“The issue here for me is did our teacher behave as alleged?”
June 3, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Disability Rights, Education, Legal Issues
An editorial in today’s Palm Beach Post about 5-year-old Alex Barton being voted out of his kindergarten class quotes Michael Lannon, Superintendent of Port St. Lucie, along with more details from the police report:
After he was voted out of the class, according to the police report, Alex went to the school nurse’s office. The nurse and school secretary said that Alex “mentioned to them about being voted out of class 14 to 2.” However, Ms. Barton says, she found out only when her son told her. She then filed a complaint that triggered several investigations. Alex told the school police officer: “Mrs. Portillo said, ‘I hate you right now. I don’t like you today.””
Ms. Portillo told the officer that while Alex was out of the room earlier that day because of behavioral problems she had explained to her students that “sometimes people do things for attention from adults and other students” and that “some of the children in the class began to open up about some of the things that (Alex) does either to them or in general.” The teacher told the officer that “she felt that if (Alex) heard from his classmates how his behavior affected them, that it would make a bigger difference to him, rather than just hearing it from adults.” She admitted that she “polled the class” to see whether Alex should remain that day.
Mr. Lannon immediately removed the teacher from the classroom. Although he has received e-mails “from around the world” critical of Ms. Portillo, Mr. Lannon wants her to have a fairer hearing than she gave Alex. The district is investigating, which should take about two weeks, and will review the police report as well as information from any other investigation.
“We don’t have our head in the sand; we don’t work at the speed of a tortoise,” Mr. Lannon said, but “individuals have rights to hearings.” To him, any disruptive behavior by Alex is not the point. “The issue here for me is did our teacher behave as alleged? And if so, this is about adult behavior.” If Mr. Lannon concludes that discipline is appropriate, he will make a recommendation to the school board that could range from reprimanding Ms. Portillo to firing her.
And who else would be witnesses to what happened in a kindergarten class in Morningside Elementary School but…..the other students?
Jeff Stimpson
Jill Cornfield
“And who else would be witnesses to what happened in a kindergarten class in Morningside Elementary School but…..the other students?”
Who may be keeping a code of silence, which is an issue.
Cliff
Why should she be entitled to a long drawn out hearing in which it is her word against a disabled 5 year olds?
Screw that.
“Mr. Lannon wants her to have a fairer hearing than she gave Alex. ”
Way to look out for your students Mr. Lannon. I find this comment offensive!
Ugh. They are not moving fast enough. She should have been toast last week. Disgusting.
I actually agree that Portillo is entitled to a fair hearing.
What bothers me most is that the school didn’t move on parallel tracks-one over a couple weeks to determine the future of Portillo’s career, but the other to immediately repair any damage done to Alex (making the assumption before the hearing’s conclusion that things happened exactly as said).
The fact that they are just “taking time to have a proper hearing” seems to indicate that they are trying to “wait out” the public outcry, then do whatever they want out of the public eye.
Joe
The teacher has been removed from the classroom. Due process must take place. It seems from what has been revealed already that the teacher has admitted to the claims made against her by the child. As a former teacher in a very taxing Brooklyn elementary school, and as a parent of a four year old on the spectrum, I feel both outrage and understanding. No one is perfect in any role in their life, and all must be judged carefully and fairly. I’m sure most of us parents have done/said things that we are not proud of…but we learn from our mistakes, hopefully, and move on.
I hope that Melissa Barton, kicks it up a notch and files suit in Federal Court against the board of education. If she does I also hope that she gets in touch with (ACLD). Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. Little Alex went through harassement as well as verbal abuse. I knew a fellow a long while back who filed suit against Collier Board of Education in FL. At the time we had one school Seagate El. that had special ed. classes. The rest of us couldn’t leave our area. Those students had to be bused to Ft. Myers 35 miles one way to a school that had special ed. classes. This fellow won the suit, that no child disabled or not should have to ride that far to school. Things changed alot but the bottom line is parents of children with disabilities are the trailblazers of special education. We have had to fight for everything we have gotten, and here it’s 2008 and we still have to fight, we can’t let down our guard. That wasn’t the only suit brought against Collier Co. Board of Education. One was a teacher who had a disabled child who was also wheelchair bound,that went to the same school. If she acted up, she was put in a broom closet. I cried when this came out on the news and thought. “Well Here We Go Again.” My thoughts and prayers are with MOM and little Alex
Just glad I am not in the Superintendent’s shoes.
I would hope that the district undergoes some sort of self-assessment/self-study to consider what was done, or not done, as far as training teachers and providing supports for special needs students in classrooms. And, on training teachers to detect signs of autism or other disabilities.
I agree with Evan. She didn’t have to admit that she did what she did but at least she was honest about it. She should be held accountable but everyone makes mistakes. Yes this was a big one but was her intent to harm him or restore order to her class. I don’t believe she intentionally wanted to emotionally hurt him, she made a poor choice. What the teacher did was wrong but all of this media attention is probably causing more damage than the poor experience Alex had in the classroom.
My own son has come home and said his teacher or a classmate said this and his teacher said that. Instead of calling the national news or getting a lawyer I address it with him and with the school district. Sometimes I find out it was just a misunderstanding of intentions. That’s not unusual with Asperger’s kids. Sometimes the teacher or another student did say something or do something that wasn’t quite right. I try to let my son know that sometimes people say things out of ignorance or because they are human but we can only try as people to be tolerant and not be ignorant ourselves. Then I address it directly with the school district or because my son is older I try to teach him how he can speak directly to the person about it. Parents and teachers need to work together without so much animosity. You get more flies with honey than with vinegar.
