Diploma Mills

Trust us with your children: School pyschologists don't need psychology degree.

August 13, 2007 - The Pittsburg Post-Gazette has a story on diploma mills and the academic bogus degrees sold to federal employees on congressional staffs and with NASA, U.S. Customs and the Pentagon. And, apparently, schools. They briefly mention without elaborating further on this case.

Former Pittsburgh Public Schools psychologist Donald Stettner also claimed he received a doctorate from Columbia State University. His counterfeit credentials were not discovered until after he was accused of molesting children in 2003. He was suspended without pay, and his employment status with the district is still pending.

From KDLA Nov 3, 2003 - KDLA investigator Andy Sheehan discovered the credentials were bogus.

Stettner claims he received a master's in psychology from Newport University -- which KDKA discovered is an Internet school that is not accredited by the US Department of Education. In fact, in four states, it's a crime to put a Newport University degree on your resume.

In addition, he claimed a doctorate in the philosophy of social work from Columbia State University, a California "diploma mill."

The city schools and state never questioned Stettner's resume, because a psychology degree is not required to be a school psychologist -- and they didn't see the need to dig any further.

Tacoma, WASHINGTON

Arrested for sex with a 10-year-old boy. This isn't Mommy Sex, it's pedophilia.

August 13, 2007 - Jennifer Rice, 37, a contract teacher at McKinley Elementary School, was arrested charged with kidnapping a 10-year-old student and is suspected of raping him multiple times. He was a student in her class.

Rice taught at McKinley from October 2006 to April 20, 2007 when she was placed on administrative leave while they investigated to determine whether she was socializing with her students after school. They did not renew her contract.

The boy's father told investigators that until about one month ago, Rice had come to their house several times to take the boy to movies, and often talked to him online. The father was concerned about the nature of the relationship and told the woman not to come back, [iff spokesman Ed]Troyer said.

On Saturday the man woke up and discovered that his son was not home and his bed had been made to look like he was sleeping."So sometime during the early morning hours, he disappeared from the house," said Mark Fulghum with Tacoma police.

According to court documents, Rice told detectives that she picked the boy up, took him out to breakfast and took him to a waterfall. Rice said she had planned to take him to Idaho, but after police called her the boy asked to be dropped off at his uncle's house in Puyallup. He planned to make up a story about where he had been and tell his parents he had walked there.

Investigators said that Rice admitted that she raped the boy at a rest stop in Ellensburg before driving him back, and court documents indicate that the two had intercourse several times on previous occasions, including once in the boy's home.

She pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors plan to add more charges.
Booking photo released by the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.
Full Name: Jennifer Leigh Rice

NWCN : Has video of her court appearance. She is married. Her husband was in the courtroom today.

Aug 14 - From a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article: [District spokeswoman Leanna] Albrecht says the investigation found no evidence of sexual misconduct, so the district did not make a report to police or Child Protective Services. She was placed on leave April 20.

JUST ASKING: If they thought it necessary to remove her from the classroom, why wasn't it necessary to notify parents of the reason?

Aug 15 - Her contract wasn't renewed at another school district. Yelm schools superintendent Alan Burke said Rice taught at Southworth Elementary for the 2005-06 school year, but her contract was not renewed because of "judgment errors."

Had there been any sexual relationship issues, we would have turned her in to the Office of Professional Practices," and staff members would have called police, he said.

Rice's judgment errors included classroom-­management issues, problems with disciplining students and problems with getting along with other staff members, "And when we told her we weren't going to renew her, she resigned," Burke said.

Officials at McKinley Elementary School in Tacoma, where Rice had worked until April, did not contact anyone at Southworth Elementary or Yelm Community Schools for a reference "to the best of our knowledge," Burke said.

He said he is shocked to hear of the allegations against Rice.

"I can't believe any human being could do this," he said.

August 16 -Rice resigned from two previous teaching jobs. In both, she was deemed to be inappropriate and lacking in judgement. In a previous district, she resigned when she was told her contract wouldn't be renewed.

SECOND VICTIM: Sept 13 - Two additional charges of third-degree rape involve another boy, between 14 and 16 years old, who was not one of her students.

LICENSE REVOKED Nov 21 - The state Department of Health reports the credential of a woman counselor in Pierce County has been revoked for 20 years for having sex with a 10-year-old boy. The department had previously suspended her on Oct. 9.

TRIAL DELAYED to OCTOBER June 19, 2008 - The public defender quit the case Wednesday, the day the case was scheduled to go to trial. The reason wasn't made public. With new lawyers, the trial will be delayed until October to give them a chance to prepare. The judge will hear arguments to dismiss on July 8.

Long Island, NEW YORK

“Trafficking in child pornography subjects the children in these images to continuing degradation and encourages abusers to seek new victims."
- U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf.

August 13, 2007 -
Robert S. Weinstein, a former teacher and sex offender, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, lifetime supervised release, and continued sex offender registration for possessing and distributing child pornography.

In 2005 the FBI seized a computer from an individual in South Carolina that had images sent by Weinstein. They later found 54 still images and 60 video files of child pornography depicting victims ranging in ages from infancy to fourteen years on Weinstein's laptop. At the time of the search, Weinstein admitted trading images of child pornography and downloading those images from websites.

On June 2, 2006, Weinstein pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution and seven counts of possession of child pornography.

Weinstein was previously convicted in 1992 in Nassau County for Attempted Sexual Abuse in the First Degree after an incident involving a ten-year-old boy in an East Rockaway park and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, five years’ probation, and sex offender registration. At the time of his arrest, Weinstein was a teacher and choir director in the East Meadow School District.

Less than three months after completing his term of probation, in September 1998, Weinstein was arrested and convicted in Toronto, Canada, on a charge of Procuring Illicit Sex after soliciting a fourteen-year-old boy. Weinstein was sentenced to five months of imprisonment on this conviction.

Department of Justice Press Release (Dated Aug 10, 2007)

Tenino, WASHINGTON

News story dated Apr 13, 2007 -
Dawn Marie Welter, 38, a math teacher at Tenino High School, has been charged with three counts of communication with a 16-year-old girl for immoral purposes, a gross misdemeanor.

She is being investigated for alleged sexual activity with a 16-year-old female student.

