Last night, LAUSD made the unprecedented move of replacing all 150 staff members at Miramonte Elementary after 2 long-time teachers were charged with abusing students.
How can that possibly be a good idea? There were kids on the news last night sobbing that their teachers won’t be there on Thursday.
How will that help the children feel safe when the school is replaced by strangers? When the teachers they did know and were able to trust are gone.
This seems like a ridiculous ploy by the Los Angeles Unified School District to appear like it’s doing something. Where was it when students made claims against one of the teachers, Mark Berndt, as long as a decade ago. Berndt is being charged with lewd acts against a child for allegedly blindfolding students and taking pictures of them while spoon feeding them his semen.
Children reported to a counselor back in 1990 that they saw Berndt touching himself behind his desk during class, according to the LA Times. When the students went to a counselor at the school they were told not to make up stories. According to news reports, one of the victims’ lawyers said there were reports of abuse by Berndt going back to 1994. Berndt reportedly posted questionable pictures on his bulletin board in the classroom for kids to take home.
Like it isn’t bad enough that something was going on for years, but when school officials and police determined that it was really happening, they didn’t tell the parents. The parents learned that their children had been questioned by police months later. These parents were denied the right to take their child to the doctor to make sure they weren’t hurt. They were denied the right to talk to their child about what did or did not happen to them. I can’t even imagine what I would do if I found out someone knew one of my children was being tortured (blindfolded and gagged is torture) and didn’t tell me.
A lot of sick and very messed up things went down in that classroom and those kids needed counseling. Not just the kids that it happened to, but also the kids who may have witnessed it.
There are so many things wrong with this story. Take for instance the other teacher at the school who is charged with fondling two 7-year-old girls and the fact that the information is just coming out now. I’m afraid of what more will come out in that story.
The saddest part of all of this is the total disregard for the children. The kids have to live with television cameras, frightened parents, and now every adult at their school gone. They will have to go to school with new teachers and staff and then adjust again when the teachers and staff come back at some point.
The district sent them to a school that isn’t currently being used while temporary staff will come in teach students. So the district has to pay temporary staff plus the staff that was removed. How is this going to solve anything? I know that 1/4 of parents were keeping their children home and school was canceled today and tomorrow. But replacing the staff doesn’t make any sense.
It also doesn’t make sense to me why there is an elementary school with 1,500 students? It’s one of the largest in the nation, according to the LA Times. How can you have a decent learning environment where kids are safe with that many kids?
It’s so sad and disheartening. When all of the news reports came out about the abuse of children by a former Penn State coach, I thought that there was no way that could happen in California. There’s no way that someone could hurt children here and get away with it for so long.
Tragically, that’s not the case.
Yvonne is Editor and Cofounder of MomsLA.com. She also writes at YvonneinLA.com.
What a crazy stunt they’re pulling! They’re clearly doing this to make it look like they’re taking serious action on the situation, but how is this helpful???
I’m also not convinced they won’t try to pawn all the Miramonte people off on other schools. I’m going to keep an eye out for teacher transfers to my kids’ school…
And then – you have to imagine how awful it is for those teachers who did nothing wrong and are now being branded as pariahs by the actions of two people who did horrible things (allegedly) to kids…
Just a horrible situation all around.
Sarah, I think you make several excellent points. I’m almost positive that the LAUSD will try to transfer some of the problem staff at Miramonte to other schools. But, overall, I can’t imagine a sweeping firing of all the staff is the answer. I just don’t think that everyone there even knew the accused teachers or had any idea of what they were doing. The principal is accountable, for sure. The other administrative staff are also responsible for oversight of the accused teachers. But, the front office staff? Others? I’m not convinced. And, for those who had nothing to do with this scandal, I feel sorry for them. That’s where their unions can help.
That was my thought exactly. Assuming no one knew about the teachers, the poor teachers that were working their butts off being good ones that suddenly get branded as being at THAT school and losing students.
I wonder how many teachers may have known- I substituted at a school where a teacher mentioned everyone knew about a fellow teacher’s drinking problem in class before it was reported.
There’s no right way to deal with this, but I don’t think complete removal was best.
There’s no easy way to deal with this, and all of the children were already damaged by what’s been going on. I think drastic measures had to be taken, and while I was completely surprised, I think it was the right decision. We don’t know who all was guilty of being complacent or if there was a cover-up or what was going on. Those parents deserve answers, and by law, are required to send their children to school. If I were a parent there, I would in no way be willing to send my child there without have some assurance that all involved – or even aware – were nowhere near my child.
