More Revelations about Dufault
Oct 4, 2014 at 1:45pm Edited
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — The allegations of teachers’ preying on students have come from two very different area high schools in the last two weeks: one in this well-off suburb, the other at a selective school in the heart of Brooklyn. In one case, a woman is accused of having sex with five boys; in the other, it is a man, accused of crossing the line with seven girls.
Both were teachers who seemed more like friends, known for giving easy A’s. And both cases are defined by technology: Prosecutors say the adults groomed the students using text messages.
They sent sexually provocative pictures on the Snapchat app, believing them to be private. In Maplewood, the teacher apparently allowed sex with one boy to be captured on video, which students then circulated in the hallways.
Schools have struggled with teacher-student relationships probably forever, and most famously since Mary Kay Letourneau was arrested in Washington State in 1997 for having sex with a 12-year-old student.
Sean Shaynak, 44, who taught at Brooklyn Technical High School, was arraigned in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
Brooklyn Technical High School, in the Fort Greene neighborhood, is one of the city’s elite public high schools. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s son, Dante, is a senior there.
But only recently have schools had to deal with relationships enabled by new technology. In the past five years, many schools have responded with social media policies. Last year, a West Virginia district banned any personal texting between teachers and students; three years ago, Missouri passed a law barring teachers from using any “non-work-related Internet site which allows access” to past or current students.
Parents and school administrators alike fear it has become harder to maintain boundaries when teachers routinely give out their cellphone numbers to talk about homework. And a new generation of teachers has grown up communicating primarily through the Internet or texting, where divisions between work and private life easily blur.
“This is an American problem more than a Maplewood problem,” said Kate McCaffrey, the mother of a Columbia High School student here who alerted school officials last spring when she heard that the teacher arrested in September, Nicole Dufault, had sent naked pictures of herself to a student on Snapchat.
“The teachers say to the students, ‘Any problem, feel free to call me.’ ”
“The children are living in this social media world that the adults don’t get,” Ms. McCaffrey added.
Texting and social media have made it easier for teachers to get directly to students, but they can also make sexual misconduct easier to prosecute. In Maplewood and in Brooklyn, parents have used the cases to argue how hard it is to get rid of bad teachers. But tenured teachers can be fired for immoral conduct, and texts and videos can make that plain.
“The Internet allows things that were previously hidden and hard to see to come to light,” said David Finkelhor, the director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.
Nicole Dufault is charged with having sex with three male high school students in Maplewood, N.J., while she was a teacher at Columbia High School. Credit Essex County, N.J., Prosecutor's Office
“In the old days, if the inappropriate activities started with the gym teacher putting his hands on the student’s breasts, if she was uncomfortable and went to tell somebody about it, it might not go anywhere, or he would say, ‘No, she was mistaken.’ If he sends a picture of himself in his underwear or says something sexually provocative in a text exchange, that’s easier to prosecute and easier for the young people or their parents to bring to official attention.”
New York City schools adopted a social media policy two years ago after several teachers were arrested on accusations of inappropriate sexual contact with students. It barred teachers from contacting students on websites like Twitter and Facebook, but did not address contact by text message or cellphone. And complaints of sexual misconduct have risen each year since, according to city records.
It is harder to quantify the problem nationally. Surveys that rely on self-reporting suggest that cases of sexual abuse have declined since use of the Internet became pervasive, Mr. Finkelhor said. The surveys do not break out cases of sexual abuse in schools. And no national database does so.
In Maplewood, parents had long complained about Ms. Dufault, 35, who taught mostly lower-level English courses. Last year, several parents said, they told administrators that she made inappropriate comments in class — about a miscarriage, about her sex life, about her divorce. Administrators spoke to her about it, parents said, but she went back to the classroom and complained that someone had told on her.
In June, Ms. McCaffrey’s daughter told her there was a video of a boy opening a Snapchat picture from a teacher, in which she appeared to be masturbating.
Her daughter clammed up when asked who the teacher or the student was. But a friend of Ms. McCaffrey’s asked her son, who asked friends. “They all knew, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s Ms. Dufault,’ ” Ms. McCaffrey said. Several had seen the video. “This was just another day at school.”
Ms. McCaffrey told school administrators, who apparently called students in to ask about the video. It was unclear what they learned. (School officials have declined to comment since the arrest.) The police asked Ms. McCaffrey whether her daughter would give a sworn statement. “I said, ‘No, then I’ll never hear anything from her again.’ ”
Other parents said the police went to the boy, who denied having the video.
