Warning signs.
Apr 6, 2007 "'Moral character' teacher cases abound; state, local officials must step up training to stop more incidents" is the subtitle of an article in Newsday, written by Claudia Gryvatz Copquin.
But schools need to take steps by training personnel to recognize warning signs before a child is abused, Shakeshaft says. Among the patterns to look for: teachers who spend too much time after school with one student, rather than a group of students; teachers who favor a particular type of student; teachers who offer rides or invite students to their homes; teachers who communicate with students by cell phone or by text messages.Read the whole thing.
TT - We also suggest parents,
1) Look for MySpace pages by local teachers to see how they interact with students off campus.
2) Find out if your school has a written policy on how they handle teacher misconduct complaints.
3) Ask that this policy and abuse reporting procedures be available on line on their web sites.
4) Visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and read or order copies of their "Guidelines in case your child..."
4) Demand schools respond promptly to complaints and concerns.