I agree that the parents deserve answers, but I don’t agree that this was the way to do it. And sadly, I don’t have faith that the district. The parents should have been made aware of the situation long before now. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with an entirely new staff coming in. There was a mother on the news last night saying that her child’s teacher was great and it’s going to be a very hard transition during a very difficult time.
I don’t think there’s any way to avoid a rough transition. Had the district responded any other way, there still would have been an uproar on how it’s being handled. In a district as large as LAUSD, it’s unrealistic to think that anyone at the district level could have had more awareness than the people who worked at the school day in day out. Not everyone at the school is responsible, of course, but right now, there has to be time made to investigate who else might have known. I thought my daughter’s teacher was great, too, until she turned out to be a pedophile.
How can moving teachers to a different school be considered a move in the right direction? If there is another teacher who is hurting students why would you move them to a new school? And who is to say the one you are bringing in isn’t just as bad if not worse?
Two things: the Miramonte teachers are being moved to a school “under construction.” They are still being paid and still have their benefits while the investigation continues, but still won’t be around students in the meantime (which is a good thing, if any of them were aware of what was going on, and it’s almost impossible for me to believe that no one else knew.). Secondly, there is a benefit to the students not being yet emotionally involved with the new people, and will help them feel more comfortable reporting any bad behavior with someone they don’t yet love. There was a great article about why so much of this goes unreported, and it’s because of the emotional connections that children develop with adults in authority: http://www.evolutionaryparenting.com/?p=735
I know this is awful, but when I heard this on the radio this morning I couldn’t help but be happy for the teachers that would be hired on as replacements. They’ve probably been out of work for awhile and this is their opportunity. Maybe that’s wrong to think as now 150 teachers that had jobs yesterday will now be without, but it was my immediate reaction.
The whole situation is so awful for everyone involved. Sadly, there is no easy way to fix the damage that has been done to these children, their families or this community.
School should be a safe haven for children where they can learn and grow in a supportive environment that they can trust. To think that about what this teacher did is absolutely horrifying and makes me completely sick to my stomach. My heart goes out to the families involved.
The only positive thing I see coming out of this situation is that it should be a HUGE eye opener for educators and administrators to take a good hard look at who is working in their schools. Situations like this cannot be tolerated!
Yvonne, so well. said. I’m sure some of the teachers who were replaced didn’t really even know the accused molesters. I can’t imagine all the teachers there deserved to be fired. It should have been handled on a case by case basis.
What a mess! This situation would be unthinkable except that it’s actually happening and right here in LA. I don’t think pulling all the teachers is a good idea. I don’t know the best course of action, but the district is such a large and unwieldy institution, I don’t think they have the flexibility to deal with this on their own. All the kids and parents need some level of counseling. Some more than others. Is anything in place to help the community deal with this? What kind of mark goes on the record of the good teachers who were at this school?
The questions just keep multiplying. Obviously this isn’t going to be sorted out overnight, but in the meantime, you can’t make the situation worse. How would I explain to a 6 year old why the school is closing and her teacher is gone?
Does anyone know if the teachers are still going to receive their pensions?
I got so angry thinking about this situation that I forgot to say–Well written post Yvonne. These issues are hard to write about.
Problems like this one won’t get solved unless our education system gets fixed. Educational authorities should care more about the children and less about the money.
This is really tough. As a parent, I’d want everyone gone to be certain my child was safe. As a teacher I’d feel this was very unfair if I had nothing to do with it and knew nothing of what was going on. The reality is if my child was in this school, I would pull them out. I know that’s drastic…..
You would pull your child out? and put them where? 99% of parents in the area can’t afford to home school let alone private school. Pulling the child out is not a feasible option. More parent involvement in the classroom/school would be a better choice.
While I worry that moving all the teachers has potential to bear situations like moving around a pedophile Catholic priest, I think it was the only way to break up whatever was going on there. I know that it’s not fair to teachers who have nothing to do with this, but that’s what happens when bad people are allowed to do bad. Others have to pay in all sorts of ways. I think that if there was actually a group of conspirators at El Miramonte, then taking apart the machine will be the only way to keep the kids out of harm’s way. I really don’t see how the offenses that occurred could have gone on as long as they did without help from the inside.
I agree with you. They are doing this so that they appear responsive to the public. Why not let the staff teach and add additional staff to counsel students and monitor those teachers that remain. Rather than let them sit and do nothing while their students are left without the teachers they know? It’s an insane situation but this doesn’t seem like a good idea at all.
LAUSD needs to be shut down and re-created.
Word.
