From the Pasadena Star News:
A missing schoolteacher from South Gate apparently committed suicide in the Angeles National Forest, it was reported Sunday.
Rigoberto Ruelas, 39, a teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, was last seen last Sunday dropping off a present for his sister's birthday, according to the South Gate Police Department.
Ruelas notified the school he would need a substitute teacher assigned for his classes on Monday and Tuesday, but he did not show up to work on Wednesday and had not called in, police said. His family reported him missing that day.
Ruelas' body was found just before 9 a.m. in the forest, said Deputy Jeff Gordon of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
"(Sheriff's deputies) had been conducting training exercises near the Big Tujunga Canyon area of the Angeles National Forest," he said. "On Big Tujunga Canyon Road near mile marker 6.6, they located a vehicle connected to Rigoberto Ruelas, who had been reported missing. A subsequent search in the ravine approximately 100 feet below a nearby bridge lead to the discovery of Rigoberto Ruelas, who was deceased."
Suicide was suspected, authorities reportedly said.
Family members told a TV station that he scored low on a teacher rating report recently published by the Los Angeles Times, and that may have caused Ruelas to go missing.
The newspaper's database lists Ruelas as being "less effective than average overall," "Less effective than average in math," and "average in English." . . .
Jim, I'm with you on this one. I live in the Metro LA area and have been horrified at the Times's use of teacher names and rankings. They have printed many justifications to the use of such material, but there is absolutely no humane justification, because there are too many unknowns. I also was equally horrified in their report of the suicide that they noted the picture of Ruelas that they used was a police department photo. I understand attribution of source, but frankly, it was crass.
ReplyDeleteIt is terrible that the tragic results of transforming all aspects of education and society are not being reported in the media. However, most know that the media is under the control of multi-national corporations. The ranking of school A through F is designed to turn over more and more public schools to charter vested interest groups. This ranking has little to do with academic achievement. The legislators are stripping more money from schools, especially in poor areas, so they fail and the vested interest takes over. The Superintendent in CA laughed in the rankers face and thanked them when CA placed last on their fake list. The schools are ranked by vested interest...check it out. This teacher must have still been teaching academic skills, so he was ranked low. We can expect to see more and more of this.
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