The Cool Teacher | Episode 1

Not Just A Terrible Story

The episode introduces Stacey Love's harrowing account of being groomed by her high school English teacher, Brett Fischer. It traces their r

Key takeaways

• Stacey Love met Brett Fischer during her sophomore year at Centennial High School in 1995.
• Fischer utilized grooming tactics such as favoritism, 'special' assignments, and flattering students to build intimacy.

Main topics

• Educator sexual misconduct
• Grooming tactics

Notable quotes

I kept quiet for years because I didn't want to hurt anyone... Because I thought silence was the loving thing to do.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a sobering look at how subtle boundary-crossing

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Before we get started, a quick heads up. This show contains mature content about educator sexual misconduct. I Speaker 4 (0:25) remember roll call specifically when he called my name out, he referenced my sister and knowing my sister. And right away it was like this, like, oh, hey, we're going to be buds. planting that seed right from the get-go of you're different than everybody else in this classroom. Speaker 3 (0:42) You're hearing from Stacey Love. She's talking about her first day in sophomore year English class at Centennial High School. That same year, she was learning to drive in empty parking lots, goofing around at Taco Bell with her best friend, and cheering on the football team in her faded jeans and a white t-shirt. It's 1995. It's Anytown, USA. Speaker 4 (1:06) It's high school. I met my ex-husband, weird to say, as a teacher of mine. Speaker 4 (1:16) You know, my school was very much a culture of like, it was almost a compliment to be picked by one of the teachers. There were many teachers that were flirting with students, having inappropriate relationships with students. And so it almost was like a little bit exciting because it kind of validated some self-worth that I think we all struggle with at that time and that age when you're still trying to figure out who you are and how you are going to be in the world. So now Stacey's in her Speaker 3 (1:44) 40s, and she's been wrestling with what happened to her over the last two decades. Pouring over research and rehashing the past, trying to understand her role in it all. How does she tell her kids about something she can't even make sense of herself? As she traces her own path backwards, she's left wondering, was this the life she chose, or the life that happened to her? Speaker 3 (2:07) Stacy's dreams for high school didn't include marrying her English teacher, and it took her years to see that what she thought was a love story was actually something much darker. This teacher had a pattern of questionable behavior, and our investigation uncovered extensive records that raised questions about who this school's culture was protecting. Stacy's story might sound familiar. This probably isn't the first time you're hearing about a student-teacher relationship. Maybe it happened when you were in high school. Maybe you think this sort of thing doesn't happen anymore, but it does. It happened at my high school, and there's even a term for it, educator sexual misconduct. It's a wordy phrase, but it captures a lot of things you're probably already thinking about, like inappropriate texts or comments, unwanted touching, and even assault. A landmark study uncovered that one in 10 students will experience educator sexual misconduct by the time they graduate. The rot runs deep, sustained by a culture of complicity, one that Stacey still feels tangled in, even when she puts pen to paper. Speaker 4 (3:14) I kept quiet for years because I didn't want to hurt anyone, not my parents, not my kids, not him, not my school. Because I thought silence was the loving thing to do. Because I was scared of being dramatic or bitter or sensitive or just another woman with a very sad story. But silence didn't protect me and it doesn't protect anyone else either. I'm Speaker 3 (3:43) Sydney Gladale and this is not just a terrible story. Speaker 3 (4:10) I've been reporting on this story for a year and a half. Speaker 4 (4:13) The Speaker 1 (4:13) first Speaker 3 (4:14) time I met Stacey in person, she showed me her senior photo. She's leaning into her right arm, smiling. It's soft and nostalgic. You can definitely tell it was taken in the late 90s. There's me in my polo. She's wearing a blue vest over a white t-shirt. She has a baby face and a deep side part in her light brown shoulder length hair. Stacey and I are both from