ABC's of Betrayal PT II

Oct 15, 2007 The Columbus Dispatch series continues. From "District slow to investigate teacher":

And he was the girl's science teacher and the school's dashing 26-year-old football coach. Letter after letter to a Delaware County judge described him as dedicated, trustworthy and as squeaky clean as a Boy Scout.

The 16-year-old Rutherford B. Hayes High School student with whom Eiseman did the "wrong" thing was viewed as wild and regarded with cold contempt by many in a school community that saw her as staining Eiseman's good name.

She wrote the judge that after telling her story to a detective, she had become a pariah; life was hell. Students at the Delaware high school wore T-shirts that shouted "Eiseman is Innocent" and fretted over his misfortune as he prepared to stand trial.

Even the school district initially rushed to protect "Mr. E."

Instead of alerting police about the allegations -- which named girls that the tipster said Eiseman was sexually involved with -- Delaware looked for the anonymous accuser. That decision left Eiseman in the classroom for the last few weeks of the school year.

An anonymous e-mail alerted the school to his MySpace page.

TT - Not only are districts slow, they frequently victimize the victim by discrediting them, spreading rumors about promiscuity, conducting their own investigations that are aimed more at providing cover for the teacher than concern for the student.

Worst of all, they are educators who fail to curb, and sometimes even encourage, excessive support for the teacher from students and fellow teachers, support that is designed to intimidate the victim.

We know. We see it over and over again. In Ohio and elsewhere.

From today's stories:
See A teacher on the move
- Twenty years and twelve school districts, one teacher admits, "They should have taken my license."
See Decision delayed on early release for ex-teacher
See Schools often keep state in the dark
- The biggest districts typically fail to report teacher discipline to the Ohio Department of Education.
See Profiles of Disciplined Teachers

A law that took effect March 31 mandates the reporting of teacher misconduct to the state. It is designed to prevent teachers from escaping allegations of wrongdoing with a dubious resignation "for personal reasons" or bare-bones employment verification.

The law would also prevent districts from maintaining two personnel files or separating the discipline records from the personnel file. Some districts let in-house counsel investigate so that the files become protected from public view because of attorney-client privilege.

Others, including Columbus, have kept two files on teachers accused of misconduct -- one personnel file and one discipline record -- and would hand over only the personnel file unless the investigation file was specifically requested.

There is NO PENALTY if districts do not report as required by law.

Poll : See The Hot Issue: Do some school districts protect teachers at the expense of students?

See their Searchable Database of the more than 1,700 Ohio educators have been disciplined by the Ohio Department of Education since 2000.