I wonder if she called it a time out for behavior if it would have been ok. He was voted out horrible. but if a teacher polls the class and does a timeout it is ok
If the flies don’t like honey, what does that leave you with? A sticky floor in a room full of flies.
There has to be an investigation in situations such as this. They will probably interview other teachers as well. They did not see it but they can be character witnesses. Everyone deserves an investigation regardless of what they did.
I still feel it’s unacceptable. She enlisted children to bully another child.
Where’s the due process for Alex? Oh wait, it isn’t emotional cruelty because he’s AUTISTIC and doesn’t have feelings, right? That’s what the courts are saying.
Way to go, America.
I agree with Kassiane. There is just no explaination that could make this acceptable. Remember, the children first needed to say something that they do not like about Alex and, one by one, his classmates insulted him as he was made to stand in front of the class. I think this sicko actually traumatized the entire class. These kids will remember this experience.
The fact that the teacher admitted this is hardly admirable since all of the children in the class were witnesses as well as the school nurse. It’s not like she could have denied it.
I still get mad just thinking about this!
No doubt the teacher has gotten her own legal representation—-this might seem far-flung, but perhaps she could claim that the district did not provide with the right supports and she was doing what she could. It seems to me that the district is going to be under some scrutiny too.
I don’t think what the teacher did was acceptable… Clearly she was WRONG ! I just think that there is more to this then meets the eye.
I also think that this story is a good opportunity for parents, like myself, of children and people on the Autistic Spectrum to use it to help bring about a positive change and more support for our kids in classrooms to help prevent future incidents like this from happening to other kids like Alex. My concern is that by focusing all of the energy on punishing this one teacher then that message may get lost. Sure there is support for Alex but there are a lot of other kids out there just like Alex who are facing similar problems in classrooms everyday. How can we reach those teachers and those kids? How can we get better at preventing teachers from doing this?
@rg, yes, just focusing too much energy on singling out the teacher is not a positive way to proceed. The questions you ask at the end are vital. I think that one answer lies with teacher training about special needs kids and autistic kids more particularly. With parents seeking inclusion for their children, more teachers will find themselves with a child with an IEP and they will need to know how to best teach and proceed.
At least two of Charlie’s former therapists have become elementary school teachers; both have had autistic kids in their classrooms. They’ve both written me to say how important it was to get to know Charlie and to learn how to teach them, to best help their special needs students.
What Wendy Portillo did was planned out. To me this is pure and simple malace. A teacher call my son stupid and told him, he wasn’t worth teaching. This put my son in a tail spin. No I didn’t get an attorney, but I want to the teacher and confronted him on a one to one. He told me that he was trying to “Jump Start” my son in order to “Motivate” him. I said, then you think that this behavior is acceptable, on YOUR part? Nothing was said, but plenty was said, when I got a rep. from (ACLD), and a meeting was set. Some teachers think this type of behavior is acceptable on there part. WRONG! This teacher wants a Real Reality Show, The stage is ready!
Some of you seem as quick to judge this teacher, based on one (admittedly ugly) snapshot of her life, as she was to judge Alex on that fateful day. Sounds a bit hypocritical. This could be a remarkable teacher who has had profound, positive influences on many lives, and who could go on to do the same for many more, including children on the spectrum…who are you to make a determination from the limited evidence you have about her work and soul??? Hopefully she will learn from her error, and make amends to Alex and the other students in her class. Is this not possible?
It’s hard to say and it would certainly be great to know if she has previously taught other kids on the spectrum or special needs children. But as a parent I feel a bit puzzled at the pedagogy involved.
“@rg, yes, just focusing too much energy on singling out the teacher is not a positive way to proceed.”
Kristina, the teacher broke the law. Plain and simple. She caused a child to be abused, plain and simple. The teacher caused permanent psychological scarring, plain and simple.
“The questions you ask at the end are vital. I think that one answer lies with teacher training about special needs kids and autistic kids more particularly. With parents seeking inclusion for their children, more teachers will find themselves with a child with an IEP and they will need to know how to best teach and proceed.”
Both avenues need to be pursued, education and law enforcement.
This teacher did not make a “mistake.” She did not have a “momentary” lapse. This isn’t a situation where she just broke and flew off the handle. How long do you think it took for all of those children to state what they didn’t like about that little boy? How long did it take to do the vote? 10 minutes for all of it? 20? Count out the seconds required for 10 minutes. That’s how long Alex stood there and was tortured by his peers, led on by his teacher, an adult he ought to be able to trust to at least have some wisdom.
That’s not a mistake. It’s not a lapse. It’s not the hallmark of a teacher who’s done a world of good and just cracked that day. It’s systematic, intentional, thorough, persistent, sadistic humiliation.
I’ve taught a long time. I’ve known some great teachers. And I’ve known a few teachers like this. This behavior fits a profile of those teachers I’ve known who don’t like children, take glee in punishing them, do nothing but complain about what they’ve chosen to do for a living. No even half-assed decent teacher would have come up with this “solution” or “lesson.”
It’s great that you can pat yourself on the back that you wouldn’t go running to the courts about this, that you’d just talk calmly to your child or whomever. Wonderful. That doesn’t change the fact that this teacher and this school broke the law–Alex had an IEP, and they’ve violated 504 here. In my mind, even without that obvious spur to legal recourse, this situation requires some banging and yelling and attention getting. How else do people become aware? Calm conversations with whackjob teachers don’t get that accomplished.