An Indiana 'Teacher of the Year' was caught on camera hitting a student. Now he's allowed to retire early.

ELKHART, Ind. — An Indiana school board voted unanimously this week to grant an early retirement to Jimtown High School teacher Mike Hosinski, who was captured on video striking a student on the head during morning classes last week.

Hosinski will be allowed to retire, effective last Friday, and collect his pension. The decision was applauded by dozens of parents who defended the longtime social studies teacher during a school board meeting at Jimtown High in Elkhart.

Parents who spoke at the meeting said Hosinski's actions came as a shock but were indicative of a larger problem, pointing to what they claimed was a lack of support for teachers who face repeated disciplinary problems among students.

Before the meeting started, a man who identified himself as the student's father entered the room fuming and shouting expletives at administrators. He was eventually escorted from the room.

"A grown, 280-pound man smacked my son in the face!" the parent screamed after Baugo Superintendent Byron Sanders approached him.

The man later told a South Bend Tribune reporter that his attorney would have more to say about the incident.

The Tribune, part of the USA TODAY Network, requested surveillance video from the Baugo school district Monday morning. It shows a man following the student down a hallway and grabbing the boy's backpack before striking him. The student's head smacked into a wall and he crumpled to the floor a moment later.

The video did not include audio. A press release from the school district said the teacher confronted the student about a hoodie worn to class.

School officials said the student suffered visible injuries and required immediate medical attention.

Baugo officials said in a press release Friday that Hosinski was no longer employed by the district and was not allowed on school property. Some local media outlets initially reported the teacher had been fired, which led to backlash on social media.

The district clarified its statements in a letter to families Sunday, saying Hosinski was not fired but was asked to expedite a previously approved retirement.

School officials say they have contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services and the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department.

Over the weekend, parents, students and others in the Baugo district defended Hosinski, who has been an educator for 40 years. Hosinski was named Teacher of the Year in 2020, according to a Jimtown High School social media post.

Students organized a walkout Monday morning in support of Hosinski, hours before video surveillance footage was posted on The Tribune's website.

A Change.org petition supporting the teacher had secured more than 1,300 signatures by 9 p.m. Monday.

Terry Hilyard, a retired business manager for Baugo schools, criticized the district's response to disciplinary issues among students and what he saw as a lack of support for teachers.

"When you're talking about ... blame," Hilyard said, "It's a shared thing, the administration, the high school and the board."

This is not the first time Hosinski's conduct as a teacher has been called into question.

In 2019, the Northern Indiana Atheists announced its intention to file a complaint after a parent told the group that Hosinski told students in his class "Hillary and Obama are criminals, President Donald Trump is great, and Democrats are liars."

On Monday night, Tanner Clark, an alumnus who had Hosinski as a teacher and whose daughter was in his class this year, said Hosinski did his best to prepare students for the real world and opposing views.

Clark called Hosinski "a great mentor," "a good person" and "a very Christian man." He said the video didn't change his mind about Hosinski's character.

"It didn't change how I felt about him as a human being," Clark said. "That is the video of a man who lost his cool and made a mistake, but mistakes can be rectified over time."

Follow South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich on Twitter: @carleylanich.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Jimtown High School teacher Mike Hosinski to retire early, get pension