I am transitioning from homeschooling two children to homeschooling four children. As such, this blog will be put on temporary hold. Sorry, I just can't juggle it all at once.
But, I believe the latest entry into this blog (see below) should suffice to sum all the other articles up nicely.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
9.6% of students are targets of SEXUAL educator sexual misconduct
Read the report here.
As a group, these studies present a wide range of estimates of the
percentage of U.S. students subject to sexual misconduct by school staff
and vary from 3.7 to 50.3 percent (Table 5). Because of its
carefully drawn sample and survey methodology, the AAUW report that
nearly 9.6 percent of students are targets of educator sexual misconduct
sometime during their school career presents the most accurate data
available at this time.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Because the schools care more about the teachers than the students
July 8, 2007 -- A public-school teacher accused of raping a student is still pocketing her city paycheck - thanks to a disciplinary system that critics say has too few hearing officers, too many bureaucratic delays and rules that make axing tenured teachers tough.
Up to 24 other teachers who were recommended for termination by the city's special schools investigator this year could also still be on the payroll, according to the Department of Education.
The inability to immediately fire teachers charged with wrongdoing by cops or school investigators creates an "undue burden on taxpayers," said DOE spokeswoman Melody Meyer.
Tenured teachers continue to get paid, as their contract provides, through the often painfully slow arbitration process.
"The formal charge and hearing process . . . is arduous," Meyer said.
One cause for the slow pace is a hearing backlog. By contract, independent arbitrators must lead disciplinary hearings. The contract allows for 20 officers, but there are currently only 14.
Also, the DOE is not allowed to begin the arbitration process until the criminal case has concluded. Although there is a stipulation in the teachers contract allowing the DOE to freeze the pay of teachers involved in sex crimes even while a criminal trial is going on, a "probable-cause hearing" is needed.
In Amsterdam's case, Meyer said the DOE is "pursuing a probable-cause hearing."
The DOE wants tenured teachers taken off the payroll once charges are substantiated, she said.
United Federation of Teachers spokesman Ron Davis said that "sounds like an awful idea."
"If a teacher does something that merits dismissal, then they should be removed from the classroom," Davis said. "But not before they have due process."
Up to 24 other teachers who were recommended for termination by the city's special schools investigator this year could also still be on the payroll, according to the Department of Education.
The inability to immediately fire teachers charged with wrongdoing by cops or school investigators creates an "undue burden on taxpayers," said DOE spokeswoman Melody Meyer.
Marcia Amsterdam, 31, a tenured speech teacher at JHS 166 in Brooklyn, was
arrested in March for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old
student.
The bust came after a probe by Special Commissioner of
Investigation Richard Condon, who ruled she had sex with the teen and
recommended she be fired.
But Amsterdam - who pleaded not guilty to the
criminal charges in May - collected paychecks for March, April, May and June,
the DOE said. Amsterdam, a teacher for eight years, earns a minimum of $50,000
per year.
According to Condon's office, 45 DOE employees - including 25 teachers - have
been recommended for termination so far in 2007 following investigations.
Only five of those employees, all without tenure, were axed.
Two other
nontenured employees are in the process of being fired, the DOE said. Another
nontenured employee recommended for firing is still on the payroll because the
DOE disagreed with Condon's findings. The other employees are tenured and "all
have charges brought against them in our disciplinary hearing process," Meyer
said.
Tenured teachers continue to get paid, as their contract provides, through the often painfully slow arbitration process.
"The formal charge and hearing process . . . is arduous," Meyer said.
One cause for the slow pace is a hearing backlog. By contract, independent arbitrators must lead disciplinary hearings. The contract allows for 20 officers, but there are currently only 14.
Also, the DOE is not allowed to begin the arbitration process until the criminal case has concluded. Although there is a stipulation in the teachers contract allowing the DOE to freeze the pay of teachers involved in sex crimes even while a criminal trial is going on, a "probable-cause hearing" is needed.
In Amsterdam's case, Meyer said the DOE is "pursuing a probable-cause hearing."
The DOE wants tenured teachers taken off the payroll once charges are substantiated, she said.
