Parents in an upstate New York public school district are furious that a judge is keeping secret letters from at least 22 teachers who were supporting a colleague that sexually assaulted an 8-year-old boy.
Some of the letters in support of convicted pedophile Matthew LoMaglio during his sentencing phase were even written by the teachers on school stationary. The parents say that because the letters were written on school stationary, they were on taxpayer provided items and thus should be available as public record.
Prosecutors say their case was hampered by the fact teachers in the same school as the defendant refused to help in his prosecution.
A petition by parents in the district says, “we believe that children in the Rochester City School District are in danger.”
“It’s upsetting, but more than that, it’s fearful,” parent Karen Bryant told Fox News. “We have 22 teachers who still support this man and sent the letters after he was convicted and admitted he was guilty.”
The school district told Fox News they did not authorize any teachers to write letters in support of LoMaglio.
A teacher who was caught watching pornography was offered his job back by a Wisconsin school district after a state arbitrator and the state Supreme Court ruled he could not be fired for it.
Andrew Harris was fired from his job as a seventh-grade teacher for collecting, distributing and watching pornography on his school-issued computer. The investigation was launched after Harris started showing pornographic images to a female teacher in his school.
The teacher’s union then filed a grievance claiming his dismissal was unfair. A state arbitrator then ruled in favor of the teacher saying it was unfair of the school to fire him for viewing and distributing pornography from the computer. The arbitrator ordered the teacher to be rehired to his same job or a similar job and be paid back pay for the time he was out of work.
The cost of the back pay to taxpayers is nearly $200,000.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court validated the arbitrator’s decision by refusing to hear the case.
The school district then offered a similar position to Harris because they felt the $1 million spent defending themselves in the lawsuit was enough to ask from taxpayers.
Parents in the school district are outraged, demanding to know why a teacher who is watching pornography around underage kids is not a threat to the children. They also question how the teacher’s union could say this teacher did nothing worth being fired.
A Kansas middle school student was shocked to see a poster hanging in her classroom that depicted explicit sexual behavior.
The 13-year-old photographed the poster on her cell phone and showed it to her parents who were shocked by the graphic content. The parents believed at first the poster titled “How Do People Express Their Sexual Feelings?” was a student prank.
They were shocked even more to call the school and find out that the poster is part of the school’s approved health education curriculum.
Mark Ellis said he’s concerned what his daughter is being taught at Hocker Grove Middle School now that the poster has been declared “teaching material” by the school’s principal.
“It upsets me,” he told Fox News. “And again, it goes back to who approved this? You know this had to pass through enough hands that someone should have said, ‘Wait a minute, these are 13-year-old kids, we do not need to be this in-depth with this sexual education type of program.’”
A district spokeswoman told Fox News the poster must be viewed as part of the bigger curriculum that she claimed was abstinence-based.
An eighth grade social studies teacher at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, New Mexico is being hailed as a hero for stepping in front of the gunman who wounded two students in a shooting Tuesday.
John Masterson stepped in front of the gunman after he started firing in the gym with a 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun.
“He stood there and allowed the gun to be pointed right at him so there would be no more young kids hurt,” Gov. Susana Martinez told a prayer vigil Tuesday.
Two students were wounded in the shooting. Kendal Sanders, 13, is hospitalized in serious condition and her family told reporters that she is improving. An 11-year-old boy is in critical condition after two surgeries and hospital officials have not updated his condition.
Police authorities have said they do not know the motive for the shooting but discovered that the shooter apparently warned other students to stay home Tuesday.
A first grade student at Helen Hunt-Jackson Elementary School in Temecula, California was told by her teacher that she can’t say the name of Jesus in her classroom.
Brynn Williams’ teacher interrupted her during a one-minute speech on her family’s Christmas traditions, telling the 6-year-old that she can’t “talk about the Bible in school.”
Brynn had brought the Star of Bethlehem that her family places at the top of their Christmas tree for her report. Her family told Fox News that she had written and practiced her one-minute presentation to say her family’s tradition was to remember the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
“Our Christmas tradition is to put a star on top of our tree,” Brynn said in her report. “The star is named the Star of Bethlehem. The three kings followed the star to find baby Jesus, the Savior of the world.”
