Fayetteville, GEORGIA

Sentenced to 20 years, with 15 to serve.

April 15, 2008 - Craig Bowen, 57, was arrested Saturday and faces charges of child molestation, incest and sexual battery for having “sexual contact with a female relative who is under the age of 16 between the years of 2000 and 2003," according to a police report.

The police investigation is on-going and other charges may be pending. He was Rising Starr Middle School social studies teacher since 1996. Bowen resigned.
Full Name: Craig Steven Bowen

April 15 - The Citizen reported that Bowen served on the Senoia Planning Commission during the latter part of 2001 and 2002. He also ran against Billy Horne in the race for Rep. Lynn Westmoreland’s vacated Georgia House seat in 2004. [TT - election results.]

Coweta County Investigator Casey Mullis asked that anyone with further information about Bowen contact him at 770-253-1502.

GUILTY VERDICT & SENTENCING October 28 - Bowen was found guilty of four counts of child molestation. He was sentenced to 20 years with 15 to serve in prison for each count of child molestation -- all of which will run concurrently.

Bowen sexually fondled the juvenile relative in Coweta County on several occasions beginning when the victim was around 5 or 6 years old and ending when she was 9 or 10. He was a foster parent until his arrest.

Bowen was offerred 20 years with 12 to serve. The judge said Bowen got a harsher penalty because he put the victim through a trial. The jury deliberated the case from approximately 2:50 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. before finding Bowen guilty on all counts.

LaFayette, GEORGIA

Three school employees, one a councilman, arrested at football game.

October 27, 2008 - Three men, one of them a councilman, were arrested Friday night at a football game.

Three employees of LaFayette High School, including a LaFayette, Ga., councilman, and a fourth man were arrested at Southeast Whitfield High School on Friday night for possession of alcoholic beverages on school grounds, according to Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood.

Whitfield officials said Michael Dunfee, Norman Hodge, James Neal and another unnamed man were booked on possession of alcoholic beverages on school grounds.

. Dunfee is the baseball coach at LaFayette. Hodge is an assistant coach at the school and is also a member of the LaFayette City Council. Mr. Neal’s position at the school is not known.

All took breath tests before their arrests. Reportedly, all three were back at school today. The unnamed man was Benjamin Neal.

One parent wasn't happy.

Glenda Edwards son is a senior who used to play football for the Ramblers. Edwards said, "I was shocked because I actually grew up and went to school with Norm Hodge."

We aksed her if she spoke to her son about the arrests. She said, "I didn't really discuss it too much because there is so many teachers and coaches and things that get away with things in schools now. They're so protected by the state now the parents don't have any options."

Mug shots here.

October 27 - From The Daily Citizen:

Three LaFayette High School coaches who were arrested for possession of alcoholic beverages on school grounds at Southeast High School Friday night were asked to leave the press box during the football game between LaFayette and Southeast before deputies arrived, a sheriff’s office report said.

Another man was also arrested. The men were asked to “watch their language” by a Southeast teacher and were being loud, according to the report. Jason Carter, assistant principal at Southeast, called deputies to the press box and said “he could smell the strong odor of what he believed to be alcoholic beverages,” the report said.

--------------------------
TT - Nice role models. It was probably a lark, but irresponsible and stupid.
--------------------------
Walker County Messenger (October 29) - “Possession” is a relative term in alcohol case"
It's relative and may be decided by a judge. (or the prosecutor.)
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TT - The Professional Standards Committee does not list disciplinary actions. They do, however, have their meeting minutes online. Like many Canadian provinces, they list case numbers, not names. Even the names of those whose licenses have been revoked for criminal activity.

In September 2008, they reviewed 55 probable cause cases. Minutes
There were 9 licenses revoked for Abuse of Students. No names.