United Federation of Teachers spokesman Ron Davis said that "sounds like an awful idea."
"If a teacher does something that merits dismissal, then they should be removed from the classroom," Davis said. "But not before they have due process."
Easley High teacher charged with soliciting minor
EASLEY, S.C. --A teacher at Easley High School was arrested after he used the Internet to try to get what he thought was a 13-year-old girl to have sex with him, authorities said.
Curtis Richard Ballard, 52, chatted with an undercover officer posing as a teen several times in June and once exposed himself to the officer via a Web camera, Spartanburg County deputies said.
Ballard teaches biology, anatomy and physiology, according to Easley High School's Web site.
Ballard was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of criminal solicitation of minor.
Curtis Richard Ballard, 52, chatted with an undercover officer posing as a teen several times in June and once exposed himself to the officer via a Web camera, Spartanburg County deputies said.
Ballard teaches biology, anatomy and physiology, according to Easley High School's Web site.
Ballard was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of criminal solicitation of minor.
GUILTY Another pedophile teacher getting a slap on the wrist GUILTY
A former Clarksville teacher and basketball coach was sentenced to three years of probation for performing sexual acts with a minor.
Bryan Farmer will serve only 60 days in the Montgomery County Jail, according to a written order submitted by Judge John Gasaway Friday.
Farmer also will have to register as a sex offender, perform 350 hours of community service, undergo a psychological and sexual assessment and complete counseling.
Farmer had been indicted on a total of 18 charges with three victims, which included four counts of statutory rape and 14 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure.
At his May trial, Farmer, who taught in the school system from 2002 to April 2005, was found not guilty on six counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and one count of statutory rape.
He was indicted on atotal of 18 charges with three victims, which included four counts of statutory rape and 14 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. However, the court ruled to sever the counts.
The trial that ended in May involved eight counts with one teenage girl between January 2004 and May 2005. The student at Northeast High School student, where Farmer taught, was 16 and 17 during that time.
He is scheduled to appear in court for two more trials. The next trial is set for Nov. 26.
Assistant District Attorney General John Finklea said he was satisfied with the three-year sentence and glad the judge denied the request for diversion.
Bryan Farmer will serve only 60 days in the Montgomery County Jail, according to a written order submitted by Judge John Gasaway Friday.
Farmer also will have to register as a sex offender, perform 350 hours of community service, undergo a psychological and sexual assessment and complete counseling.
Farmer had been indicted on a total of 18 charges with three victims, which included four counts of statutory rape and 14 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure.
At his May trial, Farmer, who taught in the school system from 2002 to April 2005, was found not guilty on six counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and one count of statutory rape.
He was indicted on atotal of 18 charges with three victims, which included four counts of statutory rape and 14 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. However, the court ruled to sever the counts.
The trial that ended in May involved eight counts with one teenage girl between January 2004 and May 2005. The student at Northeast High School student, where Farmer taught, was 16 and 17 during that time.
He is scheduled to appear in court for two more trials. The next trial is set for Nov. 26.
Assistant District Attorney General John Finklea said he was satisfied with the three-year sentence and glad the judge denied the request for diversion.
GUILTY Teacher using 100-200 students to become "sexually aroused" GUILTY
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.—A former substitute teacher who admitted to inappropriately touching six young female students has been sentenced to five years in prison.
"I was very pleased with the sentence because that's what we were seeking," said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson of Friday's sentence.
Olsen's attorney, Gina Kershaw, said Olsen expected the judge to give him probation because he had no prior offenses and took responsibility for his actions.
"We were pretty shocked," she said. "What Olsen actually did was minimal. There was not the touching of private parts or anything like that, so I think it's a really harsh sentence."
In February, Eric Norman Olsen, 29, pleaded no contest to the six counts of child molestation.
Authorities began investigating Olsen last summer after several students at an Ontario elementary school reported that he had put his hand under a girl's shirt and touched her back while she showed him her assignments. He had taught at over a dozen Southern California schools.
"I was very pleased with the sentence because that's what we were seeking," said Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson of Friday's sentence.
