Lubec, MAINE

Thirty days for sexual contact with a 13-year-old boy. It's a good thing we have sex registration laws.

November 21, 2008 - Lubec Consolidated School teacher Tina Mason, 31, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy. She was also given two suspended sentences of 11 months in jail after pleading no contest to charges of assault, sexual abuse of a minor and unlawful sexual touching.

Mason resigned her teaching position at the Lubec school last December after the incident came to light. Lubec school officials had concerns about a possible inappropriate relationship between Mason and one of her students, which proved to be unfounded, but contacted police when their investigation revealed the relationship between Mason and the East Machias boy.

Mason was also ordered to surrender teaching certification and will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Prosecutors say Mason, her husband and their two children, ages 6 and 10, were friends with the victim's family.

Old Bridge, NEW JERSEY

December 5, 2008 - Lisa Glide, 35, a drama teacher at Old Bridge High School in New Jersey, was arrested on charges that she has been having sex with one of her male students.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan says the teacher faces second-degree charges of sexual assault and child endangerment. The prosecutor's office has been investigating Glide since November 25th after they received tips regarding the sexual relationship. The student graduated in June.

Glide was released on $100,000 bail on December 5th. She is being represented by Robert Wills of Princeton, a contract attorney with the state teachers union.

Anyone with information related to the investigation are urged to contact Investigator Michael Daniewicz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit at 732-745-3600 or detective Michael Machen of the Old Bridge Police Department at 732-721-5600, Ext. 3210 anytime.

License Revocation - Maybe

December 7, 2008 - The Arkansas State Board of Education will consider revoking Paul Knutson's teaching license. Knutson pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor.He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and will remain on probation for the rest of his life.

TT entry for Paul Knutson. Arizona previously revoked his license.
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ONLINE RESOURCE: Some Arkansas disciplinary decisions can be found in the monthly state Board of Education meeting minutes. Parents should take note and be aware of the number of teachers who are given waivers to teach despite prior criminal convictions.

Knoxville, TENNESEE

"The court finds that the 71 days served is sufficient 'shock incarceration' to effectively sober the defendant's mind as to the seriousness of the offense," the judge wrote.

Mar 16, 2007 - Erin McLean, 30, a teaching intern last fall at West High School, is not in jail or even being investigated for a sexual relationship with a 18-year-old boy she met while at the school. Now the boy is dead, shot by her husband outside their home last Sunday.

The age of consent in Tennesee is 18 and Sean Powell was 18. The mother of two boys, ages 11 and 7, Erin McClean has reportedly moved in with relatives in Nashville while her husband, Eric, remains in jail.

The funeral for Sean Powell was held on Thursday.

Mar 21 - Erin McClean tried to commit suicide five days later with a drug overdose, Nashville police said. Her family called police, she was taken to a hospital and later released.

Mar 22 - Tabloid journalism: NBC's "Today" show interviewed McClean. General Sessions Judge Bob McGee agreed Wednesday to allow the NBC interview over prosecutors' objections that it could prejudice a jury pool.

TT - It's the kind of journalism we used to associate with the National Enquirer. There's something unseemly about such public displays when one young man is dead, his family is grieving, McClean's two children will likely be removed from the home and lose their father for a long time. Human tragedy as a spectator sport.

Apr 2 - The victims adoptive mother saw "little love" in the teacher-student sex. "how can anyone put love into this situation?" She and her husband adopted Sean when he was age 6. It was his fifth foster home.

"He struggled to overcome his pain from his early childhood," Scarlett Powell wrote. "He had been displaced many times in his short life. We hoped to assist him to feel wanted and loved, which Sean desperately needed, but mostly we wanted to keep him safe and out of harm's way."

INDICTMENT SECOND DEGREE May 10 - Eric McLean was indicted but not the first-degree count prosecutors had sought, according to court documents released Thursday. The second-degree murder count against Eric McLean carries a 25-year maximum sentence, instead of the life term the higher-level charge carries.

McLean, released on $150,000 bond in April, is expected to be arraigned in a couple of weeks and have a trial date set.

TRIAL DATE SET June 20 - A trial date has been scheduled for for January 21, 2008. A judge ruled he will have to pay for his own lawyer. The defense lawyer thinks a divorce is in the near future.

WEIRD TWIST Sept 21 - ABC News is reporting that Erin McLean has gone missing with her two children. Her lawyer thinks she may be heading to California to meet with a friend she met on the Internet.

NEW INDICTMENT Dec 13 - The grand jury has indicted McLean on first-degree murder charges. He had previously faced a second-degree murder.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Dec 14 - McLean was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. A motions trial is scheduled for Jan 14. McLean's two kids are with their mother. Where they are, exactly, no one seems to know. The last known location was somewhere in Colorado. A jury trial is scheduled for Sep 3, 2008.

DIVORCE Feb 1, 2008 - A judge granted Erin McLean a divorce and appointed a lawyer to serve as guardian of the children. They do not know where the mother and the children are and will be searching.

TRIAL September 3 - Jurors are being selected in the murder trial.

See our Rant of the Day.

CONVICTED, SENTENCED and RELEASED December 18 - McLean was convicted of of reckless homicide in September and was sentenced to 90 days, which would have freed him on Christmas Eve. Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz signed an order Friday releasing McLean after serving a total of 71 days in jail.

Long Beach, CALIFORNIA

December 8, 2008 - Sentencing has been delayed for John Kinard, 36, who pleaded no contest in November to having sex with two teenage girls. A charter school teacher in Los Angeles, Kinard also taught Spanish at Wilson High School in Long Beach.

Kinard was arrested in August. Both girls were age 15 and were friends or related to his fiancee's family. The plea requires him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He faces up to nine years when he is sentenced. He will return to Long Beach Superior Court on April 7 for sentencing.
Full Name: John David Kinard

Millbrae, CALIFORNIA

March 12, 2008 - David Lista, 35, a English and leadership teacher at Mills High School, was arrested Thursday. Police said he admitted filming female students in an adjoining bathroom. Charges will be determined for the videotaping.

Lista's classroom is located next to the bathroom where the images were taken from a camera placed in the ceiling, police and school officials said. "What happened was he accessed the false ceiling, which was a series of panels, and had broken out a small piece," Aronis said. School officials said the confiscated images, which police say were captured over one to two months, show 19 people using the bathroom.

A technology coordinator found the images on a school computer server. Police were notified and Lista was arrested when they found a small amount of methamphetamine in a search of his home. Lista taught at the school for seven years. [Another story says 10 years.]

Students at the school complained that Lista had other things on his mind. He consistently failed to grade papers and students passed a petition to get him to return papers. They took the petition to the principal.

Several students also said Lista was caught up in an episode last year involving links on his YouTube video-sharing account. "I saw it myself," said Alfred Tam, a senior who was in Lista's leadership class. "He had links to his 'favorites' that were all these videos of underage girls dancing in bikinis." The links were passed around the student body, Tam said.

School principal Paul Belzer declined to comment on the petition or the YouTube videos .[ TT - "It's a personnel matter." Translation: How dare you question our authority?] The union has offerred to lawyer him up.

Teachers' association president Craig Childress said Lista, who has been placed on administrative leave, is entitled to legal representation through the union.

"We've made attempts to notify him of his rights to representation," Childress said. "I'm not aware of whether he has taken that opportunity."

Arraignment is scheduled for April 8. The charges will depend upon whether he traded the images or not.

NEW CHARGES - CHILD PORNOGRAPHY April 4, 2008 - Lista was charged Friday with four felony child pornography counts, including possession of the mateirl with the intent to distribute, after investigators discovered that his home computer contains hundreds of pictures and videos of child pornography.

Lista admitted to the allegations that he filmed the students, police said. But prosecutors waited several weeks to charge him while FBI investigators examined the teacher's home computer for child pornography. Arraignment is scheduled for April 8.

ARRAIGNED April 8 - Lista was arraigned and remanded into custody this morning on drug and pornography charges. He pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Lista on July 29.

HIDDEN CLASSROOM CAMERA April 9 - Lista also peeped on students using a hidden camera stashed under his classroom desk, prosecutors said Tuesday. Police found 20 images of students he had filmed during class — from a camera pasted under his desk - on a separate computer seized from his home. His home computer also contained hundreds of other pictures and videos accessed from a wide-reaching child pornography trade, investigators said.

BAIL CONDITIONS April 15 - Prosecutors asked for increased bail, but the judge denied the request. He did add stipulations that Lista cannot contact or be around minors, be around elementary, middle or high schools and he may only use the Internet to send personal e-mails or job hunt. He is currently out on $125,000 bail.

RESIGNATION April 19 - The San Mateo Union High School District board accepted Lista's resignation during a closed-door meeting Thursday night. Police said they also seized a small amount of methamphetamine at Lista’s home.

ARRAIGNMENT for COCAINE May 16 - Lista was arraigned for possession of cocaine. Lista was stopped by San Mateo police April 4 because they thought his driving seemed impaired. After questioning, Lista handed the officers a snorting tube with a quarter gram of cocaine. He is also facing one felony charge for drugs that were previously found at his home. A preliminary hearing is scheduled July 29 on the drug and pornography charges.

POSSIBLE PLEA AGREEMENT Aug 14 - Prosecutors have offered David Lista an undisclosed plea bargain but are holding off on formalizing any agreement. “We want to check into a few items first,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, declining to elaborate.

PLEA AGREEMENT - August 29 - Lista pleaded no contest Thursday to felony charges of possession of child pornography and possession of methamphetamine, and misdemeanor charges stemming from the taping of girls in the bathroom and his classroom.

A misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession was dismissed. He will have to register as a sex offender. Lista is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 30. A court-appointed psychiatrist will evaluate Lista before sentencing to determine whether he should be considered a sexual predator.

SENTENCED November 25 - Lista was sentenced Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court to two years in state prison. The three sentences to run concurrently — two years for drug use and possession, 16 months for possession of child pornography and 60 days for misdemeanor counts of improper peeping. Lista must also register as both a sex offender and narcotics offender.

Child Pornography and Educators
TT - List of educators sentenced for child pornography.
TT - List of educators guilty, but not yet sentenced, for child pornography.

West Seneca, NEW YORK

August 12, 2008 - Anthony Harper, 34, a West Seneca East Middle School French teacher, pleaded guilty to a felony-level sodomy charge involving a 13-year-old boy. During the plea proceeding, Harper signed a document terminating him immediately as a West Seneca school teacher. As a part of the plea agreement, misdemeanor sex abuse and child endangerment charges were dropped.
He will be sentenced November 12.