Police said they searched the girl’s computer and found e-mails she received from Welter. T he e-mails contained details about a sexual encounter the teacher allegedly had with the student at a motel in Pacific County, as well as sexually explicit references between Welter and the student regarding their future relationship together, according to Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melanie DeLeone.

From King5: Their investigation unearthed MySpace.com messages, emails and phone calls that indicated Welter and the female student have been engaged in an alleged relationship since January. The school district put her on paid leave and she has until the weekend to turn herself in.

CHARGED: Apr 25 - Welter was charged Tuesday with second-degree sexual misconduct with a minor for allegedly spending the night with the girl at a motel.

The girl told a sheriff's deputy that they traveled to Portland, Ore., and then up the coast to stay the night at Chens Motel on U.S. 101 in South Bend, authorities said.

PLEA and SENTENCING: Aug 13 - Welter entered, one paper reports, an ( Alford plea ) another paper says ( Guilty Plea) to two gross misdemeanors. She was sentenced to 60 days in jail to be completed on work release, and two years' probation. The gross misdemeanors are one count each of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes and sexual misconduct with a minor.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. That charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

As part of Welter’s sentence, she must register as a sex offender for 10 years. She lost her teaching certificate.

Aug 14 - The Olympian reports that she entered a guilty plea. The plea deal, they say, recommended a 30-day jail sentence, but the judge ordered that she spend 60 days in jail.

Aug 15 - Her attorney called it "horseplay that became sexual."

"We really don't have a sexual relationship but an attraction between two people over the age of consent," Hill said. "My client clearly put herself in a bad situation but ultimately did some of the right things by not allowing a relationship."

Then, why was it illegal???

New Orleans Schools

"The problems were so widespread that the FBI opened an office in the same building as the school board for the investigation."

August 13,2 007 - The United Teachers of New Orleans wants to get back into New Orleans schools. Their membership dropped when the Louisiana Department of Education created the Recovery School District by taking 107 underperforming schools from the stewardship of the Orleans Parish School Board. They've only reopened 39 schools.
-------------------------------------------
Reminders why the state took the schools away from the Orleans Parish school district.

Five years' investigation and 28 indictments in corruption probe.

Katrina had one good outcome

From PBS "NEW ORLEANS SCHOOLS BEFORE AND AFTER KATRINA" (Nov 1, 2005) -

Since 2002, there have been 24 indictments against school employees. $71 million in federal money was unaccounted for, and there were other problems. Academically, New Orleans was one of the worst public school systems in the country. 70 percent of the eighth graders were not proficient in math, 74 percent in English. Under pressure from the state because of the academic performance and in danger of going bankrupt, the school board acted. It hired a company that specializes in turning around failing organizations. They arrived in New Orleans in July.

"We had a person that has been on paid leave for 35 years. I joked with somebody. Do we send them, you know, like a silver anniversary card? Thank you for 35 years of non- service?"

The quote at the top is from the Heritage Foundation (Nov. 15, 2005) article on New Orleans schools.

FACT: One out of three sent their children to private schools before Katrina
FACT: 65 percent of New Orleans schools failed to meet the state’s performance standard, compared to 11 percent of schools statewide
FACT: 68 of 110 New Orleans public schools had been judged “academically unacceptable” based on student test scores.

Teacher License

Why revoking a teaching certificate is nearly impossible.

Flowchart of what happens when a complaint is filed with the Professional Practices Services in Florida.

On the other hand, a question found in a FAQ was "I have a criminal offense record. Will that delay the issuance of my certificate?" Answer:

Before any certificate is issued by the Bureau of Educator Certification, your fingerprints must be processed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). If the results of that processing reflect a criminal offense record, the records must be reviewed by Professional Practices Services. Issuance of the certificate is contingent upon the results of that review. Therefore, applicants with a criminal history do have a longer processing time.

TT - Maybe if you applied after you got out of jail, it might be faster.

Winter Park, FLORIDA

Sentenced (sorta) to 1 year in county jail.


The "Love Defense" is when you need to keep the victim on your side until after sentencing.

GUILTY PLEA: May 9 - Edward Norton, 40, a Lake Howell High School English teacher and football coach, pleaded guilty to having sex with a 17-year-old girl who was a student manager for the football team, and two counts of possessing photos of them having sex.

Norton was accused of having a five-month sexual liaison with the girl. She is now 19 and reportedly plans to ask that Norton be spared prison. Lawyer: "He fell in love with this young lady. He was a football coach and a teacher and was respected and has lost most of that because of all this." [TT- Oh no! Even the digital camera????]

Norton was arrested Oct. 21, 2005 after a co-worker found papers that revealed he was "romantically involved" with a student. At Norton's home, authorities found 40 digital photos of the girl engaged in sex acts.

He is due to be sentenced July 2.
Full Name: Edward Vincent Norton

SENTENCED (Sorta): August 13 - Norton was sentenced to a year in the county jail -- not prison - followed by a year of house arrest, then five years of probation. He was facing a maximum of six years in prison.

The defense today called six character witnesses, including former students Norton had coached, who testified that he was a good coach and teacher, someone they turned to when they needed guidance.

The girl testified she was willing and not harmed.

The girl had also become pregnant by Norton, according to attorneys, but she lost the child to miscarriage before his arrest. She is now 19, married to another man and is expecting a child. She cut her mother out of her life for exposing the relationship with Norton.

Chattanooga, TENNESSEE

- Sentenced to 20 years each.


- At the sentencing hearing, the state introduced proof that another son of the Nunns died under suspicious circumstances.

Jury found them guilty of aggravated child abuse of their 9-month old son that left him severely impaired.

TRIAL BEGINS: May 15, 2007 - The trial of Derrell Nunn, 28, a teacher at Hardy Elementary School, and his wife Jamila Nunn, began with jury selection.

The couple are accused of abusing their son. charged with aggravated child abuse after calling paramedics because Derrell "D.J." Nunn Jr., then 9 months old, was having trouble breathing in September 2002.

According to records, the child was bleeding in his brain and eyes and had a lacerated liver when he was admitted to the hospital. Authorities said the child also had several fractured bones that were several weeks old.

Update May 17 - Derrell Nunn Sr., and his wife, Jamila Nunn, both told Special Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood they did not want to take the witness stand.

The parents both denied harming the child.

The father said he got the child up at 6:20 that morning and found he was having trouble breathing as he started to take him to daycare at 7:10.

Prosecutor Patterson said, "Their story is medically impossible."

