Are the Vetting Measures in Seattle Schools HR Adequate?
It would seem something is amiss.
From Q-13 News:
The 12-year-old special education student at Hamilton International Middle School reported the alleged incident Wednesday to school officials, who called police.
The substitute teacher isn’t employed by the school district, but a spokesperson said he won’t get any other assignments in the district until the police investigation is complete.
The boy, who is not being identified since he is underage, said the alleged incident happened between classes while he was alone in a bathroom with the substitute teacher.
From Q-13 News:
The 12-year-old special education student at Hamilton International Middle School reported the alleged incident Wednesday to school officials, who called police.
The substitute teacher isn’t employed by the school district, but a spokesperson said he won’t get any other assignments in the district until the police investigation is complete.
The boy, who is not being identified since he is underage, said the alleged incident happened between classes while he was alone in a bathroom with the substitute teacher.
Comments
Also, the Roosevelt thing has been bugging me, too. That coach had already been fired from his previous job for similar sexual inappropriateness. Why on earth would SPS hire him to coach a girls' team? I can't even wrap my brain around the thinking that would have gone into that hire.
Hamilton mom
mc
http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1583136/File/Departmental%20Content/human%20resources/substitutes/substitutehandbook12-13.pdf
a reader
Teachers already have to "suffer" bladder problems because of the schedule and demand for classroom supervision. I don't know if a blanket policy for which restroom is a good/healthful idea. I am willing to bet that male teachers who value their jobs already use the teacher's restroom exclusively. The potential for "situations" is just too great for them to chance it.
-common sense must rule
As a male teacher it simply doesn't make sense to use the communal restrooms. It's not effectively any different than a movie theater bathroom as people of all ages can use it appropriately at the same time. But one allegation later that more convenient place to go to the bathroom seems an unwise choice.
Whether or not it's true will be determined by the facts but I'll tell you that no matter the outcome good luck getting a sub in that building/classroom again.
-Radioactive
I certainly hope you are not blaming the kids for this man's behavior and removal.
By the way, there were multiple witnesses who can attest to the classroom behavior of this guy which Melissa cited above.
What I am saying is that the Law will determine if this did or did not actually happen. I will neither attack the accused nor will I attack the student. I'm not going to pre-judge an incident I'm not knowledgeable about.
However, about the sub? If you've got a building where there was recently an accusation it becomes incredibly difficult to find a sub to fill in. Subs don't have to accept your job posting. So why work in a building where there are these issues and this stress on the school community? They'll pick another one...that's all I'm saying.
Sniffy
1. I only have 3 minutes and the staff bathroom is really far away. Or my feet hurt.
2. I'd have to go outside to get to the staff bathroom and the weather's poor.
3. I'm not sure where the staff bathroom is.
Plus, some schools, particularly older ones, have woefully inadequate staff restrooms. There's one school, not in the Seattle district, that literally has ONE women's stall, and for some reason, females refuse to use the men's room, even though it's also a single-user with a locking outer door.
Also, to get hired as a sub, you fill out the standard teacher's application and write some essays...no interviews or anything like that. I didn't get fingerprinted, but that may have been because I fell into the "fingerprinted within 6 months" bucket.
Other Sub
Apostle is a hypocrite and has survived by simply telling the Board (who really don't appear to want to know) whatever he thinks they want to hear. Staff provide cover for him as he's forced out anyone with real credentials in the field.
Like Hamilton is a hotbed for false accusations? I'd think as a teacher (sub or not), this kind of thing can go with the territory and unless a school has some record of accusations, I wouldn't damn the school for one incident.
I would like to see dedicated subs assigned to a school, where they were interviewed & where it was considered a path to employment, to ya know- teach a class instead of playing hall monitor.
No person can be a "substitute teacher" in a classroom. There are however volunteers from agencies and other groups who frequently are in schools, their vetting process I have no clue. Many show up in rooms and I ask them to not do anything. I don't know who they are. Many IA's are substitutes who have no "licenses" and are vetted differently and are often utter morons with no real skills or any credentials.
So DO NOT BLAME Substitute Teachers here.
As for the district and its HR department - joke, farce or whatever adjective you wish to apply.
Take a look at some of the hires in Administration for example. The fraud the corruption, need I say more.
As for Hamilton I used to love that school then the ex Admin who was there destroyed it. It will take the same number of years to fix what he did in his tenure there. As a result the Staff and kids all suffer. I quit going there. There is enough work for Subs who enjoy and do their job.
How many false accusations have come from Hamilton? I bet plenty over the last few years. Recall the one at Leschi or any other. I bet there are numerous ones at many other schools. So how can you find the needle in this haystack. There may be nuts like the Roosevelt coach but then there are many who simply like the Center House teacher find themselves the tempest in the teapot and the next thing the Dept of Ed and Justice Dept have decided YOU are the problem.
This district is a hot mess of garbage. I see it all the time I know it and when you are one step removed from a day laborer you are an easy target for kids who need help and for Teachers to distract from the larger problem at hand.
- Day Laborer
Many jobs have so many applicants that the interview process takes months before they are hired or cut loose.
This does not seem like a good place to cut corners.
spout
Which is why, I think we need interviews.
Substitute work is seen as the step toward getting hired into the district. If we don't clean up the sub pool, we lower the quality of the hiring pool.
Some subs Ive seen will never be hired into the classroom, but why should they be " responsible" for our children at all?
Thanks for confirming what I know about this blog, raging parents who like to talk and their kids are a reflection of them..
I don't work in the district any longer too screwed up for my tastes. But Substitutes are largely retired or ex teachers working part time. Some are former Student teachers who got into the pool waiting to be hired. Maybe 10% or less are actual full time Subs that want a job as a Teacher. Sorry but you don't make a living as a day laborer so you move on. When you are retired you have supplemental income.
As I said I don't work for the district anymore but the same goes for all of them. You are vetted, interviewed and all licenses are checked.
But this sounds like this weeks witch hunt. Another reason why I don't work in the district. Every week another blame seeking finger pointing muppet heading nonsense. Got two more months folks need to ratchet up the hysteria!
-Day Laborer
We think the reason someone could be a non-employee would be because the district is so lax about rules and policies (see Charlie) that principals can pretty much do whatever they want in buildings with no accountability to anyone and no one downtown can tell them what to do.
When ouir daughter was at Maple, they had a guy from the neighborhood that "creeped" several of her classmates (and her) out and had never been "vettted" by anyone but he wore a yellow traffic vest and just sort of hung around the school.
My husband complained several times to the principal (she's head of elementary principals now) but she never did anything about him.
Glad we got out. Mercer was much tighter.
The original Maureen