Please keep this diary on the rec list as its time to recommend has expired and it is about to leave the rec list. For the first time ever I will not be posting a tip jar. Sometime around 1-2, somebody else should link my diary and the original and put that on the rec list so this remains a news story through all the newscasts tonights. Then unrecommend this diary.
This is a story about a kindergarten teacher who decided to have a little boy come up in front of the class, have sixteen 5-6 year olds tell that child everything they disliked about him, and then the teacher had the 16 students vote whether or not to remove the child from the classroom. 2 students bravely withstood the teacher's bullying and said no.
Here is how you can help.
- You can send a card or a toy to Alex Barton. Send it to this address and everything will be forwarded to Alex.
Alex is Special
c/o Barbara Curtis
15648 Britenbush Ct.
Waterford, VA 20197
- Alex and his mom Melissa will be on the CBS Morning Show this Tuesday. They both deserve nothing but our love and support. Here is the proud mom's letter she has posted online.
Thank you.
Alex is too young now but someday he will understand what perfect strangers have done for him.
I haven't stopped crying since I found out what happened to my son and the children of his class. How could this happen? Why Alex? I am one person, just the one parent Alex has. I am married, but he will never know what it is like to have his real dad play football or watch his plays at school. He has no idea what it is like to actually call someone dad.
His life is far from what I planned it to be when I first heard him cry 5 years ago. Though I work very hard for everything he has material in this world. I feel like every step forward we take there is always a step back. This year we had a first, he said I love you and gave me a hug out of the blue ïŠ I cried the moment he did this, see usually he wipes off kisses and pulls from hugs. I now know god gave me this to remind me that there is hope for us too. Yesterday he offered me part of his bottled water….this may seem like nothing to other parents but it provided me with the strength to make it through the moment.
Thank you for what all you kind strangers, but my eternal brothers & sisters, are doing for Alex.
Melissa Barton
PROUD MOM.
- Write to as many administrators as possible in that school district and all media outlets you know.
- Ms. Portillo received a license from Florida and is bound by certain rules. Her teaching certification needs to be revoked. Here are the relevant portions she violated. They include a violation of Florida's child abuse law, violations of Florida law HB 669, and a Violation of the Florida State Board of Education Rules on Ethics.
- While I'd love to reward those 2 students who didn't succumb to Portillo's pressures, the mother Melissa Barton wants to do something for all 16 kids in that room and is sensitive to their feelings. Hopefully there will be a way to undo all of Ms. Portillo's damage and then some. I don't know that way but collectively we'll all try to figure it out. Perhaps once we find out what this little boy loves to do most, we could put together an online fund and he can go there with his friends.
UPDATE - This is interesting. Morningside Elementary School has shut down their web page this morning. It was accessible all of yesterday and earlier this morning. The pressure is building. As noted in the comments the school and district shut down their web site with the contact info. Here is the contact info.
CONTACT INFO: (PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL THE INDIVIDUAL TEACHER INVOLVED if you happen to know the email from other websites. It serves no valid purpose and that is why i omitted it.)
Morningside Elementary School Principal:
Mrs. Marcia Cully
cullym@stlucie.k12.fl.us
(772) 337-6730
St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent:
Michael J. Lannon
4204 Okeechobee Road
Ft. Pierce, FL 34947-5414
Phone: 772/429-3925
FAX: 772/429-3916
lannonm@stlucie.k12.fl.us
St. Lucie County School Board Chair:
Carol Hilson
772-519-0397
hilsonc@stlucie.k12.fl.us
Vice Chair:
Judith Miller
772-528-4545
millerj@stlucie.k12.fl.us
UPDATE 2 - Addressing a couple of the ridiculous comments. The story has already been confirmed as occuring by a spokeswomen for the school district had you bothered to actually read. As for the issues of the IEP, discipline issues, a disability, parenting, etc... these are secondary issues. The PRIMARY issue is that this teacher is cruel, sadistic, and did something so horrible that she deserves the condemnation and shame that is going to follow. She deserves termination and a revocation of her teaching license. Whether a child has or does not have a disability is irrelevant. Whether a child is or is not a discipline problem is irrelevant. Whether the child's parent is mother of the year or not is irrelevant. It's what this teacher did. Either you justify a teacher taking a 5 year old boy, putting him in front of a room, having 16 kids pile on and bad mouth him publicly at the direction of the teacher (something no kid would have done if the teacher didn't encourage it)and then turning her classroom into Survivor or you don't.
If it wasn't for Liz Trotta, Wendy Portillo would be a Worst Person in the World shoo in.