He said the child had not been to daycare for the past two weeks. He said it was found at the hospital that the child had massive swelling of the brain. He said, "The little boy's brain was literally falling apart."The prosecutor said the child had a skull fracture as well as fractures of the wrist and leg that all were in various stages of healing.

He said doctors found that the child's liver was almost sliced in two and he had lacerations to the pancreas and bruises to the kidneys.Despite all the internal damage, attorney Ripper said the child "didn't have a mark on him."

Closing arguments are expected tomorrow.

GUILTY VERDICT: May 18 - A jury sitting in Hamilton County Criminal Court today found a former Hardy Elementary School teacher and his wife guilty of the aggravated child abuse of their 9-month old son.

The child now lives in Alabama, can only speak a few words, and requires a breathing tube.

SENTENCED: August 13 - Both Derrell Nunn Sr. and Jamila Nunn were sentenced to 20 years in prison. At the sentencing hearing, the state introduced proof that another son of the Nunns died under suspicious circumstances.

A detective from Irondale, Ala., said police are still investigating a case in which Derrell Nunn allegedly fell down a staircase while holding an infant son.

That child died. Police said Darrell Nunn was found lying at the bottom of the staircase after police were summoned. An officer said a coroner's report found that the infant child had previous injuries.

August 14 - Police in Alabama are reopening their investigation of the death of the Nunn's 1-month-old son in 2002. The boy died when his father reported falling down stairs, dropping the boy and then landing on him. The Nunns were indicted in 2003, after which they moved to Tennessee.

COURT DECISION

August 13, 2007 - The 2003 conviction of Arielle Beck, 28, has been overturned by the Utah Supreme Court as they upheld Utah Court of Appeals decision that jurors may have been "influenced" by questioning by the judge.

Beck was convicted of sexual abuse of Kelly Sowell, then 14. The girl committed suicide by hanging herself two years later. Her brother committed suicide two months after that.

Link not provided at story, but the case is State of Utah vs. Arielle M. Beck No. 20060609 (Dated Aug 10, 2007)

During the trial, the district judge actively questioned Beck in the presence of the jury concerning weak points in her testimony. She was convicted, and appealed. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the judge’s questioning created an impermissible appearance of bias against Beck by the court, and was an error that should have been obvious to the judge at the time.

They ruled the trial judge had overstepped his bounds. He asked the defendant 48 questions in front of the jury, and the Utah Supreme Court agreed that the court of appeals correctly decided that the trial judge exceeded his permitted discretion in some of the questioning he engaged in and he was in error. He usurped the function of counsel.

Prosecutors don't know if they will retry Beck.

TT - See Teacher Ethics in Utah. Including bad sentencing. We complained then,

If we didn't have sex offender registration, it would hardly be worth the effort of prosecution of these cases for the victim, or their families.

TT - See Outrageous Sentencing of Brandy Yates

UPDATE: Sept 15 - Beck is now out of jail.

RETRIAL SCHEDULED October 27, 2008 - The second trial has been scheduled to begin April 20.

Tacoma, WASHINGTON

Sentenced (sorta.)

CONVICTED: August 11, 2007 - Harold Wright Jr., 36, a Tacoma middle school principal, was convicted July 10th, along with another man, of third-degree rape in the sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman. The victim, now 23, attended Spanaway Lake High School while Wright worked there as an assistant principal before he joined Tacoma’s staff in 2000.

The judge rejected his request for a new trial last week. This week, his attorney is alleging juror misconduct.

PAID LEAVE: Wright was paid $48,000 while on administrative leave since February.

That’s because Wright had a contract with the district, which the law considers a property right that can’t be taken away until he receives notice of possible discharge, gets the chance to present his side and the district follows other procedures, Albrecht said.

The district also filed a separate complaint against Wright with the state Office of Professional Practices, which could result in revocation of his teaching and administrative credentials.
While state law calls for immediate revocation of a teaching certificate for certain crimes involving children, there’s no automatic revocation for other crimes involving adults.

In his resignation letter, he maintained his innocence and added this. “Please convey to the students, parents and staff of the Baker community that I care for them, and I will continue to do whatever I can to seek justice.

Both men are black while the victim is white, a fact that the defense attorney took advantage of without success. Jurors said they believed Wright acted as an accomplice. Wright is married and is the father of three children.

Sentencing is August 31.

Aug 31 - A judge sentenced Harold Wright Jr. to six months in jail, then immediately stayed the sentence, which allows Wright to remain free while he appeals.

Albrecht said the district won't be able to get back the $48,068 it paid Wright while he was on administrative leave from Feb. 9 because of his contract. 'The district has filed a complaint against Wright with the state Office of Professional Practices, which may result in revoking his teaching and administrative credentials.

While state law calls for immediate revocation of a teaching certificate for certain crimes involving children, revocation is not automatic for crimes involving adults.

Pedophile Campaigner in UK a Teacher

Pedophile campaigner sentenced in U.K.



August 13 - Sentenced to 18 months but he may be held for life.

A paedophile activist, who has spent years campaigning for the age of consent to be lowered, has been jailed and warned he might never be released.

David Joy, 66, was a member of the notorious Paedophile Information Exchange (Pie) and has been convicted of 11 counts of possessing or making indecent images of children.

The Pie organisation was a network of like-minded people which argued children were sexual beings in their own right.

The judge made the sentence clear.

Mr Joy was sentenced to 18 months in jail but summing up, Judge Micheal Pert QC warned given his beliefs he might never be freed.

'It's clear that you hold firmly to a set of beliefs involving sexual activity with adults and children,' he said.

'Those beliefs are wholly in variance to the views held by most members of society, views that most of society would find abhorent.'

Judge Pert QC added: 'You will go to prison and you will not be released until it is deemed safe for you to be released.

'That day, if it comes, will come when they are satisfied you pose no further danger.'

TT - Jonathan Utin in the U.S. was another pedophile who chose teaching for the access to children. (See below.)

Blacksburg, VIRGINIA

April - Pedophile Utin sentenced to 15 years in Ohio.
August - Utin sentenced to 40 years in Virginia.

Jan 16, 2007 - Jonathan Utin, 65, now retired math and science at Blacksburg Middle School, accused of molesting an Ohio girl, will go on trial in March. He faces 17 charges involving a 12-year-old girl.

