Can anyone explain why this teacher still has a job?

[Dante]

Teacher encourages 5th grade students to make Christmas cards to send to lonely people, gathers them up, and sens them off to an inmate who was actually charged with possession of child pornography. These cards contained the names and return address of said children, and the teacher told the kids they might actually become pen pals.

For some reason, even though the school wants to fire her, they can't.

NYC Teacher Melissa Dean Sent Kids’ Cards to Convict Once Charged With Child Porn | TheBlaze.com

I bet she supports Ron Paul.

Dante, you're back.

Why?

By bdc_dante at 2012-02-16

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Why did the teacher still have a job when the article was published Feb. 16? Probably because the investigation didn't conclude until Feb 15 (http://www.nycsci.org/reports/02-12 Dean Melissa Ltr.pdf). The teacher was apparently removed from the classroom immediately after her alleged acts were made known to the school district. I don't see any evidence that there was anything wrong with the school district's response to the incident.

I never said there was anything wrong with what the school district did, I object to the fact that the school district felt the need to keep her in any position, even if it wasn't in a classroom.

You titled your thread "Can anyone explain why this teacher still has a job?". I tried to do just that.

Rhetorical question, I know why the teacher has a job, and I object to a system that requires an investigation and a bunch of paperwork before someone gets fired when they do something this egregious.

 

[Mr. H.]

Why did the teacher still have a job when the article was published Feb. 16? Probably because the investigation didn't conclude until Feb 15 (http://www.nycsci.org/reports/02-12 Dean Melissa Ltr.pdf). The teacher was apparently removed from the classroom immediately after her alleged acts were made known to the school district. I don't see any evidence that there was anything wrong with the school district's response to the incident.

"Removed from the classroom".

Not FIRED on the spot? Without pay?
Fired as in shit-canned permanently?

As in- good bye?

**** "the school district's response to the incident".

In fact- **** "THE SCHOOL DISTRICT". THE School District- that benevolent nepotistic shit hole bereft of cronyistic favoritism.

**** that shit.

 

[Luissa]

If this is true, the lady should have her ass fired. I can see sending a care package but names and addresses? Wow, just wow!

 

[Mr. H.]

Now that I've sobered up, I could edit my post but.... nah.
I am obviously displeased with the schooling "system".

 

[Bfgrn]

I never said there was anything wrong with what the school district did, I object to the fact that the school district felt the need to keep her in any position, even if it wasn't in a classroom.

You titled your thread "Can anyone explain why this teacher still has a job?". I tried to do just that.

Rhetorical question, I know why the teacher has a job, and I object to a system that requires an investigation and a bunch of paperwork before someone gets fired when they do something this egregious.

YEA!!!

 

[blastoff]

Teacher encourages 5th grade students to make Christmas cards to send to lonely people, gathers them up, and sens them off to an inmate who was actually charged with possession of child pornography. These cards contained the names and return address of said children, and the teacher told the kids they might actually become pen pals.

For some reason, even though the school wants to fire her, they can't.

NYC Teacher Melissa Dean Sent Kids’ Cards to Convict Once Charged With Child Porn | TheBlaze.com

Because they are finishing up the paperwork (per the article).

Why do they need paperwork?

Among other things, so you've got a trail showing you dotted all the federal i's and crossed all the bureaucratic t's in case months or years later you're in court over the incident. Law suit protection, etc., etc.

 

[geauxtohell]

I never said there was anything wrong with what the school district did, I object to the fact that the school district felt the need to keep her in any position, even if it wasn't in a classroom.

You titled your thread "Can anyone explain why this teacher still has a job?". I tried to do just that.

Rhetorical question, I know why the teacher has a job, and I object to a system that requires an investigation and a bunch of paperwork before someone gets fired when they do something this egregious.

Shocking. I pegged this for the typical anti-teachers union by a poster before opening it. Upon opening it, it was obvious you hadn't bothered to read the whole article. So now the issue isn't that she was fired, it's that she wasn't fired soon enough?

Everyone deserves due process. The school did the right thing and separated the teacher from the students for the investigation. Now that is complete the teacher can be terminated and, hopefully, prosecuted if she broke a law. I wouldn't hold out hope that anything will come about from the child porn charges. He was never convicted.

 

[geauxtohell]

Because they are finishing up the paperwork (per the article).

Why do they need paperwork?

Among other things, so you've got a trail showing you dotted all the federal i's and crossed all the bureaucratic t's in case months or years later you're in court over the incident. Law suit protection, etc., etc.

Federal? What are you talking about?

 

[saveliberty]

It pains me when people I normally agree with and always respect abandon due process. It leaves me with the group I normally disagree with and find generally contemptable. Due process is there to protect the ocassional innocent person who is the target of political or personal attack. It may surprise you, but teachers are OFTEN in that position.

 

[Bfgrn]

It pains me when people I normally agree with and always respect abandon due process. It leaves me with the group I normally disagree with and find generally contemptable. Due process is there to protect the ocassional innocent person who is the target of political or personal attack. It may surprise you, but teachers are OFTEN in that position.

It also pains me to agree with you. As much as conservatives think they are tough on crime, they are really just tough on freedom and liberty. And for any conservative to deny teachers are being targeted by right wing think tanks and conservative rhetors is pure denial.

Then, there is always the TRUTH, something conservatives detest.

Mythbusters: The truth about tenure

Tenure is under attack around the nation. Governors in Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Nevada and New Jersey have called for an end to tenure, claiming that's the only way to get rid of "bad" teachers. Responding to tenure critics should not be difficult because tenure is due process. Let's set the record straight on this commonly misunderstood concept.

MYTH: Tenure guarantees a job for life.