Oregon, and she's like everybody else I know from home. She grows tomatoes and flowers in her garden during the summer. Speaker 4 (4:44) She loves to camp and be outside. I really like outdoorsy stuff. That's kind of always been who I am, like riding my bike and mountain biking. She collects these rocks that have Speaker 3 (4:57) an unbroken line of quartz that run through them. Speaker 4 (4:59) Especially if it goes all the way around the rock, it's like extra good luck. They're Speaker 3 (5:04) called wishing Speaker 4 (5:05) rocks. I'm Speaker 3 (5:05) a Speaker 4 (5:05) tourist, which I don't really care about science except for like, I am truly like so earthy and, you know, literally collect rocks. And I made a rock art in this. I'll show you guys a picture. She's a mom and an interior designer. And I didn't know interior design was a thing. I only knew about interior decorating, but my friend had gone to the Art Institute and I remember her complaining about having to design a toaster. And I remember thinking, that sounds really cool. It's actually how I met her. Speaker 3 (5:31) My first job out of college was at a textile library for the same company she worked for. But it wasn't until six years later that I would hear her story for the first time. Speaker 4 (5:40) When did you guys get in? Speaker 4 (5:44) It Speaker 3 (5:44) started when my co-producer Katie Klein and I drove down to Portland very early one morning in September 2024. Stacey arrived at the door of our Airbnb wearing a soft white pajama set and glittery eyeshadow, holding a tote bag and a rose from her garden. Speaker 4 (6:04) We're here to Speaker 3 (6:09) help Stacey answer a question. And on its face, it seems simple. But it's the type of question that when you look at it closely, when you hold it to the light, it changes. Because it's not a question Stacey can answer on her own. At first, we thought we were asking, how did she end up marrying her teacher? But what we realized is we're really asking, how did her life unfold this way? Speaker 4 (6:35) So it was in the 90s when I picture it, I picture like I had this Nautica jacket that I really loved and like polo and, you know, just kind of like that preppy, vanilla, white people stuff. Speaker 3 (6:51) The story starts in 1995 when Stacey was a sophomore in high school. She spent many afternoons skipping seminary class at the Mormon church. She was always with her best friend. eating 99-cent tacos, and filming silly home movies with the family camcorder. She was extremely social, but not a partier. Speaker 4 (7:10) I was such a goofball. Speaker 3 (7:12) I Speaker 4 (7:13) was the class Speaker 3 (7:13) clown. She was and is sensitive and thoughtful, the kind of girl who spent time watercoloring birthday cards for her friends. And then one day, at the start of sophomore year, she was walking down the hallway. Speaker 4 (7:26) My best friend and I were walking to one of our classes. and he was pushing a cart. And I just remember him right from the get-go being flirtatious with, you know, making eyes. I just remember that interaction being different than with any other teacher in the school. He was a teacher that just stood out. He was younger. He was very engaging. He wasn't just a teacher who's walking down the hallway grumpy. He was like whistling or making comments at people or, you know, he was the cool guy. That teacher was Brett Fisher. Speaker 3 (8:02) 15-year-old Stacey remembers that Mr. Fisher preferred to be called Fish. He was a young teacher, only 24. He'd graduated from Centennial High School five years before. It wasn't until Stacey's sophomore year that she was assigned to his English class. It Speaker 4 (8:17) was the old school, in rows, in your desk, with your individual seat facing the front. I was somewhere towards the middle and front. Speaker 4 (8:28) When he called roll, it was almost like he was doing a performance. So each name got like a little joke or a rhyme or something. And when he got to my name, he was like Clough, C-L-O-U-G-H, like Raquel Clough. And that's my older sister. And it was instantly like I was the only person in the room. It was a little bit embarrassing because it was so much like there was so much focus and attention on me. And at the same time, it was like, oh my gosh, you know, my sister, my sister is like. my favorite person on earth, I instantly felt pulled in. She felt like Mr. Fisher's class Speaker 3 (9:02) was the epicenter of cool. It was 1995, and he was into alternative music and artistic films. Not the Speaker 4 (9:09) romantic comedies