He is accused of molesting the girl over several years in both Ohio and Blacksburg. He is being held in an Ohio jail on a $250,000 bond. He retired three years ago but continued teaching as a substitute. In September, after the indictment, the prosecutor said Utin "created a string of victims over the last decade" and had molested children for more than 30 years.

SUICIDE ATTEMPT: After his arrest, Utin attempted suicide. Middletown Police told 9News complaints were filed in other communities about Utin but he was never charged with a crime.

Update Jan 18 - The trial has been postponed until March 26.

According to court records, Utin confessed to molesting at least three victims -- the Ohio girl, a 3-year-old girl from Alabama and a sixth-grader, with whom he reportedly confessed to carrying on a long-term sexual relationship.

In 1995, a student-teacher from Virginia Tech who was working at Blacksburg Middle School officially complained about Utin's behavior toward students. It's unclear if Blacksburg school officials, who have declined to comment on Utin, investigated the complaint.

Utin remains in the Butler County jail on a $250,000 bond.

Update Mar 7 - Utin is expected to enter a plea in an Ohio court Thursday. He still remains in jail.

GUILTY PLEA: Mar 8 - Utin pleaded guilty to eight counts of rape and eight counts of gross sexual abuse. The plea agreement includes a sentence of 15 years in prison. Journal News on the court appearance. Utin molesting the girl repeatedly while visiting her family between 1998 and 2002. When she was between five and nine years old.

There are other charges pending in Virginia.

INDICTED IN VIRGINIA: Apr 10 - Jonathan Utin was indicted on 10 counts of statutory rape by a Montgomery County, Virginia grand jury. The Commonwealth's Attorney says the incidents involved a twelve-year-old girl and occurred between June 1, 1970 and March 31, 1971.

SENTENCED IN OHIO: Apr 17 - Ohio - Utin was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was classified as a sexual predator. That designation requires Utin to register his address with a county sheriff every 90 days if he is ever released from prison.

All 16 charges involve a Middletown girl whose family Utin repeatedly visited from 1998-2002, when the girl was 5 to 8 years old. She was at least the seventh victim the teacher admitted to abusing during his 30 years of being around children.

By Utin’s own admission, a report said Utin “sees his behavior as out of his own control” when presented with a chance to have sexual relations with a child, Crehan said.

He remains under investigation in Virginia.

GUILTY PLEA AND SENTENCING IN VIRGINIA: August 13 - Utin pleaded guilty and was sentenced for raping a student more than three decades ago. Sentenced to 40 years for each of the 10 counts - to run concurrently.

Teacher Turnover

August 12, 2007 - In a Daily Advertiser (LA) editorial ("We must address teacher turnover,") they report discipline has been the number one concern of Lafayette public school teachers.

Among other factors contributing to teacher loss are burdensome activities that seem unrelated to basic teaching responsibilities.

One teacher says misbehaving students are no longer sent to the office - the paperwork and other elements of the process are too burdensome. Other burdens include filling out attendance forms, calling parents when students miss class, completing special paperwork for special education students and otherwise taking time away from helping children to learn.

Not the least among those distracting burdens, teachers say, is meeting the demands of the state's accountability program. The Advertiser was told that it is the teachers, not the students, who fall under the staggering weight of the accountability procedures. Some say high-stakes testing deprives them of the freedom to teach "how and what" they know students need.

Their editorial is based upon a report by an Advertiser report, Amanada Harris, "Schools tackle turnover: Keeping good educators in the classroom isn't always easy; find updated Lafayette Parish school supplies list at AcadianaMoms.com Students losing out as teachers leave nation's classrooms," [The advertising in the middle is how the headline appears.]

The source of the percentage on teachers leaving the profession in the first five years cited in the article is given as the NEA. [The figure given most frequently elsewhere is is 20%.] The contention is that teachers quit because of poorly disciplined students and frustration with the No Child Left Behind-mandated testing requirements.

---

THE OTHER VIEW: The number of teachers leaving the profession annually has become an issue because of a few simple facts. A large number of teachers are reaching retirement age. They will have to be replaced. College graduates are not choosing teaching as a profession in high enough numbers to replace them.

Compounding this is classroom reduction efforts that have reduced classroom size to 1:14.7 which happens to be the Pupil/teacher ratio in Louisiana. (By comparison, California has a Pupil-teacher ratio of 20.8. ) Pupil-teacher ratio in Japan is 20.4 One of the lowest pupil/teacher ratios in the country is in New Jersey, (12.4) which happens to have the most schools under state control for poor academic performance and fiscal irresponsibility.

[When you scroll down to performance at the Nation's Report Card, remember "proficient" means "at grade level".]

Then there is the problem of incompetence.
A good many teachers are not "retained" because they were unsuitable in the first place. Even when given years to demonstrate basic competence by passing reading and writing examinations, they can't. A lot more fail to demonstrate knowledge in the subject they teach or care enough to take classes that would certify them. The No Child Left Behind Act requires teachers to be "highly qualified" and to be fully certified in their field within three years. Think of "highly qualified" as "minimally suitable" and you get the picture. (See TT - Highly Qualified Teachers)

What this means is that the teachers can't be rehired. (See TT - Teacher Competency)

(Presumably, they move to other school districts and start the countdown to certification that is never completed all over again.)

In Houston, ABC 13 Undercover unit examined more than one million records of Texas teacher competency tests to find out how teachers were scoring on the exams. (See TT - Teacher Competency Exams) In Part II, they school districts, showing numbers taking tests and percentages of passing scores on competency tests. (See TT - Teacher Competency Exams II)

Two postings at the latter deserve comment. "States turned out more successful students before teachers were required to be certified." and "If you want to question your teachers' qualifications, then question away. The system allows under-informed teachers to teach because no one else will teach them. Want quality? Quality comes with a price, and the public is not willing to pay it."

When teachers are judged on pass/fail rates, guess who passes? When State-wide tests were instituted, they resulted in lowered standards to deflect criticism and avoid accountability and increase the pass rate. New accountability with the No Child Left Behind Act forces them to post state and federal testing scores online. It's now public knowledge how many schools are failing to teach. The rest of his statement makes my point.

As for "quality" and low pay and "under-informed" teachers, there is no study that equates high pay with high-quality teaching. Teachers are not underpaid in comparison to the median income of the communities in which they teach, the 180 days a year they teach, and the benefits they enjoy. (See - TT Scrutiny)

(See Manhattan Institute report, "How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?")