Compare this lack of transparency and accountability to how some other states see their responsibilities to taxpayers at their websites.
Pennyslvania
South Carolina
Florida
Vermont
Utah
Georgia, unlike most states, doesn't even have their State Board of Education meeting minutes online.
-------------------------
October 30 - "Arrested Lafayette Coaches Back at School"

Canton, GEORGIA

October 24, 2008 - Creekland Middle School teacher Steven Emanuel, 46, was arrested Friday afternoon. He is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old at the school on Sept. 25. He was charged with with child molestation and sexual assault.

The student reported the attack to a school resource officers. The school investigated then called police. Emanual was reassigned two weeks ago when the investigation began. School officials said the victim was not a student in any of Emanuel's classes, nor was the student a member of the basketball team that Emanuel coaches.
--------------
WE FOUND:
Wikipedia entry for Canton, GA
Google Map from GreatSchools.net

Montgomery, GEORGIA

This has got to be the Outrage of the Week.

Convicted in 1991 and sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of special education students, he received tenure at the College of Education at the University of Georgia.
-- until they found out.

October 24, 2008 - The University of Georgia fired a newly-tenured associate professor in the College of Education when they learned of his criminal sex crime conviction.

Cecil Fore III, 50, was convicted Jan. 16, 1991, on multiple counts of sexually abusing three special-education students in Montgomery junior high schools where he was a teacher. He was sentenced to serve three years in a sex offenders’ unit of the Alabama penal system, followed by five years’ probation.

The victim was in the eighth grade in a special-education program at Floyd Junior High School in Montgomery at the time of the abuse.

Alabama records show that Fore’s teaching license was revoked by the state in 1991. Despite that,

after his release from prison, Fore worked from fall 1995 to May 1996 as assistant principal at the small private nonprofit McInnis School, affiliated with the Montgomery Association for Retarded Citizens. The school serves students with IQs of less than 70, said agency executive director John Morris.

Fore finished his doctorate at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale from 1997-1999.

He came to the University of Georgia from Troy State University in Alabama, where the human resources department confirmed that he taught in the department of psychology and education from 1999 until resigning in 2001.

As of Jan. 1, 2008, the university began full background checks for anyone being appointed or promoted, but Fore was granted tenure shortly before that policy took effect.

Canton, GEORGIA

September 27, 2008 - Cherokee High School drama teacher Matthew Gantz, 41, was arrested Saturday. Detectives said Gantz assaulted the female student when she was 17. The student told authorities that the assaults began in 2007.

Gantz is charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of tampering with evidence.
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SCHOOL INFO: Cherokee High School rates a 10 (with 10 being the highest) at GreatSchools.net
Google Map (via GreatSchools)

There is no current press release on the arrest from the Cherokee Sheriff's Office.
Wikipedia entry for Canton, Georgia.

Jonesboro, GEORGIA

STORY OF THE WEEK - First school district decertified since 1969.

New York Times: (August 28)

A county school system in metropolitan Atlanta on Thursday became the nation’s first in nearly 40 years to lose its accreditation, and the governor removed four of its school board members for ethics violations.

TT - But they only have half the story.

Don't all school school board members go to dinner with the teachers' union leader? And you wonder why this school district is about to lose their accreditation for ethical violations?

August 20, 2008 - The Clayton County School Board members are appearing before a state Administrative Hearing judge to address allegations that they violated state laws when they put the district’s accreditation at risk. If found to have violated any laws, Gov. Sonny Perdue can remove the board members.**

[TT -** In March, Perdue signed a bill that would let voters oust board members if a district loses accreditation. In effect, it meant he wouldn't have to take the heat for taking over the school district to impose accountability and respectability. The law is ludicrous because the same people who voted the present board into power will not look for better candidates. This new tactic of having an administrative hearing is a means of ejecting the board in a last-ditch effort to avoid losing accreditation.]

At the hearing, school board chairwoman Michelle Strong (pictured above) testified that she had dinner with John Trotter, the chairman of Metro Association (teachers' union) , about five times in the past two years. Also attending was Boardmember Norreese Haynes, (who is Executive Director of that same teachers' union, pictured left in his booking photo) and Boardmember Rod Johnson sometimes attended the dinners, Strong testified. She couldn’t remember if any other board members were present. She testified that she couldn’t remember if any board business was discussed.

