Reply to Whitman Teacher and Crew Coach Arrested

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Sorry, just realized I posted the same link twice. The 2nd should be:  https://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2018/education/division-ii/title-6/subtitle-1/section-6-113.1/[/quote]

I don't blame principals who make a report to central office about suspected wrongdoing by a teacher, but the teacher gets to stay in the system anyway. I do blame principals who welcome back teachers who have committed an offense, even if it's not yet sexual or physical. All principals should insist that mcps require more than the minimal re-training a teacher has to do now in order to get to come back. It's no more than a few videos, and there's no required follow ups! The principal at my school had a teacher put on leave so they could look into wrongdoing he had reported himself, and the principal made it clear to MCPS that no matter what the official findings were, there was no way in hell that teacher was coming back to his school or having access to his students. He made it clear that he would make a huge stink if MCPS tried to put this person back in his building. He couldn't get the man fired, he doesn't have the power to do that, but he provided all the necessary information to central office and did everything in his power to keep him away from students. I respect him for that. Too many administrators just go along to get along and don't ask questions.[/quote]

One issue in MCPS is how they treat Child Abuse and Neglect reports. MCPS knee jerk reaction is to protect the staff member so as an institution, they aren’t sued. If CPS and the police can not prove child abuse/sexual abuse occurred, MCPS does not remove predators demonstrating grooming behaviors. Even after the first initial complaints, predators are kept in the classroom till the arrest is made.

One issue is that the General Counsel Office in MCPS advises MCPS and Board on these types of cases. The Board does not independently review information and they will support whatever MCPS and the General Counsel advises. There is no independent review that looks at cases on behalf of protecting students and firing staff that demonstrates grooming behavior. The result is that MCPS becomes a magnet for child predators who are employed by MCPS for decades.

The only way to protect students is to enforce the Code of Conduct. Firing offenders will send a message that MCPS is no longer a haven that gives predators unlimited access to children. [/quote]

If more principals refused to take back teachers who have been accused of grooming, whether or not MPD and CPS choose to investigate, this would be less of a problem. The sad truth is that principals are happy to take them back if they're a good teacher or parents really like them and they're getting flak because parents are upset that their child's coach or fave teacher is out on leave. These principals know, like another poster said, that there's something sketchy about the teacher in question. This is when we want to be pushing them out, not wait until MPD and CPS think a crime has occurred. I do believe in due process, but due process would mean that someone, anyone from the investigation unit within MCPS comes and talks to those of us, teachers and staff members, at the school where the teacher works. Instead, teachers watch colleagues disappear for a while, then come back as if nothing happened, going right back into their coaching and teaching positions with not much more than a line in their record, if that. We don't even know if they're being watched more closely after that. [/quote]

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