Full Name: Anthony D. Harper

SENTENCED December 5 - Harper was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by seven years of court supervision . He resigned in August after pleading guilty and had to surrender his New York teacher's certificate.

State Supreme Court Justice John L. Michalski reminded Harper that "The community will be safe from your predatory behavior.” Michalski also reminded him that he will now remain a closely watched sex offender.

APOLOGIES to contributers and readers. And many thanks for your well wishes.

The good news is that they believe they got all of it and there's no lymph involvement. It's been a longer recovery than I anticipated. Thank you for your patience and e-mails.

Smyrna, TENNESSEE

He came to court hoping for probation for five statutory rape and two assault convictions.


Jan 6, 2007 - A trial date has been set for Kenneth Anderson Jr, 38, Smyrna High biology teacher, on statutory rape charges. Anderson faces 25 charges, including several statutory rape counts, sexual battery of an authority figure and rape by fraud. Trial is scheduled for May 7. Now scheduled for July 9.

DISTRICT INVESTIGATION in 2003 June 30 - The Tenneseean reports that

the Metro school district investigated paternity charges in 2003. Metro's Adult Sex Crimes Unit closed the case a month later with no charges filed. DNA tests concluded Anderson was not the father, and he was allowed to finish out the school year. Metro didn't rehire him, and Anderson moved on to Williamson and then Rutherford County.

School officials there launched their own investigation after a parent complained about racy text messages sent to their daughter. Rutherford fired him almost a month later and reported the incident to the state.

In February 2006, Metro police arrested Anderson on multiple counts of statutory rape involving two children. One was a student at Smyrna High School and one was not.

TRIAL DATE RESCHEDULED Jan 14, 2008 - Jury selection began in trial. THEN, Anderson's trial has been postponed until July 21. [No explanation.] He has been charged with three counts of rape, 13 counts of statutory rape and nine counts of sexual battery by an authority figure for having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student.

PREVIOUS CONVICTION Anderson was convicted on statutory rape charges last year for having a sexual relationship with a different minor. The 13-year-old Antioch girl’s father found them in bed together. She was not a student.
See District Attorney General Case Disposition 2006-C-2268, September 27, 2007

SENTENCED (on the conviction of rape of 13-year-old - newspaper says she was 14. D.A. office press release above says 13.)
Jan 31, 2008 - The Tennessean, says that Anderson came to court hoping to be placed on probation for his five statutory rape and two assault convictions. They lament: two years of good behavior wasn't enough. (He's been wearing an electronic ankle monitor for two years and has not violated the corresponding restrictions, which allow him to go only to work, church and the grocery store, they write.)

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins gave Anderson two years for each rape count and 11 months and 29 days for the assault charges, but the judge has not decided whether Anderson will have to serve the sentences consecutively or concurrently.

The judge ordered Anderson to undergo a psychosexual evaluation before administering the terms of the sentence. Watkins will make a decision April 2.

Anderson is awaiting trial in July on charges of sexual battery involving a relationship he is accused of having with a 16-year-old girl.

SENTENCED Dec 5 - Anderson was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison. Anderson was already serving time for statutory rape and simple assault.

Whippany, NEW JERSEY

November 3, 2008 - Brian Coar, 25, a Whippany Park High School math teacher, pleaded guilty to child endangerment for an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old student. (picture at story.)

The charge will be dismissed once he completes three years in a pre-trial intervention program and does 200 hours of community service. Coar surrendered his teaching certificate and promised never to pursue a job in education.

Coar's attorney tried unsuccessfully to get Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan to rule Coar's guilty plea could not be used in a civil case. The family of the girl have filed a notice of intent to sue.

Coar worked at the high school only for the 2007-08 school year.

West Palm Beach, FLORIDA

Lewd and lascivious molestation.

November 3, 2008 - At first, Chad Stoffel, 32, pleaded "best interest" guilty to the felony lewd and lascivious molestation in exchange for a term of five years probation, including the first two years on sex-offender probation. According to the terms of plea, he would become a convicted felon. The lewd and lascivious molestation charge was for alleged incidents between March 2003 and April 2004 with one of his students at Summit Christian School. The boy was 14 or 15 at the time.

However, minutes later Stoffel vacated his plea after a glitch in the terms of the deal could not be ironed out with probation officers. The contention was that under probation, he could not live with 1000 feet of a place where children congregate. His current residence doesn't meet that requirement. The prosecution said the state would waive it, but the probation department would not agree.

Another plea conference is scheduled for November 24.

OTHER CHARGES DROPPED
Prosecutor Philip Wiseberg told a judge that a phalanx of felonies Stoffel faced in a separate case would be dropped because victim was uncooperative. Sheriff's deputies charged Stoffel with unlawful sexual activity with a minor and battery of a child for alleged sexual acts with a 16-year-old student at Wellington Christian School.

Stoffel came to the attention of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office when a counselor at a religious retreat in Memphis called and said Stoffel had admitted to molesting boys in South Florida. He disclosed sexual activity with boys dating back 10 to 12 years.
Full Name: Chad Stoffel

When Stoffel was arrested in March 2006, Pembroke Pines police said Stoffel molested two boys there in 1995 but both victims, by then adults, said they didn't want the cases prosecuted.
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LEGAL NOTE: A "best interest plea" means that a defendant does not admit guilt to any offense, but agrees that a guilty plea is in his best interest under the circumstances. The defendant is sentenced, while still able to disagree with the prosecutor's description of events.

Under a best intererst plea, the criminal defendant does not admit the act, but admits that the prosecution could likely prove the charge. The court will pronounce the defendant guilty. The defendant may plead guilty yet not admit all the facts that comprise the crime. Such a plea allows defendant to plead guilty even while unable or unwilling to admit guilt.
It is also sometimes refered to as an Alford plea. Source: U.S. Legal.com

Camden, NEW JERSEY

The theft was brazen. The principal of H.B. Wilson Elementary School, admitted yesterday that he deceived parents and teachers into paying more than $14,000 for school trips that were being paid for by the district. TT entry for Michael Hailey.

In one of the worst school districts in the country, the school rates a 1 (with 10 being highest) at GreatSchools.net Some 75% of the students are black, the rest are Hispanic. Most (70%) are poor and eligible for a free lunch. Camden, New Jersey, is one of the poorest (and most corrupt) cities in the U.S. And education is more lucrative than selling drugs.

The average per pupil expenditure is $20,077 - the highest in the nation.

The scam was simple. The principal, Michael Hailey, his top aide and others asked parents and students at the school to pay for field trips and other outings, knowing that the trips were to be financed by the school district. Then kept the money collected through fundraisers and donations. All three retired from the district after test scores were questioned.

Their other scam was to bill the state for $25,000 for extra wages for 14 School Leadership Council meetings that never took place. Three teachers lost their tenure for their role in that. Whether they were fired or not is unknown. No doubt, they retired.

TT entry for Michael Hailey, Patricia Johnson, Juanita Worthy and her daughter Keah Worthy. Only Johnson is white.
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ONLINE RESOURCE:
Legal decisions by the State of New Jersey Department of Education can be found here.
Decisions by the State Board of Examiners can be found here. (Certificate actions.)

Redding, CALIFORNIA

Pedophile previously arrested in 2001 on suspicion of touching an 11-year-old girl.

July 3, 2008 - Joshua Hoffman, 26, a fifth-grade teacher at Manzanita Elementary School, was arrested on suspicion of molesting three of his former students. He has been charged with six counts of child molestation.

Hoffman was arrested in August 2001 on by Glendora police on suspicion of touching an 11-year-old girl. The case was dropped by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

California Penal, Education and Labor codes forbid employers from asking about an employee's past arrests that didn't result in a conviction. [TT - Even if they work with children. Go figure.]

In a biography that appeared on the school's Web site until school officials removed it Wednesday, Hoffman wrote that he moved to Redding in March 2007 with his wife. He wrote that he earned a psychology degree and teaching credential from Azusa Pacific University, a Christian college near Los Angeles.
Full Name: Joshua Edward Hoffman

INDICTED August 23 - Hoffman was indicted by the grand jury and is due to go to trial in October 7.

GUILTY PLEA November 3 - Hoffman pleaded guilty this morning to having molested three of his former students. Previously arrested in 2001 on suspicion of touching an 11-year-old girl, that case was not prosecuted. Because of education and labor laws, Hoffman did not have to disclose the arrest when he became a teacher.

Part of the plea bargain was an agreement that he would be psychologically evaluated to see if he is suitable for probation. The results are expected to be announced November 24.

South Gate, CALIFORNIA

MANDATORY REPORTERS SENTENCED
Two Los Angeles school administrators each pleaded to failing to report child abuse.
Neither will, of course, lose their teaching or administrative licenses, although there are few crimes that warrant it more.

When children are not the first concern of educators, when they act to protect colleagues rather than students, the system that does not punish them and remove them is a gross violation of the public trust.

May 1, 2008 - Prosecutors today charged two school administrators, Jesus I. Angulo, 35, principal of South East High School, and Maria Sotomayor, 36, assistant principal, with one count each of failure to report child abuse.

Angulo and Sotomayor, both of Downey, allegedly learned of a sex between a minor female student and a 30-year-old substitute teacher seven months after it took place and failed to report it. Angulo and Sotomayor now face as many as six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The teacher, Jesus Salvador Saenz, 30, was arrested in March and has been charged with a felony for having unlawful intercourse with a minor, prosecutors said.
Case No. TA095986
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Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Press Release (dated May 1, 2008)
"The complaint alleges that the two willfully and unlawfully failed to make a report as required by law when, in their professional capacity and within the scope of their employment, they learned that a student had been the victim of child abuse."
Case No. 8CA03401

TT - Typical for Los Angeles, there are no online stories of Saenz's arrest. The arrests of the school administrators came on the same day that three girls testified against Steven Thomas Rooney, a vice-principal at a middle school who was transferred to the middle school despite allegations of sexual misconduct at a prior school. TT entry for Rooney

TWO ADMINISTRATORS REMOVED - May 7 - Two senior Los Angeles school district administrators have been removed from their jobs for failing to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against an employee and then clearing him to work at a Watts middle school, where he allegedly molested two additional students.