As for teacher salaries in Louisiana? The Annual Teacher Salary for 2006-2007 report surveying salaries in their 68 districts happens to be online. (Scroll through the Parish and City additional information to see how much supplemental income is provided.)

Teachers were leaving long before the No Child Left Behind and standardized testing.
A Teacher turnover study in 2002 looked at teachers who left school districts during their first five years of teaching in four Midwest states and broke down the novice teachers as 1) those who taught continuously in the same district all five years ("stayers"), (2) those who transferred to another school district or districts within a state but remained in the same state all five years ("movers"), and (3) those who left public school teaching in a state and did not return ("leavers").

The real question is how many are "leavers"? That seems to be 20% nationwide. A clue to their reasons for leaving might be found in a study the National Center for Education Statistics issued in July "To Teach or Not to Teach? Teaching Experience and Preparation Among 1992-1993 Bachelor's Degree Recipients 10 Years After College" available online at the U.S. Department of Education. (Such a catchy title.)

The most cited reason for leaving? For males, to work outside of education. For females, to raise children or other family-related reason. (Pg 24 - 26) In other words, better opportunities elsewhere outside the field and the fact that entering teaching is a good way to find employment while searching for a job you would like better. A high percentage of education majors (57%) were not teaching. (Pg 11) Those teachers who did stay were satisfied. (Pg 20) Of the approx. 39% who were not satisfied, a third were waiting till something better came along. (Pg 23)

Double Dipping in Alabama

PATRONAGE SYSTEM

"They are still earning two taxpayer-funded salaries when it is physically impossible to be in two places working for two different entities at the same time."

- By Bradley Byrne

Well, they could if they worked in Alabama in the two-year college system. IF they were legislators. They could also have financial ties to the system. Bradley Bryne, the newly-appointed Chancellor was writing in the Anniston Star (Aug 12) about the political patronage system in Alabama that allows such blatant conflicts of interest that work to discredit two-year education in the state. It's a scandal worthy of New Jersey.

THE UNION VIEW: In contrast, Dr. Paul Hubbert, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, in an opinion piece in the Montgomery Advertiser, (Aug 11) compares not allowing state employees to also hold public office to a new kind of segregation ("In Alabama we have a sordid history of denying groups political rights. For decades blacks and women were denied the right to vote and the right to run for public office.)

He claims that 'Double dipping' doesn't exist.

TT - This, despite the fact that reporters found 40 members of the Legislature have direct or indirect financial ties to the colleges. Currently 13 legislators are also employed under Alabama's two-year college system. Three newspapers concur that it's a major source of shame.

The problem isn't preventing state employees from holding public office, but allowing legislators, after they are elected, to "accept" state employment in a sector in which they will have oversight. As Bradley Bryne, points out, "...the vast majority of double-dippers are neither teachers nor had a "career" in the two-year college system prior to their election."

See TT - Patronage System for BACKGROUND.

The Alabama Education Retirees Association, Inc. is e-mailing a list of talking points. Someone sent us a copy.

Our favorite? "Prohibits legislators, with as little as a 5% interest in a company, from contracting with any college in the two-year system." Gives you a clue, doesn't it?

New Orleans, LOUISIANA

(Dated) August 12, 2007 - Fascinatingly, the Bill Quiqley article on post-Katrina education in New Orleans was found in a New Zealand publication, greatly expanded to two parts. The NZ publication is called Scoop Independent.

It originally appeared in The Nation, the money-losing, looney left publication.

TT- comments on first publication in U.S.

Melba, IDAHO

August 11, 2007 - Jared Bissen, 29, a special education teacher at Melba High School, was arrested after police were notified of a reckless driver, stopped Bissen who refused to cooperate. He rolled up his window and took off, hitting the police officer.

After a 70 mph chase, they stopped and arrested him and charged him with aggravated battery, eluding or fleeing police, reckless driving and resisting and obstructing officers.

From school web site: "Responsibility is our Theme of the Month"

Smyrna, TENNESSEE

STORY OF THE DAY

August 11, 2007 - From: The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro, Tennesee, "Arrested teachers return to class SUB: Drug tests for Gill; Shelton can't own gun"

A Middle School technology teacher was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was sentenced to diversion that included $1,064 in fines, two months of drug screening and an 11-month 29-day suspended sentence. He took a medical leave of absence the rest of 2006-07 and used his sick-day benefits for income. TT - Link

He was not reprimanded "because it was not related to his job." His brother is Rutherford County Schools Director.

The second teacher was suspended briefly for firing a gun at a neighbor. "The reason for the suspension and the charge against you is conduct unbecoming a member of the teaching profession in that you have been charged with a felony," the letter stated. TT - Link

However, the suspension ended, and the district gave her back pay because she's no longer being prosecuted on felony charges.

A poster at the news story had this to say, "Two months drug testing, and I bet you they gave him the dates of these tests. Wait a couple of months and let a drug sniffing dog walk around his truck, AT SCHOOL. As far as the teacher that got so angry because her neighbor was making too much noise..what is she going to do to the kids when they get loud as teenagers do? Crazy, and to top it off, they both got their back pay."

See the April newspaper editorial about Role Models. In Rutherford County, for example, teachers are required to tell the school system about drug- or alcohol-related arrests but only if they happen on campus.

Other Tennesee stories of note.
See School board doesn't want to infringe on teacher rights
See The Tennessean : Teacher Crimes Barely Traced
See License Actions in Tennesee
See The elementary school staff that pretended a gun man was outside.
See Teacher's husband arrested for killing student she was alleged to be involved with
See He resigned so we will no longer investigate accusations
See Five days to remove teacher from a classroom where he solicited sex
See Three districts: paternity suit, fired for racy messages, then sex with two students.
See To report crime, or no, at school officials discretion
See Pamela Rogers, who doesn't need any more fame

Brownsdale, MINNESOTA

CHARGED: August 9, 2007 -
David Gerlach, 49, a school bus driver and school bus manager for the school district, was charged with felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct, felony third-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct and contributing to the need for protection or services for allegedly performing a sexual act on. (Charges filed July 25.)

Gerlach was text-messaging the boy with promises of gifts and alchohol. The boy's mother turned the phone over to police who set up a sting to meet Gerlach.

He also faces 17 felony charges in Mower county for allegedly forming an eight-year sexual relationship with a boy that started in 1993 when the victim was 8 years old.

