I guess some things will never change in a system that is definitely broke.Remember back to the Eduardo Genao incident. We were told by the Superintendent of Schools that safeguards were going to be put into place to protect children from predatory behavior by adults.
After the phone call I received yesterday, that apparently hasn't happened.
Sadly, my day started off yesterday with a very disturbing phone call from a parent of a Hartford Public Schools student.
The parent related a story that in and of itself was very disturbing, and the ensuing action by the Hartford Schools was even more disturbing.
And now keep in mind, this is information relayed from a parent, since the Hartford Schools will not comment and continue to operate in their cone of silence.
The parent stated that last week their child, a student at the Mary Hooker School in Hartford was called into the principals Office and then interrogated by the Principal and a School Security Guard regarding any inappropriate behavior or inappropriate contact between the student and a male teacher at the school.
I apologize up front for keeping the details very generic, but I just want to lay out the scenario at this point.
One of the most troubling points is that this interrogation was conducted of a juvenile without the knowledge or consent of the child's parents. And where does the Board of Education think that it is proper for a principal, most likely more interested in her own reputation than the welfare of the child would be an unbiased objective party. And what training or expertise does the Security Guard or even the Principal have in interrogating or interviewing a potential victim of what could eventually be seen as sexual misconduct by an adult.
And it gets worse.
Only after family members observed the child acting differently, did they even become aware of what was going on.
Only after intervention by the parents, did the young child admit that she "thought she might have gotten Mr XXXXXXXX in trouble". Only after further questioning did the child relate being interrogated by the School Principal and a Security Guard.
The parent naturally made a beeline for the school and the Principal's Office and instructed the Principal in no uncertain terms that their daughter was not to be interviewed or interrogated any further without their presence.
The Principal assured the parents that the teacher in question had been removed from the classroom pending their "investigation". Apparently the Principal also did cover her bass and informed DCF as required as a mandated reporter.
According to a source familiar with the matter, DCF claims that the Principal told them she didn't feel there was any basis for a further investigation so no case was opened. Surprise, surprise. The principal was protecting her own reputation I am sure.
The father returned to the school on Tuesday and lo and behold Mr. XXXXXXXX was back in his classroom. The father immediately questioned the School administration and he claims that he was told "Mr. XXXXXXXX was spoken to, and we no longer see him as a threat so we allowed him back" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I immediately contacted Chief Rovella and Deputy Chief Foley with my concerns. HPD claims they were unaware of the matter, they were never contacted by the Hartford Schools or evn DCF after it was reported to them.
HPD has now launched a potential criminal investigation and a detective has been assigned to the matter. The Hartford Schools have also now suspended the teacher while the matter is investigated.
In the end it may show that there is nothing there or it may indicate a problem. Either way, every child that is enrolled in the Hartford School System as well as every parent that entrusts their precious children to the care and control of the Hartford Schools every day deserve nothing less. And that is for every school, whether it is a flagship school or the worst performing school in the district, the standards and accountability should be the same.
Furthermore, stringent policies need to be in place for dealing with these matters. Immediately once an allegation is made,, the Principal and other school staff should be taken out of the loop to avoid any perception of impropriety or bias. If we demand incidents such as a police shooting be investigated by an outside agency from the start, such as the State's Attorney or the Connecticut State Police, then shouldn't we demand the same for Hartford's children when allegations are made involving a teacher.
Maybe someone could answer for me where a principal or a Security Guard received their training in investigating a possible criminal matter of a sexual nature involving a child. And what damage is done to a child if it isn't handled properly? and why would we trust school staff to investigate their own friends?
I am relatively sure HPD has well trained detectives to handle such matters with the minimum amount of stress and embarrassment to the child. They should be notified immediately when any whiff of impropriety arises. This needs to be standard policy if parents are to have any trust and confidence in the Hartford Schools.
The Superintendent and the Mayor promised it after Genao, now they need to deliver if they are to be trusted.
UPDATE: As of 5:00PM, despite a request for a comment from the Hartford Schools that I made to spokesperson Pedro Zayas, no response has been received and sources have confirmed that a criminal investigation is proceeding and the Teacher in question has been removed from the school until a resolution of the investigation
UPDATE: 8:10PM - the Board of Education has apparently just notified parents of students at Mary Hooker School that the Principal, Ms.Thompson has now also been placed on Administrative Suspension. The Board is expected to release a statement tomorrow
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26 comments:
It’s called the Weinstein Effect. They’re everywhere. Confidence a’la vicariousness.
Tell Robert Coto this happen at a his Hartford public school not a charter school. We all know how he loves to criticize charters but when this b.s. happen his watch he it's very quite.
Why would anyone trust the word of Luke Bronin, he has proven himself to be a total fraud and his word means nothing.
Definitely the Weinstein Effect you would think these bastards would have learned by now
Are you kidding me these teachers and principals haven't learned yet whoever the guard is I bet he's shitting bricks now wishing he didn't sit in on that interrogation. Idiots
Gotta take my hat off to the dad me
Personally it would of took atleast 5 Hartford cops to pull me off that teacher from the a$$ whooping I would of handed him once I laid eyes on him smh
IF this article is true, I agree administration didn't handle it well, HOWEVER, I know all the adults involved. Let's NOT roast this teacher over a spit until all the facts are in! This is a man's life and livelihood we are talking about.
Are their perverts in the BOE.or in City Hall?
The school system is loaded with predators and it will take years to clean them up. The BOE administration just moves those predators around when they get caught.....like the Catholic Church did in Boston.
maybe superintent need a raise to keep kids safe. bet we hear how they need more staff or more consult. she been in charge since december and what no better. how long we need go? no more time get money back.
I wonder how much this is going to cost the residents and employees of the City?