Local district Supt. Carol Truscott and Scott Braxton, who formerly worked for Truscott, have been relieved of duties and assigned to the central office pending further investigation into how they dealt with former Assistant Principal Stephen Thomas Rooney.

Senior Deputy Supt. Ramon C. Cortines noted that 75 current employees are on hold in "non-school" positions pending investigations into alleged inappropriate conduct.

TT entry for Truscott and Braxton.

ARGULO PLEA & SENTENCING September 4 - Argulo pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of failure to report child abuse. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

SOTOMAYOR PLEA & SENTENCING November 3 - Sotomayor pleaded guilty to failing to report an alleged sexual encounter between a teacher and a student and was sentenced to a year of probation and 100 hours of community service.
See also - Los Angeles District Attorney's Office Press Release (dated Nov. 3, 2008)

Ada, OKLAHOMA

Dallen will be 70 years old before he is eligible for parole.

October 22, 2008 - Jeff Dallen, 48, a Homer Elementary School music teacher was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of child molestation.

Police said Dallen has been a teacher at Stonewall and Roff schools in the past. Dallen’s wife, Vicki, is the lower elementary principal at Homer.Police expect charges to be filed in Pontotoc County District Court Wednesday.

An update to the story added this:

According to a court affidavit filed by Detective Kathi Johnston, the victim was taken to the Ada CARE Cottage after telling a relative about an alleged molestation. The victim told officials the incidents would happen at the school when the other students were watching a movie in the music room.

During an interview with Dallen, he admitted to “touching” the victim on several instances, according to the affidavit.“During the interview, Dallen stated there were two other victims that he had molested at the school,” Johnston said in the affidavit.

October 23 - Letter to parents at the district web site.
Thoughtful and considerate and a response you would want from your school.

October 24 - Police have confirmed the number of children accusing an elementary teacher of molestations has risen to seven or eight.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING November 3 - Dallen pleaded guilty to 11 counts of lewd molestation. Officials said there are eight victims in the case. All are under the age of 12.Dallen waived all rights to a trial by jury and his right to appeal. Some of the victims’ family members wept as Dallen entered his pleas.

Judge Thomas Landrith sentenced Dallen to 50 years incarceration with 25 to be served in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. All other time will be suspended. Dallen will be 70 years old before he is eligible for parole.

St. Louis, MISSOURI

Can you spell C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N and media malfeasance?

New St. Louis School Superintendent.
November 3, 2008 - The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on Kelvin Adams, the new superintendent of St. Louis Schools, has begun evaluating the curriculum and filling three key posts in his administration, most notably that of chief academic officer.

The school district has some 25,000-students, "barely hanging onto its status as the largest school system in Missouri." Seven years ago, 42,000 students attended city schools. The district has already shuttered 25 buildings since 2003.

Adams was the director of human resources during a short stint with the St. Louis schools in 2006-07.
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TT - Not mentioned was that Adams is the seventh superintendent since 2003. (Kansas City beats that record due to a school board's fractious interference. Voters recently approved moving seven district schools out of the Kansas City district into another school district.)

Not mentioned either by the Post-Dispatch is that the St. Louis schools have been run since June 2007 by an appointed, three-person Special Administrative Board set up by the state of Missouri after it stripped the district of its accreditation for poor academic performance. After state takeover, the elected School Board in St. Louis refused to cede authority. They are now, for all intents and purposes just spectacles, but it is a role they relish.

Adams came from New Orleans where he served since July 2007 as chief of staff to Superintendent Paul G. Vallas. (Wikipedia entry for Vallas.)

New Orleans is another state-run school district. Taken over by the state after Katrina, the New Orleans Recovery School District operates 34 public schools in New Orleans and oversees 33 more independent charter schools. With 47 charter schools, New Orleans has the nation's highest percentage of charter schools, with close to 60 percent of its children in charter schools.

Previous TT entry on how the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a cheerleading section for two of the most inept school districts in the country.

OTHER STATES
Black school districts in New Jersey under state control are Jersey City (since 1997) as well as Camden (since 2002), Patterson (1991) and Pleasantville (We call "Unpleasantville.") where " recent investigation by an independent law firm accused past and present school board members of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO Act." Then there is Jonesboro, GA, the first school district decertified since 1969.

The obvious question is why is there no national attention on the widespread corruption and incompetence in black schools in New Jersey, New Orleans, and Missouri and elsewhere? Why is there so little coverage when in an October 2008 discussion with Condolezza Rice, she spoke about education.

"I think the state of education, K through 12 education in our country, and frankly for underprivileged kids, the appalling state of education is a national security issue.

You know, I’ve long been an educator and it breaks my heart that there could be very talented kids who might be the next Nobel Prize winner in the United States in chemistry or the next great composer in America, and they’ll never get discovered because they’re trapped in some public school that is just basically warehousing them. That makes me very, very sad.
But I’ll tell you, as Secretary of State, it makes me terrified.

Transcript here.

Jackson, MICHIGAN

November 3, 2008 - Jackson Community College wants to improve remedial class results.

• Nearly 70 percent of recent high school graduates take at least one remedial course at JCC. Students are placed based on their ACT/SAT scores or a course placement test, and must retake a remedial course if they fail.
• WRITING - Of those taking the remedial classes in writing — high school-level courses meant to prepare students for college-level work — 69 percent passed last year, down from 74 percent in 2006-07.
• READING - In high school-level reading, the success rate fell from 77 percent to 73 percent. Only 57 percent of students at or below an eighth-grade reading level passed their remedial course, down from 75 percent the previous year.

The college also isn't satisfied with the persistence rate of developmental education students. Only 52 percent returned the following school year. However, that was up from 2007 and slightly higher than the rate of 49 percent for college-ready students.
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TT - Developmental education students are those unprepared for college. In other words, about the same number of students who are not prepared for college and those who are do not return to JCC.

Whether they enter another college or whether they give up on the idea of college isn't known. JCC website says 63% of their students are part-time. That could be because the students work part-time or for some other reason. None of which is explained.

However, this article comes at a time when community colleges are waging a campaign to eager to "prove their worth." (Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 7, 2008) The new economic reality is that having to compete for taxpayer dollars may mean establishing standards and satisfying employers.

NEW JERSEY
November 2, 2008 - In New Jersey, surveys and statistics in April showed nearly eight out of every 10 students entering the community college system require remedial courses; only one out of every four New Jersey students earns a bachelor's degree; and 99 of 100 large state employers surveyed characterized high school students as under-prepared for the work force. In response, the The New Jersey High School Redesign Steering Committee is calling for immediate curriculum changes beginning with the current class of high school freshmen, requiring more challenging math, science and language arts literacy courses, and 10 additional academic credits, which would raise the state minimum requirement to 120.

Also see, Public Education Transition Policy Group: Final Report prepared for Governor-Elect Corzine in 2006.

COST OF REMEDIAL COURSES
Community colleges alone spend $1.4 billion annually on remedial courses for recent high school graduates, according to a 2006 report by the nonprofit Alliance for Excellent Education. The group noted that community colleges, like public schools, are subsidized by taxes. (New Jersey Herald, September 13, 2008.)

Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA

Standardized tests are the bane of teachers and teachers unions who recognize that the tests measure the teacher's classroom performance more than the student's. The "high stakes" they talk about isn't worry for the children. It's their jobs they fret about. And some of the lengths they go to is astonishing.

November 2, 2008 - Employees at the South Carolina Department of Education, like other states, scrutinize test results to look for signs of cheating. One telling sign is the overabundance of answers that have been erased and corrected, especially if the answers are consistently changed from wrong to right. Twenty-nine of South Carolina's roughly 1,100 schools popped up last year on the state's analysis for having higher-than-average numbers of eraser marks.

One, however, was a standout.

Sanders-Clyde Elementary in downtown Charleston, is a high-poverty school. In 2007, the number of answers corrected in some classes was more than six times the state average of less than one per test. In 2007, 96 percent of third graders taking a South Carolina test at Sanders-Clyde met the state standard in English, compared with an average of 78.3 percent at other city schools. Despite that, Sanders-Clyde students struggled when they went to other schools (New York Times, Oct. 30, 2008) It was the only school in the state red-flagged in every subject for its number of wrong answers corrected.

At Sanders-Clyde Elementary in downtown Charleston, the unusually high wrong-to-right answer switches and improbable one-year academic gains has led to scrutiny from the state and district, and now a State Law Enforcement Division investigation.

Prior History
In an analysis of erasure marks on the tests, Sanders-Clyde Elementary had more wrong answers erased and corrected than any school in the state. The state flagged the school for making improbable one-year academic gains in 2005. State officials made an unannounced visit in 2006 and found no problems.

In 2007 the school popped up on the state's analysis for its high number of eraser marks. The students' scores on the state Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test were among the best in Charleston County. That prompted supervision of the Spring 2008 tests by district monitors.

INTENSE SUPERVISION IN 2008 With intense district supervision of the school's testing process in May 2008, the results showed there were, amazingly, no unusual eraser marks. The school's test scores also fell sharply — by an average of 31 percentage points — in every subject and at every grade level

Almost immediately, teachers and the principal protested. They claimed that,

When Charleston County school officials monitored Sanders-Clyde Elementary School's testing process this year, they deprived students of snacks and breaks and created a stressful and uncomfortable atmosphere, according to teachers' firsthand accounts of the situation.

School district leaders dispute that.

Testing monitor Janet Rose, the district's executive director of assessment and accountability who oversaw the monitoring process, said she was surprised at teachers' reactions to the monitoring because it was totally unobtrusive.

Her staff deliberately sat in the back or sides of classrooms so they would not distract students, and Rose said no one was pressured to finish tests quickly.

Snacks and breaks were allowed, she said. Rose asked teachers to provide snacks in a more orderly way rather than constantly supplying students with food because that was distracting.

District staff didn't go to the school in an effort to try and find something wrong; they were there to validate the school's scores, she said.

The district stationed monitors in the classrooms and took the tests away from the school each night. When the results came in, the community was stunned.

School response
So how did the school respond? With a 16-page report that blamed the monitors.

"Many Sanders-Clyde staff members are left wondering if the distractions were intentional," the packet read. "Is it possible that individuals had personal agendas that included proving that the poor African-American child on Charleston's East Side could not have possibly produced the improvements documented over the past five years."

