Here are unedited (by me) excerpts of news stories from various sources as they were reported within the past two weeks. Note that the suicide of Phoebe Prince following repeated torment by her classmates and the senior prom saga of Constance McMillen have been assigned their own separate 'blog entries:
From the Philadelphia Daily News --
The English teacher at Cherry Hill High School West reportedly instructed his honors students to nickname a student "Handy Mandy" - in reference to her alleged sexual activity - prompting her outraged mother to file a federal civil-rights lawsuit earlier this month against DiPatri, the school board, the township and several unnamed students.
Melanie Singer alleges that her daughter, who also isn't named in the March 18 lawsuit, learned that DiPatri originated the nickname when she complained to her guidance counselor in January that students relentlessly called her "Handy Mandy," "slut," "whore" and other sexually derogatory slurs. "Handy Manny" is a Disney cartoon featuring a bilingual Latino handyman named Manny Garcia and his talking tools.
School staff told her to ignore the harassment, according to the lawsuit. The principal briefly suspended DiPatri for the name-calling but did not apologize or acknowledge the misconduct to the girl and her family, Singer contends in her lawsuit.
The torment worsened after DiPatri's suspension and "became so unbearable, that she was forced to leave school and receive home instruction per her pediatrician's advice," according to the lawsuit.
From the Seattle Times --
STAGNANT reading scores of Washington's fourth- and eighth-grade students, highlighted by a national assessment, are troubling.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) offers a reliable yardstick of student achievement nationwide. Current measurements show many students are not on track for high school graduation and success in college or employment.
Washington is not an anomaly. Out of 50 states, seven showed change and that included sharp declines for four.
From the Anniston (AL) Star --
Erica Deramous was not trying to make a statement, disobey school policy or flaunt herself. She just wanted to enjoy her senior prom.She was suspended all the same.
“I feel it’s stupid because I got suspended for nothing,” Deramous said.
Deramous was one of about 25 Oxford High students who were disciplined for violating the dress code at her school’s prom Saturday. The students in violation were allowed to stay at the prom, but the following week, each was given the option of receiving corporal punishment or accepting a three-day suspension from school, Oxford principal Trey Holladay said.
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution --
A former Southwest DeKalb High School teacher did not commit a crime when his students stripped and simulated sex acts in his class, a jury ruled Wednesday.
Former chorus teacher Nathan Grigsby was found not guilty of five counts of contributing to the deprivation of a minor.The video, which was posted on Facebook, showed three male students remove their shirts and dance provocatively while girls screamed. One of the boys dropped his pants. The boys dropped to the floor, gyrated and grabbed female students while simulating various sex acts.
In the back of the video, Grigsby can be spotted briefly watching. Prosecutors argued he was smiling while watching the "Chippendales-style revue." However, Grigsby said the video captured his look of shock when he saw what was going on.
Grigsby told jurors he was helping another student for the bulk of the performance and had his back to the dancers. He wore headphones and claimed he didn't hear the screams or the lewd lyrics.
“As I turned and saw what they were doing, I stopped it,” Grigsby said after the verdict. “I was in the room, but you do have to understand the atmosphere. As a teacher, you can not see everything the whole time.”
From The Palm Beach Post News --
Beating victim Josie Lou Ratley showed a sign of progress on Easter Sunday, her family's lawyer said.
The 15-year-old Deerfield Beach girl is starting to move "slightly" in her bed at Broward General Medical Center, Rick Freedman said in a news release. Also, doctors are trying to get Ratley to breathe on her own, though still with the aid of a ventilator.
Her mother, Hilda Gotay Ratley, was at her bedside with an Easter basket holding favorite things — a large stuffed bunny, art supplies, bling jewelry, a princess crown and chocolate.
Ratley has been in a medically induced coma for 18 days since she was attacked on the campus of Deerfield Beach Middle School.
Wayne Treacy, 15, is charged with attempted murder in the March 17 incident. He is accused of stomping on Ratley's head with steel-toed boots.
From MyFoxBoston.com --
A 6-year-old first-grader in Middleton’s Fuller Meadow Elementary School is accused of molesting at least 10 fellow classmates. In his 40 years in education, Superintendent Bernard Creeden says he's never seen a case like this one.The first grader has been removed from the elementary school after students claim they've been victims of sexually inappropriate behavior. The alleged victims are all boys.
There are reports that the boy was pulling kids' pants down and then threatening to beat them up if they said anything.
And these are headlines from only the past couple of weeks. . . I won't bother to include the one about the Florida teacher who gave her elem. students pretend bottles of Xanax pills (candy mints) to help them de-stress before standardized testing, or the one about the teacher who has reportedly fathered a child by a special ed. student, or my personal favorite -- the one about a Utah school district website that linked to an article claiming that Jesus was one in a long line of historic vampires. (I am not kidding.)
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