They have charged him with 12 counts of criminal sexual conduct in the 1st degree, four counts of criminal sexual conduct in the 2nd degree and burglary in the 1st degree.

See Charges against bus driver bring shock, silence
See School Bus Driver Faces Sex Assault Charges

[Superintendent Ronald] Evjen says, "Just because you pass a background check doesn't mean things don't happen after that time."

Sheriff Thompson says, "People don't just wake up one day and bingo they have a preference for young boys."

Sheriff Thompson says it wouldn't surprise him if more victims came forward.

August 10: First Mower County hearing postponed while Gerlach finds an attorney.

Next hearing is Oct 17.

Beloit, WISCONSIN

Some things just shouldn't be forgotten.

August 11, 2007 - Daniel D. Anderson, 58, is being released from prison. He was sentenced in 1990 for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl.

He picked the girl up from Rockford and brought her to his home in Beloit. Court records indicate Anderson's son told police that he saw a naked little girl in his father's room and heard her crying and screaming.

In 1979, he served time in jail and was put on probation for second degree sexual assault. The victim was a 16-year-old girl who attended the school he taught at.

Before this incident, Anderson was a teacher in Wisconsin. He taught at a Beloit school at one point as well.

Neighbors are being briefed on Anderson's release and the requirements imposed on him as sex offender.

Good explanation of sex offender notification laws.

Brooklyn, NEW YORK

August 10, 2007 - The principal of the Arabic-themed New York public school - Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn - has resigned. She was roundly condemned for failing to condemn the use of the highly charged word "intifada" on T-shirts.

Despite that, the city's Department of Education says it's still committed to launching the school in September.

NY Post: CITY PRINCIPAL IS 'REVOLTING'

Monessen, PENNSYLVANIA

August 10, 2007 - An art teacher Monessen High School teacher, resigned following a date with a porn star that he won in a contest sponsored by "Bubba the Love Sponge," a Sirius satellite show. The teacher won the trip last month to St. Petersburg, Fla., to meet with porn star Akira.

The wheelchair-bound teacher told a local newspaper that he felt ridiculed and offended by the way he was portrayed on the show. He also expressed concern about his status as a teacher.

A host on the show, known as "Spice." joked that the contest to date a porn star was fine for a "ditch digger" but not a teacher.

The school board accepted his resignation for "retirement purposes."

According to the state Public School Code, a teacher's job can be terminated for such reasons as "immorality, incompetency, cruelty, persistent negligence, mental derangement, advocation of, or participating in un-American or subversive doctrines and persistent and willful violation of the school laws of the state."

---

ONLINE RESOURCE: The Standards and Practices Practices Commission at the Pennsylvania Department of Education maintains and online list of actions taken against teaching certificates

See their FAQ

RANT OF THE DAY

RANT OF THE DAY

In a story about the arrest of high school teacher Jerry Wayne Linton, 58, in Mathews, North Carolina, community reaction and concern was included, but also the school district and the teacher's association.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools plan random background checks during the school year. They said they hope parents keep such charges against teachers in perspective.

And then the news source contacted the union.

Some teachers said incidents involving teachers and children have thousands of them fighting to keep their reputations and parents’ trust. Judy Kidd of the Classroom Teachers Association of North Carolina said she hopes criminal incidents don’t reflect on those who are trying to make a positive impact on children in the community.

“Don’t let a few teachers ruin the name of the profession for everyone because there are very few teachers who would even think of doing such a thing. We’re all good people. We have a few bad apples. It’s just like in any other profession,” Kidd said.

She said all teachers receive rigorous training in ethics before stepping into the classroom.

Linton was arrested and charged with three counts each of taking indecent liberties with a child, first-degree rape of a child under 13 and first-degree sex offense on a child under 13 for sex games and sexual activity with three children. Two were relatives. He took nude pictures of the children and kept them on his computer. TT - LINK

Linton was the second teacher arrested on the same day. Amanda Athey, 27, was arrested, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female student. TT - LINK

Two other Charlotte-Mecklenburg teachers were arrested for drugs in June. One was selling cocaine and the other was caught shooting up in a classroom. Both had previous arrests.

The teacher caught shooting up heroine in the elementary school classroom had a 2005 arrest for drugs and got deferred prosecution and charges dismissed after completion of the program. Also found at the news site on the same day was yet another C-M teacher who resigned for sending sexual text messages to a student. That story didn't end with an arrest and there was no further information. LINK and LINK

The problem is that, increasingly, it is becoming clear that teaching isn't a profession. It's a job where tenure and collective bargaining contracts means that professional oversight is not guaranteed, where children are the LAST concern, where parents are the last to know of abuse in the classroom, and, then, only if the school has to admit it. Amazingly, drug use is not grounds for license revocation but a question of rehabilitation with the goal of returning the teacher to the classroom.

Teachers are judged by the same people who hire them.

The lack of transparency in teacher discipline guarantees more privacy for the offending teacher than concern evidenced for the student. And it shows genuine contempt for parents.

Bad teachers who don't teach or become sexually involved with their students are genuinely despised by good teachers.

But until the day that a teacher is automatically fired - as are many charter school teachers and non-tenured teachers - for being arrested for having sex with a student or using or dealing drugs or failing to show up for work 50 days out of a 170-day school year or just plain not teaching - giving children first priority and concern and not a union contract - teachers are just industrial union workers.

Most schools aren't as bad as this district. But the rules that are the same in every state that allow behind-doors negotiations for revocation of a teaching license or suspensions for reasons, the knowledge of which ought to serve to alert parents and taxpayers.

---

RECOMMENDED READING: A 2005 series by Scott Reeder called "The Hidden Cost of Tenure" (Subhead: Why are failing teachers getting a passing grade?) ought to be on the reading list of every parent. Because what the six-month investigation found in Illinois isn't unique to that state.

Highland Springs, VIRGINIA

Jan 29, 2007 -
James Meunier, 50, an earth science teacher at Highland Springs High School, has a May 2 trial date. He is accused of sex charges involving a 15-year old female student.

He was arrested in November.

GUILTY PLEA: May 2 - A day before his bench trial, Meunier pleaded guilty to to five counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor by a person in a custodial or supervisory relationship.. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August.

