Jump to content

Marching band gets another punch in the gut and more bad publicity


Recommended Posts

When I was in high school, we had a female physical education teacher sleep with two of the males in my class for 4 years. She probably wouldn't have gotten caught if it hadn't been for one of the boys who was trying to get his girlfriend to sleep with the teachers husband, because they were swingers. She was fired and now teaches at the college level. We made the joke that she now teaches where it's legal to sleep with her students, just frowned upon. As of the last 5 years we also had a 5th grade teacher sleep with a special education student, of which she had been "private tutoring" at her house for years, and the boy was now a teenager. She was a family friend of the student before she had him in class as well. While it is more prevalent in male teachers, it does happen with females as well. Luckily my district has never had to deal with this much. Our biggest issues are embezzlement. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Poppycock said:

While pedophiles can work anywhere, they do find ways to be around children as often as possible. They place themselves as director, teacher, instructor, and/or leader of artistic bodies such as performing arts, where they have surrounded themselves with adoring and aspiring performers. They may be respected subject matter experts in the field of music or artistic design.

Yes- that's the profile, thaks for laying it out so well. They're generally very good educators/instructors and quite charismatic. It makes it hard for others to believe that's what they're doing. Thankfully over the decades, knowledge is power about that profile and more see through it. Also, the law requitres reporting in some states regardless of what an individual may think or believe about the suspect.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Phantom56 said:

Some school districts are becoming so desperate for teachers that they are hiring convicted felons. Illinois is a case in point. 

Yes. I have been meaning to send a friendly note to the Superintenent in Altonna, PA over some of this issue. he was interviewed on MSMBC recently and talked frankly about how he used to get 150 applicants and now only gets 4.

To be honest... and this isn't easy because I went though this guff-- Teaching candidates were treated as expendable. You don't like the person... so what? You'll get another 30-100 applicants. You can treat them like dirt in the interview, so what? I found out years later I should have reported one School District in PA to the NLRB for asking innappropriate questions.

 

Districts who asked for a picture of the appicant so they could see if they were a minority, not good looking, too old, whatever. A way to screen out uindesireables.

 

One district who asked that the applicant personally deliver the application to their office. In that case the location was 200 miles one way from my home. I reported them to Penn State's job service, whom after they had a testy conversation with the same district secretary banned them from posting job applications in the Penn State system. The ACLU also went after them but couldn't do anything as well (Also having a testy conversation with the same district secretary- she was a rather rude and nasty individual). Nowadays, these kinds of things would get plasted all over social media. I don't think that district still wouldn;t have cared. They made sure they hired the local boys and girls, finding the best qualified candidate be ######.

 

Even if you got a job, rentention didn't matter for a school district in PA. They'd just find the next desperate 100 applicants and just plug them in if the individual quit in disgust from the bad treatment or got another position in another district. I still remember a conversation I had with a Former successful Band Director in the Maryland panhandle who became a College Band director in that region:

 

"There are plenty of jobs."

 

"Yeah, but what about jobs where you'd want to stay in that job for a teaching career knowing you were treated right and not feel you have to move on in within the next 1-5 years?"

 

"That's different".

 

So... a lot of good people along with myself walked away in disgust.  (I personally view myself as 'good people', but others can decide that) I can think of a friend who sells cars and another who worked full time for Hershey Park who graduated from Penn State and James Madison respectively, both fine educators who got disgusted. We warned kids to avoid the edication field and why unless they had an 'in' for a position. Outside education outside firms don't value what the degree can bring to the table. They believe it to be a joke. The degree holds little or no value.

 

So now, the districts complain they can't get anyone. Their system brought it on themselves. The crap districts have to do better and stop treating new teachers like an expendable commodity.

 

As for a convicted felon, I have a friend who is, did his time, went to a fine University in the Mid-Atlantic, got a Physics degree, and works for a major defense contractor on the Littoral Combat Ship program. His felony had nothing to do with child abuse. He'd make for a fine educator. Food for thought.

 

 

Edited by BigW
spelling, all apologies
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Phantom56 said:

Some school districts are becoming so desperate for teachers that they are hiring convicted felons. Illinois is a case in point. 

This man was not a teacher. If you Google the man’s name, you will see he was an “extracurricular instructor” which is probably the band equivalent of an assistant coach. The articles I saw mentioned his employment with the school district but did not mention his other employment which would lead me to believe it was not a school district. While convicted felons have been hired in schools, sometimes by accident, other times because someone intentionally looked the other way, I doubt any districts were so desperate they had no choice. They may ignore certification or qualifications out of desperation, but there is a huge difference between the driver’s ed instructor teaching physics and a convicted felon teaching algebra.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Tim K said:

This man was not a teacher. If you Google the man’s name, you will see he was an “extracurricular instructor” which is probably the band equivalent of an assistant coach. The articles I saw mentioned his employment with the school district but did not mention his other employment which would lead me to believe it was not a school district. While convicted felons have been hired in schools, sometimes by accident, other times because someone intentionally looked the other way, I doubt any districts were so desperate they had no choice. They may ignore certification or qualifications out of desperation, but there is a huge difference between the driver’s ed instructor teaching physics and a convicted felon teaching algebra.


