Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Parent Complaint States, Pulaski High School Teacher Stabs Student With Pencil

High school administrators didn't discipline teacher and Milwaukee Police failed to file charges against teacher, parents of the student alleged.

By H. Nelson Goodson
April 5, 2011

Milwaukee - On Monday, the parent's of a 17-year-old female student who was stabbed with a pencil by a teacher in January have decided to go public after school administrators and Milwaukee Police failed to protect and bring justice for their daughter. Police cited the teacher for disorderly conduct, but the teacher wasn't charged with assault for lack of evidence, according to a school official.
She stayed home for ten days because she was afraid of the teacher and to attend the class. School officials had threaten to expell the student, if she didn't return to Pulaski High School, according to the parents.
William Montañez, the father of the student said, he was dismayed and surprise to learned that Cynthia Eastern, Principal of Pulaski High School had closed the parent complaint filed at the Vliet Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) administrative office a few days after it was filed. Motañez alleged Scott Lindner, the teacher had stabbed his daughter on January 26.
In late March, Montañez discovered the parent complaint had been resolved after months of trying to get an update about the case. He had asked for information leading up to the decision made by MPS school officials concerning the complaint. Montañez says, school officials denied to provide him with any information regarding their investigation about his daughter's claim of being stabbed and assaulted at Pulaski.
His 17-year-old daughter who was stabbed in the hand with a pencil scratching the skin open and making it bleed wasn't taken to a school nurse for medical attention. The student in a written statement wrote, after being stabbed, she and another 17-year-old male classmate had left the classroom and came upon Assistant Principal Paulette Chambers in the hall. The injured student explained to Chambers that Lindner had repeatedly teased her for several days by calling her "Emma," another classmate's name and had stabbed her. Chambers apparently saw the cut in her hand. The students were directed by Chambers to another room to write several statements of what had happened. While heading to the room, they met up with Assistant Prinicipal Ramón Cruz, who also noticed the cut in the student's hand and failed to sent her to see a nurse.
An officer assigned to Pulaski investigating the incident noticed the injury as well, according to Montañez. Both Montañez and his wife later went to the Milwaukee Police District 6 to get an update from Officer Roberto Hill who was assigned to Pulaski as a school resource officer and handled part of the initial investigation concerning allegations against Lindner. Hill told Montañez that his police supervisor Lieutenant Marianne Rodriguez decided not to pursue the complaint and dismissed it. Since then, Officer Hill has been assigned as security detail for Mayor Tom Barrett.
On January 27, both Montañez and his wife went to the Vliet MPS office and filed a complaint. The parent formal MPS complaint states, that Lindner an Algebra teacher had harassed, threaten, and assaulted Montañez daughter on January 26 in front of the entire student Algebra classroom. The 17-year-old student claimed Lindner had called her by another name and resorted to making racist remarks as well during class.
Lindner was hitting and pushing the student to do her work and had threatened to kill her in front of the classroom shortly after stabbing her and cutting her hand with a pencil. The student claimed Lindner told her that she "stinks after he found out she was Puertorican."
The female student and another 17-year-old male student submitted their own hand written complaint statements to Assistant Principal Chambers and requested for Lindner to stay away from her. The injured student wrote in the complaint,Lindner kept teasing and calling her "Emma" for several days, which was not her actual name. She admitted to accidently burping in class and Lindner standing next to her responded by saying it stinks as he walked away.
Later, Lindner grabbed her mechanical pencil and tried to put it in her hand to do some work, but ended up stabbing her and scratching open part of her skin causing it to bleed. She asked, "are you trying to stab me now?" Lindner stabbed her again and said, "yeah, I'm trying to kill you." He left two marks on her hand and padded her numerous times during class. Lindner tried to punch her and pushed her right arm. She got up and walked out of class because she wasn't going to take his abuse and games anymore. "He is a teacher not a student," the female student wrote in the complaint to Chambers.
Lindner then marked her absent for the day. Montañez and her mother were called about her absence.
A few days later, the complaint was resolved by moving the 17-year-old student from Lindner's classroom. School officials met with Lindner to "discuss the family's concerns and to ensure that the appropriate teaching and learning activities occur within the classroom," Dennis G. Queen, MPS Regional Executive Specialist wrote in a document provided by Montañez.
"This was the incident between a student and a teacher. The incident occurred on January 26, 2011. Ms. Eastern met with the parents on January 31, 2011. The student stated that the teacher tried to stab her. Student statements were taken and the SROs (School Resource Officer) investigated the complaint. The SROs issued a ticket to the teacher for disorderly conduct. Based upon the student statements and the SRO investigation, there was not enough evidence that the teacher tried to harm the student. The information indicated that the teacher was trying to put the pencil in the student's hand and may have poked her while trying to put the pencil in her hand. No medical attention was required to the student.
I spoke to the parents and brother on several occasions as well and explained the process, procedure, and outcome," Queen responded in an e-mail on Tuesday. Queen didn't elaborate why the student parent's weren't informed immediately about the decision rendered by the school officials and that Lindner was cited by police. Wicourts dot gov system, Consolidated Courts Automated Program (CCAP) didn't show Lindner had been cited for disorderly conduct in January by police.
Montañez and his wife are considering to file a complaint with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office as an option to see, if they can get justice. They had gone to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office and to the Milwaukee Police District 6, which is adjacent to Pulaski to file a complaint, but were told that it was an MPS issue. Since, Milwaukee Police Lt. Rodriguez and Officer Hill wouldn't pursue a criminal complaint against Lindner.
Both Lt. Rodriguez and Officer Hill could not be reached for comment.
In the News, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Gregory E. Thornton announced Monday, MPS will do a complete overhaul at four district schools due to low test scores. All the teachers in the following four schools, ALAS, Northwest Secondary School, Washington High School of Information Technology, including at Pulaski High School would have to re-apply for their positions. Thornton said, the principals at those schools, including the Pulaski principal will be replaced. Only half of the teachers could be rehired at the schools where they worked and the other half, if hired would be reassigned to other schools in the district. The change was brought upon poor performance by the teachers and principals, according to Thornton.

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