SENTENCED: August 9 - Former teacher of the year, James Meunier, was sentenced to ten years, 8 years suspended, and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Meunier twice had sexual contact with the girl on school grounds. Meunier apologized for his behavior, which he noted had destroyed his career. He was named a master teacher in 1994 and was the high school's athletic trainer. He had been at Highland Springs since 1997 and had taught earth science for about 25 years.

He is married with three children.

Troy, MICHIGAN

ARRAIGNED: May 12, 2007 -
Carlos Wheatley, 62, a fifth grade at Troy Union Elementary School and was the soccer coach at Troy High School, was arraigned on four counts of accosting a child for immoral purposes and four counts of malicious use of a telecommunications device.

Wheatley is accused of engaging in phone sex and online conversations with a 14-year-old Minnesota girl. Wheatley and the girl made contact in August, possibly earlier, in an online adult chat room. He has been on paid leave since March.

A preliminary hearing was set for May 22.

Wheatley was suspended in March by the school district. “He knew she was only 13 years old, and he knew it was a crime,” said [Oakland County Deputy Prosecutor Deborah ] Carley. “Apparently there were quite lurid phone conversations.”

Update Mar 22 -Wheatley was arraigned and with one count each of downloading child sexually abusive photographic material and for using a computer to do so. A preliminary hearing was set for April 3. He resigned.

He was released on a personal recognizance bond. A preliminary hearing was set for April 3.

Update May 22 - Wheatley's case was bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court today from 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills. Wheatley will be arraigned in circuit court June 4. The date for his pretrial hearing is also scheduled for June 4 following the arraignment. He remains in jail on $100,000 bond.

NEW NEW - Jim Toth, a sports editor for the Eccentric Newspapers has a hard-hitting column about Wheatley.

Since those charges were levied earlier this week, the popular response when discussing the Wheatley incident -- and if the accusations prove to be true -- has been, 'What was he thinking?'

And just like Krisniski, Wheatley -- who was arraigned in 52-3 District Court Friday and is scheduled for a preliminary examination May 22 -- is accused of not thinking about much else other than himself. Not the person on the other end of the phone or the chat room, not any one of his family members and not any of his friends or colleagues.

He concludes with,

And please, bury the excuses of life at home or at work. No environment can be that uncomfortable that it forces a child to soothe the pain.

The thought of being invincible, along with years of utilizing authority in the classroom, might have something more to do with it.

RESIGNATION: May 24 - Wheatley resigned from his job. Wheatley will be arraigned in Oakland on June 4.

GUILTY PLEA: June 11 - An article mentioned in passing that Wheatley pleaded guilty in May. He pleaded guilty to four counts of accosting a child for immoral purposes and four counts of malicious use of a telecommunications device. Sentencing was scheduled for June 21.

SENTENCED: August 10 - Wheatley was sentenced to 90 days in jail, $7,089 in fines and court costs and three years' probation. He will wear an electronic tether for 180 days.

But according to Wheatley's attorney, Jerome Sabbota, the man has already been punished for phone sex conversations with a 14-year-old Minnesota girl.

"He told me before court today that the worst thing that has happened to him has already taken place," said Sabbota. "The school year is about to start, and he won't be teaching. And teaching is something he loves, so he has suffered a great deal."

TT - Talking dirty with a 13-year-old girl was good for his "self-esteem" according to his lawyer.

Wheatley was allowed to retire.

Mathews, NORTH CAROLINA

August 9, 2007 - Jerry Wayne Linton, 58, a David W. Butler High School teacher, was arrested and charged with three counts each of taking indecent liberties with a child, first-degree rape of a child under 13 and first-degree sex offense on a child under 13.

Investigators say Linton made two boys and a girl, all between the ages of 7 and 10, play sexual games. They say he also made the girl perform oral sex on him.

Linton is also accused of taking nude pictures of the children and saving them on his computer.

Authorities said two of the three children involved are relatives of his.

Linton resigned in June. None of the incidents involve students.

Another CMS teacher, Amanda Athey, was also arrested on the same day.
TT - Link for Athey

Law

August 9, 2007 - Texas has passed a law requiring school districts to add a course on preventing dating violence.

According to the new law, schools must provide a definition of dating violence, safety planning, counseling and awareness education for students and parents.

"We go into schools, K through 12, public schools, private schools, alternative schools and teach about bullying and anti-violence," First Start Coordinator Taryn Daniels said.

The state legislature passed House Bill 121.

TT - They have more sense than say, Colorado, where they would overreach and make 2nd graders assemble for the lecture.

Law

Updated - Signed by the governor.

News story dated Apr 18 -
New legislation sponsored by John Oceguera (D-Las Vegas) would require the Nevada Department of Education to adopt regulations regarding the notification, tracking and monitoring of the status of criminal cases involving teachers was approved by the Assembly today.

Oceguera introduced AB 313 to correct a problem highlighted in a case in Clark County two years ago when a substitute teacher was found to have pled guilty to sexually assaulting an eight year-old boy. The teacher's license was suspended and he was barred from returning to the classroom, but the State Board of Education learned of the situation through a media report.

Text (as introduced) AB 313

Bill was supported by the Nevada State Education Association.
Current status: Most Recent History Action: May 30, 2007 - Chapter 142.
Signed by the Governor - Effective July 1, 2007

Wayne, NEW JERSEY

June 26, 2007 - Timothy Zisa, 35, described as "a once-popular Wayne teacher," pleaded to three counts of cruelty and neglect to a child. He is expected to be sentenced up to five years' probation.

Zisa admitted that he engaged three students in obscene conversations, passionately kissed two of them while they were underage and had sex with two after they turned 18. (See "Details" story.)

Zisa agreed to forfeit his teaching license and never to take a public job in the state. He had been a history teacher and coach at Wayne Hills High School.

Zisa, who was suspended immediately after his arrest, had won considerable acclaim at the high school and was called "The Chillest Teacher Ever" and "very nice to look at" on a popular teacher-rating Web site.

He is scheduled to be sentenced August 10.

See Wayne, NJ's Sex Case Detailed
See Favorite teacher indicted

SENTENCED: August 9, 2007 - Zisa was sentenced to five years probation and barred for life from teaching in the state for sexual encounters he had with three former students. Zisa was also ordered to complete 125 hours of community service and undergo psychological counseling. He is also barred from holding any public employment in the state.

