by Neile Parisi
I especially loved science fair season and prepping for the fair. It was our most intense time of the semester. Three-quarters of the students’ grades were based upon their science fair project. Naturally, students spent a great deal of time preparing, creating, and researching their topics. I made myself available four nights a week after school to help my students.
Philip and our sons didn’t see much of me during the science fair. He would make dinner for himself and the boys, and I’d grab something on the way home. He was very understanding, knowing how much this meant to me. I thanked him profusely when I finally arrived home. There were many late nights, and even more early mornings.
Lee said, “Billie, it shows how much you love science fair—you win almost every year. How could Daniel accuse you of anything? Wasn’t he your aide?”
“Yes, I truly tried to help him, before and after school.”
“You helped him too much. He was always in trouble with the law, his classmates, and in most of his classes. I remember catching him lying about a paper he copied. And Mrs. Burns said he stole money in her class. Well, I’m going to start a petition. I’ll have the teachers sign it, and some students, to help keep you employed here. I’ll write a letter of recommendation, and I’m sure other teachers and some parents will too. You’ll see. It will work.”
CHAPTER 14
Support from My Fellow Teachers
WHEN LEE ASKED MY FELLOW TEACHERS, whom I trusted, if they could write a letter, petition, or character reference for me, several graciously accepted. They arranged to meet me for lunch. They, too, were horrified about the accusation, and they didn’t trust Daniel. He had so many issues with dishonesty, stealing, and cheating, and it was rumored now that he was involved with drugs.
Barbara, the social studies teacher, had overheard Daniel coaching his classmates to agree with him when he accused me of punching him. He had actually rehearsed what they should say to the principal.
“So when Mr. Anderson asks you to give your side of the story, just tell him how Mrs. Murray punched me. Got it? I’ll make it worth your while.”
“But I didn’t see her punch you,” David said.
“Just say you did.”
“Okay, I will for you, Daniel.”
My union president sent a letter to the assistant superintendent of schools after being told that the principal was not available to speak on the phone. In the letter, she listed all of the issues:
First, that the student went around the school telling the other students that Mrs. Murray was going to lose her job at noon.
Daniel Ray even boldly told other teachers that if they bothered him, they could end up like Mrs. Murray. He’d have them fired, also. He became more of a monster, thinking he was so powerful that he could control the teachers’ futures. Of course, his mom fueled his behavior. He felt like he could do anything in any class and get away with it, and sometimes, he did. Some teachers were afraid of confrontation, and just ignored him. They were close to retirement age and frankly, just didn’t want to deal with a possible issue. Take the Spanish teacher. Daniel got away with murder in her class, because she refused to give him any opportunity to hurt or betray her. She had one more year left until retirement, and she wasn’t going to let anyone change that.
This was reported to the principal, and nothing was done to discipline the student. Apparently, he knew his parents were coming in to meet with Mr. Anderson, though Mrs. Murray did not know.
Second, no coverage was allowed for the union steward so she could attend the meeting. This is a violation of the Weingarten Rule.
Third, the woman who covered Mrs. Murray’s class was a parent of one of the students in the class and a friend of Daniel Ray’s. How many violations should I cite? What is happening here? This is intolerable, and the union is not going to take it. I want to know the names of the parents who supposedly called in complaining about Mrs. Murray, and with whom they spoke. I want all administrators to be instructed that they are not allowed to let a parent come into the school and berate and belittle a teacher. This is bullying and harassment—both very serious charges. I also want every administrator to be instructed on the Weingarten Rule, and to enforce it. I will be speaking to my grievance person and the union attorney as to what further action to take. I will end this by saying that teachers are being set up on a daily basis by kids who have their own agendas, fueled by the insipid means of doling out discipline. We need to change the climate in our buildings.
The letter sounded so powerful, yet nothing changed for me or my situation. Maybe future teachers would benefit from it, but I felt alone again, and let down.
One teacher in particular came to my defense. She was one of Daniel’s teachers and had had trouble with him in her classroom. She insisted that she would not only write a letter, but that she would testify at the hearing for me.
She was told by the principal to mind her own business, or there would be consequences. This veteran teacher put her job on the line for me and lost her position at the school—the school from which she had planned to retire. She was transferred to another school for her kindness. How terrible that we had both now been eliminated from the school we loved. I felt so badly for both of us, but I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t even help myself.
Shortly after Lee testified on my behalf, she also was summarily transferred to another school. She was given the weak explanation that she was needed at another school. She was also told to mind her own business and let it go. Other teachers were also affected; the Italian teacher was told she was a terrible teacher. Rather than fight, she retired, even though she had planned to stay two more years. The third-grade teacher was told she was going to teach eighth-grade science, replacing me. She said she wasn’t prepared, nor did she want to teach eighth grade, and left the school. The social studies teacher was transferred. The math teacher was harassed, hired a lawyer, and left temporarily on sick leave, but did return. Even the assistant principal was replaced. Mr. Anderson cited that he was also doing a terrible job so he left before he was fired.