I’ve learned more since I commented above – they are not apparently sending the displaced staff to other LAUSD schools, so I take back that comment.
I still think it’s a terrible idea to have moved all the staff at once. I cannot imagine the chaos that will take place tomorrow when they all go back. I feel really badly for those kids.
The analogy I come up with is I own two houses, one has a leaky roof and one doesn’t. If I switch the roofs that makes it all better, right?
There is no logic to support disbanding and relocating the entire staff. Alexandra hit in on the head when she compared it to moving the Catholic Priests from church to church.
There will be more trauma to more students by these idiotic actions.
I’m so sad and disgusted by this whole entire situation. They are punishing the innocent children and teachers that are good teachers and have nothing to do with the abuse. I’m also concerned that by moving the teachers around it has not given the school district enough time to complete the investigation and to determine whether there are other children in the school affected. I hope they will put new measures into school policy immediately to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
This is a huge school in a very poor area of LA. Race and class play a part here. Poor children of color are the victims of sexual abuse at higher rates than their wealthier counterparts. In a school of 1,500 students, clearly, these students were NOT being cared for, but the parents had no other option.
That’s what makes this even worse. It has been reported that 75% of the students are non English speaking. I could just scream that these children may think that all this perversity is the American way.
This is a panic reaction if I ever saw one. What a shame for all the janitors an such who probably rely on each paycheck.
No one is being fired, they’re all just being removed – all are still being paid.
I have been beyond emotional about this situation from day one! Replacing the entire staff is useless. Why punish the good, hardworking teachers? You are seeking praise in a situation that only warrants shame! How do these disturbing instances go unnoticed for so long?
Yvonne, well said. The emotional safety of the children was never considered, just the grand gesture of “cleaning house.” How demoralizing for the excellent teachers and how disorienting for the student.
Lian Dolan
How is replacing the entire staff a solution. In my opinion, it is not the answer and it makes absolutely no sense. I have worked in the schools before and I am guessing it is something that LAUSD can use to say “we will not tollerate it and we are taking strong statements.” It is however not the correct move .. unless they know more that they are saying…
I am sorry, I am confused! Why are they moving the teachers? What point does that make? Shouldn’t they just fire any teachers who were involved and keep the others? What is the point to moving teachers who were not involved… or were they all? In a community like that they need to have some familiarity. I would agree with firing them all but not moving them all…
I think LAUSD needs to be taken apart? How many people there knew about this and or other horrible acts like this and did nothing. WTF is wrong with these people? Who in the world would cover something like this up? Moving the teachers does nothing and is just a dramatic way to look like something is being done. What can we do to help these kids?
After firing every teacher they need to fire every bureaucrat, divide LAUSD up into a dozen reasonably sized school districts and stop spending my tax dollars to warehouse kids.
It’s shameful.
I agree 100%. Tenure is what made this situation possible. The teacher’s unions are NOT acting in the best interest of children, and the fact that this school had 1500 students made it worse.
Once again LAUSD did not make a smart decision. I agree with Jessica about dividing up LAUSD into reasonable sized districts. These children are scared and parents are furious. Don’t punish the teachers who were making a difference in the school.
But for those who knew what was going on and did nothing, shame on you. This leads to another serious discussion. Why does the union protect teachers that should be let go?
It is such a horrible situation that I think has become a bigger mess by this! I know it is complicated and does not have an easy solution but I agree this was not the right solution. My heart aches for these kids -and I think that some of the good teachers there could have offered comfort to them during this difficult, confusing time. The fact that they don’t have the right professionals in place to evaluate them on a case by case basis just adds insult to injury.
What a well written article. The comments left before me have said everything I am feeling. All I can think of is the children. Let us not forget, our children are our future. Tragic!
After reading all the comments, I still believe that the right thing to do was to clean house. I find it troubling that so many parents are trusting of ANY teacher at this school. There is an investigation going on, and if all the same faces were at the school then the children and the staff might be afraid to come forward and help with the investigation. Once all the light is shed then the original teachers can return. There is no “punishment” as far as I can see. Everyone is still being paid and other than the two arrests, it appears that no disciplinary actions have been taken.
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I will highly recommend that parents take an active role in educating their children by visiting their children’s classroom often. Also, demanding that in each classroom there should be a teacher assistant, so there will always be a second set of eyes in the classrooms. 99.9 of the teachers are hard and decent people, that will not hurt a child, but as in any work, there are some that are sick enough to do dishonest, and immoral things. My heart goes out to the children, their families but also to the innocent teachers that are suffering these unfair transfer.