The board removed Haynes in March after police found he didn’t even live in Clayton County. Johnson resigned last week.

TT - In February, Hayes was arrested for assaulting a man who described himself as Haynes' "live-in boyfriend of five years."

Johnson's bio that used to appear on the District web page along with his picture, makes no mention of his wife being a Georgia state representative.

Reverend W. Rod Johnson was elected to the Board of Education in November 2004. Rev. Johnson has served the Clayton County community in a number of capacities: as pastor of Ambassadors for Christ Church, as a first lieutenant in the Army Reserve at Fort Gillem, and as a congressional aide to Congressman David Scott.

He is an educator in the Atlanta Public School System. Rev. Johnson holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Buffalo, a Master's degree in Education from Florida International University, and a certificate in administrative leadership from Georgia State University. Rev. Johnson's wife, Celeste, is a choral instructor in Clayton County Public Schools. He has one daughter, Genesis

His wife, Celeste Johnson, a state representative from District 75, is on the Children and Youth Committee, Interstate Cooperation Committee, and Legislative and District Reapportionment Committee. Her sponsored legislation. (Of particular note is this proposal.)
Her Bio
----------------------------
TT - The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) will decide by Sept. 1 if Clayton schools remain accredited. It is the second time in five years their accreditation has been threatened. In 20 years, only three school districts have lost their accreditation. ( Biloxi, Miss.; Hartford, Conn., and Duval County, Fla.)

If you want to know what will happen if a union completely controls a school district, this is it.

Rod Johnson's wife is state Rep. Celeste Johnson (D-Jonesboro) who collected a paycheck as a teacher from the district while she was at the Capitol, instead of taking leave. She later paid the district back $1,858.

BODYGUARD Boardmember Johnson hired a bodyguard who used to be a school resource officer. This was after the man was fired by the school and subsequently indicted for - allegations of touching two teenage female students while working at a Clayton school. The bodyguard was Kenneth Jerome Alexander, fired from the district in 2004 - on allegations that he had inappropriate contact with two teen-age girls.

Another former board member, Duncan, who was appointed to the interim post in July, spent more than $2,887 on personal security to escort her to high school football games and other night functions. More than half of that money went to -- Kenneth Jerome Alexander.

Board member Sandra Scott demanded a football coach highlight her son in tapes. When he refused, he was fired.

The SACs report on the district eerily referred to the union control of the district. (pg 20)

"During the course of the investigation, it became increasingly clear that an elusive negative outside external force has not only permeated a significant segment of the Board of Education but has also infiltrated key leadership positions within the school district.

Previous TT coverage. Here Here Here
Jan 2008 Ethics Resolution of the board.
The SACs report contains dozens of ethical violations.
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DISTRICT INFO: The Clayton County Public School System is the 113th largest school district in the United States and the fifth largest in Georgia. Just 12 miles south of Atlanta, Clayton County covers 142 square miles and is home to over 270,000 residents.
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At the board meeting where Haynes was removed from the board (the vote was 5-3) many parents spoke out.

"Five hundred million dollar budget -- and those kids can't take books home," said one parent. "That's criminal."
------------------------------------
HEARING RESULTS - Recommendation to remove board members
August 27 - Administrative Judge Michael Malihi of the Office of State Administrative Hearings said Wednesday that Michelle Strong, Sandra Scott, Lois Baines-Hunter and Yolanda Everett should be removed for violating Georgia’s Open Meetings act and the state ethics code.

The probative evidence shows that the respondents have violated the Georgia Open Meetings Act, have violated the board’s code of ethics for board members, and have engaged in conduct unbecoming of a board member and in breach of the public trust,” Malihi wrote Perdue Wednesday in his ruling.

He said he found repeated Open Meetings violations and egregious behavior by board members, including name-calling and verbal attacks. He was also critical of outside influence from leaders of two rival teachers unions.

