"The girl's second-grade teacher told authorities McElveen took the child out of class five times for lice checks. He told her he had to check her for bites and lice, and according to court documents, also forced her to touch him. The child said the most recent incident was Sept. 26. The girl's technology and art teachers said McElveen removed the girl from their classes without telling them why. Her technology teacher added when she was taken out of class, it was for "a long while," according to court documents."Of course, everyone appears shocked, including KIPP co-founder, Mike Feinberg, who recently praised the alleged child rapist for his good work in rescuing stranded hurricane victims in Houston. But anyone who has heard the stories of former No Excuses charter school teachers knows that classroom teachers are not in the position to question administrators or their henchmen in support roles. As at-will employees, questions can get teachers fired at KIPP.
Meanwhile in Philadelphia where the Mastery Charter Schools emulate the KIPP Model that celebrates the same freedoms from any regulation, oversight, or management accountability, a 42 year old "school leader" has just been charged with rape for taking an 8th grader to an airport hotel and having his own innovative way with her on repeated occasions.
What I've concluded is that it all boils down to their allegiance. To whom or to what do school administrators owe their first and primary allegiance?
ReplyDeleteWho calls the shots?
The government?
The School District / private charter school corporation?
The teachers' union?
To better understand this, it would be great if everyone could watch LAUSD's mandatory on-line class video and take the mandatory test that is mandatory for teachers to take TWICE a year
Having taken both the class and the test countless times, what strikes me now is how much LAUSD drills into teachers heads the notion that, in the realm of suspected child abuse, THE GOVERNMENT AND ITS LAWS ARE SUPREME, that the LAUSD School District is utterly subservient to the state of California, and that's how it should be. (But alas, that's not how it is with privately managed charter schools, as these notorious cases make painfully obvious)
If you're an LAUSD teacher, your boss's and administrator's authority and power must totally give way to the state.
*Don't investigate on your own.*
*Don't try to engage in any mental gymnastics or rationalization that will lead you to justify not reporting something.*
*Don't try to talk to an administrator, or a higher up-administrator in the hopes that he/she will back up your decision not to report.*
... and on it goes ...
Instead, you must *PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE AND CALL THE POLICE*, or *DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES*
Failure to do so will lead to you losing your credential / license to teach.
Following the laws of the state regarding mandatory reporting truly puts children first.
Again, this is the District ceding power to the state. (unlike the folks in charge of privately managed and money-motivated charter school corporations, who boldly resist doing so... as these recent cases show.)
Charter schools do not want to be told how they teach mandatory reporting to their administrators and teachers. They say to the respective school districts:
*"Butt out, and let us do it our way. We need such flexibilityand freedom from such bureaucratic shackles."*
This means, of course, that very often, none of the charter school teachers or administrators are trained in mandatory child abuse reporting.
Perhaps that's because those running privately-managed charter schools want to cheap out and not provide this training. It may also be so that they can handle child abuse in a way that benefits the school at the expense of child victims of abuse.
Now, if you combine this with the non-union status of faculty --- where faculty and administrator are in utter fear of the charter school management, and scared to death that they can be fired for whatever reason, or for no reason --- and you have a recipe for disaster.
Unlike the traditional public school teachers and administrators, the charter school folks have not had such intensive training in mandatory reporting.
In the charter sector, the teacher or administrator's reaction is ...
*"Oh sh#%! I better be careful in how I handle this. I don't want to get fired. I better talk the principal first* (or Executive Director, as they like to give business names to the boss... it's a business, you know) *and ask him/her what I should do next."*
Then, once informed, the charter school administrator's primary allegiance in NOT --- Repeat NOT --- to the state. The corporation's handling of the situation to the corporation is based on cynical motives. Those running the corporation make a decision that is not *KIDS FIRST*-based, but instead, is based on what's good, both for the charter school's bottom line and for the charter school's reputation. If that means covering it up, and not informing the state, then that's what they're going to do. If everybody clams up --- including student victims and their parents --- then they can hopefully just ride this out without the police or prosecutors or the general public becoming any the wiser.