Olsen's attorney, Gina Kershaw, said Olsen expected the judge to give him probation because he had no prior offenses and took responsibility for his actions.
"We were pretty shocked," she said. "What Olsen actually did was minimal. There was not the touching of private parts or anything like that, so I think it's a really harsh sentence."
In February, Eric Norman Olsen, 29, pleaded no contest to the six counts of child molestation.
Authorities began investigating Olsen last summer after several students at an Ontario elementary school reported that he had put his hand under a girl's shirt and touched her back while she showed him her assignments. He had taught at over a dozen Southern California schools.
Olsen told police he had become sexually aroused by more than 100 to 200
children that he held on his lap over the course of three years while working in
Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern Counties.
Another teacher having sex with his students
A San Mateo County judge Thursday slashed bail to $100,000 for a San Bruno high school band teacher charged with having sex with a 17-year-old female student.
Albrecht faces 16 felony counts of oral copulation with a minor and 16 felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse after he allegedly had sex with the girl at school and at both of their homes starting in February, prosecutors said. The relationship continued after the girl turned 18 in May.
Albrecht, who taught band, choir and orchestra at Capuchino High School, resigned his post this summer. The alleged victim in the case headed a band section, prosecutors said.
***********************
"So, what did you learn in school today dear?" the kind mother asks.
"Well, I learned to give my teacher head." the child answers.
Albrecht faces 16 felony counts of oral copulation with a minor and 16 felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse after he allegedly had sex with the girl at school and at both of their homes starting in February, prosecutors said. The relationship continued after the girl turned 18 in May.
Albrecht, who taught band, choir and orchestra at Capuchino High School, resigned his post this summer. The alleged victim in the case headed a band section, prosecutors said.
***********************
"So, what did you learn in school today dear?" the kind mother asks.
"Well, I learned to give my teacher head." the child answers.
Another teacher charged with harming your children
An early-childhood teacher at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside has been arrested and charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious acts with two girls under age 14.
Daniel Ray Metroka, 51, of Riverside is being held on $1-million bail, the Riverside County district attorney's office said Thursday. Metroka could face 15 years in prison on four felony counts for acts that occurred June 30, prosecutors said. The alleged victims were identified as Jane Doe No. 1 and No. 2.
Daniel Ray Metroka, 51, of Riverside is being held on $1-million bail, the Riverside County district attorney's office said Thursday. Metroka could face 15 years in prison on four felony counts for acts that occurred June 30, prosecutors said. The alleged victims were identified as Jane Doe No. 1 and No. 2.
Teacher cited on 5 sex counts against minors
A former Dixie High School teacher has been charged with allegedly touching four female students in his ceramics class during the past school year.
Ronald Scott Sherman, 61, is charged in 5th District Court with five counts of sexual battery, each a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum said two of the five counts were filed in connection with one of the alleged victims.
Ronald Scott Sherman, 61, is charged in 5th District Court with five counts of sexual battery, each a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum said two of the five counts were filed in connection with one of the alleged victims.
The teens told police Sherman had either touched or grabbed their buttocksThe alleged crimes occurred between August 2006 through May 2007, but police Sgt. Craig Harding said the continuing investigation includes the previous school year. Sherman, who surrendered to jail officials last Friday, is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.
during class, according to a probable cause statement filed with the charges.
One girl told St. George police that Sherman had touched her
on "several occasions," according to court documents. She also said he had also
rubbed himself against her thigh. Two other girls told police that Sherman had
asked to see their genitals and had offered one of them $100.
No evidence?
WILMINGTON, N.C. There was no credible evidence of a romantic relationship between a 40-year-old high school science teacher and a 16-year-old student until the couple married, Brunswick County school officials say.
In November, South Brunswick High School Principal Vann Pennell directed Wuchae to cease all contact with Hager, noting that a lengthy list of phone calls and text messages with the student "did raise questions of poor judgment."
The school suspended Wuchae in May after finding that he had communicated with Hager at school. Both he and the teenager continued to deny a romantic relationship, the school board said.
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