LA School Linked to Abuse Claims Will Replace Entire Faculty

[Capt Bringdown]

Schools chief announces entire Miramonte staff to be replaced (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/entire-miramonte-elementary-staff-to-be-replaced.html)

In a dramatic move to quell parents' fears, Los Angeles school officials said they will temporarily replace the entire staff of an elementary school south of downtown Los Angeles, where two teachers have been accused of lewd acts against students.

Officials stressed that no one else on the Miramonte staff is under suspicion of wrongdoing but that the chain of events has placed a cloud over the campus that can be lifted only with a drastic response.

One of the largest elementary schools in the nation, Miramonte has about 1,500 students and a teaching and administrative staff of about 150.

The details of the abuse case are horrific, but so are witch hunts.

[coyotes_geek]

^^^ Agreed. Pretty big overreaction.

[JoeChalupa]

You gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

I'd call the Texas Hammer. Stupid move by the school.

[Wild Cobra]

With a ration of 1:10 staff to students, you would think that's a great school.

[cheguevara]

"Mark Berndt, 61, allegedly spoon-fed his semen to blindfolded students and also took pictures of the acts."

that's when you take a machete with you to the PTA meeting

and it's no overreaction, police suspect there was a abuse ring at the school.

[Winehole23]

Unless that abuse ring includes every teacher and every administrator, firing everybody is an overreaction. People who had nothing to do with it don't deserve to lose their jobs, period.

[cheguevara]

Unless that abuse ring includes every teacher and every administrator, firing everybody is an overreaction. People who had nothing to do with it don't deserve to lose their jobs, period.

read the article.

"The displacement could be temporary: Many, maybe all, of the current staff will be returned to the school eventually, officials said. "

[Winehole23]

could be? that can't be very comforting to "displaced" workers.

[Winehole23]

still fucking bs imo

[cheguevara]

kids were fed semen.

I'd not only ask eveyone gone, but disincfect the entire school.

[Winehole23]

kids were fed semendoesn't justify letting the whole staff go.

lol libertarians for collective punishment

[cheguevara]

lol not understanding the meaning of "temporary"

[Winehole23]

lol not understanding the meaning of "could be"

[cheguevara]

LOL not understanding the words "Many, maybe all,"

[Winehole23]

if "many, maybe all" includes any people who did nothing wrong, that's effing bs no matter how you parse it

[101A]

Every now and then a case comes along that challenges my anti-death penalty stance.

This would be one of them.

[Nbadan]

Sucks for the kids, the staff gets paid to sit at home


The displaced staff will continue to be paid and also will receive counseling for a series of events that also traumatized the Miramonte staff, officials said.

[Winehole23]

so what, Dan?

[Winehole23]

hell, maybe they're doin em a favor

[Nbadan]

Federal dollars are short, we need staff with the kids, sucks all around...

[Winehole23]

we?

[Nbadan]

We...as in all of us who send kids to public schools or pay taxes for kids in public schools

[Winehole23]

hmmm

[Nbadan]

hmmmm..what...I already told you I have substituted to get a general gist of the problems in schools....put my money where my mouth is...and you?

[Winehole23]

Asked and answered. Seems kinda rough on staff who had nothing to do with it. I guess we'll see. I'll bet the outrage dies long before the matter is resolved and takes no note when it is.

[TeyshaBlue]

After 10 years as a teacher I observed that faculties tend towards closeness. It's unbelievable to me that other faculty members were in the dark here.

[Winehole23]

So, break em all up on the presumption they knew, or should have.

[TeyshaBlue]

I think a total replacement is unwarranted, but there are undoubtably faculty that knew. How to ferret those out? Pretty tough...bout the only way to capture that data set is to purge the whole thing.

Benefits vs Risk and all that.

[Winehole23]

Seems like questioning everybody would be an easier way to capture the data set than reassigning the entire staff, but if the real goal is to get rid of any bad apples that presumably remain, then it does make sense, especially since the offense is so overpoweringly heinous that otherwise equitable and reasonable people seem actually eager to check their fair-mindedness toward non-participating third parties at the door...

[TeyshaBlue]

I hear you, WH. I just don't know of another solution....the odds are better than zero a teacher is not going to implicate themselves by saying, "Yeah, I knew something was going on."

[TeyshaBlue]

And I wouldn't characterize this action as being particularly "eager".

[clambake]

waterboard the fuckers.

its the american way.

[Winehole23]

I was characterizing the talk here

[TeyshaBlue]

Oh, when you said equitable and reasonable people, I immediately dismissed ST.:lol

[Capt Bringdown]

After 10 years as a teacher I observed that faculties tend towards closeness. It's unbelievable to me that other faculty members were in the dark here.

10 + years as a teacher for me as well, albeit mainly in an overseas setting, but it's believable to me that other faculty members were not aware. Especially in one of the largest elementary schools in the nation located in a gigantic city such as LA, a place where nobody is a local.

I am familiar with other teachers in my dept, and with teachers at my grade level, and that's pretty much where it stops. There are folks who teach other subjects & grade levels that I haven't spoken a word to in 10 years. I could see questioning the teachers that the perps interacted closely with, but to sack the entire school is a hysterical over-reaction.

[Wild Cobra]

Sucks for the kids, the staff gets paid to sit at home
They might also be working in another school.

[Wild Cobra]

I think a total replacement is unwarranted, but there are undoubtably faculty that knew. How to ferret those out? Pretty tough...bout the only way to capture that data set is to purge the whole thing.

Benefits vs Risk and all that.
All public employees should be subject to lie detector tests as needed. Several types are already. Teachers probably aren't however.

[Capt Bringdown]

Some teachers "undoubtedly" knew about the abuse because they're teachers. Undoubtedly!

[Winehole23]

All public employees should be subject to lie detector tests as needed.

[clambake]

lol

[TeyshaBlue]

10 + years as a teacher for me as well, albeit mainly in an overseas setting, but it's believable to me that other faculty members were not aware. Especially in one of the largest elementary schools in the nation located in a gigantic city such as LA, a place where nobody is a local.

I am familiar with other teachers in my dept, and with teachers at my grade level, and that's pretty much where it stops. There are folks who teach other subjects & grade levels that I haven't spoken a word to in 10 years. I could see questioning the teachers that the perps interacted closely with, but to sack the entire school is a hysterical over-reaction.

I'll give you that. I only taught at one large school. The other was a very small, rural school. You've got a point there.