Clayton Schools lose their accreditation.
August 28 - From the Atlanta Journal and Constitution:

The stunning loss of accreditation for Clayton County schools left students, parents and residents reeling Thursday at the realization of “worthless” diplomas, dashed college dreams, depressed home values and an exodus of families.

The troubled 50,000-student district will become the first in the nation to lose accreditation since 1969.

The loss of accreditation came hours before Purdue ordered the removal of four school board members. The decision by the national Accreditation Commission was unanimous.

As many as 2,000 students failed to return to the district this school year, and officials expected more would leave for other districts.

GOVERNOR REMOVES BOARD MEMBERS (belatedly)
August 27 - Governor Purdue issued an Executive Order removing four member sof the board. The Executive Order also formally removed Rod Johnson (TT - See above.)and Norreese Haynes who had previously resigned or been removed.

Powder Springs, GEORGIA

August 20, 2008 - Holly Barnes, 24, a teacher at Grace Baptist Church and Christian School, was arrested for having sex with a 14-year-old boy. She was charged with two counts of statutory rape and two counts of child molestation.
Full Name: Holly Michelle Barnes

Arresting agency and photo: Paulding County Sheriff's Office

Sgt. Brent Miller says police are asking parents or children with information about the case to call the sheriff’s office at 770-445-6105.

State-directed Schools

About time.

August 18, 2008 - Georgia was notified July 1 that it is one of six states to be granted new No Child Left Behind flexibility by the federal government. Among the changes was the right for the state to step in more quickly and take charge of schools that fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress goals year after year.

As a result, Georgia is trying to hire 56 state directors to go to the lowest-achieving public schools to work alongside school officials.

State directors will be charged with meeting with teachers, doing benchmark testing to analyze student test data, sitting in classes to observe teachers, analyzing student and teacher attendance rates and discipline records and developing action plans if necessary, among other duties.

Directors will also help principals make decisions about replacing any members of the school staff.

The state-directed status also means a private tutoring option for students not meeting standards in reading, English or math. Those schools are also mandated to offer school transfers. At Weaver Middle, 93 students have requested a transfer this year, and 98 students asked to leave Southwest.
----------------------
TT - Several of the schools are in their sixth, seventh and eighth year of "needs improvement" under NCLB.

See the Georgia Department of Education 2006-2007 Report Card for average salaries for Administrators, Support Personnel, and Teachers. (Click on i More Information to see what is included in support personnel.)

2007 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Overview Report.
Schools meeting AYP = 1764
Schools not meeting AYP = 374 (17.8% of the 2100 public schools)

Acworth, GEORGIA

August 15, 2008 - Joseph Placanica, 40, an eighth-grade science teacher at Durham Middle School, was arrested Thursday for stalking a former student.

Placanica allegedly began "an affair" with his former student, who is now 17 years old, in May of 2007. After she broke off the relationship with him, Placanica continued to try to contact her at work, through text messages and on her MySpace, said Sgt. Dana Pierce, a Cobb police spokesman. When the 40-year-old married teacher showed up at the gym where the woman worked, she called police.

The girl is a student at another Cobb County school. Placanica resigned Friday. Placanica is married.

Jonesboro, GEORGIA

Only three school districts have lost their accreditation in the U.S. in 20 years. The Clayton County School District in Jonesboro, Georgia, might be the fourth.

If they don't lose their accreditation, then accreditation isn't worth the 20 lb. photocopy paper it's reproduced on.

August 2, 2008 - An 2,300-page report on the Clayton County School District was delivered Thursday to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The outside audit of the district was submitted to SACS to avoid losing their accreditation.

SACS investigators will return to Clayton Aug. 14-16. SACS has given the district until Sept. 1 to meet nine mandates or lose accreditation.
----------------------------
TT - The Atlanta Journal -Constitution does not link to the report submitted to SACS. The 2,300-page document was released to the newspaper on Friday through an open-records request. The audit, which was completed as part of the accreditation plan, looked at the district's employment practices. The report found continuing problem areas, including questionable hiring policies, a string of unethical behavior by school board members and board members who went around the superintendent and violated board policies.

