Alex Barton voted out of classroom

[w8ng4msrgt]

Kindergartener Voted Out By Students
Outraged Mom Of Special Needs Son Talks Exclusively With The Early Show


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., May 27, 2008

(CBS) A Port St. Lucie, Fla., mother is outraged and considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

Melissa Barton says Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo had her son's classmates say what they didn't like about 5-year-old Alex. She says the teacher then had the students vote, and voted Alex, who is being evaluated for Asperger's syndrome -- an autism spectrum disorder -- out of the class by a 14-2 margin.

Barton and her son, Alex, talked exclusively with Harry Smith live from West Palm Beach, Fla.

Barton filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer.

St. Lucie School spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident, but could not make any further comment. The state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed.

Teacher Wendy Portillo was advised by the school board not to speak to the press so she declined our interview offer.

Link

Video

What the teacher did was wrong and she should have some action taken against her professionally.

I am all for mainstreaming in certain situations. If the child is disruptive in a regular classroom then they need to change the child's IEP and get them into a class that can devote extra attention to them.

[SqueakyClean]

After picking up my jaw up off the floor, I found a few more articles about this, one which referred to it as a "psychological lynch mobbing". I can't think of a more perfect way to describe it. What a horrible, horrible woman. She needs to be fired and take a job cleaning the toilets at Walmart.

[jlt080405]

I honestly do not even know what to say about this right now it really makes me angry

[w8ng4msrgt]

I honestly do not even know what to say about this right now it really makes me angry

I can understand your feelings and don't agree with what the teacher did but sometimes their hands are tied. Here is another article.

Port St. Lucie teacher sidelined after letting kindergarten class kick kid out

May 27, 2008
BY COLLEEN WIXON | Scripps Howard News Service

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A kindergarten teacher has been reassigned after she allowed her students to oust a fellow 5-year-old from the classroom because of his disciplinary problems.

Morningside Elementary School teacher Wendy Portillo was removed from classroom duties until further action may be determined, according to St. Lucie County School district spokesman Janice Karst said this week.

Last week, Portillo held a vote in her classroom in which the students "voted out" 5-year-old Alex Barton, who is in the process of being tested for Asperger's Disorder, a type of high-functioning autism, said his mother, Melissa Barton.

Link and rest of story

[jlt080405]

thanks for the extra info, this story raises alot of issues and emotions with me so unfortunately I am not really in the emotional state to respond intelligently.

[TheLittleFriend]

Mother is "considering legal action.." Yes! The little boy was humiliated by the teacher and classmates. The teacher should be fire, not reassigned. Her action is wrong and digusted. My cousin is mentally retarded and deaf. She makes noises all the time. The teacher kicked her out of class because she made noises during the movie in class. Her mother marched in the teacher's classroom, screamed at her. She filed a complaint, took it to legal action. Next thing I know, the teacher isn't there anymore.

[w8ng4msrgt]

Mother is "considering legal action.." Yes! The little boy was humiliated by the teacher and classmates. The teacher should be fire, not reassigned. Her action is wrong and digusted. My cousin is mentally retarded and deaf. She makes noises all the time. The teacher kicked her out of class because she made noises during the movie in class. Her mother marched in the teacher's classroom, screamed at her. She filed a complaint, took it to legal action. Next thing I know, the teacher isn't there anymore.

As much as momma claims to be on the internet in the video she is quick to pull up the sue card. If she was really interested in her child's welfare she could have found this in about the 10-15 minutes that it took me to find it. In the best interests of her child she could have easily made this requirement part of the IEP.

I really do feel sorry for the kid but feel mom is trying to make some bucks off him.

Elem teacher regs

Special needs

[Hellsbells]

Mom of St. Lucie kindergartner voted out of class to get $350,000 in settlement

The mother of Alex Barton, the autistic child voted out of his St. Lucie County kindergarten class about three years ago, has reached a $350,000 settlement with St. Lucie County education officials, according to federal court documents.

The proposed settlement still requires a review by a guardian ad litem, a third party designated to consider the best interests of the child, before the agreement can be finalized in the courts.

About $200,000 of the settlement, reached Nov. 24 in Miami, is to be paid within 30 days of the court entering the order, the documents show. The remaining amount will be paid in a structured settlement beginning in 2020, when Alex is 18 years old, and ending in 2032, the documents state.

The St. Lucie County School Board and the St. Lucie County Classroom Teachers' Association, the teachers' union, agreed to pay the settlement, with the bulk being paid by the board. The School District was represented by its insurance carrier, which negotiated the settlement, said attorney David Richeson, representing the district.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/dec/...class-get-350/

[biteme]

As much as momma claims to be on the internet in the video she is quick to pull up the sue card. If she was really interested in her child's welfare she could have found this in about the 10-15 minutes that it took me to find it. In the best interests of her child she could have easily made this requirement part of the IEP.

I really do feel sorry for the kid but feel mom is trying to make some bucks off him.

Elem teacher regs

Special needs

I hate lawsuits, but schools and school administrators have gotten so stupid something needs to be done, they've gotten as bad as CPS
Could it be all administrators hold teflon positions
check this one out, it's gotten out of hand with schools and administrators and so called loser teachers

http://abcnews.go.com/US/classroom-b...ry?id=12279310
The pummeling of a Palm Beach, Fla., middle school boy by another student has infuriated the boy's family who say the teacher did nothing but sit by his computer while the fight raged in his classroom.

WATCH: Houston Teacher Charged in Teen Beating
WATCH: Students Rescue Attack Victim
Video of the fight between Joshua Poole, 13, and his Jeaga Middle School classmate shows Poole swinging wildly as he is punched repeatedly before falling to the floor. The teacher's inaction was reportedly due to a school policy that staff can only intervene after undergoing training, according to the school district.

That type of "policy run amok" is a growing problem in schools across the country, according to Carol Kochhar-Bryant, a professor at George Washington University's Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

"In the past there have been many families, if the child gets injured in any way by an intervention by a teacher, there have been instances where the teachers have been reprimanded," she said. "Those policies protect the school, they protect the teacher, but we are realizing now they don't protect the child in those situations."
Palm Beach County school district officials insist the teacher followed procedure during the middle school fight, which took place last month, and that he was not properly trained per district protocol to break up such altercations.
"When the students would not stop fighting, the teacher went to the hallway to get help," read a statement released by the school district. "Assistant Principal Brent Higley responded and helped stopped the fight."

Both students were discplined.

Poole's father, Clarence Poole told ABC's Palm Beach affiliate WPBF-TV that the fight came after previous incidents of bullying.

"It keeps happening, you know, the same thing," he told the station. "Somebody will just come up behind him and start brutalizing him. I send my kid to school to get educated, not to get killed. It's really bad."

The Pooles' lawyer, Craig Goldenfarb, said he planned to sue on their behalf, charging negligence on the part of the school district. Goldenfarb said Joshua would be seen by a pediatric neurologist for repeated headaches and blurred vision.

Marla Ruth Brassard, professor of psychology and education and director of clinical training at Columbia University's Teacher's College in New York City, said she's seen similar hands-off policies, but in places like youth prisons and psychiatric facilities.

Teachers, she said, "are entrusted by society to take care of children."

"If you have the adults ... vacating that responsibility, you have no one there to keep them safe," she said.

[62julietandvoid]

Sounds like gang stalking.

[Pete Bondurant]

A Port St. Lucie, Fla., mother is outraged and considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

Democracy works......