I’m sure most readers of this blog have already heard about the L.A. elementary school where two teachers have been arrested on molestation charges, and the District’s decision to remove all of the teachers at the school.
Parents are justifiably upset about the danger their children were in, and now many appear doubly upset at the decision made (perhaps unilaterally, but that’s not clear to me) by District officials to take so many teachers away from students with whom they have developed relationships.
All I know is what I hear in the media, and it sounds like an awful situation. From what I see in the media reports I have at the end of this post, though, it seems like removing all the teachers with what appears to be minimal input from parents might not have been the wisest choice.
What do you think?
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New staff arrives at embattled Miramonte school in L.A. is from USA Today.
I think it is an extreme reaction for an extreme situation, but based on further developments (yet a third accusation of conduct) it seems like the school has somehow bred a culture of this behavior, and, as a parent and a teacher, I would much rather have teachers lose their jobs to protect the kids, even if the kids are upset, then leave potential abusers in place while the district drags out an investigation (which did not catch the 1st abuser).
Perhaps when we know more we will see why removing all the teachers seemed necessary to the superintendent but my gut response is that this will be more damaging to a community already in a state of shock. Parents and teachers are the adults that help a child feel safe. In the aftermath of the allegation of such a heinous violation, these children need to feel protected by the adults who have rightfully earned their trust in order to ever feel safe again.