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Corpun file 23850 at www.corpun.com
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Texas, 12 January 2012
Dunbar administrator on leave during LISD investigation
A campus administrator of Dunbar College Preparatory Academy is on administrative leave as Lubbock Independent School District officials investigate a corporal punishment incident involving a student at the middle school.
The boy was disciplined on Monday, but the school district was not notified about concerns involving the punishment until Wednesday evening, according to Nancy Sharp, LISD director of communications and community relations.
The campus administrator had parental consent to use corporal punishment, Sharp said.
At the beginning of the school year, parents have the opportunity to sign an authorization allowing the use of corporal punishment. In given situations in which physical discipline could be warranted, it is not considered an option until parents are notified by telephone to confirm permission, she said.
Corporal punishment is not regarded as a first-use disciplinary tool in the school district, even when it is available as an option.
No estimate has been given regarding the length of the school district investigation into the matter. While the investigation is ongoing, the district cannot release any information about the employee other than to say he is on administrative leave, Sharp said.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal © 2012. All Rights Reserved.
Corpun file 23881 at www.corpun.com
kcbd.com (KCBD NewsChannel 11), Lubbock, Texas, 18 January 2012
Lubbock ISD administrator on leave after spanking returns to work Thursday
By Christie Post
George Love (Photo from lubbockisd.org)
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) -- Lubbock ISD released the name Wednesday of an assistant principal who was placed on leave from Dunbar College Preparatory Academy.
George Love is accused of using excessive force when administering corporal punishment.
LISD told KCBD the investigation has concluded and appropriate action was taken. As for what type of action, LISD says that information will not be released due to the employee's privacy rights.
Martha Gonzales, the parent of the 11-year-old at the middle school, says she did authorize the staff to administer swats. However she says she did not sign up for her son, Isaiah to come home with black and blue bruises on his behind.
Gonzales released exclusive photos to KCBD of the bruising. She says her son is a special needs student. He was punished for disturbing the class and calling a teacher a bad name. After Gonzales took her son to the emergency room, CPS was called to do their own investigation.
Paul Zimmerman with CPS says he cannot speak about this specific case. Zimmerman says a case of this nature takes typically 30 days to investigate. Zimmerman also says "CPS is mandated to investigate all allegations of abuse or neglect that occur in a school setting."
Gonzales says the school told her that her son was light complected which is why he bruised.
LISD says "corporal punishment, while available as an option, is not regarded as a first-use disciplinary tool in LISD".
The district says Love returned to Dunbar Thursday.
We asked the school district if Assistant Principal Love would be able to use corporal punishment in the future. We were told that corporal punishment will be up to the principal, Brian Yearwood.
Copyright 2012 KCBD NewsChannel 11
RELATED VIDEO CLIP
Three-minute news segment from local Lubbock TV station KCBD (12 Jan 2012) on the above case. The mother is interviewed. Her son, who was paddled, appears with her, but does not speak. Stills of the mild temporary reddening on his "rear end", which she describes as "black and blue bruises", are shown. A spokeswoman for Family Counselling Services explains how spanking should be carried out. In her view, if there is reddening, never mind bruises, then "you've gone overboard". (Personally, I should have thought that if this instruction were taken literally it would preclude the use of a paddle altogether).
The issue, says the reporter, comes down to whether the school district's own rules about the need, when paddling, to take into consideration the student's age and size, were followed: in the present case the boy is 11 and is claimed to be small for his age, though he does not look it to me. In the interview, the mother goes on to reveal that the boy had been spanked at school before, that she has now taken him off the paddling list, and that she wants him transferred to another school.
One way of looking at this is that the whole thing was a misunderstanding: clearly she would never have given permission for CP to be used if she had realized what it involves. And perhaps 11 is too young for a full-strength paddling. And perhaps school districts ought to spell out, when inviting parents to give or withhold permission for CP, that a proper paddling can leave temporary marks, and that a short-term inability to sit down is supposed to be part of the punishment.
HERE IS THE CLIP:
IMPORTANT: Copyright in this video material rests with the original copyright holders. This brief excerpt is reproduced under the "fair use" doctrine
for private, non-profit, historical research and education purposes only. It must not be redistributed or republished in any commercial context.
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