Ms. Dufault taught in the school’s summer program for at-risk students in July. By then, court papers say, she had already had sex with four of the five boys — four are 15, one is 17 — in her car and on high school property. Those assaults, as they are considered under New Jersey law, continued as she taught summer school, court papers say.
This fall, parents said, students began sending around a video showing Ms. Dufault performing oral sex on one of the boys.
On Sept. 18, students learned in an announcement from the principal that a teacher had been arrested. Ms. Dufault’s classroom was roped off with a sign calling it “unusable.” The principal asked students and teachers not to speak to the news media.
Ms. Dufault’s lawyer, Timothy Smith, said she had a shunt put in her brain during surgery to correct a problem that surfaced during pregnancy. That, he said, may have made her vulnerable to being a “victim.”
Nicole Dufault taught at Columbia High School, above, in Maplewood, N.J., and Sean M. Shaynak at Brooklyn Technical High School. They are accused of sexually abusing students. Credit Bryan Thomas for The New York Times
Parents have wondered why it took so long to recognize the problem, when there had been complaints about Ms. Dufault.
In an interview, one parent recalled a French teacher who talked to students about his sex life. The school let him go after his first year of teaching there. But only one student complained; other students were reluctant to come forward.
“The mentality of the kids is bizarre,” said the parent, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. “They didn’t want to get this guy in trouble.”
Students and parents said the same was true of Ms. Dufault and Sean M. Shaynak, the 44-year-old Brooklyn Technical High School teacher accused of pursuing seven girls, giving some of them alcohol and cigarettes, taking one to a nude beach and another to a sex club, sending them suggestive text messages and photos and having sex with two of them after they reached the legal age of consent.
...
Both were teachers who seemed more like friends, known for giving easy A’s. And both cases are defined by technology: Prosecutors say the adults groomed the students using text messages.
They sent sexually provocative pictures on the Snapchat app, believing them to be private. In Maplewood, the teacher apparently allowed sex with one boy to be captured on video, which students then circulated in the hallways.
Schools have struggled with teacher-student relationships probably forever, and most famously since Mary Kay Letourneau was arrested in Washington State in 1997 for having sex with a 12-year-old student.
Sean Shaynak, 44, who taught at Brooklyn Technical High School, was arraigned in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
Brooklyn Technical High School, in the Fort Greene neighborhood, is one of the city’s elite public high schools. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s son, Dante, is a senior there.
But only recently have schools had to deal with relationships enabled by new technology. In the past five years, many schools have responded with social media policies. Last year, a West Virginia district banned any personal texting between teachers and students; three years ago, Missouri passed a law barring teachers from using any “non-work-related Internet site which allows access” to past or current students.
Parents and school administrators alike fear it has become harder to maintain boundaries when teachers routinely give out their cellphone numbers to talk about homework. And a new generation of teachers has grown up communicating primarily through the Internet or texting, where divisions between work and private life easily blur.
“This is an American problem more than a Maplewood problem,” said Kate McCaffrey, the mother of a Columbia High School student here who alerted school officials last spring when she heard that the teacher arrested in September, Nicole Dufault, had sent naked pictures of herself to a student on Snapchat.
“The teachers say to the students, ‘Any problem, feel free to call me.’ ”
“The children are living in this social media world that the adults don’t get,” Ms. McCaffrey added.
Texting and social media have made it easier for teachers to get directly to students, but they can also make sexual misconduct easier to prosecute. In Maplewood and in Brooklyn, parents have used the cases to argue how hard it is to get rid of bad teachers. But tenured teachers can be fired for immoral conduct, and texts and videos can make that plain.
“The Internet allows things that were previously hidden and hard to see to come to light,” said David Finkelhor, the director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.
Nicole Dufault is charged with having sex with three male high school students in Maplewood, N.J., while she was a teacher at Columbia High School. Credit Essex County, N.J., Prosecutor's Office
“In the old days, if the inappropriate activities started with the gym teacher putting his hands on the student’s breasts, if she was uncomfortable and went to tell somebody about it, it might not go anywhere, or he would say, ‘No, she was mistaken.’ If he sends a picture of himself in his underwear or says something sexually provocative in a text exchange, that’s easier to prosecute and easier for the young people or their parents to bring to official attention.”