The audit found incomplete personnel records and "inconsistent and questionable hiring, promotion and compensation decisions." Randy Reece, a former human resources chief for Cobb and Fulton County schools, interviewed 14 top employees who said board members pushed for the hiring of teachers, paraprofessionals, substitutes and coaches who were not qualified.

Employees also complained about board members changing employee termination recommendations to suspensions and creating unbudgeted positions.

From numerous accounts, it has not been uncommon for board members or former superintendents to contact administrative staff regarding a board member's desire to have relatives hired, or the relative or child of a community member," wrote auditors with the Investigative Accounting Group in Marietta.

The latest report acknowledges that several board members have resigned and one was removed. However, several of the board members criticized in the report still serve on the board.

Board member Rod Johnson's wife, teacher and state Rep. Celeste Johnson (D-Jonesboro) collected a paycheck from the district while she was at the Capitol, instead of taking leave. She later paid the district back $1,858.

Board member Norreese Haynes, who also served as the Metro Association of Classroom Educator's (MACE) director, used his position as a board member to gain "unusual access to information." That information was turned over to his boss, union chairman John Trotter. Trotter also pressured staff to hire teachers fired from other districts, Reece's audit found. Hayes is no longer a board member.

From the January 2008 report that recommended the district lose their accreditation:

In particular, the Metro Association of Classroom Educators (MACE) actively presents opposition to the decisions and policies of the Clayton County Public Schools. MACE promotes and encourages action against the school district and individuals employed by the district. For example, MACE publishes lists of of employees of the school district that, in the opinion of MACE, should be dismissed from employment. The executive director of MACE is a member of the Board of Education and endorses such actions.

The January 2008 SACS report PDF

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) website
What accreditation can mean for students from their website.

The current school board here.

In a July 2008 editorial, the newspaper urged voters to "save Clayton's name, future"

First up for Clayton voters are five school board contests. One problem is that many candidates in the runoff are educators or school employees. Ideally, parents should be the dominant voice on school boards rather than current or past school employees.

The election turnout runs around 21%. Fewer than 75 residents showed up to listen to 15 candidates.

From another story on the election, one reason for the low turnout was suggested.

people are on vacation, Georgia refuses to adopt a more sensible month, such as May or September. Those in office would hold elections for an hour on Christmas morning if they could — because they know that a paltry turnout minimizes their risk of defeat. And whether the post is U.S. senator or county surveyor, the No. 1 priority of the officer holder is to get re-elected.

Citizens ought to rise up and demand that their state legislators schedule elections at times when more voters are likely to show up.

It looks more like the rotten candidates than the timing, however.

Previous TT coverage here here and here
This is the second time in five years Clayton County’s accreditation has come under question.

Warner Robins, GEORGIA

Teaching isn't limited to classroom instruction. The best teachers in the world teach by example.
The dumbest go back to jail for violating their probation. (updated July 2008)

June 7, 2007 - Mark Taylor, 43, a teacher at Northside Middle School, was arrested and charged with stalking, simple battery, harassing phone calls, and influencing a witness.

"A school adminstrator said Taylor was stalking, threatening, and making unwanted contact with a co-worker."
Full Name: Mark Steven Taylor

Update June 8 - Macon Telegraph reports that they searched court records and found Taylor had prior two misdemeanor convictions - for a family violence battery in 2003 and simple assault and harassing telephone calls in 2005. In each case, he received 12 months probation.
The school system was aware of Taylor's prior misdemeanor convictions and understood that the incidents were domestic in nature and that no children were involved, the spokeswoman said.

June 8 - Correction to state.

Update June 13 - School Superintendent Danny Carpenter recommended that Taylor be terminated.

In the June 12 letter to Taylor from Carpenter recommending termination, the school superintendent noted the criminal charges against Taylor. Carpenter also noted in his decision that Taylor continued discussing his personal relationships with students in spite of prior warnings from the superintendent not to do so.