The State Law Enforcement Division investigation is ongoing.
----------------------
See New York Times, Oct. 30, 2008, "School’s Success Gives Way to Doubt"
The state has deemed half the schools in Charleston as unsatisfactory. The prinicpal of Sanders-Clyde Elementary resigned and left town after the closely supervised tests were given in May. She is now the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for schools in Halifax County, N.C. She denies wrongdoing.
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TT - What favors do people do for children when the adults pretend to teach them, fake their test results, patronizingly pat them on the back and graduate children who can't find jobs? Can't even fill out employment application forms and have no hope of leaving squalid poverty?

Education charlatans glorify themselves. They accept the accolades and the glowing news stories. And then they teach children by example how to blame others for lack of achievement. These imposters get away with it every day in high poverty schools using the race card - the "get-out-of-responsibility ticket." They might as well accept money for selling these children into slavery because poverty IS slavery when there is no hope.

Doubtless, we will get letters from teachers who claim that poor children don't get support from home that would enable them to learn. That's what teaching is - motivating and mentoring children. Not standing at a black board. Admittedly, it's harder to teach children whose families aren't convinced that education is worthwhile. But it is not impossible. Writing them off - poor white or black children - as unteachable is pure bigotry.

If standardized tests and the No Child Left Behind Act do nothing else, they demand accountability. For black children. For white children. And isn't it about time?

Monroe, LOUISIANA

It's like a Monty Python skit. Without the laughs.

October 29, 2008 - From the News Star (Monroe, Louisiana)

State Superintendent Paul Pastorek has asked 4th District Attorney Jerry Jones to investigate the possibility that members of the Monroe City School Board and Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo may have violated the state's bribery statues.

Pastorek questions whether members of the board violated the statutes in attempting to place board member Brenda Shelling's daughter Cassandra Shelling in several positions in the district.

In April, Mayo appeared before the board urging members to overturn their decision not to retain Superintendent James Dupree. Brenda Shelling initially voted against renewing Dupree's contract, but switched her vote, making her the final vote needed to renew the contract.

Cassandra Shelling was considered for a position as principal of Carroll High School, a teacher at Wossman High School and a teacher at an elementary school. Shelling could not hold the Carroll principal postion as long as her mother is a sitting member of the school board. She did not hold the proper certifications to hold the high school teaching position at Wossman.

-----------------
INFO:
You wanna see some scary pictures, these people fit the bill. link
And their October 11 board meeting sounds like a Monty Python skit.

The bottom line seems to be that there have been several attempts to hire boardmember Shelling's daughter who had been previously employed and fired six years ago from the district following a tenure hearing regarding her conduct on school grounds.

In August, Cassandra Shelling, was a finalist in the search for principal for Carroll High School until her mother said she learned that immediate family couldn't hold any position except teacher. Next, the daughter was considered for the elementary school.

The school board has dithered on renewing the school superintendent's contract. They eventually rehired Dupree in October, with Shelling the deciding vote. A few days later Dupree placed Cassandra Shelling at Wossman High School to fill a newly created position.

Dupree claimed that her placement came upon the recommendation of principal Sam Moore. Moore later stated that he had not interviewed her for the position. In an e-mail to the board, obtained by The News-Star through a Freedom of Information request, Moore informed Dupree that he had discovered that Cassandra Shelling's qualifications would not allow her to teach high school.

Meanwhile, the school board is stonewalling a newspaper's attempt to obtain additional documents.

CITY INFORMATION:
Monroe, LA Wikipedia entry
As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. The University of Louisiana at Monroe is located in the city, as well as Delta Community College. The racial makeup of the city was 36.78% White, 61.13% African American.

MONROE CITY SCHOOLS:
The school district rates a 6 (with 10 being highest) at GreatSchools.net
There are 9098 students in 21 schools.

Observation: Usually you see some sort of consistency in the school ratings. But Monroe schools are all over the map. For example, there are three high schools. One is a 9 while two are rated 3. High schools are good measures of what a child has learned as they pass through the school system. This isn't a mobile population composed of immigrants.

Graduate Exit Exams
test scores for Carroll High School here. 100% black student population
test scores for Neville High School here 57% black, 41% white
test scores for Wossman H.S. here 99% black student population

Carroll and Wossman are rated a 3. Neville is rated a 9.
Carroll is a magnet school with, clearly, nothing attractive about it.

Winchester, TENNESSEE

October 31, 2008 - Robert Allen, Jr. , 39, was arrested on charges of having inappropriate sexual contact with a 17-year-old at retreat in August. The Franklin County High School drama and English teacher has been charged with sexual battery by an authority figure.

Mr. Allen admitted to the allegations and told investigators he bought beer and smoked marijuana with the teen in a rented cabin at Grundy County’s Bear Hollow Retreat, court records show. The student did not attend Franklin.

Full Name: Robert Thomas Allen

Murfreesboro, TENNESSEE

INVESTIGATION

November 1, 2008 - A 36-year-old Blackman High School honors English teacher May have used text messages and Web sites to engage in sexual communications with at least two female students. The teacher may before a grand jury and could lead to criminal charges.

On Thursday, Rutherford County schools Director Harry Gill Jr. suspended the teacher while police investigate. That was after the sheriff's office contacted Angel McCloud, county schools attorney, about their investigation Wednesday night.

No charges have been filed.

School Backpacks

In India, they are trying to ban school bags.

November 1, 2008 - It has been more than two years since the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued instructions to phase out school bags. Stating that it found the size of the school bag to be one of the major contributors of stress among schoolchildren, the board had asked all affiliated schools to take this load off the students, especially those in the primary sections.

Without success.

While in the U.S., the backpacks come with instructions.

Ballot Measures in Oregon

ON THE BALLOT

November 1, 20 8 - On the ballot in Oregon, Measure 60: Would tie teachers' pay to their "classroom performance." Classroom performance is not defined in the proposal. It would also mandate that the "most qualified" teachers be retained under employment, replacing seniority as a major consideration. A similar measure in 2000 was Measure 20 that was defeated 65-35.
- Information on defenders and opponents and their donors can be found at ballotpedia.org

Measure 64: Would block public employee unions from using the money they collect through payroll deductions for political purposes.

OPPOSED Major donor opposed to both measures: $4.1 million from the Oregon Education Association. The $4.1 million does not include the cost of their campaign ads.
Source: The Oregonian, Oct. 6. article

Litchfield, ILLINOIS

October 31, 2008 - Michael J. Wetzell, 31, dean of students at Litchfield High School, was sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to the aggravated battery of a female student.

He was charged in March with sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl at Litchfield High School. Police in Montgomery County say Wetzell also provided that girl with alcohol.

FROM A MARCH STORY: Rumors about a relationship between the girl and Wetzell surfaced in January. School officials investigated but found no evidence of an inappropriate relationship, and Wetzell denied the accusations. In February he resigned, effective at the end of the school year, because his family wanted to move back to Rock Falls. They moved back, while Wetzell stayed behind to finish out the year. Two concerned students called school officials and the police March 17.

Montgomery County State's Attorney Chris Matoush said Thursday that Wetzell must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, as well as a parole period after he is released ranging from three years to natural life. He also must register as a convicted sex offender.

Buckeye, ARIZONA

What can you say?

October 31, 2008 - Vincent Petti, 26, a Verrado High School football coach, was arrested for allegedly showed an indecent photograph to three female students on school grounds.

He was booked into the Maricopa County Jail Wednesday on three felony counts of furnishing harmful materials to a minor. Petti has been employed with the district since August.

Petti has been suspended from school pending an investigation.

Alabama financial woes

Alabama schools seek loans to pay salaries.

October 31, 2008 - The Mobile County system this week borrowed $18 million from a bank to make its $33 million payroll on Friday.

Baldwin County school officials may need to take out a multi-million dollar loan to pay their teachers and employees to pay their employees early for the winter break. Earlier this week the Baldwin County school system borrowed $2.5 million from its $22 million savings account after the state announced it would cut monthly payroll allocations by 25 percent.

The state Suprintendent advised schools that the Education Trust Fund would only be able to pay 75 percent of October's payroll costs due to a lack of tax revenue.

Community colleges in Alabama will not be receiving state allocations to pay for the October payroll, due to the dwindling state of the Alabama Education Trust Fund. And community colleges will only be paid after the k-12 schools are.

The 25 percent state shortfall left many administrators concerned that across-the-board spending cuts -- called proration -- are looming.

The Oct. 31st Anniston Star editorial was blunt about the reasons for the cash flow problem.

For too long, Alabamians have foolishly believed that using sales and income taxes to pay most of the bills for public education was an acceptable plan. Regressive sales taxes fluctuate too wildly in tough times? Who cares, some Alabamians say. Income taxes aren't reliable enough to ensure that schools' needs will be met? Let the next Legislature worry about that, others have surmised.

Now the result is lethal. The economy's in the tank. Extra cash and operating reserves are becoming a relic of the past. Sales-tax revenue has plummeted. Income-tax figures have dropped as unemployment has risen.

----------------------
TT - No mention at all about how that same Education Trust Fund has paid for "double dipping" legislators who either have financial ties to Alabama community colleges or the 13 legislators who had full-time jobs in the Legislature and were on the community college payroll, along with their relatives and friends. And no mention of the latest sentencing - that of W.L. Langston, director of Fire College.

The Alabama Press-Register (Oct. 31) said Langston "deserved his sentence" of ten years in prison.

Mr. Langston used taxpayer and Fire College money to build houses for himself and another two-year college president. He made deals to provide children of system officials with jobs that required little or no work.

They said that the sentence is by far the longest handed down so far in the community college scandal, which included multiple charges filed against Bishop State employees and has ensnared high-ranking officials, rank-and-file employees and some legislators.

See TT coverage here here here

Hayward, CALIFORNIA

Yeah. Everyone wants their kindergartners pledging not to use anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender language.

October 31, 2008 - "School Clams Up on 'Gay' Pledge Cards Given to Kindergartners"

A California school system refuses to say what action, if any, it will take after it received complaints about a kindergarten teacher who encouraged her students to sign "pledge cards" in support of gays.

(Click graphic to enlarge.)

During a celebration of National Ally Week, Tara Miller, a teacher at the Faith Ringgold School of Arts and Science in Hayward, Calif., passed out cards produced by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to her class of kindergartners.

The cards asked signers to be "an ally" and to pledge to "not use anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) language or slurs; intervene, when I feel I can, in situations where others are using anti-LGBT language or harassing other students and actively support safer schools efforts."

