An earlier page from the Los Angeles Times had a picture of Al Gore instead of the teacher, as they noted in this screenshot.
Mar 22, 2007 - Antonio Gomez, 36, a teacher at Stevenson Middle School in East Los Angeles, was arrested on suspicion of molesting five teenage girls.
The girls are 13 to 16 and include two sisters. The arrest came after a month long investigation. Police believe there may be more victims.
Formal charges are pending, but Gomez has been accused of committing lewd acts with a child younger than 14 and is free on $100,000 bail, police said. Gomez has been reassigned to a site where he has no contact with students, pending the completion of the investigation.
Mar 27 - Gomez will now be placed on unpaid leave, Hilda Ramirez of the Los Angeles Unified School District said. Prosecutors allege Gomez began molesting one of the victims when she was younger than 14. Six of the counts relate to that girl, who was allegedly molested between Feb. 1 and Nov. 30 of last year. On March 6, investigators served search warrants at the school and at Gomez's home.
Mar 28 - Gomez pleaded not guilty. The judge increased Antonio Gomez's bail from $100,000 from $620,000, noting the "seriousness of the charges." Gomez was immediately taken into custody. Although initial reports said there were five victims, the prosecutor only charged Gomez with two. The Deputy DA told the court that "other victims that are outside the statute (of limitations) that the court should take into consideration."
Gomez had originally been reassigned to a "non-school site" with pay. He is now on unpaid leave.
Mar 27 - Press Release from Los Angeles District Attorney's Office on the arrest.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA
Rosyln Heights, NEW YORK
A student and a teacher were in the hallway when the drugs fell to the floor, police said.
Mar 22, 2007 - A hall monitor security guard, was arrested after two bags of cocaine fell out of her pocket. Police arrested Evelyn Garza, 46, and charged her with third-degree criminal possession of a control substance and fifth-degree criminal possession of a control substance.
Newsday found a statement on the district's web site: "A staff member at Roslyn High School who was employed as a hall monitor was dismissed without pay by the school district on March 21 following her arrest for possession of illegal narcotics."
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Savannah, GEORGIA
We're re-thinking laws restricting sex offenders from living in proximity to schools, bus stops, and playgrounds.
A registered sex offender who was previously convicted of molesting a child was living with his parents less than 600 ft. from a bus stop. A local boy went missing for a week before his body was found.
In a trash bag.
Police arrested David Edenfield, 32, and his parents on charges they molested and then murdered Christopher Michael Barrios. He was six-years-old. Christopher's grandmother lived across the street.
A Georgia law passed last year prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop. That would have barred the younger Edenfield from living so close to temptation, but a pending lawsuit prompted a federal judge last year to block that provision from taking effect.
TT - Link to story with details about the lawsuit. We can all thank the Southern Center for Human Rights. They're proud to partner with several sex offenders in the lawsuit. But somehow, we don't think those sex offenders wrote all those legal papers by themselves.
At what point do we tell those public interest organizations that they aren't serving us and they aren't serving the public?
The District Attorney said he would seek the death penalty. Would you like to take a really wild guess who's also against the death penalty?
Vinton, VIRGINIA
He threw the woman's cat at the German shepherd, which distracted...
Mar 21 - A William Byrd High School teacher was arrested and charged with charged with obstruction of justice, recklessly handling a firearm, and a felony count of attempted malicious wounding.
He is on leave without pay from the Roanoke County school system.
Mar 22 - From the Roanoake Times: Maj. Delbert Dudding of the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office said that authorities believe a gun had been fired. He said this occured after they arrived:
A woman walked out of the basement and told deputies the man was inside. Deputies went in and found Lemon, who ignored commands to show his hands even after deputies threatened to release a dog.Lemon was briefly hospitalized and evaluated. He was released on bond.
Lemon failed to comply, and a dog was released to subdue him.
Lemon threw the woman's cat at the German shepherd, which "distracted the dog enough for the subject to flee out the front door," Dudding said.
Deputies tackled him outside.
Fernley, NEVADA
Sentenced to 12-32 months in the Nevada State Prison.