Taylor may appeal the decision before the Board of Education at a called hearing July 30.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCE July 6 - Taylor pleaded guilty.

The agreement included a stipulation that Taylor would drop his appeal of his termination from the Houston County school system, the prosecutor said.

The other charges against Taylor of stalking, simple battery, making harassing phone calls and false imprisonment were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Taylor was sentenced to 60 days in jail and five years probation. He will be required to move out of Houston country for the duration of his probation.

OUT OF JAIL: July 23 - The Houston Daily Journal reports that after Taylor was sentenced to 60 days, he was given credit for time served and released that day. A personnel hearing is scheduled for July 30 with the school board.

NEW WARRANTS ISSUED: August 21 - On Aug. 13, warrants were taken out against Taylor for a new aggravated stalking charge against the same victim and violation of probation. Police have yet to locate him.

2008 ARRESTED Jan 3, 2008 - Taylor was arrested on a probation violation. Taylor's probation could be revoked in full because he was arrested in Houston County after being banished. Ashford said police picked Taylor up from his mother's Warner Robins home after receiving a tip about his whereabouts. He was wanted by police for failure to report to his probation officer.

Jan 4 - The Telegraph: Taylor also had an outstanding warrant issued in August for aggravated stalking after Warner Robins police investigated reports that Taylor had again stalked his former fiancee.

2008 SENTENCED July 18 - Taylor violated *nine conditions of his probation including contacting the victim and fleeing the state. A judge sent him back to prison for the remainder of his sentence, which is about 4 and a half years.

Columbus, GEORGIA

Parent pleads guilty to forcing her children to file false report against a teacher.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING July 24, 2008 - Amanda Powell, 42, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of second-degree cruelty to children and one count of making a false report. She threatened her children to make them accuse a teacher of inappropriate touching in 2006.

The teacher was not arrested. Police investigated and evidence pointed to Powell.

It wasn't the first time that Powell was involved in such accusations. In a 2003 case, a teacher told Muscogee County Superior Court Judge Frank Jordan Jr. that Powell approached her one afternoon as she was escorting students to a crosswalk. Powell walked up and started to "rant and rave" about her children being molested.

Powell was sentenced to five years' probation and told to continue treatment, medication, counseling and mental evaluations. Her children have been removed to foster care.

Griffin, GEORGIA

July 1, 2008 - Jamario Smith, 26, a physicial education teacher at Spalding High School, was arrested and charged with two county of sexual assault and two counts of sodomy.

The allegations were reportedly made by a female student at the school.

Full Name: Jamario Antuan Smith

Cartersville, GEORGIA

June 20, 2008 - Matthew Stewart , 25, a Cass High School math teacher and coach , was arrested Thursday by a Bartow County chief school resource officer. The charge is felony sexual assault. No details.

Full Name: Matthew James "Jamie" Stewart
AKA Jamie Stewart

June 23 - Coosa Valley News: Stewart was arrested on a felony sexual assault charge under the state statute governing sexual assault by people acting in the capacity of custodian or supervisor.

The girl is 16, and the paper reports that sources said details on the warrant stated that Stewart had oral sex with the student while on the high school campus on or around April 10. The warrant said other sexual contact between the two also occurred off campus.

Stewart has worked for the district for about three and a half years and had taught at Cass High for a year.

Hardeeville, SOUTH CAROLINA

June 13, 2008 - Eric Parker, 25, a Hardeeville High School teacher, was arrested yesterday and charged with committing a lewd act on a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor - a 15 -year-old boy he met on MySpace.

Parker picked the boy up and took him shopping for clothes in Savannah. Later, the two checked into a motel in Beaufort where sexual activity took place.
Full Name: Eric Lamar Parker
-------------------- RESEARCH --------------------
The school has not been rated at GreatSchools.net because of insufficient testing data. The school is in the Jasper County School District that is rated a 2 (with 10 being highest) based on their testing. The school board minutes are online which is always a plus. (School at right from district website.)