The school has acknowledged that the exercise was not appropriate for kindergartners.

The district said the pledge cards were intended for middle school and high school students.
--------------
Dear Teacher,

Why don't you leave us alone and let us be children? And take your stupid politics to Berkeley or someplace else. What's wrong with kindergartners having a safe and protected childhood?

Thank you,
Jennifer

Corryton, TENNESSEE

October 31, 2008 - Mike McMillan. a history teacher at Gibbs High School, retired Friday, the same day he learned he was being charged by the superintendent with insubordination and incompetence.

The letter indicates the standardized End-of-Course scores from students in McMillan's class are among the lowest in the school system. McIntyre wrote that McMillan encouraged students to skip a U.S. history class when the tests were administered, so that he could give them an easier test later. Eighteen students were absent from McMillan's third and fourth period classes.

McIntyre said McMillan also didn't turn in testing materials when he was supposed to, concluding that McMillan had violated both state and local policies.
------------------
SCHOOL INFO: Gibbs High School rates a 4 (with 10 being the highest) at GreatSchools.net.
GreatSchool ratings give an overview of this school's test results. They are based on a comparison of test results for all schools in the state. The Gateway/End-of-Course (EOC) test scores for 2006-2007 for Gibbs High School are here. Compare that with the school district EOC results.

Pasco County, FLORIDA

Time to update the yearbooks.

Headline: "Former Pasco teacher charged with drug trafficking"

October 31, 2008 - William A. Napolitano, 49, was arrested at a traffic stop when the trooper noticed a small plastic bag of cocaine on the front seat of the car, according to an FHP report.

A search of the car revealed $13,000 in cash, 31 grams of cocaine, 2 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, including glass smoking pipes and butane torches, the release said. A female companion was also arrested. She had 36 grams of cocaine in her possession. With a street value of $50 a gram, the cocaine found on Napolitano and Lang is worth about $3,350.

Both were charged with trafficking in cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

CHARGED IN 1998 and 2004. Napolitano was charged in 1998 with soliciting a prostitute in Hillsborough County after authorities said he offered an undercover officer $15 for sex. He pleaded no contest on that charge. School superintendent John Long recommended he be fired after that arrest, but he kept his teaching job by agreeing to punitive and rehabilitative measures with the school district and state.

He was hired as boys track and cross country coach at Mitchell in 2000, earning recognition for his work. The Sunshine Athletic Conference and the Pasco Times both named him 2003 boys cross country Coach of the Year.

That same year, Napolitano was charged with soliciting a prostitute after authorities said he offered an undercover police officer $20 for oral sex.

He no longer works for the school district.

Seabrook, NEW HAMPSHIRE

LAWSUIT and why teachers are no longer considered professionals.
Finally settled after a year. And, God knows, how much money.

Oct 12, 2007 - Dianne Dunfey, a Seabrook Middle School 7th grade social studies teacher, is suing the district and the school principal for alleged retaliation for her refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

The lawsuit was filed by Meyer and by the National Education Association-NH on Dunfey's behalf, according to Steven Sacks, a staff attorney with NEA-NH in Concord. NEA-NH and the local Seacoast Education Association support Dunfey in the case, Sacks said.

As well as legal advice, NEA-NH is helping to support Dunfey's case financially.

CASE SETTLED October 31, 2008 - School District Attorney Debra Weiss Ford of Portsmouth advised in court documents the case was settled on Oct. 31. An agreement for entry of judgment or a stipulation of dismissal is to be filed with the U.S. District Court by Dec. 3.

The terms were not known as of Friday. The newspaper tried to reach her attorney. National Education Association New Hampshire Attorney Steve Sacks, who also represented Dunfey, was out of the office on Friday.

Greenwood, ARKANSAS

October 31, 2008 - Deanna Bobo, (age 38 at the time of her arrest), a special education teacher in Greenwood, Arkansas, was convicted and sentenced in 2006 to two six-year prison terms to run consecutively for having sex with a student. She has yet to serve a day while her case was being appealed.

Today she lost her second appeal. She was ordered to be taken into custody immediately.
TT entry for Bobo.

San Jose, CALIFORNIA

Another band director in the news.


August 12, 2008 - James Barany, 37, band director for William C. Overfelt High School, was arrested for attempting to solicit lewd acts from a minor over the Internet. Barany initiated a chat room conversation with a detective he believed was a 13 year-old girl, police said.

During the course of the conversation, Barany agreed to meet with the girl at a location in Santa Cruz where he was arrested. He is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Barany's previous job was as band director at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose.

Photo: Santa Cruz Police Department

RESIGNATION August 13 - Barany resigned after his arrest. According to police,

Barany contacted the girl within seconds of her logging into a chat room, police said. They chatted on-and-off for much of the day and during the conversation, Barany arranged to meet the girl at an undisclosed location in Santa Cruz on Tuesday, according to police.

Police said he never made it to his destination. He was arrested on Soquel Avenue near Morrissey Boulevard around 3 p.m. The girl was actually a Midwest housewife working with the group Perverted Justice.

IN COURT August 16 - Barany appeared in court Friday but did not enter a plea. He asked for for time to hire his own attorney. He returns to court Sept. 3 to enter a plea.

GUILTY PLEA October 31 - Barany pleaded guilty to one felony count of communicating with a person believed to be a minor for the purpose of arranging a sexual encounter.
He will be sentenced in December. He will have to REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER for the rest of his life.

Dexter, KANSAS

October 31, 2008 - Richard Berkley, 42, a teacher at Dexter High School, was arrested October 19 and charged for engaging in inappropriate sexual relations with a female student at the school. One felony charge of unlawful sexual relations has been filed against Berkley with the district court in Winfield.

An investigation began during the 2007-2008 school year. He was suspended with pay in April. He resigned later that same month.

The formal criminal complaint alleges that between Jan. 1, 2007 and May 9, 2008, Berkley engaged in lewd fondling or touching with the girl, who would have been 16 or 17 at the time.
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LEGAL NOTE: (From the story.) Berkley faces the charge - even though the age of consent in Kansas is 16 - because he held a position of authority over the alleged victim. The law is in place, officials said, to protect young people from being victimized by teachers, social service workers or others who might work closely with kids.
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The 10/31 story source is NewsCow.net, an Internet only news site.

November 3 - Berkley was arrested Oct. 19 after a months-long investigation by the Cowley County Sheriff's Department and charged in the Cowley County District Court. Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith Smith said the duration of the case was due to the fact that a lot of people had information that finally led to the charges' being filed.

Berkley is scheduled to appear in front of the Cowley County District Court at 9 a.m. Nov. 10.

Ocean City, NEW JERSEY

“When we reach a point in society when we as parents can no longer safely and reliably entrust our children to the care of those professionally responsible, we are bankrupt as a culture,” the judge said. “How does it stop? When does it stop?”

May 15, 2008 - Robert Dilullo, 24, a substitute at Ocean City High School, was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and providing alcohol to a minor in connection with a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.

It is alleged that he had sex with a high school student beginning when she was 16. The relationship reportedly began in December 2006. Police said Dilullo raped the girl in August 2007, when he invited her to his Seaville home in Upper Township. Police said he gave her alcohol and raped her while she was inebriated and unconscious.

Dilullo now works as a restaurant cook. A counselor who learned of the incidents, earlier this month, reported them to the Division of Youth and Family Services, which reported them to the Cape May Co. Prosecutors Office.

Dilullo did not teach in the district this year, whether that was his choice or the district's choice. Police said they want to know if the accused teacher had sex with any other students.

GUILTY PLEA August 16 - Dilullo pleaded guilty to one count of endangering the welfare of a child in a nonsexual manner and agreed to never again seek employment as a teacher. The plea agreement also includes five years of probation along with 364 days in the Cape May County Jail. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 31.

SENTENCED October 31 - Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten sentenced to a year in jail for providing alcohol to a student. Dilullo will have to serve 77 of the 364 days before he is eligible for parole. He will not be allowed to teach again or serve in public office.

Assistant Prosecutor Matthew D. Weintraub repeated the allegation Friday that DiLullo had oral sex with the student at his Upper Township home. In a victim-impact statement, the girl, not identified in court, said DiLullo should have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

Judge Raymond Batten said cases in which authority figures have inappropriate relationships with minors are becoming all too prevalent in Cape May County. He said he sentenced DiLullo to the year term to deter other would-be criminals.

“When we reach a point in society when we as parents can no longer safely and reliably entrust our children to the care of those professionally responsible, we are bankrupt as a culture,” he said. “How does it stop? When does it stop?”

Billings, MONTANA

October 31, 2008 - Billings Senior High School teacher Stacey Rambold, 49, has been charged with three counts of felony sexual intercourse without consent. (She was not 16, which is the age of consent in Montana. And Rambold was three years older.) He resigned in July after the district found evidence to support the allegations. Rambold also agreed to surrender his Montana teaching certificate.

Prosecutors allege in charging documents filed Friday that Rambold performed oral and digital sex acts on a ninth-grade female student over the course of several months, including one instance in his school office. The incidents are alleged to have happened between October and December of last year when the girl was 14 years old, the affidavit states. She turned 15 in February.

The eight-page affidavit describes a police investigation that included numerous interviews with teachers and students at Senior High. One teacher told police that several of her students told her in mid-April they suspected Rambold and the girl of having an inappropriate relationship. The teacher said the students reported that Rambold was "never in the classroom during class," and Rambold and the girl were often alone together in his office during class.

It wasn't until April 24 that the girl told a church group leader that she had been sexually assaulted by a teacher, according to court records. The church member told the girl's mother, who then called police.

Ramold has not been arrested but will be issued a notice to appear in court on the charges, said Deputy County Attorney Rod Souza.
Full Name: Stacey Dean Rambold

ARRESTED November 1, 2008 - Rambold was arrested Friday, booked in the Yellowstone County jail and released after posting $25,000 bail, Deputy County Attorney Rod Souza said. He will likely be arraigned Nov. 10

Fort Smith, ARKANSAS

Honestly, someone should start a "Stolen from PTA" blog.

October 31, 2008 - Beard Elementary School teacher Julie Woods, 47, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of stealing money from the PTA.

She's accused of stealing $890 from a Parent-Teacher Association fundraiser. Police say the money was taken from a desk drawer in an office at Beard Elementary School where Woods was a teacher.