New York City schools adopted a social media policy two years ago after several teachers were arrested on accusations of inappropriate sexual contact with students. It barred teachers from contacting students on websites like Twitter and Facebook, but did not address contact by text message or cellphone. And complaints of sexual misconduct have risen each year since, according to city records.
It is harder to quantify the problem nationally. Surveys that rely on self-reporting suggest that cases of sexual abuse have declined since use of the Internet became pervasive, Mr. Finkelhor said. The surveys do not break out cases of sexual abuse in schools. And no national database does so.
In Maplewood, parents had long complained about Ms. Dufault, 35, who taught mostly lower-level English courses. Last year, several parents said, they told administrators that she made inappropriate comments in class — about a miscarriage, about her sex life, about her divorce. Administrators spoke to her about it, parents said, but she went back to the classroom and complained that someone had told on her.
In June, Ms. McCaffrey’s daughter told her there was a video of a boy opening a Snapchat picture from a teacher, in which she appeared to be masturbating.
Her daughter clammed up when asked who the teacher or the student was. But a friend of Ms. McCaffrey’s asked her son, who asked friends. “They all knew, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s Ms. Dufault,’ ” Ms. McCaffrey said. Several had seen the video. “This was just another day at school.”
Ms. McCaffrey told school administrators, who apparently called students in to ask about the video. It was unclear what they learned. (School officials have declined to comment since the arrest.) The police asked Ms. McCaffrey whether her daughter would give a sworn statement. “I said, ‘No, then I’ll never hear anything from her again.’ ”
Other parents said the police went to the boy, who denied having the video.
Ms. Dufault taught in the school’s summer program for at-risk students in July. By then, court papers say, she had already had sex with four of the five boys — four are 15, one is 17 — in her car and on high school property. Those assaults, as they are considered under New Jersey law, continued as she taught summer school, court papers say.
This fall, parents said, students began sending around a video showing Ms. Dufault performing oral sex on one of the boys.
On Sept. 18, students learned in an announcement from the principal that a teacher had been arrested. Ms. Dufault’s classroom was roped off with a sign calling it “unusable.” The principal asked students and teachers not to speak to the news media.
Ms. Dufault’s lawyer, Timothy Smith, said she had a shunt put in her brain during surgery to correct a problem that surfaced during pregnancy. That, he said, may have made her vulnerable to being a “victim.”
Nicole Dufault taught at Columbia High School, above, in Maplewood, N.J., and Sean M. Shaynak at Brooklyn Technical High School. They are accused of sexually abusing students. Credit Bryan Thomas for The New York Times
Parents have wondered why it took so long to recognize the problem, when there had been complaints about Ms. Dufault.
In an interview, one parent recalled a French teacher who talked to students about his sex life. The school let him go after his first year of teaching there. But only one student complained; other students were reluctant to come forward.
“The mentality of the kids is bizarre,” said the parent, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. “They didn’t want to get this guy in trouble.”
Students and parents said the same was true of Ms. Dufault and Sean M. Shaynak, the 44-year-old Brooklyn Technical High School teacher accused of pursuing seven girls, giving some of them alcohol and cigarettes, taking one to a nude beach and another to a sex club, sending them suggestive text messages and photos and having sex with two of them after they reached the legal age of consent.
...
Both teachers were liked by students because their classes were easy and they acted more like friends than teachers.
Social media has blurred that boundary, particularly for younger teachers and high school students.
“They grew up with cellphones attached to their hands or the Internet that was less a tool and more a place where they lived and worked and conversed,” said Sonja H. Trainor, senior staff attorney for the National School Boards Association. “They didn’t really have the same understanding of divisions between private and work life.”
Schools have sought policies to make those boundaries clearer, she said, but not always successfully. A judge ruled the Missouri statute too broad, because it would have blocked teachers from sites like Facebook, Twitter and even Gmail. The state then repealed it. Last year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that a statute banning sexually explicit online communication between adults and minors violated the First Amendment.
The school boards group is pushing the Supreme Court to take an online-speech case, Ms. Trainor said. Until then, she said, “we’re still figuring out the appropriate lines.”
NY Times, 10/3/14
Social media has blurred that boundary, particularly for younger teachers and high school students.
“They grew up with cellphones attached to their hands or the Internet that was less a tool and more a place where they lived and worked and conversed,” said Sonja H. Trainor, senior staff attorney for the National School Boards Association. “They didn’t really have the same understanding of divisions between private and work life.”