UPDATE 3 - Hat tip to mytribe. Mrs. Portillo has been reassigned to the district office pending further review. Moreover, addressing a comment in the diary, what if no public light was shined on this incident? It's very likely that nothing would have happened. Sunlight or publicity are the best disinfectants here.
UPDATE 4 - Addressing a couple of concerns, very few of you know that I taught for 10 years. I fully understand all sides, far better than anybody knows. I once worked in a school in the bottom 1%. Trust me I know everything that's wrong with the system. Fortunately I also worked 5 years in a top top top school district and have seen the best in action. I also still teach once a week, a job I've held for 6 years. Many of my former students are in elite high schools, in another year or two my first group will probably be headed off to the Ivys. Part of why I got my law degree was to hopefully fight for kids like Alex one day, knowing what I know about the school system. I also got my law degree to hopefully fight for teachers who often are subject to unconscionable abuse from administrators. I know better than all but 5 people reading this diary what teachers go through on a daily basis and how hard the job is. The elite teachers are out there working 70 hours a week, they are 30+ professional jobs (mediator, secretary, psychologist, organizer, coordinator, etc...) all rolled into one. They are underpaid and often spend parts of their weekly paychecks on extras for the kids. Trust me, I know.
For what Wendy Portillo did there is no defense, NONE. I fully support tenure but tenure means due process. If Mrs. Portillo has tenure, then she is entitled to due process. This is one of those rare instances where the teacher HAS TO GO.
UPDATE 5 - Just my personal comments.
- The teacher already confirmed the incident was true.
- The ONLY way action was going to be taken was for as much media attention as possible to be shone on this teacher's actions. Otherwise the administration would have hushed this up and none of us would have known about it and Mrs. Portillo would still be teaching today. By exposing this, we will all prevent x number of future incidents like this from occuring not because a teacher is sadistic but because a teacher will fear that what is happening to Mrs. Portillo will happen to them. It's sad that this is the reason that will stop x other people from doing something like this but that's just the way it is.
- Just because C is more important than D does not mean D does not get discussed, diaried, or acted upon. That kind of logic won't fly.
- Regardless of Mrs. Portillo's prior teaching experiences, this is beyond a firable offense. You don't get a free bite at the apple for this.
- The lawful public consequences that Mrs. Portillo will experience as a result of her actions are the fault of no one but herself. She brought this on herself and deserves this shame. This is not a witchhunt and I think I've been very responsible in how I've handled this.
- The outpouring of support for the Bartons and the other children will, in my view, eradicate most of Portillo's damage. (BTW send in those gifts, I bought him a personalized drinking mug and will mail it tonight. A simple card, a bear, a firetruck, etc... will do. I'd love for the boy to have a fun filled day with those 16 other kids or at the very least, him and the 2 children who showed exceptional courage.)
UPDATE 6 - I get sick and tired of these people who, when they can't debate the legitimacy of a point or want to downplay something, engage in the game of "links" or "source please." (Granted there are times this is legit.) The game of links goes like this. Try to take every minute little point and insist on a "link."
For example, "the restaurant McDonald's serves cheeseburgers with lettuce on a bun." The link player insists
A) Source please that McDonald's is a restaurant.
B) You forgot to capitalize the word the in your sentence. Learn to write.
C) Which restaurant? What is this Free Republic?
D) Serves? What are you advocating?
E) Cheeseburgers? Do you have proof of this? What kind of cheese?
F) You should do a diary on the history of lettuce.
G) Why are you talking about cheeseburgers when there are more important issues going on like French fries?
H) A bun? Can you prove this? A link would be nice.
Notwithstanding such, for those who tried to undermine this entire diary by suggesting that this is unsourced, that it's just a child's word, or that the teacher hadn't confirmed the story, this one's for you.
This is from the TC palm. Note the teacher CONFIRMED the incident according to a spokeswoman from the school district.
The child's mother filed a complaint with the school resource officer, who investigated the matter, said Port St. Lucie spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said. Port St. Lucie Police is no longer investigating, but is documenting the complaint, she said.
Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident did occur.
Update 7 - I have read the comments throughout but not responded b/c I don't want a tip jar on this. I will start responding to a few.
Update 8 - CBS asked Portillo for an interview but she declined per the advisement of the school district. I do not know if she was instructed not to respond or if she was advised not to respond and chooses to remain silent.
Final point - This is about what Wendy Portillo did. Without multiple media sources going public on this, the school district sweeps this under the rug and nobody knows about it. Hopefully we will deter future Wendy Portillos but if there are any out there, they are on notice that they will be exposed.