The teacher then stopped her saying “Stop right there! Go take your seat!” Brynn was the only student not allowed to complete her assigned report.
Brynn’s parents say the little girl was upset because she believed she had done something wrong and was in trouble. The school’s principle told the parents that she could not do the report because she might offend another student by saying the name of Jesus.
The school district gave Fox News the following statement:
“The Temecula Valley Unified School District respects all students’ rights under the Constitution and takes very seriously any allegation of discrimination. Due to the fact that District officials are currently investigating the allegations, it would be inappropriate to provide further comment at this time.”
A 14-year-old high school freshman killed his teacher on Tuesday, disposed of the body and then went to see a movie according to police authorities.
Philip Chism of Danvers, Massachusetts is charged with the murder of 24-year-old Danvers High School math teacher Colleen Ritzer. Police have charged him as an adult in the case, however he will be evaluated to determine his mental state.
Police say that Chism admitted following Ritzer into a bathroom at their school, killing her with a box cutter, taking the body into the woods behind the school and then going to see the latest Woody Allen move at a nearby theater.
Authorities released no motive for the murder.
Students say that Chism, who was in Ritzer’s class, was asked by the teacher to see her at the end of the school day Tuesday. Students held a vigil outside the high school on Wednesday night and sold ribbons in her memory with all proceeds going to Ritzer’s family.
Authorities investigating the Monday shooting at a Nevada middle school say they have not ruled out the possibility of filing charges against the parents of the shooter. Police say that the boy was likely to have obtained the handgun used in the assault from his home.
Officials in Sparks, Nevada have refused to name the boy who shot and killed a teacher and wounded two classmates before taking his own life.
A classmate told CNN that she believes the gunman was responding to repeated bullying.
Amaya Newton said that the shooter was a “nice kid” who liked to help cheer up people having a bad day but was repeatedly bullied. She said that she believes he brought the gun as a way to protect himself from the bullying happening on the playground and in school.
Police praised slain teacher Michael Landsberry on Tuesday saying that his actions likely saved the lives of many students. The Marine veteran, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the Nevada Air National Guard, approached the gunman with hands up in an attempt to get him to lay down the weapon. He was backing away from the student as ordered when the gunman shot Landsberry in the chest.
Landsberry leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
The 12-year-old student who shot and killed a teacher and wounded two other students killed himself before he could be captured by authorities according to police reports.
Witnesses reported that the gunman was yelling at other kids who were taunting him.
“He kept saying ‘why you people making fun of me, why you laughing at me,” student Michelle Hernandez told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
The teacher who was killed was, 45-year-old Michael Landsberry, a Marine veteran who served multiple tours in Afghanistan. Witnesses say that he tried to stop the student from shooting others or injuring himself but the gunman told him to back off. As the teacher moved back, the gunman shot him.
Despite the witness reports that say the gunman was screaming about being taunted, police say they have no speculation on the motive behind the shooting. Classes at the school have been canceled for the rest of the week and counselors are being provided for students and staff.
A student opened fire at a middle school in Nevada killing a teacher and wounding two other students.
The student shooter also died.
“As you can imagine, the best description is chaos,” Tom Robinson, deputy chief of the Reno Police Department, told CNN. “It’s too early to say whether he was targeting specific people or just going on an indiscriminate shooting spree.”
A 13-year-old student told the Reno Gazette-Journal that the shooter pointed a gun at a teacher who told him to drop the weapon. The student then shot the teacher causing students to panic.
Law enforcement says they cannot tell if the shooter killed himself or if he was killed by officers.
A Tennessee high school has taken a group of students to a mosque where some were given free copies of the Koran. A student who opted out of the trip was given a worksheet that said Muslims treat conquered people better than the United States treat minorities.
Hendersonville High School honors world studies students were taken to the mosque and a Hindu temple but a visit to a Christian church or Jewish temple was not included in the curriculum.
The principal of the school told a parent they could not afford to visit all five according to a report by FoxNews’ Todd Starnes. Continue reading →