Jan 5, 2007 - Tracie Nelson, 37, a Fernley Intermediate School teacher's aide, pleaded guilty to a charge of statutory sexual seduction with a minor under age 16.
Nelson underwent a competency examination before she was pronounced competent to stand trial. Prior to her sentencing hearing, the defendant must undergo a psychosexual evaluation to determine risk of her becoming a repeat offender.
Sentencing is scheduled for Mar 19.
[TT - In December 2006, Kymberly Tamburello, 43, a 6th grade special-education teacher at Fernley Intermediate School, was arrested, along with her husband. She is charged with trafficking methamphetamine, maintaining a residence for the purpose of sales, possession of marijuana for sale, possession of marijuana and unlawful use of both marijuana and methamphetamine. Her husband pleaded guilty.
Our entry for Tamburello.]
Feb 28 - Nelson was rearrested Feb 23 following reports she has been sighted hanging out with juveniles. She appeared before the district court Monday for a bail hearing. Re-hearing scheduled for Feb 28.
Mar 7 - Bail was recently ordered revoked. Nelson is to remain in custody at least until her judgment and sentencing hearing.
Mar 21 - Nelson was sentenced to to 12-32 months in the Nevada State Prison.
Troy, NEW YORK
Mar 21, 2007 - Police arrested Doris Kurick, 54, along with her daughter, for for felony possession of marijuana.
Inside the basement specifically officers discovered drying rooms, growth rooms, seeding rooms, ventilation, humidity control, all the very professional equipment needed to effectively grow cannabis."
Kurick is a special education teacher with Carroll Hill Elementary School. District officials said the state Education Department will be notified. The agency will then determine what action, if any, to take on Kurick's teaching certification. Both Kuricks were charged with second-degree possession of marijuana, a felony. Doris Kurick also was charged with unlawfully growing marijuana, a misdemeanor.
Mar 22 - The school board asked Kurick to stay home while they consider their options. Police had been investigating her for a month after an anonymous tip. In a search of her home police found she was growing marijuana in the basement.
And while they don't believe Kurick was selling, they also found five pre-packaged pounds of the drug.Capital9 news: If if they choose to suspend Kurick, it can only be with pay because she is a tenured teacher.
Long Island, NEW YORK
Reiner pleaded guilty to to a federal charge that he possessed child pornography.
Sep 27, 2006 - Michael Kelly Reiner, 46, a teacher at the Long Island School for the Gifted, was arrested on federal child pornography charges. Reiner who taught 4th thru 5th grades also operated a Web site devoted to sadistic fantasies and cannibalism.
Reiner's attorney questioned whether the government was in a position to criticize the actions of school officials -- "a school that certainly has a number of experts on its staff." Uh yeah.In making the recommendation for [permanent] detention, [federal prosecutor] Bode said school officials had not immediately taken the federal investigation seriously.
Bode, head of the child exploitation unit in the Eastern District, said that when agents of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently approached school authorities about contents of the Web site, they were told investigators "didn't understand the defendant's sense of humor ... and called customs officers 'ignorant.'"
Nov 18- A federal judge overturned a magistrate's recommendation that would have released Reiner to his family.
Mar 21, 2006 - Reiner pleaded guilty to a federal charge that he possessed child pornography. Reiner's home was searched after he aroused suspicion while crossing into Canada with a collection of photos showing boys as young as 4 posing in their underwear and bathing suits, prosecutors said. At his home at the time of his arrest, they found he possessed at least 70 still images and 42 video clips on his computer depicting children engaged in sexually explicit activities, they said.
Sentencing is Aug 10.
Shreveport, LOUISIANA
Mar 20 - Jimmy Yates, 36, a vocational instructor at Rutherford House, was arrested on charges of indecent behavior with what he thought was a 15-year-old girl.
The sexually explicit conversation turned out to be with a member of the task force looking for internet predators.
Rutherford House helps troubled youth who are going through the juvenile court system.
He was suspended without pay.
May 4 - Yates has been booked on a charge of possession of child pornography. Caddo Parish sheriff's deputies said the local cyber crimes unit found sexual images of children on computer hard drives seized from Yates' residence as part of the earlier investigation.
Yates is scheduled for arraignment on the original charges next week.