New Orleans, LOUISIANA

August 9, 2007 - A federal judge ordered the names, addresses and race of all teachers hired since the late 1970s and which positions they were hired to fill in the Tangipahoa Parish public school . Thousands of teacher job applications will be turned over to the federal court. If they still exist.

The hearing centered on the allegation that the school system's method for rating applicants and teacher hiring does not follow a court order issued decades ago to achieve a 60 percent white and 40 percent black ratio among teachers resulting in a re-segregation of schools.

Plaintiffs allege there was a “precipitous drop” in the percentage of black teachers in the school system after officials began using a method labeled “objective criteria” for evaluation and hiring.

From an Aug 4 story from The Advocate:

U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle is trying to decide whether the application of that process — called objective criteria — has had an unequal racial impact on black job applicants.

TT - The 100-point scoring “objective criteria," apparently, does not award points for race. That seems to be the main contention. Bio of Judge Lemelle

Also see Schools’ hiring scores challenged

See SchoolMatters (a service of Standard & Poor's) on the Tangipahoa Parish school district.

White Marsh, MARYLAND

Mar 5, 2007 -
Patrick Bogan, 42, a gymnastics teacher at Baltimore County gymnastics, was arrested for possessing and receiving child pornography

A search of his home revealed five cabinets in Bogan’s residence, including one that contained 49 videotapes and discs with hundreds of sexually explicit images of children. They also found several pairs of little girl panties. They also found news articles on kidnapping, child killers and molesters being sentenced, as well as evidence that he was part of an international child porn ring.
Full Name: Patrick David Bogan

May 23 - Baltimore Sun: Bogan pleaded guilty. As part of the plea agreement, Bogan and the government have agreed on a sentence of 6 1/2 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

Bogan told authorities that he had been looking at child pornography for about 20 years, initially collecting it through the mail, then switching to the Internet in the 1990s. Prosecutors today called the case "one of the most significant child pornography cases ever prosecuted in Maryland due to the sheer volume of child pornography possessed by the defendant."

Bogan's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 9.

U.S. Attorney's Office Press Release. (May 23, 2007)

SENTENCED: August 9 - Bogan was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison. He will also have ten years of supervised probation.

Bogan pleaded guilty to child pornography after FBI agents found five cabinets of porn at his home and more at an off-site storage facility in March.

Bogan got a high volume of letters in the his favor, asking for leniency. A number of the letters are from parents of the students he used to teach.

TT - (We know. It's Baltimore.)

TT - List of teachers or administrators guilty but not yet sentenced for child pornography.
TT - List of teachers or administrators sentenced for child pornography.

From EarthTimes.org - News release on sentencing from U.S. Attorney's Office Maryland (not currently found on the Maryland site.)

Department of Justice Press Release (Dated Aug 9, 2007)

Glouster, OHIO

August 9, 2007 - The school board accepted the resignation of a Trimble High School teacher, who is under investigation by the Ohio Department of Education over allegations he fathered a child with a student in the mid-1980s while a teacher at Trimble Local School District, as well as allegedly engaging in an inappropriate relationship with another student while teaching in another school district in Ohio.

Through a public records request, The Athens Messenger obtained a copy of the May 11, 2007 letter sent by the Office of Professional Conduct to the teacher. The news story details the reasons for the investigation. He has not been charged for sex with the 16-year-old Trimble High School girl that occurred in 1984-1985. He left the school in 1987.

The only reason the Ohio Department of Education found out was that the man falsely accused of being the father by the girl's family notified them. A paternity test in the 1990s proved that he wasn't. At that time, he reported the teacher to child support enforcement where DNA testing confirmed the teacher as the father.

Despite all that, the teacher was rehired by the school district in 2000, apparently unaware of the previous history.

TT - How can you prevent something like this happening except by asking teachers to sign a declaration every year saying that they have not in the past, nor will, conduct themselves in a manner that would lead to the loss of their license or criminal prosecution? With the understanding that false declaration can, and will, be a reason for automatic termination.

Or by random lie detector tests such as those given police.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

QUOTES OF THE DAY

Found at a news story a Michigan teacher who will be tried for sex with a 16-year-old girl.

Speaking for the 8,000 or so people in this state with teaching degrees who cannot find jobs, how can such an UTTER MORON wind up in a plumb job in one of the best school districts in the state?! It seems to me that teachers should be made to take ethics exams, not unlike lawyers or doctors.

AND

Having been a high school teacher, I have seen this sort of thing happen, but I was never ever tempted. These are children and they look to us for guidance and understanding -- NOT SEX! It is extremely inappropriate. This former teacher should have the book thrown at him to the fullest extent of the law. Minimally, he should be given a similar sentence as Latourneau (sp?) and the other female teachers.

Charlotte, NORTH CAROLINA

ARRESTED: August 9, 2007 - Amanda Maria Athey, 27, was arrested, charged with three counts of indecent liberties and one count of sexual activity between a teacher and student

EARLIER STORIES:August 7, 2007 - An English teacher at Hopewell High School has been suspended, accused of a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student. The teacher had not been charged by police.

the student's father told police earlier this month that he had evidence of the relationship between his daughter and the teacher. He told authorities he recorded his daughter’s phone conversations with the teacher and found that the two were talking about their sexual relationship.

The search warrant also states that since the relationship began, the girl “has become withdrawn from the family and started cutting herself severely.”

The father found e-mail and taped the conversations.

In one conversation, the pair talked about having had sex the last time the teacher visited the teenager's home, the court documents say. In another, the student told the teacher her parents might help her through her financial troubles. The teacher responded that the parents would not give her money because of the relationship.

RESIGNED: August 7 - She resigned. Police are continuing their investigation. No charges have been filed.

ARRESTED: August 8 - She was arrested. (See link at top.)

LICENSE ACTION: January 2008 License Surrender. Reason: Inappropriate relationship with student - sexual. N.C. Board of Education.

Orlando, FLORIDA

Good bye, Mrs. Walker. How do you explain that to children?

August 8, 2007 - Andrea Walker, a teacher at Pine Hills Elementary, was shot by her husband. He was arrested and charged with first degree murder.

They were supposed to finalize a nasty divorce the day after Andrea Walker was found dead.

Investigators reported that they were both involved in extramarital affairs.

Source: WBDO AM 580

Sordid lives of people who are role models.

(Don't listen to the police call. It will alternately make you appalled and then have to fight the urge to laugh at the exchange. And there is nothing funny about murder.)