Mullica kindergarten teacher could be fired after finding students naked in bathroom

[alp227]

MULLICA TOWNSHIP — Residents and teachers in this rural community are rallying around a veteran teacher who may lose her job after she found two of her kindergarten students naked in her classroom bathroom and promptly reported it to a principal.

Superintendent Brenda Harring-Marro has filed tenure charges against the teacher, Kelly Mascio, of Mullica Township, said Mullica Township Education Association President Barbara Rheault.

“Our main concern is that the administration has completely forgone all traditional disciplinary avenues available in handling the incident,” said Rheault, who is also a township committeewoman. “The administration has selected a disciplinary route that has resulted in enormous emotional and professional turmoil, and has strained the confidence and trust of school staff, parents and community members.”

Mascio, who has been teaching for more than 15 years and has children in Mullica Township schools, has been suspended with pay since a Sept. 30 incident in her classroom. According to a police report, two 5-year-olds — a boy and girl — went into the in-classroom bathroom together. Mascio found them naked in the restroom, and they told her they were “having sex,” according to the report.

full: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/mullica-kindergarten-teacher-could-be-fired-after-finding-students-naked/article_b490fb50-9b8e-11e3-9687-0019bb2963f4.html

[LisaL]

1. What exactly are they firing her for?

Sounds like she did what she was supposed to do by reporting it.

[Jenoch]

2. Why would this teacher be suspended,

let alone fired?

The police investigated and found no reason for charges. I wonder if family social services did an investigation? How do 5 year olds know about 'having sex'?

I remember 'playing doctor' at about age 5 with the neighbor girl. I think it's natural to have that sort of curiosity, but simulating sex?

[alp227]

8. my guess would be a dumbass, vindictive school board,

and this story is a reason why teachers' unions are important. I'm sure people in her community regardless of their political views are standing with this teacher. If she taught in one of those "right to work (for less)" states she'd have been shown the door immediately and be collecting unemployment by now.

[Jenoch]

11. I'm in Minnesota, a right to work state,

but our teachers' unions are pretty strong. I don't think a situation like this would get a teacher fired.

[alp227]

12. Did not know the home of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party was RTW.

How long has the state been RTW? Has Mark Dayton the courage to propose ending it?

How could a state whose Democratic Party actually has "labor" in its name let itself become right to work?

[Bigmack]

3. Ummmm... aren't teachers ....

... required to report incidents?

I sure as hell was... and did, too!

If she had not reported it, she'd be liable.

This country is SO fucked up!

[longship]

6. In CA, teachers are mandatory reporters.

It's the law! Tenure or not. If you don't report, you lose your job, and your career.

[lumpy]

7. According to the report the teacher reported the incident immediately to the principal.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

4. During the Monica/Bill scandal in 1998

my youngest son was 9. Oral sex was mentioned often on the TV during this time and eventually my son asked me what oral sex was. He was too young for the truth, so I told him that oral sex was when people talked about sex.

The next day he told me he and some of his friends were having some oral sex in the boys bathroom, lol. They were talking about sex....I forget how I dealt with it....anyway he still remembers it and we have a laugh about it every now and again.

[Jenoch]

5. My then 22 year old sister became an unwed mother

when I was almost 8. I don't remember asking any questions though. I think I just assumed when a female became a certain age, they had a baby. It was not until there seemed to be a certain amount of shame that I could sense that I might be wrong (this happened in 1970 which seems like an eon ago).

[Starry Messenger]

9. If vergara v. california wins, situations like this will be commonplace.

[alp227]

10. exactly. the right wingers behind that frivolous lawsuit want teaching to become an at-will position

and school boards can become as assholish as corporate HR managers and fire any teacher they dislike. If you've ever read right wing sites like The Blaze it's like every day they have a story in big bold letters, "TEACHER CRITICIZES RELIGION"..."TEACHER DARES TO DISS CAPITALISM"...lucily those teachers are union-protected so they can't get fired...but imagine, school boards in right wing parts of the country will exploit this Vergara lawsuit to go on McCarthy like witchhunts

[JI7]

13. i hope one or both of the kids were not being abused

whoever decided to fire the teacher should be fired .