South Carolina has an Education Oversight Committee ("Reporting facts. Measuring change. Promoting progess." ) where you can find a report card on schools or districts in the state. Hardeeville Junior/Senior High School is not listed. The Jasper School District is shown as Unsatisfactory in both Absolute Rating and Improvement Rating. The full report is in PDF format.

Interesting to note in the full report is that 95% of parents attend conferences. In the NCLB section, there is this: Classes in high poverty schools not taught by highly qualified teachers statewide is 9%. This district is 43.9%.

One of the major goals of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is to have highly qualified teachers in every classroom. From the U.S. Dept. of Education: A highly qualified teacher only has three criteria:
1) attaining a bachelor's degree or better in the subject taught;
2) obtaining full state teacher certification; and
3) demonstrating knowledge in the subjects taught.

South Carolina definition of highly qualified teachers here.
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June 13 - WSAV did their homework .

We did some background research on what it takes to be considered as a substitute teacher in Jasper County, SC where Eric Lamar Parker worked.

We called the Jasper County School District and were told that to be considered for a sub job, you need a High School diploma and a tuberculosis skin test, and you have to pass a background check.

After looking through the substitute teacher application, we found that it asks for 3 references and proof of highest level of education (High School diploma, college diploma, etc.).

Other questions include:
Have you ever held a teaching certificate?
Have you ever substituted in our schools before?
Have you ever been employed as a regular teacher or a paraprofessional?
What experience do you have working with children and/or adolescents?Why do you want to substitute?
On what level do you want to sub?

WTOC11: (Jun 13) Low Country substitute teacher arrested
Parker's bond has been set at $100,000. Sanford says they'll be sending Parker a letter suspending him until after his court case is settled.

Columbus, GEORGIA

LAWSUIT

June 12, 2008 - When parents sued a school district after two girls were victims of a teacher, the Ledger-Enquirer asked for a copy of the letter from their attorney. The school district refused to release the claim for public record, arguing it was exempt from the Open Records Act, because it was a file similar to a medical record and contained information that would constitute an invasion of privacy.

The school district, represented by attorney Greg Ellington of the Hatcher-Stubbs firm, argued that the letter was exempt from the Open Records Act because it was a file “similar to a medical or veterinary record,” it contains information the release of which would constitute an invasion of privacy, disclosure of the letter would have a “chilling effect” on a channel of communication, and that a balancing test of public versus private interest would require nondisclosure.

A judge disagreed and ordered the letter be released.

Muscogee Superior Court Judge Frank Jordan Jr. Has ordered the school district to disclose the letter sent by the victim's attorney, saying the public policy behind the Open Record's Act dictated the records be opened.

The Letter The teacher is James Cypert Jr. TT - entry
---------------------- OPINION ----------------------
TT - Needless to say, we are all for lawsuits. Sometimes it is the only way to force a change of attitude on schools. Monetarily, it doesn't cost the taxpayer because all school districts are insured. (Where the insurance carrier will not pay the damages is when parents and taxpayers ought to scream, "Why not?"

We would feel a lot better if the settlements were public. If the school district settles, it will be because they acknowledge wrongdoing. It is in the public interest to know what that was.

Chickamauga , GEORGIA

What can you say?

June 11, 2008 - Tonya Craft, 36, a kindergarten teacher at Chickamauga Elementary School, was arrested, charged with child molestation and aggravated sexual battery against three female students at the school.

Craft is charged with four counts of child molestation and one count of aggravated sexual battery against a child, Catoosa Sheriff Phil Summers said.
Full Name: Tonya Henke Craft

NewsChannel9: (June 11) The incident report also states there's at least one other victim and one other suspect. That suspect is underage, and police are investigating the possibility that the suspect is a victim as well.

WDEF ch 12: (June 11) A Ringgold mother filed the complaint against Craft. The woman's daughter told her Craft and another juvenile molested her at Craft's home in Chickamauga.