Lee had taught there her entire teaching career, and had planned to retire from that school. Now, that was not going to happen. A total of five people were displaced, all because of the fact that they had come to my aid. What a weak, pathetic system we had. How could one principal be so powerful?
The Board of Education did not want confrontation, so they got rid of the trouble. I felt terrible that my friends had to suffer along with me. It was not only unfair, it was outrageous that one student could cause this much disruption. I was aghast that one principal could be so controlling.
My lawyer said it was similar to the Good Samaritan Act. The principal had to believe the student and protect the child. Even though Daniel had a reputation and a sordid past, I was already considered guilty. I had to prove my innocence.
The hell with me and my years of work and dedication. I didn’t matter to anyone. I had lost everything, and no one seemed to care. It was over.
CHAPTER 15
DCF Court
I ARRIVED AT THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN and Families Court early to review the proceedings with my attorney. He prompted me as to what I should say. I wanted to give more details about the alleged event. I wanted to tell the jury—three women and two men—what had actually transpired that day, but I was persuaded not to do so. Attorney Barrone said it wouldn’t help the situation. I knew the truth. “I was there,” I pleaded. Nothing happened. Why didn’t they believe me? I brought the petition signed by my fellow teachers and the letter from Barbara, my fellow teacher, along with me. Neither of these was permitted as evidence during the trial.
The petition stated that the faculty wanted to show their support for me as a fellow colleague; that during the past two and a half years, I had shown myself to be a conscientious teacher who demonstrated great care for my students. I came prepared to share my scientific knowledge with my students, and the fact that, without hesitation, I was willing to help students st
udy according to their individual learning styles. I had dedicated many hours, both before and after school, to making the lessons exciting and meaningful.
All of my lessons fostered student involvement. Those who knew me identified an individual in possession of a fine character. I had always exhibited ethical behavior, and cared deeply about every individual I taught. There were times too numerous to mention when I had tutored students for hours, allowing them to catch up with the class. In the classroom, I had adhered to the policies, procedures, and curriculum of the school district. I had a fine rapport with my peers, and worked cooperatively with them. For this reason, they had supported me in my endeavors. Many faculty members had signed the petition, and several parents had done the same. It was extremely supportive, but was still denied as evidence.
My attorney began with the statement, “The evidence in this case would permit a jury to find that the defendant had a personal agenda to injure the plaintiff; indeed, to remove her from teaching. He had been sent to the school by the superintendent with exactly that agenda—to “clean house” and remove teachers considered to be “troublesome” by the central administration. In fact, the plaintiff was only one of several—including the assistant principal—thus removed by the defendant in less than a year. Shortly before receiving that directive, the defendant had praised the plaintiff as a teacher. He knew that the student who alleged that the plaintiff had hit him was a notorious liar, who in fact had previously been arrested for making false reports at the school. He knew that another teacher had overheard this student coaching other students to lie and support his false accusations against the plaintiff, yet when that teacher reported these facts to him—prior to the DCF report—he instructed the teacher to ‘mind her own damn business’ and not to discuss this with anyone.
“The DCF report was immediately used by the school administration to remove the plaintiff from teaching and terminate her employment, without even awaiting the results of the DCF investigation. This pattern of behavior was seen by the Federation of Teachers as not only a violation of the union contract, but, in fact, a prohibited labor practice carried out to remove disfavored teachers in improper ways. The evidence in this case is more than sufficient to support a jury determination that the defendant acted maliciously and in bad faith in filing his DCF report. Accordingly, the matter must be left to a jury’s determination, and the motion for summary judgment must be denied.” I leaned over to my attorney and told him I had never even seen the report that was filed with DCF. He said he had seen it recently. Why hadn’t I received a copy of it, so I could know what I was being accused of? He didn’t answer me.
The first adjudicator began to question me. “So, you stated that Mr. Anderson observed your teaching in October of the 2003-2004 school year. Is that correct?”
“Yes, he came in October 2003. That was the only time he came to observe me during the school year. But he never gave me any paperwork from the evaluation.”
“Did you ever have any discussions with Mr. Anderson regarding that evaluation?”
“Yes. I asked him when he was going to give me the evaluation, so I could read it and sign it. He said he was behind in paperwork, and that he would get it to me shortly, but I never received it.”
“Did you ever have any follow-up conversations with him regarding that evaluation?”
“He said I was a great teacher, and that Maria, who came to observe my class and my teaching (because I did not have tenure yet), also agreed that I was a great teacher.”
Continuing on, he broached another topic. “So why did you persuade the student to be your aide?”
“I didn’t persuade Daniel to be my aide. He asked if I needed help, and I did, and I thought it would help him to have the responsibility.”
“For confidentiality purposes, we will just refer to the child as the student who accused you. I ask that that name be stricken from the record.”
