SPECIAL EDUCATION OFTEN MEANS SPECIAL ACCUSATIONS

CAN YOU IMAGINE A TEACHER HAVING TO ENDURE WHAT THIS TEACHER IS ENDURING BECAUSE SHE HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO WORK WITH A STAFF MEMBER WHO DREW INAPPROPRIATE DRAWINGS AND SHE FAILED TO DESTROY THEM BEFORE SOMEONE SAW THEM? IN AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH TEACHERS ARE AFRAID TO RAISE ISSUES, IT IS NATURAL THAT THIS TEACHER WOULD FEAR PRESENTING THESE DRAWINGS TO HER ADMINISTRATION. NOT MAKING WAVES IS THE MANTRA OF TODAY’S TEACHERS. THIS IS WHY TEACHER ABUSE IS SO BAD. NO ONE FEELS FREE TO RESOLVE ISSUES KNOWING THEY WILL BECOME A TARGET FOR HAVING DONE SO. FURTHERMORE, THERE MUST BE LAYERS OF EVIL IN THIS DISTRICT FOR A SITUATION SUCH AS THIS TO ESCALATE INTO CRIMINAL CHARGES. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT IT IS NOT SAFE TO BE A TEACHER ANYMORE. THESE GENTLE SOULS OPEN THEMSELVES UP TO A PLUNGE INTO DARKNESS. NAPTA

I was put on paid administrative leave on March 15, 2007. At the time, and until mid-April, all I knew was that this was related to a situation in which someone went into my school filing cabinet, found some comic like drawings (yes, they were insulting and degrading) made by another staff member years ago and distributed them to the 3 Teacher Aides of whom they were about. I first saw the drawing when they were made, took them away from the person who drew them and stuck them under some other papers in my filing cabinet, with every intention of destroying them. Unfortunately, I forgot about them until they resurfaced in March of 2007. A fourth teacher aide also jumped on their bandwagon, even though she knew about the drawings when they were first made.

I have been a special education teacher for 20 years. I specialize in working with young children on the Autism Spectrum. Up until this point, I was considered an expert in my district and was the go-to person for everything from student observations and evaluations to designing behavior plans. Excellent evaluations every year. Minimal administrative supervision. For the past 4 years I have worked with the same support staff of 8 teacher aides. We were all close up until this situation. In addition to me, three of the 8 teacher aides were also put on paid leave and a speech therapist that serviced the students in my program.

Up until early April, this was being treated as a staff issue only. That is what the parents of the program were told as well. A week later, we were told it was "much more than that." It wasn’t until I was interviewed by the school district’s lawyer that I found out that I was being accused of things that had to do with the children. My union president’s advice during that interview was to "Plead the 5th". A parent had already filed a claim for a lawsuit against the district-before I was even informed of what was really going on! Apparently, the insulted staff began making up things and or twisting true situations. The school district encouraged them to go to the police and make statements against other co-workers and myself in late March. They also freely spoke to parents and other members of the community.

On May 1 and 2, 2007 I spent a total of 16 hours at the police station, making a 22 page report. It was obvious to me then that the detective in charge of the case had already made up his mind that I was guilty of everything I was accused of. On May 2, after my statement was signed, I was promptly arrested. I was charged with 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child and 1 count of assault in the 3rd degree. That evening the detective met with the parents of the students in the program and told them, straight out, that I was guilty and implicated myself in my statement.

Since then, I have been in and out of court. The things I was accused of are ridiculous: having nicknames for the children, implementing behavior plans, and prompting techniques. The assault charge stems from an incident when a child pulled away from me and fell on the floor, banging his nose and causing it to bleed. The school district claims that they didn’t know what was going on in the classroom (although the principal was in the classroom almost daily). The union president told all their members to keep their mouths shut and not get involved, any witnesses of what really went on the classroom have been "advised" not to talk to anyone. The school district lawyers have selectively interviewed staff and do not appear to be the least bit interested in talking to anyone that has any information to support me.

The speech therapist became involved in this situation just because the accusers did not like her. Keep in mind that they are saying that all these "abuses" occurred during the 05-06 school years, and between October and February of the 06-07 school year. What a coincidence that this came up after they got really angry and upset with those drawings (we still don’t know who for sure distributed them).

This situation has affected my life in so many ways-I can’t get a teaching job until this is resolved (if it is resolved in my favor). I was pursuing an Ed.D and had to drop out of the program. My tuition money now goes to pay a lawyer. My children are confused because these accusers used to play with them, invite them over, and buy them gifts. So far this situation has cost me approximately $85,000 and I still owe another $65,000. All my retirement funds have been borrowed against or withdrawn, I had to refinance my home and I work two menial jobs. And there is no end in sight!

We were supposed to go to trial in November, but it was postponed and no date has been set. At this time, the only accusatory instruments are the police statements from the accusing teacher aides. Our motions to dismiss have been denied because the current documents against us have been deemed sufficient enough for trial. Basically though, no one wants to be the one to make a decision on this situation, for fear of parental repercussions.

My union has been useless. The union president appears to be more concerned about his status in the district and his standing with the superintendent than he is about representing me. The people with whom I worked closely no longer talk to me-including the occupation therapist I had been friends with for 12 years and recommended me for this position. We set up this program together! She has stated that she knows the allegations are untrue but refuses to come forward. Only one teacher I worked with spoke to my lawyer on my behalf. I have been supported by several sets of parents from previous years’ classes. Only one set of parents from the 06-07 school year has publicly supported me. The other parents have since ostracized them.

So here’s my story. This is the short version. I have been consumed with this situation for 10 months. I have no idea how much longer this will go on, if I will ever teach again, or if I even want to set foot in a classroom again. It breaks my heart every day because all I ever wanted was to be a special education teacher. I was good at my job and loved it with all of my soul. My students became my children as well and I would be the first person to ensure they were safe and well cared for. I never would have imagined that I would be in this situation and I pray that someday I will understand why this has happened.

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