WRCB ch 3: (June 11) The victims range in age from seven to eight years old.
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TT - If you think women aren't capable of sexual abuse of small children, you might want to read about Tabatha Adams, a second grade teacher in Kansas who, along with the ex-husband of another teacher, molested an 8-year-old relative. Adams was sentenced life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. She and the Nebraska man still face child pornography charges. Noble is still facing charges of sexual assault.
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LAWYER'S VIEWPOINT June 13 - The lawyer for Craft criticized a prepared statement issued by Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers on Thursday. The items of contention are whether Craft declined to be interviewed or not, and whether she agreed to take a polygraph test, or not, and a date in the arrest warrant.

The lawyer also said that Craft and the mother making the charges were friends in the past and the children, "They were children who were friends of her (Craft’s) daughter of similar age."
-----------
Town name misspelled. We apologize.

FIRED August 15 - Superintendent Melody Day recommended the dismissal. The school board voted to uphold Tonya Craft's termination at a special called meeting Friday afternoon. Craft is now a former kindergarten teacher at Chickamauga elementary. According to Craft's bond, she isn't allowed around children under the age of 18. In fact the only time she can be around children is at a family reunion. With that in mind the board had no choice but to let her go.School Board Vice Chairman Billy Ellis says had they not fired Craft they would have to keep suspending her every sixty days until she was found innocent or guilty.

Dallas, GEORGIA

June 3, 2008 - Darrel Johnson, former high school teacher in Paulding County, was arrested May 27 and been charged with having improper contact with a 17-year-old female student.

Sheriff's Sgt. Brent Miller encourages any student or individual who may have had inappropriate contact with Johnson to call the Paulding County Sheriff's Office Crimes Against Children Unit at (770) 445-6150.

Fayetteville, GEORGIA

“I don’t think I have a problem.”

May 30, 2008 - Charles Gregory Farmer, a Fayette County middle school teacher, wants the conditions of his probation changed to allow him to continue his probation unsupervised, and non-reporting.

Farmer pleaded guilty in 2003 to enticing a child for indecent purposes. He was sentenced in April 2003 to 10 years probation and one year in the detention center. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender, and lost his license to teach.

Farmer said, "I had fulfilled my obligation, and am asking the court to allow me to devote my full time to my job.”

The prosecution objected and asked if Farmer had been involved in any voluntary counseling for sex offenders.

“I don’t think I have a problem,” Farmer answered.

Judge Hankinson denied the motion Wednesday, but said he would reconsider if Farmer would undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation and follow all recommended treatment, provide a DNA sample, and agree to undergo a polygraph test at least once a year.
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The girl was in the eighth grade. Farmer is 48. § 16-6-5. Enticing a child for indecent purposes

Valdosta, GEORGIA

JURY ACQUITTED ON ALL CHARGES

Oct 4, 2007 -
Jeremy Bennett, 28, a second-grade teacher at Sallas Mahone Elementary, was arrested Sept 24th by Georgia authorities, accused of inappropriate sexual contact with two seven-year-old girls at his school. He is accused of touching their buttocks. He has been charged with two felony counts of sexual battery.
Full Name: Jeremy Albert Bennett

Found in NBC News 12 correction story.

TRIAL May 8, 2008 - Bennett is on trial, according to this brief story. He was indicted in November on two counts of sexual battery and one count of child molestation.

TESTIMONY - May 8 - See Students give testimony in Bennett trial
One girl is the daughter of the Valdosta City Schools Health Director. The second child is the daughter of a VCS Social Worker. A first grade teacher testified that the girls had several behavioral problems, one more than the other. Cross-examined and presented with the girls' report cards where the teacher reflected what a joy it was to have the girls in her class, she said comments on report cards were usually generic and she rarely indicated behavioral problems unless they were of a serious nature. Twenty-four character witnesses were called by the defense.

ACQUITTED May 8 - The jury acquitted on of all charges.

JURY ACQUITTED ON ALL CHARGES