Oyster-Adam teacher arrested

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one is pointing fingers or should be pointing fingers at parents. It could happen anywhere. However the comments by poster who noted the attitude of former principal are spot on-- they had a teacher who once scared 4th grade children in music https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Erlkönig. When some students had nightmares and were afraid the principal defended the teacher and belittled parents, relating it as a Grimms Fairy Tale. At the same time this teacher was a bad apple, kids were always sent to sit outside on the floor in the hallways if they were disruptive- daily.

This is all so sad. I'm relieved that OA has had a change of principal because I saw firsthand a few years back the librarian scream at a little boy for some trivial matter. So glad to know the new principal is less permissive. OA is such a great school and I'm so sad this happened.

To underscore a point mentioned above- this could happen anywhere. Absolutely anywhere. Please be kind to those parents who are grieving.

[Anonymous]

Interesting that the bad last principal showed up at the school last week, didn't she?

Also, did the teacher's (known) criminal activity occur on her watch, or after she was replaced?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I attended the meeting. It was really good. Dr Biel, Chief of Child Psych at Gtown was really down to earth and didn't try to have all the answers but was generally very encouraging that this horrible event does not have to be a trauma for every kid.

- things become traumas in part through how people respond to a difficult event. Denial, concealment, hysteria, chaos, blaming the victim...those would make this a trauma for our kids. But we can work hard to mitigate the risk of long term damage.

- listen to your kids cues. Don't vomit up too much info, just ask what the child has heard or if he or she has questions..Listen listen listen

-Every kid has a different way of processing this grief or pain. Don't worry if your kid seems strangely unaffected. Unless there are other stress signs (regressive behaviors, lack of sleep, agitated moods) it may just be that they kid is doing ok for the moment...

-Keep it simple. Don't focus on sexuality and power dynamics and molestation and pathology. Focus on the bad act--the "bad touching" and how that is wrong and so the teacher got in trouble. Kids will get that concept. Emphasize that no matter how much you like someone or know someone, that kind of bad touching is wrong and will be punished.


-It is empirically and statistically true that school is the safest place for kids to be--more than even home. So while this terrible tragedy occurred, this doesn't mean kids aren't safe at school.

-It's ok to trust your teacher. You should encourage kids to trust their teacher. That doesnt mean bad touching is ok from a trusted teacher. Bad touching is never ok. But the key is not to get our kids so worked up that they fear or distrust their leaders all the time..

We need better boundaries for teachers. Teachers shouldnt be kids' best friends.

We need more communication from the school about what they are telling kids and what they are hearing kids talk about.

DCPS and Canazales have worked VERY HARD this past few days. They wish the early response were faster but seem to be busting their balls to make OA safer for kids.

Something tells me PP got in trouble for sharing this, so everyone's too afraid to share anything that Dr. Lopez had to say.

[Anonymous]

I doubt it. An alternative explanation Is that very few people were there. Most of the parents in Adams were in the previous meeting. Plus the meeting was originally targeting families with kids with special needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I doubt it. An alternative explanation Is that very few people were there. Most of the parents in Adams were in the previous meeting. Plus the meeting was originally targeting families with kids with special needs.

Why are speculating if you know?

[Anonymous]

This whole thing feels like there is an active cover-up in play. My kids attended OA during Pena years, though he was not their classroom teacher. Someone is going to great lengths to keep this low profile (Kaya? Monica?). After all, how embarrassing to have praised this teacher with awards lavished by DCPS. And where is the WaPo?

[Anonymous]

Perhaps it'd be more appropriate to refer to the criminal molester as "Predator Pena" as "Mr" typically indicates some level of respect.

[Anonymous]

Something tells me PP got in trouble for sharing this, so everyone's too afraid to share anything that Dr. Lopez had to say.



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I was the PP who posted the notes from the meeting with Dr Biel at Adams last Monday. There is nothing illegal or wrong or irresponsible about my posting; it was an open meeting. Everyone is getting crazy with the conspiracy theories. Such a weird paranoid bunch on here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something tells me PP got in trouble for sharing this, so everyone's too afraid to share anything that Dr. Lopez had to say.



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I was the PP who posted the notes from the meeting with Dr Biel at Adams last Monday. There is nothing illegal or wrong or irresponsible about my posting; it was an open meeting. Everyone is getting crazy with the conspiracy theories. Such a weird paranoid bunch on here!

As an OA parent, I completely agree with you that this thread is toxic. The OA principal has given us a gag order? Huh? This is all tied to a conspiracy with DCPS, WaPo and our prior principal, Huh? (who incidentally was terrific regardless of what you have heard on this board). We are afraid to let our kids come forward as victims, Huh? From my perspective, I will tell you that I have stopped posting simply because you have proven that you #1, you don't deserve to know any additional information given your ability to twist and tangle the facts/experiences shared, and #2 there is no benefit for me as a parent to spend my time trying to argue with stupid. That's why you are not hearing from more sensible parents in the community right now.