Schools have sought policies to make those boundaries clearer, she said, but not always successfully. A judge ruled the Missouri statute too broad, because it would have blocked teachers from sites like Facebook, Twitter and even Gmail. The state then repealed it. Last year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that a statute banning sexually explicit online communication between adults and minors violated the First Amendment.
The school boards group is pushing the Supreme Court to take an online-speech case, Ms. Trainor said. Until then, she said, “we’re still figuring out the appropriate lines.”
NY Times, 10/3/14
Well, I imagine there are a whole range of reasons why students won't come forward when they hear things, not least of which is a reasonable fear of retribution if the teacher who is the subject of the complaint just receives a slap on the hand and is not terminated.
In any case, boundaries aren't difficult. No teacher-student communication outside of school networks.
In any case, boundaries aren't difficult. No teacher-student communication outside of school networks.
Oct 5, 2014 at 2:12am Edited
Thus far we've heard much opprobrium on the teacher, and the board of education and the school have answered no questions. According to the article the school knew of this teacher in the spring, what did they do? From what has been reported in this article they left it up to the students and the teacher to handle it.
And what happened to the local press' responsibility to inquire about important issues to this community? Once again they leave it up to the public to do the work. Puff stories about real estate open houses is what we get from our journalists. I'm sure that investigating this story does not do anything positive to the only industry in town: selling real estate. Killing the story, as it has been shunted on this board twice already, is the right way to approach it.
And what happened to the local press' responsibility to inquire about important issues to this community? Once again they leave it up to the public to do the work. Puff stories about real estate open houses is what we get from our journalists. I'm sure that investigating this story does not do anything positive to the only industry in town: selling real estate. Killing the story, as it has been shunted on this board twice already, is the right way to approach it.
And perhaps it was more complicated than what any of us might or will ever know.Copihue said:
what did they do? From what has been reported in this article they left it up to the students and the teacher to handle it.
Copihue said:
Thus far we've heard much opprobrium on the teacher, and the board of education and the school have answered no questions. According to the article the school knew of this teacher in the spring, what did they do? From what has been reported in this article they left it up to the students and the teacher to handle it.
And what happened to the local press' responsibility to inquire about important issues to this community? Once again they leave it up to the public to do the work. Puff stories about real estate open houses is what we get from our journalists. I'm sure that investigating this story does not do anything positive to the only industry in town: selling real estate. Killing the story, as it has been shunted on this board twice already, is the right way to approach it.
So, you want the local press to start the rumor beat - sniff around for stories circulating amongst the students and publish them?
I can't think of too many conspiracy theories more outlandish than suggesting this story was "killed" to protect real estate values. Equally confounding is the idea that the school or BOE would ever discuss the circumstances, now or in the past.
Oct 5, 2014 at 3:16am Edited
Here's a question. Suppose that I as an administrator catch wind of inappropriate behavior. Suppose that I then investigate the allegations and find that nobody will come forward with sworn statements.
What do I do then? I can't fire a teacher based on rumor. Heck, even in the private sector, people aren't really fired based on rumors.
And I don't know how the police feel about being asked to investigate rumors.
What do I do then? I can't fire a teacher based on rumor. Heck, even in the private sector, people aren't really fired based on rumors.
And I don't know how the police feel about being asked to investigate rumors.
By NJ State law any suspected abuse is to be reported to the nearest DYFS office
Trained workers will make the determination if any actual abuse occurred .
It is their job to collect the facts and judge whether the allegations are true or not .
It is unlawful that schools take it upon themselves to evaluate the facts when they are not trained to do so.
It is the job of DYFS trained workers to collect and evaluate ..many children would be saved were this to happen.
Trained workers will make the determination if any actual abuse occurred .
It is their job to collect the facts and judge whether the allegations are true or not .
It is unlawful that schools take it upon themselves to evaluate the facts when they are not trained to do so.
It is the job of DYFS trained workers to collect and evaluate ..many children would be saved were this to happen.
Oct 5, 2014 at 3:43am Edited
tjohn said:
Here's a question. Suppose that I as an administrator catch wind of inappropriate behavior. Suppose that I then investigate the allegations and find that nobody will come forward with sworn statements.
What do I do then? I can't fire a teacher based on rumor. Heck, even in the private sector, people aren't really fired based on rumors.
