as some of you very well may know...magnolia school district, mostly high school, have been expierencing teacher misconduct in school...we have had 3 teachers arrested in the past 3 years for misconduct with students...here is some this you should probably read..
Our View: TEA official is right -- parents, and students willing to speak out, are still the best defense against teacher misconduct.
If recent cases involving alleged sexual misconduct by teachers have shown us anything, it's that the standard tool for protecting students -- rigorous background checks -- cannot predict the behavior of teachers with no criminal record.
Only increased awareness and heightened vigilance by everyone, from school officials to parents to students themselves, can prevent sexual misconduct by teachers or at least stop it once it occurs.
In the most recent incident, Lisa Minchew, a former Magnolia High School art teacher, was arrested recently on three counts of sexual assault of a child, stemming from three alleged sexual incidents with two boys between the ages of 14 and 16 that occurred in early July. She had no criminal record of sexual misconduct.
Minchew is just the latest teacher or school staff member to face sexual misconduct charges. Other recent incidents include:
-- Felicia Shupp, a teacher and volleyball coach at McCullough and The Woodlands high schools, was arrested in 2001 for sexual assault stemming from an ongoing relationship with a female student. Shupp pleaded guilty later that year and received seven years' deferred adjudication, 45 days in the Montgomery County Jail and was required to register as a sex offender.
-- In 2004, Hogan Tebbs Brooks, a former Creighton Elementary School teacher, was arrested by federal agents and charged with attempting to entice a minor over the Internet plus five counts of possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the enticement charge last year and is currently serving a six-year sentence in federal prison.
-- Donald Paul Mauro, a former Conroe Independent School District Police officer, was found guilty last year of nine counts of indecency by exposure with a child, sexual assault of a child and improper relationship of an educator with a student. He is currently serving 44 years in prison.
-- Last year, Thomas Allen Mayes, a former Magnolia High School coach and teacher, was arrested for sexual assault of a child and for having an improper relationship with a student.
Guarding against future sexual misconduct involves a two-fold approach: strict enforcement and punishment for offenders, and constant efforts to encourage open lines of communication between parents, students and school officials through tools like Conroe ISD's Kid Chat, a hotline over which students can place calls anonymously reporting allegations of crime. In addition, parents need to be talking with their children and making every attempt to be aware of what's going on in their lives, so those students feel comfortable sharing information. As Chris Jones, head of enforcement for the Texas Education Agency, recently told The Courier: ''I don't know if a school district can do as much as parents can; if kids are not comfortable in going to their parents, they're not going to any adult. Parents need to have open lines of communication with their kids. It's their duty. A school district can't do all the parenting."
©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2006
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Added: Wednesday August 09, 2006 at 10:21 PM EST
i thought the school was a safe place
I know im just a senior but i am sick and tired of teachers being perverted. for some students school is the only place that they can go to get away from abuse of any kind at their home...then they go to school now and get abused even more...this is what pushes kids to the limit of wanting to end their life because they have nothing left...i am not going to stand for any of this..i will straight up tell the teacher that i know whats going on and i will contact the authorities. i have had a teacher who made my happier and i have also had one that made me feel like crap...so teachers have the power to end your life or make a whole new beginning with a future..
Jessica Seay, magnolia, TX
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6 comments:
Jess,
If you ever hear of anything like that the important thing is to talk to someone. The world is filled with sin and corruption - our job is to figure out how to be Christ's hands and feet in making it a better place.
we love you,
Chris
This is a very disturbing article! But I want you to remember that there are still teachers who are good, and care...and we are all called to respect the authority in our lives. So respect them. But it's super important for you and your friends to be aware of what is appropriate between a teacher and a student, even if you're 18. So it's good to think about that going into the school year.
Do we all sound like your parents? You have always had more than two parents, you know. We love you, and CANNOT BELIEVE that you are a senior in HS! That's crazy. We are proud of you.
jenn
yeah..i am not going to like yell at teachers or anything like that but show them Christs love..i just dont want people to like think of our school as a bad place..so thats why i am stepping up and going to try to help out a lot this year! jojo its okay its always good to have people be like parents too! thanks for being proud of me! i love you all!
jessica
Hey Jessica.....
I just figured out how to work this website so I am posting my very first comment on your post.
I am so sorry to hear about all the school abuse. It is so sad, isn't it? Thankfully all the good that goes on far outweighs the bad. I have two questions for you:
Have you ever felt like you wanted to end your life after a teacher treated you badly? Or did you just feel really sad and hurt?
Like that article and Chris mentioned, it is so important for you to talk to an adult about any misconduct you know of. Would you feel comfortable talking to your parents (or one of us) if you were abused by somebody at school?
There are no right or wrong answers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings Jessica. Lots of Love, Lisa
what i meant by how a teacher has like made me not want to be happy was because this teacher was really rude and like this teacher made me really mad soooo yeah then there was a teacher that made me really happy! yay! well okay! sooo yeah nothing bad came out of anything...except for the fact that the teacher that was rude to me is still working at the school. but everything is great so far! love jessica
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