Truth: Tenure is about due-process, not about guaranteeing jobs for life. In New York, new teachers serve a three-year probationary period, during which school officials have an obligation to evaluate those teachers' job performance. If, after three years, the local school board votes to grant a teacher tenure, it simply means the teacher is entitled to a fair hearing before a neutral third party if there are allegations of incompetence or wrongdoing. During the first three years, teachers and teaching assistants generally can be dismissed at any time for any reason.

MYTH: Administrators' hands are tied: Tenure's automatic.

Truth: Unions don't grant tenure — administrators do. Too many school boards and superintendents attack tenure rather than hold their own managers accountable for hiring and supervising teachers and, if necessary, removing those who don't make the grade. Tenure is granted by the board of education on recommendation of the superintendent — but many schools do a poor job of evaluating and supporting teachers. That's why NYSUT's Innovation Initiative is piloting a comprehensive teacher evaluation system built by five joint labor-management teams. The model is designed to evaluate teachers comprehensively and fairly — and provide support to those who need it.

MYTH: Good teachers don't need tenure.

Truth: Tenure's not about protecting "bad" teachers; it's about protecting good teachers. What would happen to teachers without tenure? They could — and would — be fired for virtually any reason.

It's not hard to imagine teachers being dismissed because they failed the daughter of an influential businessman or because the school board president's nephew needed a job.

In these fiscally troubled times, what would stop a school board from replacing a veteran teacher at the top of the pay scale with a first-year teacher — simply to save money?

Tenure is the first line of defense against attacks on academic freedom. Teachers can engage their students in a free exchange of ideas only if they are protected from arbitrary dismissal for doing so. Tenure prevents school boards from arbitrarily dismissing teachers for holding political, religious or social views with which they disagree.

It protects academic freedom the way the First Amendment protects freedom of the press.

MYTH: No one else gets 'due process.'

Truth: Due process, a right enjoyed by all Americans, includes a presumption of innocence and the right to a fair hearing. Tenure is not unique to teaching. School building administrators have it, too. State and local workers, including police and firefighters, as well as private-sector union members, have due-process protections similar to tenure. And, they earn those protections in less time than teachers.

MYTH: Because of tenure, you can't fire a bad teacher.

Truth: A district can bring charges against a tenured teacher or teaching assistant for insubordination, conduct unbecoming a teacher, inefficiency, incompetence, physical or mental disability, neglect of duty, failure to maintain certification or immoral character, at any time.

 

[saveliberty]

I disagree with tenure. I support due process. A teacher should be able to choose whether they want to be part of a union or not.

Bfgrn, sorry about your pain. lol

 

[Luissa]

Now that I've sobered up, I could edit my post but.... nah.
I am obviously displeased with the schooling "system".

This has nothing to do with the school system, this has to do with one teacher maybe being a moron.

 

[Katzndogz]

She might have felt sorry for the inmate and believed this was necessary for his rehabilitation.

 

[Conservative]

mailed the cards to her imprisoned friend

The teacher visited the inmate 11 times between Nov. 2010 and Nov 2011 and called him 312 times between Sep. 7, 2011 and Jan. 3, 2012, thus the two are closely connected.

If all checks out as the city alleges, Dean will surely have a difficult time finding employment in the education field moving forward. For now, she has been reassigned and no longer has contact with children.

Once the investigation is concluded, she will most likely be fired, and I highly doubt even given a teaching position with children again.

 

[Luissa]

Sounds like she found herself a prison boyfriend...........Some women.

I know a girl who just married a guy in prison, he has been there since she was 13 and will be there another 12 years or so. Why do that to yourself? Why tie yourself down to someone like that?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Because they are finishing up the paperwork (per the article).

Why do they need paperwork?

Among other things, so you've got a trail showing you dotted all the federal i's and crossed all the bureaucratic t's in case months or years later you're in court over the incident. Law suit protection, etc., etc.

At will employment. Besides, there is not a judge in the universe that would put this woman back in the classroom.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

You titled your thread "Can anyone explain why this teacher still has a job?". I tried to do just that.

Rhetorical question, I know why the teacher has a job, and I object to a system that requires an investigation and a bunch of paperwork before someone gets fired when they do something this egregious.

Shocking. I pegged this for the typical anti-teachers union by a poster before opening it. Upon opening it, it was obvious you hadn't bothered to read the whole article. So now the issue isn't that she was fired, it's that she wasn't fired soon enough?

Everyone deserves due process. The school did the right thing and separated the teacher from the students for the investigation. Now that is complete the teacher can be terminated and, hopefully, prosecuted if she broke a law. I wouldn't hold out hope that anything will come about from the child porn charges. He was never convicted.

Let me try this using small words, due process applies to courts, not jobs. Does the school district actually have to go to court to fire people? If not, your post makes even less sense than you think mine does.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

it pains me when people i normally agree with and always respect abandon due process. It leaves me with the group i normally disagree with and find generally contemptable. Due process is there to protect the ocassional innocent person who is the target of political or personal attack. It may surprise you, but teachers are often in that position.

Due process does not apply to being fired from a job, people need to stop thinking the constitution applies to every situation.

If she wants to sue the school for wrongful termination she is free to do so, but they should be free to fire her without having to pay her when she endangers children. That would, however, be a civil action, not a criminal one, and not subject to due process concerns. If the DA decides to charge her with something then you can start worrying about due process.

 

[geauxtohell]

Let me try this using small words, due process applies to courts, not jobs.

Does the school district actually have to go to court to fire people? If not, your post makes even less sense than you think mine does.

No.

Damn you are dense. Just admit it. You didn't read the whole article, did you?