Student Well-Being News in Brief

L.A. Reassigns School Staff During Probe of Abuse

By Christina A. Samuels — February 21, 2012 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The entire staff of a 1,500-student Los Angeles elementary school has been reassigned while the district and police investigate allegations that two teachers there performed lewd acts on students.

John E. Deasy, the superintendent of the 664,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District, stated in a letter that prescreened staff members new to the school would teach at Miramonte Elementary School until the end of the school year.

In addition, the letter says, the district will offer counseling services to all students at the school, past and present. The district also plans to work with an independent commission, which will “review our processes and provide recommendations so that every LAUSD school can learn from this experience.”

“Some might see this as an extreme measure, but this is an extreme circumstance,” Mr. Deasy said in his letter.

Monica Carazo, a spokeswoman for the school system, told Education Week that 128 teachers and front-office staff, as well as the janitorial staff, were being relocated to a school building that is opening next year and currently has no students.

The moves at Miramonte Elementary were made after the Jan. 30 arrest of Mark Berndt, who is described as a well-liked teacher who had taught at the school for 31 years. The Los Angeles Times reported that in late 2010, a photo technician at a convenience store saw pictures of young children blindfolded and with tape over their mouths, and reported the photos to police authorities. During the investigation, police say they saw pictures of students with a blue plastic spoon with a milky white substance held near their mouths. Police found a spoon and container in his classroom that tested positive for Mr. Berndt’s semen.

Mr. Berndt, 61, was removed from the school in January 2011 after district administrators saw the pictures. As the district prepared to fire him, he retired. He was arrested last month and charged with 23 counts of lewd acts against children. He is in custody, with bail set at $23 million.

Three days after Mr. Berndt’s arrest, a second teacher at the school, Martin Springer, was arrested on charges that he fondled two 7-year-old students in the classroom, the Times reported. The teachers would sometimes take their students on joint field trips, according to the Times. Mr. Springer is being held on $2 million bail.

No statements were available from either of the accused men or their lawyers.

The allegations shocked the parents, many of whom pulled their children from the classroom. Some demanded that all the teachers at the school be investigated. Mr. Deasy’s letter pledges that “every former Miramonte student and staff member” will be interviewed.

A version of this article appeared in the February 22, 2012 edition of Education Week as L.A. Reassigns School Staff During Probe of Abuse

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Can Tech Teach Kindness? 5 Tools That Build Social Skills
Technology is often blamed for causing bad behavior among students. But it can also promote positive social skills if used right.
5 min read
Vector illustration of a young girl connecting computer technology with the heart and emotions.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being Gathering Student Perspectives Is a Powerful Teaching Tool—And It’s Never Been Easier
Students’ input on school can be a gold mine of information for teachers.
4 min read
An illustration of a figure analyzing speech bubbles made of a technology / futuristic pattern of lines and dots.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being Quiz: What Are the Best Ways to Fight Chronic Absenteeism?
What does the research say about fighting absenteeism? What gets in the way of students attending school? Quiz yourself!
1 min read
Scarce classroom of students taking exams at their desks with empty desks in the foreground.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Student Well-Being The Number of Students Getting Free School Meals Is in Flux. Why?
New York has become the latest state to make school meals free to all students regardless of income.
5 min read
Cafeteria worker Nuria Alvarenga serves lunch to students through a service window at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students regardless of their family's income.
Cafeteria worker Nuria Alvarenga serves lunch to students through a service window at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students.
Richard Vogel/AP