And I don't know how the police feel about being asked to investigate rumors.
Administrators are trained to follow through on this kind of thing by talking with people, including the teacher and her peers and students and parents, listening, weighing evidence or lack of it, and following through. There's a lengthy evaluation and self-evaluation process now in place. It's just that high school is often about popularity, for teachers as well as students, for which this case is an extreme example. One often doesn't want to "rock the boat" when a popular teacher is involved. Maybe this is a takeaway lesson. Don't judge a book..... those of us who may not look all that swingy, young and marketable, could be doing a damn good job very quietly and unremarkeably to the casual observer.
They are avoiding the fact that by law they are to report to the agency trained to make that assessment.
It is not their responsibility to collect facts and evaluate ..it is the State's responsibility.
They are not trained to do the evaluation.. they do not have the expertise nor should they have that responsibility ..it is in the hands of trained workers and law officers should that be warranted.
Educational personnel are not trained to make the ultimate decisions,..reality ... not fiction ..maybe if this were understood abuse would be lessened significantly .
It is not their responsibility to collect facts and evaluate ..it is the State's responsibility.
They are not trained to do the evaluation.. they do not have the expertise nor should they have that responsibility ..it is in the hands of trained workers and law officers should that be warranted.
Educational personnel are not trained to make the ultimate decisions,..reality ... not fiction ..maybe if this were understood abuse would be lessened significantly .
The Fourth Estate is on the ropes all across the country. Investigative journalism at the local level, especially in a small town like ours is almost non-existent. There are so many media options to the average person, any money to be made by a hyperlocal is spread very thin. I hope with the establishment of the Village Green we will see this improve. We as consumers of this news need to fully support these local news outlets if we are to expect the situation to get better.
Kurt
Kurt
Oct 5, 2014 at 3:54am Edited
icdart said:
They are avoiding the fact that by law they are to report to the agency trained to make that assessment.
It is not their responsibility to collect facts and evaluate ..it is the State's responsibility.
They are not trained to do the evaluation.. they do not have the expertise nor should they have that responsibility ..it is in the hands of trained workers and law officers should that be warranted.
Educational personnel are not trained to make the ultimate decisions,..reality ... not fiction ..maybe if this were understood abuse would be lessened significantly .
By "evaluation" I am referring to teaching quality evaluations. Sorry for any lack of clarity or precision.
We shouldn't presume no referral was made on this, anyway, which I am sure you are not implying.
icdart, you are correct that any suspicion on anyone's part among the adults in the building should have triggered a call to DYFS to be investigated by their Institutional Abuse Unit. The fact is that we don't know whether anyone did or didn't. DYFS does not casually share information even with those who report the abuse. However, given that the teacher was not placed on administrative leave last spring, I'd guess that if someone did call the case was determined to be "unfounded." Meaning that no corroborating information was obtained to substantiate the allegation and trigger law enforcement involvement.
I can't tell you how many principals think it is their right to determine whether a call to DYFS is warranted. As a former school social worker I have had to sneak around administrators in order to do the right thing. And getting teachers to make the call themselves can be very difficult as well. Even though I would remind them they could choose anonymity. So I would gather as much info as I could and make the call myself. However, generally any allegations against teachers were handled quickly and appropriately as far as reporting to DYFS went. And the teachers were immediately placed on temporary administrative leave.
I can't tell you how many principals think it is their right to determine whether a call to DYFS is warranted. As a former school social worker I have had to sneak around administrators in order to do the right thing. And getting teachers to make the call themselves can be very difficult as well. Even though I would remind them they could choose anonymity. So I would gather as much info as I could and make the call myself. However, generally any allegations against teachers were handled quickly and appropriately as far as reporting to DYFS went. And the teachers were immediately placed on temporary administrative leave.
And what if rumored misbehavior is reported but nobody will come forward to substantiate said rumors. That is the question and whether it is DYFS, the administration or the police, the question doesn't change.
If nobody comes forward, said misbehavior can't be stopped until some extreme happens like a video surfaces.
If nobody comes forward, said misbehavior can't be stopped until some extreme happens like a video surfaces.
nakaille said:
I can't tell you how many principals think it is their right to determine whether a call to DYFS is warranted. As a former school social worker I have had to sneak around administrators in order to do the right thing. And getting teachers to make the call themselves can be very difficult as well. Even though I would remind them they could choose anonymity. So I would gather as much info as I could and make the call myself. However, generally any allegations against teachers were handled quickly and appropriately as far as reporting to DYFS went. And the teachers were immediately placed on temporary administrative leave.