CONVICTED April 2, 2008 - Yates was convicted for sending lewd messages to a teen girl online. [No information on the pornography charges.]
Fresno, CALIFORNIA
Updated to include sentencing on the weapon possession charges. 
Feb 21, 2007 - Donna Hubbard, 46, a health teacher at Duncan Polytechnic School, pleaded no contest to battery and possessing an assault weapon.
She and her husband were arrested last year after authorities said they found several rifles, Ku Klux Klan clothing and photographs of cross burnings at their home following an event called "Aryan Unity Fest '06" held over Memorial Day weekend.
She was arrested on weapons charges at school, and was later accused of attacking a Jewish woman in an Oakhurst parking lot in 2005. The "hate crime" charge and enhancements that alleged she was associated with a criminal gang - the KKK - were dropped in the plea agreement. She said she made the plea deal to avoid losing her teaching credential.
Her husband remained in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail because he allegedly violated his probation. Sentencing will be March 20. She has been on paid administrative leave since her arrest.
Full Name: Donna Jean Hubbard
Mar 20 - Hubbard was sentenced to three years of formal probation and 400 hours of community service on the gun charges.
We nearly forgot that the judge previously suspended the battery sentencing for a year on the condition that the defendant undergo anger management counseling.
Comstock, NEW YORK
Updated to show sentencing. Check out the URL. About explains it all.
Jan 9, 2007 - Cassandra Jones, 42, third grade teacher [school unknown at present], was arrested while trying to smuggle drugs and and a scalpel hidden in a tampon at Great Meadow state prison. She was visiting her 30-year-old husband who is serving time for a New York City murder.
Full name: Cassandra D. Jones
Mar 20 - Jones pleaded guilty in January to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony. She will be formally sentenced later this month. It's expected to be three years with two years probation. The tampon contained a scapel, .5 grams of heroin and some prescription pills
"She'd been doing this for a while and we believe she'd been doing it at other prisons," Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright said.TT - It'll be a while till the couple is reunited. He's serving 25 years to life for convictions in 2000 for second-degree murder, and weapons and drug charges. Kortright said Jones will be able to use her training as a teacher in the prison system."She can teach in the prison system now," Kortright said.
TT - What a happy thought. You cannot make this stuff up.
Houston, TEXAS
Some schools just might require the intervention of the National Guard. They seem to be stuck on stupid.
Mar 20, 2007 - Deanna Woollen, 45, [scarey picture unavailable] a Sharpstown Middle School teacher, was arrested in Colorado while on a trip with 30 students from the Houston Independent School District. The students ranged in age from 11 to 15. She called the police to settle a student dispute.
From the Incident Narrative posted at MyFoxHouston: The police discovered they had two statewide traffic warrants out for Woollen and two other warrants wich were good in Denver. Her driving privileges were cancelled or denied in both Texas and Colorado. In talking to the officer, Woollen suggested that might be because she had back surgery a few years ago and developed an addiction to oxycodine.
She expressed concern with the officer about leaving the students with the two remaining adults, as one was her elderly mother and the other had problems with alcohol.
For this trip, the parents paid $450. The parents and students had a lot to say to the FoxNews reporter. Woollen is on paid administrative leave.
Full Name: Deanna Kay Woollen
TT - Greatschools Overall Rating for this school is 3. The school was rated "Academically Unacceptable" by the Texas Education Agency. We won't go into the how the parents score safety and discipline.
Someday, those students can look forward to the Sharpstown Hiigh School that Greatschools gives an Overall Rating of 2. That school , too, is rated "Academically Unacceptable."
REFORMING the SYSTEM
Mar 21 - The Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune final in their series, "Broken Trust"
In Teacher repeats behavior; new school unaware of past
A teacher talks with the Herald-Tribune. A case study in how the system failed abjectly.
Melissa Green pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious behavior with a student, 15, at Tate High School in Escambia County. She came there from Satsuma High School in Alabama, where she had an affair with a student, 16. That school let her resign with no investigation.Two teachers to whom she confessed gave her references for another school district - where she had a sexual relationship with another student. As a mother, she says she regularly checks it to see if there are any offenders in her neighborhood. But within two miles of her house, she's the only one.