My understanding is the school district does run background checks for anyone working with students. But…. let me repeat that… BUT…. if his record has been clean up to that point the school wouldn’t know. EDIT: just found from local news that he passed his clearance check 2020.

BTW noticed “police in Derry Township” in the article. My guess is PA State Police as have a barracks there amd his address is Harrisburg (not in Derry Township). Probably will be driving by the barracks tomorrow…

Edited by JimF-LowBari
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:

That would be interesting to check what else he might have done in the district. Also what his duties were as ABD. The assistant BD in my day (mid 70s) was also BD at one of the Jr Highs. But his only HS band duty was working with marching band as BD was too old and close to retirement to handle the duties. 

My understanding is the school district does run background checks for anyone working with students. But…. let me repeat that… BUT…. if his record has been clean up to that point the school wouldn’t know.

BTW noticed “police in Derry Township” in the article. My guess is PA State Police as have a barracks there and that is outside of the school districts area. Probably will be driving by the barracks tomorrow…

The school district in a press release is where he is referred to as “an extracurricular instructor” who “worked with high school students.” Where the district  then mentions that there is no evidence that students were involved or that it took place at the school, my guess is that his involvement with actual students was minimal. It’s not the equivalent of an aide or other school employee. My guess based on knowing school talk, he was a volunteer who got enough of a stipend to require a 1099. I know some bands and color guards associated with schools have boosters who raise money to give volunteers thank you gifts but the schools require that the checks are issued by the district and 1099’s are issued. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Tim K said:

The school district in a press release is where he is referred to as “an extracurricular instructor” who “worked with high school students.” Where the district  then mentions that there is no evidence that students were involved or that it took place at the school, my guess is that his involvement with actual students was minimal. It’s not the equivalent of an aide or other school employee. My guess based on knowing school talk, he was a volunteer who got enough of a stipend to require a 1099. I know some bands and color guards associated with schools have boosters who raise money to give volunteers thank you gifts but the schools require that the checks are issued by the district and 1099’s are issued. 

True the term assistant band director is vague and duties of an ABD has been different over the decades for the school. From the article it appears that police saw his IP address in checking elsewhere and arrested him at home. School was not involved except that he did work with the band. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:


My understanding is the school district does run background checks for anyone working with students. But…. let me repeat that… BUT…. if his record has been clean up to that point the school wouldn’t know. EDIT: just found from local news that he passed his clearance check 2020.

BTW noticed “police in Derry Township” in the article. My guess is PA State Police as have a barracks there amd his address is Harrisburg (not in Derry Township). Probably will be driving by the barracks tomorrow…

Anyone working with schoolkids in PA has to have a clean Act 34/State Police, Act 151/Child Abuse and Act 88/FBI fingerprint check. Volunteer, paid staff, whatever. They cost about 60 bucks if you get them on your own. Another issue to deal with if you're seeking school employment as a yearly expense. It is what it is in that regard, an unfunded mandate. I felt it to be rather insulting when the last program I consulted with screwed up and I paid out the money for the background checks for the privlege of working with them unpaid. That lasted one rehearsal.

 

As for Assistant Band Directors, that varies from program to program. The ABD can be a full time District Employee, it can be stipend only, or even pretty much gratis. I've told one competitive band out there when I found out the ABD was unpaid that it was an injustice to the individual and he deserved far better than that. An excellent man that is a true positive force behind those kids.

 

Duties can vary from Jeff''s description of the accused perp to one individual a family member working with that band described as a glorified Gofer who couldn't even do that competently, or even basically being the person to step in as acting director if something disables the Director as I did twice with one program, as well as assisting the Show Coordinator, spot arranging, etc. It depends on the program, district, the money, and the situation.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, BigW said:

Anyone working with schoolkids in PA has to have a clean Act 34/State Police, Act 151/Child Abuse and Act 88/FBI fingerprint check. Volunteer, paid staff, whatever. They cost about 60 bucks if you get them on your own. Another issue to deal with if you're seeking school employment as a yearly expense. It is what it is in that regard, an unfunded mandate. I felt it to be rather insulting when the last program I consulted with screwed up and I paid out the money for the background checks for the privlege of working with them unpaid. That lasted one rehearsal.

 

As for Assistant Band Directors, that varies from program to program. The ABD can be a full time District Employee, it can be stipend only, or even pretty much gratis. I've told one competitive band out there when I found out the ABD was unpaid that it was an injustice to the individual and he deserved far better than that. An excellent man that is a true positive force behind those kids.

 

Duties can vary from Jeff''s description of the accused perp to one individual a family member working with that band described as a glorified Gofer who couldn't even do that competently, or even basically being the person to step in as acting director if something disables the Director as I did twice with one program, as well as assisting the Show Coordinator, spot arranging, etc. It depends on the program, district, the money, and the situation.

The issue, in part, is that to be in the 'offender registry' (or whatever it is called in a given jurisdiction) is you have to be convicted at least once.

Everyone on DCP is one swing away from being an axe murderer, but just because of that we are not all listed in the 'axe murderer registry'. And with 'innocent until proven guilty' as a cornerstone of the US criminal law system, this isn't going change.  

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...