Woods resigned as an early intervention kindergarten teacher later Thursday.
Full Name: Julie Suzanne Woods
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SCHOOL INFO: The school rates a 6 (with 10 being the highest) at GreatSchools.net The school district, however, rates 5 for the iroverall test scores. Remember that the percentage is at or above proficient. Proficient isn't mastery. Proficient = at grade level.

Memphis, TENNESSEE

Fullilove apologizes for 'unfortunate circumstances'
Some people are awfully tolerant.

October 31, 2008 - She recently lost her job as a teacher at Northwest Mississippi Community College. She was arrested. Not for the first time.

- She was arrested in March for refusing to take a Breathalyzer test in DeSoto County. She pleaded guilty in June to driving under the influence of medication (which is the same as driving under the influence of alcohol.) She was barred from driving in Mississippi. Her drivers license was confiscated.

- In May, she collided with a southbound driver on U.S. 61. The incident injured a girl who was a passenger in the other car. The former teacher was not charged in that incident.

- In June, she was photographed slumped over behind the wheel of a parked car at a Tunica casino.

- October 17, Fullilove was arrested in Tunica County on charges of careless driving and refusing to take a DUI test after she failed a field-sobriety test. Fullilove showed a valid Tennessee driver’s license to Tunica County deputies. The license was fraudulent.

After the DeSoto arrest and guilty plea in June, she then applied for and received a duplicate license from Tennessee after reporting hers was “lost.” She is now being charged with fraudulent use of a driver's license and making or selling a counterfeit driver's license.

Janis DeSoto is a Memphis city councilwoman.

Some council members have been swamped by e-mails and phone calls from citizens demanding action. In response, the council is thinking about maybe a resolution that "criticized Fullilove’s actions and encouraged her “to seek professional treatment that will enable her to overcome the personal challenges that have impacted her public service if she has not already sought treatment." No censure is planned.

Oh, and in 1995, the former radio announcer pleaded guilty to drunken driving following a 1994 arrest after a concerned motorist alerted Memphis police to a reckless driver.

Janis said she would soon recommend what action the council should take against her.

Main City, CALIFORNIA

School district investigates principal's response.

October 31, 2008 -

The Alisal Union School District is investigating whether a principal properly alerted authorities after four students alleged they were inappropriately touched by their teacher, convicted child molester John Hawthorne.

District Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas said she has assigned an administrator and the district's legal counsel to investigate the handling of the case.

The reason?

At Hawthorne's sentencing last week, prosecutor Gary Thelander said Salazar, then principal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, did not initially report the girls' claims, adding to their hesitance to cooperate with authorities. Hawthorne was the girls' teacher in a multi-level "newcomers" class for recent immigrants.

After reviewing evidence, Thelander said Thursday that Salazar had met her requirements as a "mandatory reporter" because she was "in contact" with Monterey County Child Protective Services the day she met with the girls and filled out required forms.

However,

Even though the letter of the law may have been followed, Thelander said, he is still troubled by the fact that Salazar met with Hawthorne after hearing the girls' complaints, apparently concluded they were not credible and allowed the teacher to return to the classroom with the students the next day, April 13, 2007, a Friday.

"It's all part and parcel of ... why the kids were hesitant to come forward," the prosecutor said of the principal's reaction.

FALSE REPORTS RARE

While credibility is always an element of investigating a molestation allegation, District Superintendent Esperanza said, false reports by elementary school students are rare.

OUTRAGEOUS
Even after police discovered the child porn and Hawthorne pleaded guilty in the case, five teachers wrote to the court — one on California Teachers Association letterhead — asking for leniency in his case.
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TT - Hawthorne was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He admitted to molesting more than a dozen students in 2007. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. TT entry for Hawthorne.

La Mesa, CALIFORNIA

Nominee for headline that misses the point of the whole story.

October 31, 2008 - "Sex Scandals Prompt Call For School Board Member's Resignation"
Helix High School board want either the resignation, censure or apology of a Grossmont Union High School District board member.

Helix officials sent a letter asking for the resignation of trustee Jim Kelly because he accused Helix of covering up teacher-student sex scandals.

At a news conference last week, Kelly said the La Mesa charter school is hiding information regarding two incidents of teachers having sexual relationships with students.

The two cases are in addition to the four Helix teachers who have already been convicted of having sex with students in past two years, Kelly said.

The above article was based upon this San Diego Union-Tribune story.

The Grossmont Union High School District has limited oversight over Helix, a charter school in La Mesa where four former teachers have been convicted of sex crimes involving students in two years.

Kelly and two candidates he's supporting for the Grossmont governing board, Meg Jedynak and Gary Woods, have said or strongly implied at public meetings and at a news conference Kelly called last week that six cases have occurred and that Helix High officials are hiding information and refusing to cooperate with a district investigation. Helix officials insist the school is cooperating and that they know of only the four cases.

-------------------------
TT - We call Helix the High School from Hell. Entry

It seems to us that Jim Kelly is the only Grossmont Union High School District governing board member acting responsibly. You can understand two teachers being sentenced for having sex with students, but four??? Without a single change in management of the school and without any public censure. Something is decidedly odd at the school, and if Kelly knows of two other cases that may not have resulted in criminal charges but amount to teacher misconduct with students, it ought to be public knowledge.

School boards have oversight over charter schools. Even limited oversight allows them to publicly criticize the charter school without inviting litigation from victims or their parents. Frankly, we're surprised that no one has sued them yet. If parents don't want the publicity that comes with a lawsuit against Helix, someone should hold them accountable. Because no one is so far. Except Jim Kelly.

This is another reason why states should have disciplinary actions online. California does not.

A charter school should not be publicly funded but run like a private school.

Denton, MARYLAND

MOTHER CHASES DOWN TEACHER IN HER CAR.

Feb 1, 2008 - Lee Holmes, Jr., 25, an eighth-grade math teacher at Lockerman Middle School, was arrested on child sex abuse charge for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old female student.
Full Name: Alexander Holmes, Jr.

Police say Holmes became a suspect Tuesday night after the girl was dropped off at her home in Marydel after leaving without permission. Her mother chased the driver at high speed, until the driver's car crashed in Queen Anne's County. The mother recognized Holmes as the driver of the wrecked car.

Holmes was treated for his injuries at Shock Trauma in Baltimore and was arrested Wednesday at his mother's residence in Prince George's County.

WMTD : Holmes is facing several charges, including sex abuse of a minor and possession of child porn.

Police are asking anyone who might have had negative contact with Holmes to contact the Sheriff's department at 410-479-2515.

May 11 - Pre-trial conferenced scheduled for May 20. Criminal trial scheduled Aug 11. cts

GUILTY PLEA October 15 - Holmes pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual offense for having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl. Under his plea agreement, he will serve no more than nine years in prison. Sentencing was set for Oct. 30.

SENTENCED October 31 - Holmes was sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Setting Standards

These are people you can admire.

October 31, 2008 - Despite pressure from educators and the media and their wrenching stories about English language learner students who might not get their diplomas, Maryland School Board member Kate Walsh said she would will not seek delays for those learning English, she said, because she believes they should become competent in the language before they receive a diploma.

The reporter, however, looks at it differently.

How educators view the plight of students is a highly emotional issue for some, such as Dunbar Brooks, a black state school board member, and Andres Alonso, a Latino who is Baltimore's school chief executive officer. The tests, they and others argue, have raised the standards for the most vulnerable students, giving them access to a more rigorous curriculum.

They frame the argument as a civil rights issue, and say they witnessed those groups being held back by a poor education. Students who fail this June, they say, can remain in high school until they do pass.

As opposed to,

On the other side are parents and teachers who view the test requirement as blatantly unfair after witnessing the heartbreaking struggles of their own children or students.

Read the whole thing.
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TT - It isn't parents who think the tests are unfair. It is the teachers unions who vigorously oppose standardized testing. There's a reason. Standardized tests let administrators know which teachers are not teaching the curriculum effectively. Or at all. A tool that unions and underperforming teachers would like to see eliminated.

Koo Koo Court

Soap Opera time in the land of kangaroos.

October 31, 2008 - A judge slashed the sentence for a 40-year-old Paul Incani, a teacher who had been sentenced to 15 months for indecently touching a student. The judge reduced the sentence to a suspended nine-month term.

The judge - Justice Dean Mildren (shown right)- says the man was in love with the girl.

The judge said girl had exaggerated how much she had suffered in a "very dramatic and emotional" manner. The judge said there was no seduction and the facts of the case, including intimate text messages Incani sent to the girl, showed nothing other than a willingness by the child who was as "romantically involved" with Incani as he was with her.

He said the girl's "self-loathing" and "sense of rage" could be attributed to Incani's offending, which had exacerbated the kind of reaction "one would normally expect" from a romantic break-up.

Incari pleaded guilty to indecent touching in July.

Did we mention that the girl was 16?

Trumann, ARKANSAS

October 30, 2008 - Police arrested Pam Bradsher, a Trumann Alternative School teacher, after she reportedly asked a 16-year-old student to obtain white Hydrochodone in exchange for Xana. The boy's mother contacted confronted the teacher and contacted police.

After an investigation, police arrested Bradsher. Charges will likely be delivery of a controlled substance and solicitation of a minor to commit a crime.

Inglewood, CALIFORNIA

October 30, 2008 - William Mangan, 67, a teacher at Inglewood Middle School, was arrested, accused of fondling two girls at the school.

The 13-year-old girl told school officials Mangan fondled her clothed breast during class. Another student, a 12-year-old girl, later said another student witnessed Mangan touching her buttocks in class about a month before, police said.
Full Name: William Nelson Mangan

Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation can call the Inglewood Police Department's Special Victims Section at (310) 412-5272 or (888) 41-CRIME.

Dallas, TEXAS

Teacher Accused Of Driving & Smoking Crack

October 30, 2008 - Donald Johnson,, 47, a special education teacher at Molina High School, was charged with evading arrest and possession of cocaine after a slow speed chase by police. Police say during the pursuit, they could see Johnson smoking crack as he drove.

Johnson called 911 during the chase to report the police were chasing him. Police recovered drugs from his vehicle when the chase ended. Police used spike strips to blow out the car's tires. Officers used a taser to get Johnson out of the car, afraid that he had overdosed. Johnson was taken to a hospital by an ambulance for observation.