Key Players
Names and salaries for those whose job it is to "track teacher misconduct."
How area districts handle complaints
Background checks. Who investigates? Code of Conduct. Reporting Rules. Educator training.
[Compare the Reporting Rules from the three counties.]
FIXING FLORIDA'S FAILED SYSTEM
What the Herald-Tribune found. Among the findings,
The system relies on educators to police themselves instead of using trained investigators to gather evidence. As a result, problem teachers can stay in school for years until someone is able to collect enough proof to fire them and take their teaching license.Well-thought out recommendations.
[TT - Our two cents: Better than NASDTEC, the U.S. Department of Education should maintain a database of disciplined teachers. For the best reasons: 1) Women marry and can change names. 2) A Social Security number is a constant. 4) Teachers travel from state-to-state to work. 5) The U.S. Dept. of Education can act as impartially as NASDTEC. 6) Their system would be transparent. 7) Their findings would be public information and their records would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. 8) NO MORE EXCUSES THAT IT'S A PERSONNEL ISSUE.
It will never happen. The various states, county school systems, local school systems, school administrators, unions or teachers would work against a real database that would mean a system that would track their non-performance as well.]
Bruni, TEXAS
Mar 21 - Robert Muñoz, a Bruni High School Coach, took the stand in his own defense. He is accused of indency with a child.
The trial is in it's 12th day. When asked if there were inconsistencies between the statements he had given to school officials and police, and his testimony in court. Muñoz replied he may have made mistakes in the statement to school officials.
Muñoz also testified that he looked at parts of the alleged victim’s statement to school officials before he made his own statement. But he said he only saw parts of the statement and was not aware of everything she said.
Mar 22 - The jury acquitted Munoz of all charges. (Bottom right) Story continues.
KANSAS
Mar 21 - 49 ABC news: "An area teacher charged with sexual misconduct with a student has local teachers speaking out"
8th grade teacher Lucinda Evans has taught in the USD 501 School District for 16 years and during that time, Evans says she's never experienced a situation where a teacher was accused of being sexually involved with a student.Video at site.
But, now that it's happened just 20 miles away, she's horrified. In Lawrence, a 24-year-old female teacher was arrested for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 15 year old. The incidents happened three times last August and once last week.
"I don't know that she's guilty of anything at all but just to even say it is horrifying to me," Evans said. She says teacher-student sexual relationships not only damage the integrity of teachers, but violates parent trust.
TT - The Lawrence Journal World has the story but maintains that it does not name people charged with sex crimes unless there is a conviction. And it's true. In another story in the paper, an unnamed Kansas University student was arrested for attempted rape. But doesn't it make you wonder if there are other victims unaware of an arrest who might come forward with other information? In any case, her name is Meredith Kane.
Hempstead, NEW YORK
Mar 21 - Dubner Saintilus, 37, Hempstead High School math teacher, was arrested for allegedly fondling a student.
He was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesay. He was a volunteer police office. He was suspended from the Suffolk Auxiliary Police, Nassau police said.
Mar 22 - Saintilus pleaded not guilty
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
FINDING A SOLUTION
Mar 20 - The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is continuing their series, called "Broken Trust" that is the result of a two-year investigation into 14,000 cases going back to 1997.
"Who are the Investigators?"
Every state has an agency that is charged with investigating complaints against teachers. In your own mind, do you expect them to be a cake decorator or a former secretary? And do you expect them to be trained?
"What are you doing, Julia?"
A student who was seduced by her teacher tells her story.
Day 3 thumbnail Cases
Settlement Agreements. We don't ask; you don't tell. Quiet suspensions.
Ineffective Investigations
An untrained assistant principal pulls on rubber gloves to examine a 5-year-old girl and then sent the girl home to where the abuse occurred. It's worse when they investigate themselves.
MURDER
While sexual misconduct is the most common reason for dismissal and drugs are No. 2, murder is probably the best guarantee of losing any credential appeal. 
BAKERSFIELD, California
We are not following the trial of vice-principal Vincent Brothers with the same dedication as the local media. But we keep updated on the delays.
