scheuerlein may be connected to the group Identity Evropa which organized the infamous "Unite The Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va. The teacher's name first surfaced in connection with Identity Evropa when a record of the group's online chats was leaked to the public.

"That's not very comfortable, especially in the school environment, because there's so many different nationalities," said student Jonah Chattha. "It's just not very comfortable."

Chattha said Schemerlein oversees his study period. The sixth grader said he was struggling to reconcile the teacher's public face with the allegations of his disturbing private beliefs.

"Hate's not only on the rise, it's flourishing," said NAACP Silicon Valley chapter president Jeff Moore. Moore said the school needs to take a close look at the teacher's treatment of students of color and other minorities.

"My first concern would always be to look at the record of discipline of children of color, male children of color or transgender children and their treatment. I would look to see if I could find a consistent pattern," Moore said.

Scheuerlein has taught at Valley Christian since 2012. KPIX made several attempts to contact him but he did not respond to requests for comment.

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