The Dallas Independent School District said it is reviewing the incident determine whether any action would be taken against the employee. Ya think?
Full Name: Donald Keith Johnson
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SCHOOL INFO: Moisés E. Molino High School rates a 4 (with 10 being the best) at GreatSchools.net. Test scores aren't thrilling in math or science. The school has 1993 students in grades 9-12.

We puzzled a bit over a link at the school website.
"Information to parents about cheese" (right hand column.) It turned out the link was to a warning about a black tar heroin and Tylenol PM mix with the street name of .. cheese.

Flagstaff, ARIZONA

A registered sex offender for life.

October 30, 2008 - Tawni Wimberley, 30, a Flagstaff High School and technology teacher, was sentenced to six months - suspended. She will be on supervised probation for three years. She will have to REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER for the rest of her life.

In September, Wimberley pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor. She was on a leave of absence when she had improper relationships with 16-year-old and 17-year-old boys in 2007. Police alleged that Wimberley had consensual sexual relationships with ``several'' male students, most of them legal adults.
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This AP story says nothing about sex offender registration.

Spring Grove, ILLINOIS

Elementary school principal found in motel with two underage girls and they weren't watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks."

April 8, 2008 - Daniel Markofski, 47, the principal of Spring Grove Elementary School, was arrested and charged with two counts of exposing a child to harmful material and one count of sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older. Both girls were from Milwaukee.

Markofski was arrested after an officer on patrol found him partially clothed in a Glendale motel with two girls, ages 15 and 16, on Saturday. The police officer noticed the smell of pot coming from a room at the Super 8 Motel on Port Washington Road. The girls were partially nude. Police say Markofski had alcohol and marijuana.

According to a criminal complaint, Markofski admitted that he met the 16-year-old girl in an online chat room. He told authorities that he and the girl had talked on the phone several times and that he had taken her to the motel twice. The 15-year-old was a friend of the other girl. She accompanied them to the beach and then the motel room. said they talked about watching a movie. She asked to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks, but says Markofski ordered a pornographic movie instead. According to the 15-year-old, shortly after the movie started, Markofski had sexual contact with the 16-year-old and and took sexually explicit pictures of the 16-year-old with his cell phone.

He has been suspended with pay. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 18.
Full Name: David Scott Markofski

EMPLOYMENT He is licensed to teach in Wisconsin. According to state records, he taught at North Lake Elementary in Boulder Junction from 1994 to 1997. He was a teacher then assistant principal at Arbor Vitae-Woodruff Elementary School from 1997 to 2005. He was principal of both Blackhawk and Tower Rock elementary schools, which are in the Sauk Prairie School district, from 2005 to 2006. (From Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

NO SHOW April 9 - In 2005, Markofski abruptly resigned as a school principal. He just didn't show up for work. Craig Bender, the superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District in Sauk City, Wis. said that one day Markofski just disappeared. “We couldn’t track him down.” he said.

He told the school district that he was going through a divorce and struggling with personal issues when the superintendent contacted him shortly after he stopped showing up to work. Markofski’s divorce was finalized in January 2006.

SCHOOL BOARD VOTES April 15 - – District 2 board members voted unanimously Tuesday to fire Spring Grove Principal Dan Markofski. That came despite Markofski tendering a letter of resignation to the district earlier Tuesday.“They wanted to have on public record that they chose to dismiss him,” Superintendent Dan Oest said.

The school board admitted that they did not call his previous employer and promises to to check with all previous employers.

NOT GUILTY PLEA April 18 - Markofski waived a preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty.

TRIAL DATE SCHEDULED for August 6 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. (Found in this story on drug testing.)

SENTENCED October 30 - Marfofski pleaded guilty in September to having sex with a child 16 or older and to two counts of exposing a child to harmful material. This week he was sentenced to one year in prison and 18 months of extended supervision. Markofski will also have to REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER.
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ONLINE RESOURCE: You can find teacher license revocations in the minutes of the Illinois State Teacher Certification Board. No reasons are given, however, for the disciplinary action. (You cannot assume that it was for criminal acivity as many states revoke licenses for failure to pay back funds advanced for professional training.)

Sample Of those listed in these minutes, we have entries for Church, Pappas and Williams. All three were sentenced for sexual misconduct with students.

Springfield, MISSOURI

May 4, 2007 - Jeremy Anderson, a Glendale High School science teacher, may lose his teaching license. In February, he was seen on a security camera pushing a 15-year-old female student against a wall, rubbing her face and hugging her . The student reportedly tried to get away by walking across the hall, and he followed, putting his arm around her.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, told the newspaper that DESE had opened an investigative file on Anderson. State statutes allow for revocation of a teaching license for a number of reasons, including if a teacher is found guilty of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude. Though Anderson is not charged with a felony, lawyers for the state attorney general's office would decide if Anderson's actions amount to moral turpitude, said Rosenkoetter.
Full Name: Jeremy Warren Anderson AKA Jeremy W. Anderson

RESIGNED June 20 - Anderson resigned. A court date is scheduled for July 5.

SENTENCED October 30 - Anderson was sentenced to 45 days in jail and a $1000 fine for a “common assault” of a 15-year-old student. The victim took the stand at the August 29 trial.
------------------
ONLINE: There are NO teacher disciplinary actions online at the Missouri Department of Education. The Missouri Board of Education meeting minutes are not online either.

You can, however, search at the Missouri Department of Revenue for a business (by county, city, name or ID tax number) to see if they have had their sales tax license revoked for failure to remit sales tax.

At the Missouri Division of Professional Registration, you can look for licensee information for Accountants, Architects, Dentists, Doctors, Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists and Pharmacists and other professions. At the Missouri Board of Healing Arts you can browse through license suspensions. Their monthly newsletters contains information on license actions.

However, you can not find any information on disciplinary actions that may have been taken against a person who is in daily contact with your child. It's a lack of transparency that no parent should tolerate.

Houston, TEXAS

Tipped off that someone was smoking marijuana behind the elementary school.

October 30, 2008 - Susan Michael, 51, a teacher at Whittier Elementary, was arrested after someone called into a tip line to report that someone was smoking marijuana behind the school.

Police took in drug dogs and got a hit on a car in the parking lot. After authorities got consent to search it, police found three rolled cigarettes with green leafy substance and a small amount of Hydrocodone in the car.

Michael was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance in a drug free zone.
----------------------
SCHOOL INFO: The school rates 3 (with 10 being the highest) at GreatSchools.net. Student population is 95% Hispanic and 3% White and 2% Black. Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch program = 87%. of the student population.

Chicago, ILLINOIS

Yet another 60-something teacher arrested this week for child pornography.

October 30, 2008 - Samuel Hossin, 61, was charged Wednesday with one count of aggravated dissemination of child porn and one count of aggravated possession of child porn.

Officers from the sheriff's Child Exploitation Unit began investigating Hossin last summer after receiving a tip that he had child pornography on his computer, the release said. Police executed a search warrant in early September, seizing a loaded .38 caliber handgun, several computers and a computer hard drive found hidden behind a basement ceiling.

Hossin worked as a teacher for CPS for 30 years before retiring in 2006. He worked as a sixth-grade teacher at a South Side school.
He is slated to appear again in court Nov. 13.
---------------
TT - See our lists of educators who have pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing, and those sentenced for child pornography. The ages will surprise you.

Child Pornography and Educators
TT - List of educators sentenced for child pornography.
TT - List of educators guilty, but not yet sentenced.

Graduation

Dumbing down or what?

May 8, , 2008 - Alabama finalized new graduation requirements. The changes are effective immediately, and the relaxed diploma requirements apply to the class of 2008.

The state Board of Education this morning approved changes in Alabama's high school graduation requirements that will put many students into a tougher curriculum but also will help weaker students earn diplomas on time.

Under the changes, students must pass only three of the five sections of the graduation exam to receive diplomas; two of those sections must be reading and math. Previously, students had to pass all five sections to get diplomas. However, incoming freshmen will automatically be placed on the advanced diploma track, also known as the college track, and won't be able to switch to the less demanding "regular" track without parents' permission.

TT - The newspaper does not link to the new requirements. They can be found at the Alabama Department of Education site. (The proposal is difficult to open and you have no option to open it in another web page.)

Found at the same site, a March 11, 2008 letter from the state Superintendent of Education to the state Board of Education members says that "Currently, 92% of all seniors pass 5/5 parts of the Graduation Exam."

The logical question should be, then, "Why should they change the requirement to 3/5 parts to graduate?"

Other requirements being considered.
October 29 - Dr. Eric Mackey, superintendent of the Jacksonville City School System, updated the Board of Education on new graduation requirements being considered by the state board during their work session Monday night.
-----------------------------
TT - The unhealthy preoccupation with graduation rates (see our previous coverage here and here) means that a lot of states are now focusing on unrealistic graduation rates. In Alabama, that goal is 90 percent. The reason is, one suspects, that secondary education in Alabama is a cash cow and a political patronage haven and source of political power and corruption. (the latest sentencing.) Most states expect 70% of their students to graduate.

The problem with graduation rates is that they focus on access to college, not preparation for college. What good does it do to graduate a student from high school who is functionally illiterate and unable to find a decent job? Only to send him or her to college where the dropout rate is more than 30% in the first year and 50% never graduate? Meanwhile, the student - 2/3rds of which receive student aid - wastes their time while the taxpayer assumes the burden for unpaid student loans. "What's the point of that?" was the question in this 2005 article.

That was three years ago. Before the financial aid scandals revealed how lucrative student loans could be for the colleges and universities. The financial interests of colleges and universities in student loans are still coming under fire. And not just in Iowa. Only New Jersey seems alone in tying state student scholarships to preparation and grades. Students will have to pay for their own remedial classes.

In the meantime, Alabama told local schools today that the state did not have enough money to make the October payroll for local schools.

Louisville, KENTUCKY

October 30, 2008 - A grand jury indicted Adrian Sanford, the principal of Dixie Elementary School who resigned last month, and Toneke Bullitt, the bookkeeper. The four felony charges include theft, unlawful taking, tampering with physical evidence, fraudulent use of a credit card and abuse of public trust.

The school district began investigating Sanford and Bullitt in May after receiving an anonymous tip about questionable vendor payments made by Sanford. The school investigation revealed roughly $69,000 in unsubstantiated payments from school funds.