Accused of killing his wife, their three children and his mother-in-law, the theatrics and grandstanding in the courtroom would have made Johnny Cochrane proud. Certainly the 150 motions made by the attorneys would have pleased the heck out of him.
The murders happened on July 8, 2003. Brothers was arrested in April 2004. Local coverage has been extensive. There was a sidebar on how really hard it was to photograph him. And then there's a "who's who in the Vincent Brothers murder trial." And drawings of the layout of the house.
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada 
It's hard to tell when John Watson will go to trial. They are predicting January. He was arrested for the death of his wife. The body was never found, but prosecutors think they can convince a jury.
The retired Ontario, California math teacher has a colorful history, only just recently uncovered, but it really casts doubt on the usefulness of those background checks. Now that he's got spare time, he is writing to the newspaper.
Did we mention that he confessed to raping and killing a hitchhiker in 1967 and had threatened Richard Nixon?
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LANSING, Michigan
One of the saddest cases is Anthony Dixon, an assistant principal at a middle school. He shot and killed his ex-wife's boyfriend, the boyfriend's brother and another man. Then he took his own life. He was 34 years old. Eight children lost their fathers.
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AUGUSTA, Georgia
Tracey Harley will spend the rest of her life in jail afer pleading guilty to the murder of her husband last April. She was sentenced Mar 16. She was a third-grade teacher. We could find little information about the trial. She apparently had help in the murder.
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KILGORE, Texas
Eight months after her conviction for killing her husband, Sharon Daniels was sentenced to 10 years. The jury convicted her but they deadlocked on the sentence. We aren't sure who sentenced her.
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JACKSON, Mississipi
Elicia Hughes was convicted of the murder of her husband who was insured for $250,000 and was philandering which led her lawyer to speculate that someone- not his client - had reason to shoot him. Six times. A month later, a circuit judge ordered a retrial. The jury was not "race neutral."
She has her own cheering section. We get e-mails from her supporters: You, Go, Girl!
No date for the retrial yet that we know of.
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LEXINGTON, Kentucky
Arraigned on murder charges, Courtney Bishop, is accused in the death of her 1-month old son. Bishop is 24-years-old. She looks like the neighbor girl down the street.
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The point of this is, that these teachers, obviously, are not representative of teachers as a whole. Murder isn't something we encounter often with a teacher as the perpetrator. But this is how a site would be if we really wanted to go for sensationalism instead of just dealing with facts.
The public has a right to know and newspapers are not as eager to follow up as they are to cut and paste a press release from the police department or the arrest report from the County Sheriff. Rather than the lurid story, we try to follow up and with the help of some very nice readers who send us links, we inform those who want to know the disposition of a case.
It manages to anger some posters who start out with the, "He didn't do it; but if he did, she deserved it. She was a slut who ...." Those posters usually end up being as hurt and as confused as the student. So if you think we enjoy this, you would be dead wrong. No one does.
For all the Miss Plunkett's in the world - teaching can still be an honored and noble and decent profession where children are safe from predators and horn dog teachers, drug addicts and drug sellers. No one wants that more than decent teachers.
We just have to weed out the bad ones. Information is the best tool.
Monday, March 19, 2007
SOLVING THE PROBLEM
Mar 18 - The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is continuing their series called "Broken Trust" that is the result of a two-year investigation. Their interactive online presentation shows what a newspaper can do in the Information Age to connect with readers and convey a vast amount of information.
In addition to the interactive presentation, you can choose the text-only version of the stories.
Today's stories include "'Pass the trash': Problems move with quiet deals."
When principals and district administrators want to get rid of a teacher accused of abuse but don't want to risk a messy legal fight, they have another option.TT - the term "teacher trash" was coined by Education Week in a three-part series called "A Trust Betrayal " written in -- are you ready? In 1998. They were alarmed even then at the scale of the problem. The series is still available at Education Week - search archives - date: anytime. You can take out a one-month subscription to access all their articles.
They can offer a choice -- quit or get fired.
Sometimes they go a step further. They agree to cover up their investigation, and they don't report the allegations to a higher authority, increasing the chances a questionable teacher will be hired by another school district.
Educators know it as "pass the trash," and many speak of it as little more than an old scar on a much-improved education system.