So, do you call based on a rumor your daughter brings to your attention, for example?
I've learned by now that when my statements are misquoted, that I have to answer them. A non-answer becomes an admission that I made the statement, because not many will read the entire thread, including yours truly.
So, @tjohn, the New York Times was able to create an article full of new revelations by speaking to Ms. Ms. McCaffrey. She is quoted as saying that she reported the teacher to the school, and she reported that "Nicole Dufault, had sent naked pictures of herself to a student on Snapchat." That's not a rumor. The reporter also stated that one of the victims is 17 years of age instead of 15, and that looks like a fact to me. I don't know whether that is true or not, but that looks like a fact and not a rumor.
The local press could have asked the administration for a statement, not about the incident, but what the protocol for such a report are and how the teachers and supervisors are trained at following the protocols. None of it is rumor, and it would be quite instructive. They could also have asked whether or not the protocols were followed, no confidential information would be revealed about the minors with those questions. The administrators would then be on record.
We have The News Record, the Village Green, the Alternative Press, The South Orange Patch and none of those papers did any investigative reporting. That's a fact, no innuendo. If I am wrong, please correct me.
@CTRZaska, outlandish, yes. You claim that I have tied claimed that the story was killed to protect real estate values. Please show me where I say that. You are misquoting me.
So, @tjohn, the New York Times was able to create an article full of new revelations by speaking to Ms. Ms. McCaffrey. She is quoted as saying that she reported the teacher to the school, and she reported that "Nicole Dufault, had sent naked pictures of herself to a student on Snapchat." That's not a rumor. The reporter also stated that one of the victims is 17 years of age instead of 15, and that looks like a fact to me. I don't know whether that is true or not, but that looks like a fact and not a rumor.
The local press could have asked the administration for a statement, not about the incident, but what the protocol for such a report are and how the teachers and supervisors are trained at following the protocols. None of it is rumor, and it would be quite instructive. They could also have asked whether or not the protocols were followed, no confidential information would be revealed about the minors with those questions. The administrators would then be on record.
We have The News Record, the Village Green, the Alternative Press, The South Orange Patch and none of those papers did any investigative reporting. That's a fact, no innuendo. If I am wrong, please correct me.
@CTRZaska, outlandish, yes. You claim that I have tied claimed that the story was killed to protect real estate values. Please show me where I say that. You are misquoting me.
Oct 5, 2014 at 4:12am Edited
Copihue said:
So, @tjohn, the New York Times was able to create an article full of new revelations by speaking to Ms. Ms. McCaffrey. She is quoted as saying that she reported the teacher to the school, and she reported that "Nicole Dufault, had sent naked pictures of herself to a student on Snapchat." That's not a rumor. The reporter also stated that one of the victims is 17 years of age instead of 15, and that looks like a fact to me. I don't know whether that is true or not, but that looks like a fact and not a rumor.
And that would be what a we call "hearsay" in legal parlace because Ms. McCaffrey was not in receipt of said pictures and did not hear of this from a primary recipient of said pictures.
So, if DYFS, for example, looked into this and no primary witnesses supported the charges, what next.
Edited to add that the article states that the police interviewed one of the alleged recipients of the Snapchat pictures. So, that certainly makes it sound like the rumors were not being investigated internally.
Oct 5, 2014 at 4:26am Edited
Copihue said:
I'm sure that investigating this story does not do anything positive to the only industry in town: selling real estate. Killing the story, as it has been shunted on this board twice already, is the right way to approach it.
I'm not sure how anyone can read this in any way other than to suggest the story was killed or not investigated so as to protect real estate values.
That is an excellent question that you raise, tjohn, and I would love to know the answer, wouldn't you? I imagine that the answer is in the protocols that currently exist which others on this thread say do not work well. So maybe it would be good to find out what would happen if someone does not support the allegation that the teacher is making inappropriate comments in the classroom about her sex life and that there is a rumor that a video exists of herself naked that was sent to students. Is the website provider in this case Snapchat able to determine if such picture exists? is that feasible? I don't know, maybe it is, maybe it is not. That might make for useful journalism as well.