Two of the vendors Sanford hired were his relatives,, one with a felony drug conviction, the other with felony charges pending against him in connection with a purse stolen last year from a Dixie teacher. The district says they can't prove some of the vendors did any work.

The two will be arraigned Monday.
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Sept. 12, 2008 "Adrian Sanford Resigns From Dixie Elementary"

Louisville, KENTUCKY

October 30, 2008 - Ronald Borman, 61, a former English teacher at Kammerer Middle School, is due in court after being charged with federal child pornography charges stemming from an investigation two years ago.

Borman has been serving a 21-month sentence in Florida. He resigned from Kammerer after he was arrested in 2006. He was convicted after a Florida detective posing as a 13-year-old had sent the detective child porn over the Internet.

Fox 41 WDRB reported that police said he was nude, had a web cam, and performed sexual acts in front of it.
-----------------
OTHER:
Borman is on the Florida Sex Offenders List

An October 13, 2006 article on his arrest, revealed his work history. From WHAS:

Not only did Borman teach at Kammerer Middle School, but WHAS discovered that he taught at Saint Agnes and was a priest.

Borman was a priest in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. He was transferred by religious order twice and left the priesthood in 1998.

He was also a teacher in the catholic school system in Louisville. He taught at Saint Agnes from 1999-2001, at Saint Polycarp School from 1998-1999, and Holy Spirit School from 1978 to 1985.

The Louisville Archdiocese confirms he worked at those schools and wouldn't say anything else about why he left.

He also taught at Westport Middle School in Jefferson County.

Irrigon, OREGON

October 29, 2008 - Forrest McKinnis, 31, was indicted on theft and 43 counts of official misconduct Monday after having allegedly stolen $1,000 in textbooks and then selling them on eBay. Theft is a felony.

McKinnis was placed on administrative leave in September after the Morrow County School District discovered that textbooks stored in a closet were being sold on the Web site. He was arrested September 17.

A program director at Morrow Education Center, McKinnis coached boys' basketball at Heppner High School for five years and was scheduled to coach the Riverside High School girls' basketball team this winter.

McKinnis was a former former Educator of the Year. If he is convicted, McKinnis could lose his Oregon teaching license. He will be arraigned on Nov. 6.
Full Name: Forrest Dean McKinnis
Morrow County
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The Morrow Education Center is for “at-risk” students. The center serves as the alternative program for Morrow and Umatilla School Districts. They can 75 enroll students who are referred by district administrators.

Mt. Vernon, WASHINGTON

Oct 1, 2007 - Al Gromus, 56, a Mount Vernon High School teacher, was in jail after an attack with a baseball bat Sunday left his wife with skull injuries and a neighbor with a broken ankle.

He was arrested on suspicion of two counts of assault involving his 53-year-old wife and a neighbor who tried to intervene in the attack. Both the suspect and his wife work for the school district.

Oct 2 - Gromus has been formally charged with first degree attempted murder.

"She had some facial fractures and a fracture on the back of her head, as well as a fracture to her lower right leg," said Will Reichardt, chief deputy for the Skagit County Sheriff's office.

Full Name: Alan T. Gromus

ARRAIGNMENT Oct 11 - Gromus pleaded not guilty during his arraignment.

Pam Gromus suffered a skull fracture and a broken leg as a result of that attack. She was recovering at home, but we're told she's now back in the hospital because of an infection.

King5 news also reports that former students of Al Gromus are coming forward saying they've seen what happens when Al Gromus becomes angry.

CONVICTED July 11, 2008 - A jury found Gromus guilty of two counts of assault involving use of a deadly weapon. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 15. His attorney, meanwhile, is asking for a retrial.

SENTENCED October 29 - Gromus was sentenced today to more than 20 years (248 months) in prison. Court Judge Michael Rickert denied Gromus' request for a new trial.

Superior, MINNESOTA

October 29, 2008 - Laura Janzig, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of defamation for writing a series of false emails to members of the Superior School District alleging sexual activity between school students and a teacher.

In the e-mails, she Janzig alleged inappropriate behavior between a teacher and several of her male and female students. The accused teacher was put on administrative leave as the allegations were investigated by the Superior Police Department.

The emails were traced to Janzig who was dating a former boyfriend of the teacher.
Full Name: Laura Lee Janzig

Janzig is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1st.

Orange, CALIFORNIA

October 29, 2008 - Carlie Attebury, 29, a music teacher at El Modena High School was arrested October 13 on suspicion of lewd acts with a minor.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office is now reviewing the case. Orange Police Department Sgt. Dan Adams said that they expected charges to be filed soon. Attebury was arrested after detectives interviewed her about the allegations that were reported to them three days earlier.

Orange Unified School District officials said Attebury was on paid administrative leave. A long-term substitute teacher was standing in for Attebury.
Full Name: Carlie Rose Attebury

Anyone with information about this recent investigation is asked to call Detective Scott Trausch at 714-744-7579.

From article: QUOTE This is the second alleged incident in four years involving staff at El Modena High.
Former principal Brent Bailey resigned in February of 2007 following a misdemeanor charge against him for allegedly engaging in lewd conduct in public. Bailey, accused of trying to engage in lewd activities at a park in Fullerton, pleaded guilty in June of 2007 and received three years' probation. TT entry for Bailey

Former band director Jason Cawelti was arrested on Dec. 5, 2003 on charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Cawelti pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse and oral copulation of a person under age 18 in June of 2004. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years' probation, which he completed in June of 2007.QUOTE

TT - For the record, if they were sentenced, the incidents were not alleged. They happened. And wouldn't this be the third arrest in five years?

CHARGED October 31 - Attebury was charged with eight felony counts: two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and six other counts, including dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. The boy was between the ages of 15 to 16. She has been on paid leave. But today, the Orange Unified School District changed Attebury's status to unpaid leave, according to a district official.

Grand Junction, COLORADO

October 29, 2008 - Michael Morrow, 63, a teacher's aide at Grand Mesa Middle School for the last 3 weeks, was arrested for possession of child pornography. Federal agents say he had about 13,000 child porn images on his external hard drive.

During the investigation Federal agents say, Morrow admitted to receiving, viewing, and sending images and video files of child pornography.

If you have any information concerning this case investigators have asked that you call the Sheriffs office. The number is 970-244-3500.
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OTHER:
U.S. Attorney's Office Press Release (dated Oct. 29, 2008)
QUOTE According to an affidavit in support of a Criminal Complaint, on October 27, 2008, ICE agents executed a search warrant at Michael Morrow’s home, after receiving information that an individual using an Internet Protocol (IP) address at Morrow’s residence may be involved with the sexual exploitation of children. Agents conducted a preview examination of Morrow’s hard drive, finding numerous image files of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. During the investigation, Morrow stated that he had approximately 13,000 images of child pornography, ranging in age from toddlers to teens.

“Tragically, Mr. Morrow was actively involved in several organizations which gave him direct access to children,” said United States Attorney Troy Eid. UNQUOTE
----------------------
Grand Junction Free Press (Oct. 29) "Feds arrest former Grand Mesa Middle School aide on child porn charges"
Morrow said he had been collecting and sharing such images via the Internet for years, which he'd received from "Chris LNU" of the Netherlands.

Morrow had recently written sports columns for the Grand Junction Free Press. He was an unpaid contributor. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on Wednesday reported on its Web site that Morrow had worked there as a copy editor.

Boise, IDAHO

October 29, 2008 - Mary Zahm, 43, a fourth grade at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Boise, has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter. Police say she was intoxicated at the time of the crash which claimed the life of 83-year-old woman last November.

She was charged in June of this year and turned herself in on the arrest warrant.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18.

San Antonio, TEXAS

Entirely sympathetic story of a teacher who helped his students cheat.

October 29, 2008 - The news report begins, "Every year, the pressure of the TAKS test is just too much. Your kids fear they may fail and their teachers fear they may lose their jobs."

As state lawmakers consider making changes to the TAKS, News 4 Trouble Shooter Mireya Villarreal is breaking news of how the pressure of the TAKS pushed one teacher to do what he should never do: Help his students cheat.

News 4 obtained documents from the Texas Education Agency that show several local teachers under scrutiny because they didn't follow TAKS testing policy last spring. That includes one Northside School District teacher who said he gave his students answers all because the stress of the TAKS was too much to handle.

The reporterette Mireya Villarreal asked him about it.

Do you feel like what you did was wrong," Villarreal asked.

Neesvig answered, "I broke a policy. I can't deny that. Do I regret what I did? Unfortunately, I would say I would do it over again the same way."

They asked him why.

News 4 asked the teacher why he would do something that clearly broke test-taking policy. He claimed it has to do with the pressure to perform placed on students and teachers.

Neesvig said, "A lot of emphasis is placed on the TAKS test. And I think it doesn't necessarily have the best outcome for the children or the teachers."

Concluding sentence: After our interview with Burton Neesvig, we received notice he resigned from his teaching position.
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TT - The students were in his fourth grade math class. The school was Thorton Elementary School. There was little need to cheat. Students would have scored well by themselves.

In 2007-2008 this school was acknowledged by the Texas Education Agency for the following
Commended Performance in Reading/English Language Arts, Mathematics, Writing, Science, and Reading/English Language Arts. They have performed similarly well in previous years.

In 2007-2008 in Math 96% of fourth graders met or exceeded standards.
The State average was 83%.
Students score similarly well in all the grades and in all areas. They exceeded the state average in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Why would a teacher provide answers to students who didn't need them? Teachers and teacher unions in Texas are adamantly opposed to TAKS. Like most tests, the examinations rate the performance of the teacher more than the student because they measure what is being taught. And, more importantly, not taught. Which is why the unions and their political allies have tried to undermine the tests for years.

A student turned the teacher in. Something you suspect the reporterette would never have done.

Bay Shore, NEW YORK

A year after he was convicted in the one case, he was acquitted on another case.

October 29, 2008 - A jury acquitted Richard Tuthill, 36, two counts of second-degree sexual abuse after a three-week trial The jury deliberated seven days on the misdemeanor charges. He was on trial for touching two 13-year-old girls in separate incidents in 2005 during private voice lessons at his home.

Last year, a jury found Tuthill guilty of second-degree sexual abuse, a charge that was the result of the first girl to accuse him. He was sentenced to six months' probation and was required to register as a sex offender. The case is being appealed.

Tuthill was a music teacher at Bay Shore Middle School.