Update: Florida Teacher Reassigned After "Voting Out" Boy with Autism
Morningside Elementary kindergarten teacher Wendy Portillo has been reassigned until further action may be determined, according to St. Lucie County School District spokeswoman Janice Karst.For folks who are interested, there are a number of autism advocacy groups involved with this situation. The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network has been particularly active; you can find out more at their website....Portillo was reassigned out of the classroom at the district offices on Friday, as soon as Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon heard about the incident, Karst said. She said it could be up to two weeks before the district's investigation on the matter is concluded.
Portillo has been a St. Lucie County teacher for 12 years, and at Morningside Elementary for nine, Karst said.
Barton said Tuesday morning that Alex had officially been diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. He is not in school, but misses the one friend he made in the classroom, she said.
"He's a little better today," she said. "He's just being Alex."
Barton said she thinks Portillo should be fired.
"She has no business being near children at all," she said.
As to the news of Portillo being reassigned, Barton responded, "That's just a slap in the face."
Comments
Quoting from the article: “Portillo was reassigned out of the classroom at the district offices on Friday, as soon as Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon heard about the incident, Karst said. She said it could be up to two weeks before the district’s investigation on the matter is concluded.”
I think that this is exactly what should happen. She’s not working with any children, and they’re doing an investigation. I don’t imagine she’ll be getting her job back (and she probably shouldn’t), but I’m glad they’re giving it a fair investigation.
I hope they’re providing additional support to the students in the class. I would imagine that this is very difficult for them to deal with. My heart goes out to Alex, and I hope he will find another school environment where he’ll be loved and supported.
Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed. of http://www.positivelyautism.com/
The provided link to Autistic Self Advocacy Network didn’t work. Here it is for those who are interested (copy and paste the link into your web browser):
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=28
I think this teacher should be fired, have to publicly apologize to this child and his family and should be totally ashamed of herself and her actions. Last year my son was in the process of being diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and ADHD and I found myself with a teacher who was very ignorant and not helpful with dealing with a child like mine. It was a nightmare. She didn’t go as far as having my son “voted” out of the classroom but she did attempt to turn other children against him and keep him seperated and this was information relayed to me from parents who were volunteering in the classroom. I tried several times to address this and it was always blown off so during the school year I moved my son into a different school district where he has grown and thrived in a general ed classroom. I cannot imagine how this childs mother must feel. I hope the right actions are taken with this situation.
No one working in education wants to see any child fail. This especially holds true for many special educators and administrators who stress the necessity lies with general and special education uniting, exploring and determining whatever a child needs to embed success into the general education and within the school day, and then to get it done. It’s often difficult and overwhelming; with all the demands placed in today’s classroom, to single out that one child’s success may take hours of modifications and accommodations both outside and also within the general education classroom. Fortunately, current educational mandates and increased visibility in the world of autism hope to make this outcome a reality in the lives of many children.
Dear Parent Advocates,
The Attorney General’s Office of Florida is trying to compile a list of participants to meet and talk about their issues and concerns regarding restraint, seclusion, abuse and neglect in our public schools on children with Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorders and other disabilities. This meeting will be open to anyone in Florida.
Parents with concerns can call the citizen services hotline at (866) 966-7226 .
You can also send me an email and I will add your name to the list of people that would like to attend the meeting in August. The Attorney General’s office will be sending out a meeting notice to let you know the date, time and location of the meeting.
Regards,
Phyllis
cvm514@bellsouth.net