[Anonymous]

As an OA parent, it just sucks. The politicking is really irrelevant. What happened happened, and there was a massive betrayal of trust. The administration may not have been as responsive as they could've been, but the fault lies with exactly one person and what he did was really, really bad. That's all there is to it.

[Anonymous]

Oh please out for blood posters!

It is not the school's job to keep this story going. It's a criminal matter that is out of their hands. They responded to the needs of their school community which is all they need to do. It is in the courts hands now.

And WaPo does not need to keep this story going to satisfy your need for gossip. You can try to dress it up as much as you'd like, but it seems that this is nothing more than gossip for some of you. You want WaPo to dig up dirt on this guy, humiliate him more. You want to see a formerly well-like person get raked over the coals. Bring him down! How dare he be charming and attractive!

Let it go. Be glad your child wasn't a victim and move on with your damn life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh please out for blood posters!

It is not the school's job to keep this story going. It's a criminal matter that is out of their hands. They responded to the needs of their school community which is all they need to do. It is in the courts hands now.

And WaPo does not need to keep this story going to satisfy your need for gossip. You can try to dress it up as much as you'd like, but it seems that this is nothing more than gossip for some of you. You want WaPo to dig up dirt on this guy, humiliate him more. You want to see a formerly well-like person get raked over the coals. Bring him down! How dare he be charming and attractive!

Let it go. Be glad your child wasn't a victim and move on with your damn life!

I love you! Thank you so much for this post!!

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who was a former prosecutor. In between preliminary hearings and trial (except for a few quick blips after grand jury and any important pretrial hearings), cases typically fall from the media's radar. It's one of the reasons defendants waive preliminary hearings--it tends to result in less press coverage (because less information is made publicly available at this stage). And remember, the media's job is to simply report the facts, not trash the guy. He is, after all, "innocent until proven guilty."

Also, my heart breaks for the families who have been victimized. Every other parent out there should be saying "but for the grace of God, there go I," and not Monday morning quarterbacking the parents, staff, and admin at OA. No one would have known. This is always, always what happens. Child molestation is a hidden epidemic. These predators are very, very good at what they do, and many are never caught. In fact, there is probably another parent out there reading this message whose child is also being abused by another adult, and they have no idea. That is the terrifying thing. It doesn't just happen to "bad parents" or "oblivious people". It cuts across race and socioeconomic status. So, support the current OA families. Long days lie ahead for them as they work to get their children past this. They need your support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the PP who was a former prosecutor. In between preliminary hearings and trial (except for a few quick blips after grand jury and any important pretrial hearings), cases typically fall from the media's radar. It's one of the reasons defendants waive preliminary hearings--it tends to result in less press coverage (because less information is made publicly available at this stage). And remember, the media's job is to simply report the facts, not trash the guy. He is, after all, "innocent until proven guilty."

Also, my heart breaks for the families who have been victimized. Every other parent out there should be saying "but for the grace of God, there go I," and not Monday morning quarterbacking the parents, staff, and admin at OA. No one would have known. This is always, always what happens. Child molestation is a hidden epidemic. These predators are very, very good at what they do, and many are never caught. In fact, there is probably another parent out there reading this message whose child is also being abused by another adult, and they have no idea. That is the terrifying thing. It doesn't just happen to "bad parents" or "oblivious people". It cuts across race and socioeconomic status. So, support the current OA families. Long days lie ahead for them as they work to get their children past this. They need your support.

Thank you for this, you are spot on!

[Anonymous]

"Dr. Julie Lopez" is NOT the best person for this because she has two kids in O-A and one is in 5th grade--the year this crime was reported to happen. It is unethical for a therapist or psychologist to essentially treat her own family. I'm sure she's qualified for a lot of things, it would not be appropriate professionally for her to be hired or whatever it is her cheerleader is trying to do.

She was brought in at the last minute by other parents, not DCPS which had already had several meetings and publicly published very useful information from Dr. Biel, a pediatric psychiatrist and not an O-A parent. http://oysteradamsbilingual.org/2015/06/11/update-from-oyster-adams-principal-ultimas-noticias-de-parte-de-la-directora-de-oyster-adams/

Nobody has been silenced, but a lot of people are still in shock and many kids were out of town on class trips the week it came out. My kid is in Adams and we have been continually encouraged to raise concerns in these last couple of weeks of school.

Everyone handles these things differently and everyone has had different experiences with this type of trauma. But we can't let one person, that we know of, take down a whole school. Beauvoir is still standing, O-A can and will come back from this.

I'm glad the trial and media hype will be after this week. The kids really don't need anymore press attention and it seems to just stir up parents.