What bull crap, I thought to myself. His name is stricken from the record, and my name is repeated throughout the city, smeared and trampled upon? They are protecting his name?
“When did you first become aware of the DCF report that was made regarding your alleged hitting of the student in February of 2004?”
“When was I made aware of?”
“When did you first learn that a complaint had been filed against you with DCF?”
“The only thing that I was aware of was that the principal had said there was a complaint made about me. It wasn’t until DCF called me for an interview that I was aware of a complaint filed with them.”
“When did Mr. Anderson say there was a complaint?”
“The day after the alleged incident was a snow day, so it wasn’t until Monday afternoon, when he sent a teacher’s aide to my classroom to ask me to come to the office.”
“Okay, and tell me what happened.”
I had gone over this so often that I managed to tell it without emotion. I couldn’t tell if I was believed or not.
“And what did Mr. Anderson do during this?”
“Nothing. He never tried to quell the anger, or reprimand the mother, or defend me. He did nothing except let her scream. Then the student chimed in, ‘You’re gonna get arrested.’”
“Why do you think he said you punched him?”
“Because he wanted to blame someone. He was embarrassed and upset, and I was an easy target.”
“So you didn’t punch him?”
“No. I didn’t. I have a letter here from one of my colleagues stating that she overheard him coaxing students to lie to the principal.”
“That’s unnecessary,” one of the DCF officials replied.
“How about this petition signed by teachers and some parents supporting me?”
“Again, this is not admissible.”
“Well then what the hell is admissible?” I screamed.
“Back to the meeting with the parent, did the mother ever say anything about the nature of the complaint?”
“Yes. She said, ‘My son said you punched him in the chest.’ I said, ‘No, I did not.’”
“Did you explain what had happened in the classroom?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Were you angry with his behavior at this time?”
“I was upset that he was out of his seat, making noise, being disruptive, high-fiving students, swearing, ruining the science fair presentations, etc. I asked him to stop and sit down, and he wouldn’t. Then he pushed another student, who punched him. Then others joined in, and all hell broke loose. I tried to break up the fight. I called the guard to remove him from the room.”
“When you say guard, what kind of a guard are you referring to?”
“We have a security guard at the school.”
“A police officer?”
“No, a security guard.”
“Does he or she have a uniform?”
“Yes, he does.”
“Did the security guard appear in your room?”
“Yes, and he pulled the student out of the classroom and took him to the principal’s office.”
“Were you present when Mr. Anderson interviewed the student or any of his witnesses?”
“No, I wasn’t. I had no idea any of this was going on.”
“I am handing you a document a copy of the complaint filed against you. Have you seen this before?”
“Not until just now.”
“Do you have any information that leads you to believe that the report made by defendant, Mr. Anderson, to DCF was a false report?”
“Like I said, I never saw the report, so I don’t know who made it and what it contains.”
“Do you believe that the defendant knowingly filed a false report regarding this incident?”
“Yes. He did not investigate both sides; he only took the child’s word and his friends. I think it was his explicit intent to get rid of me because of his personal agenda. Another teacher overheard the student coaching his friends as to what to say to Mr. Anderson. She wrote a
letter to Mr. Anderson and gave it to him. The principal told her to mind her own business. That’s an example of him not performing a complete investigation.”
“Have you ever, as a teacher, received any training on when you are supposed to report acts of physical abuse or suspected neglect to DCF?”
“No, we haven’t received any training.”
“Do you know if you are a mandatory reporter under the Connecticut statute that requires certain individuals who have reason to suspect that there’s been child abuse or neglect to report that to the DCF?”
“We don’t report anything to DCF. We have been instructed to inform our principal if we suspect any form of abuse, and he takes it from there.”
“Do you know whether or not the teacher’s name who wrote the letter to the principal about the student’s behavior in her class was ever given to the DCF investigator?”
“Yes, I gave it to him. But she was never interviewed. She even came to the hearing. When I tried to give a copy of her letter to him, his reply was, ‘I know all about her. She is also bothering the student.’ She was one of the first teachers to be reassigned to another school following the incident.”
“Where was her classroom located?”
“Across the hall from me. She also taught eighth grade. She taught English.”
“Was she in your classroom that day?”
“No.”
“Would your testimony be the same if the matter had been reported to DCF prior to the time that the teacher contacted Mr. Anderson with the information?”
“Yes, but that is only part of it. Mr. Anderson knew about the student’s behavior with coaching his friends, and ignored that information. But he also changed the wording on the evaluation sheets from the original ones. Let me explain. Remember I told you he observed me in October, and never gave me the paperwork to review and sign? Well, my union president asked for missing paperwork from my personnel file. She accompanied me to the Board of Education office, and we looked through my file. I had asked for the following documentation, which I never received: my evaluation, class management schedule, notes from a follow-up meeting with Mr. Anderson, and dates and observation notes from Maria’s (who was assigned to observe my teaching) visits to my class.