Copihue said:
That is an excellent question that you raise, tjohn, and I would love to know the answer, wouldn't you? I imagine that the answer is in the protocols that currently exist which others on this thread say do not work well. So maybe it would be good to find out what would happen if someone does not support the allegation that the teacher is making inappropriate comments in the classroom about her sex life and that there is a rumor that a video exists of herself naked that was sent to students. Is the website provider in this case Snapchat able to determine if such picture exists? is that feasible? I don't know, maybe it is, maybe it is not. That might make for useful journalism as well.
Spare yourself the effort. Snapchat is transient unless you capture the image promptly. The rumors evidently were investigated and were not substantiated by primary witnesses.
...as reported by the NYT.
DYFS is trained ...IF cN happen in any case ..my experience was that in most cases because they knew how to question and conduct an interview they were able to press forward and obtain the facts.
I saw the most incredible interviews conducted by DYFS workers and the Police during the CAP program .
Agree with nakaille .. In most every school we went into the principal would tell their staff that regardless of the law to report , they themselves would make that decision
Kudos to nakaille for reporting ..most school social workers did not. .
Administrators make the wrong call when they do not report .
It would be far better to follow the law.. Eventually the truth comes out . It is a domino effect .
Whether DYFS was contacted in this CHSrecent event is not known..if not it should have been
I saw the most incredible interviews conducted by DYFS workers and the Police during the CAP program .
Agree with nakaille .. In most every school we went into the principal would tell their staff that regardless of the law to report , they themselves would make that decision
Kudos to nakaille for reporting ..most school social workers did not. .
Administrators make the wrong call when they do not report .
It would be far better to follow the law.. Eventually the truth comes out . It is a domino effect .
Whether DYFS was contacted in this CHSrecent event is not known..if not it should have been
I don't know about anyone else but I intend to cancel my subscription to the News-Record because of their poor effort on this story.
Oct 5, 2014 at 4:32am Edited
icdart said:
DYFS is trained ...IF cN happen in any case ..my experience was that in most cases because they knew how to question and conduct an interview they were able to press forward and obtain the facts.
I saw the most incredible interviews conducted by DYFS workers and the Police during the CAP program .
Agree with nakaille .. In most every school we went into the principal would tell their staff that regardless of the law to report , they themselves would make that decision
Kudos to nakaille for reporting ..most school social workers did not. .
Administrators make the wrong call when they do not report .
It would be far better to follow the law.. Eventually the truth comes out . It is a domino effect .
Whether DYFS was contacted in this CHSrecent event is not known..if not it should have been
The article shares a rumor that the police interviewed a primary witness. Sounds to me like the administration was not trying to handle this internally.
Oct 5, 2014 at 4:39am Edited
Copihue said:
Thus far we've heard much opprobrium on the teacher, and the board of education and the school have answered no questions. According to the article the school knew of this teacher in the spring, what did they do? From what has been reported in this article they left it up to the students and the teacher to handle it.
And what happened to the local press' responsibility to inquire about important issues to this community? Once again they leave it up to the public to do the work. Puff stories about real estate open houses is what we get from our journalists. I'm sure that investigating this story does not do anything positive to the only industry in town: selling real estate. Killing the story, as it has been shunted on this board twice already, is the right way to approach it.
"The right way" refers to the approach local papers must take to insure the economic survival of the local newspaper. Open the Village Green which is published by the former editor of the Maplewood Patch, a very capable reporter who sits on the board of respected organizations in the industry is not covering the story. Open up their website: http://villagegreennj.com/ What would happen if she places this story on the paper? All her advertisers are realtors.
I never said anything about real estate prices, you added that. Don't attribute your implications, your deductions to me. I have studied real estate prices in the past, and that is a huge stretch to say that this story will affect real estate prices. I would never make a statement like that.
How does said local newspaper investigation unfold? Let's see. I heard a rumor. I go the administration. They can't comment. I go to the police. They can't comment. I go to DYFS. They can't comment. I try to approach one of the kids and the parents freak out on me.
Oct 5, 2014 at 4:46am Edited
tjohn, the New York Times figured it out, and I believe that our reporters are equally as talented if not more so. They could have covered it, but they didn't. And in my opinion this is a disservice to the community. If individuals felt that if they tried anything like this, they would be questioned by the press, by the administrators, by DYFS, they would be much less likely to do it. I also believe that if the editors felt that that is what the towns wanted to read, that they would cover it.
In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.
Copihue