Thank you for the Red Pill ,Kevin.
Keep us in the loop of what’s really going wrong.
I keep saying, who is doing the hiring. The system is completely broken with incompetent peiple manning the ship. These people care about the 4 P's the section of power, pension,and paycheck. They DO NOT care about the pupil, parent, nor the public.
Todays educators wear many hats. All the facts are not substantiated. There are many things that go on in society today. I know plenty of educators that have left the field because it is very stress full. Years ago I was involved educating children. I can remember how hard it was to get parents involved and to get children to stay still and listen in a classroom. Parents or who ever is raising children in this day and age must be responsible. The Federal, state and local monies have not been effective. Yes, there are good and bad educators as in every field today. Bullying is a countrywide problem.
Why is this Principal still assigned to that school after he/she exhibited such a terrible lack of judgement in the way they handled this situation? Or did they think they could cover it up and it would have never seen the light of day? And doesn't the Hartford Schools have a retired HPD Lieutenant as their Director of Security being paid over $100,000 plus. Why wasn't he involved in this from the start instead of the Principal and a Security Guard playing cop.
THE SHIP IS DROWNING MAN, THE SHIP IS DROWNING
I think you mean the ship is sinking, but regardless, how can that be, we have a new Superintendent making over a quarter of a million per year in salary and didn't she promise us she was going to fix these things and not tolerate this type of behavior?
And while we are at it, can we put out an amber alert for Pedro Zayas the spokesperson for the Hartford Schools. He hasn't returned e-mails or phone calls regarding this matter. Do they not feel the need to respond to a negative matter or offer any explanations?
How is it possible that this has been posted here on the blog for almost 24 hours and not one word on the Courant yet? Are they really that lame? Even Channel 30 had the story after Kevin at 6:00pm last night. Is the Courant that poorly sourced that they can only find news after Foley sends it to them? Maybe if the name Trump was associated with this abuse allegation they would jump on it
What members of the Board of Education gave this new Superintendent this high paying salary? Who voted for her salary who voted against? The Hartford Board of Education has a history of paying out way more than the person is worth.
@3:54 all of them voted yes. The highest paid cit employee and still the schools are a mess. let's not start with it's not her fault as she was a deputy before becoming superintendent. Ask why these practices were not gone If these next generation inspirational leaders were doing their jobs. They got promoted under this superintendent. Maybe to keep their mouth shut about what really went on and continues to go on?
My child is a student of this teacher. I just want to dispute the part of this blog that states the teacher was back in class on Tuesday. He was not. He was told not to come in on Monday while the allegations were being looked into. He took a personal day on Tuesday and returned on Wednesday only to be asked to leave that afternoon (He did in fact work half day...exposed to students on Wednesday).
Please be clear with the "facts".
First and foremost the principal has the power to interview with out the parent. Second the security guard was actually doing his job. The principal makes the decision to further go up the chain of command. The security guard is actually trained and so is the principal.
Because principals don't want central office involved. The security guard prefers to be in the side of the principal because he is the supervisor at site.
At this point no one is clear with the facts of the case but here is what I do know from my own experience, not with this particular incident but with how things work. We don’t know how the principal came by this information and neither does the parent that called you from the sound of things. So, we don’t know why the principal spoke with the child- and as a previous post says, principals do have the right and responsibility to speak with the student. I highly doubt it was an interrogation- both because of the reason for the conversation and, frankly, because I know the principal and that isn’t the way she handles things. What was said was that the principal called DCF- that is what she is supposed to do- principals don’t call in law enforcement- they call DCF and it is up to DCF to contact law enforcement. If you have actually called DCF to make a complaint then you would know that they ask a lot of questions so it would not surprise me if, knowing this, the principal had a conversation with the student to get more facts. Would DCF have asked the principal if she felt there was merit? Yes but that doesn’t preclude DCF from making their own investigation. If they decided not to proceed then that is on them and the article should hold them accountable for their part. I am disappointed with the salacious gossip that is contained in this “article.” We are talking about a child and two people whose livelihood depends on ensuring that children and safe and well educated. To engage in character assassination with so little to go on as a parents report (who wasn’t even aware of the issue) is unfair. I do think that there are things going on in Hartford that need to be called into question but this particular type of reporting is just unfair.
The state should take over Hartford Public Schools. Present Board of Education members are ridiculous and so were boards before them. Former Mayors Pedro Seggara and Eddie Perez were a joke. They both sat on the Board of Education. Hartford schools got worse. The Hartford Public School Administrators are out of control. Public school systems across our state laugh at Hartford. I do too. Please State of Connecticut take over Hartford public schools. The new HPS Superintendent is a joke. Where dose she live? Has she moved to Hartford yet. More resources need to go to teachers for there classrooms and salaries and not to another HPS Superintendent. I would love to have all the wasted money they spent and spend. And of course the salaries, stipends, sick and vacation time and on and on....It is ridiculous! Remember Hartford is going Bankrupt....Hartford Public Schools former and present Superintendents you are and were a BIG part of the problem.
I agree the State should take over the Hartford Schools. I just read the Supt. was never a teacher or principal and the BOE wanted a Puerto Rican. Tim Sullivan out performed her at the public interview, has been a teacher and principal and the BOE hires a social worker. And we wonder why Hartford Schools are in a mess? THe Mayor and the BOE keep making these stupid mistakes is why we keep getting these problems. We pay her $300,000 plus benefits for this to occur. The Supt, Mayor and the BOE should ALL be replaced and the State should take over the mess in Hartford. Maybe it is time for us to call the Governor and the Commissioner of Education and have them meet with the parents and families. Something has to give. This is ridiculous. Eddie Genao and now this. IS Tim Sullivan still available? SMH, SMH, SMH
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