It appears Loma Vista Elementary School Principal Lauri James either did not learn her lesson the first time or is a slow learner in failing to report a physical interaction between a teacher and a student on May 6 which the observer-parent thought was inappropriate.
In a letter to parents and staff, Interim Superintendent Doug Adams stated the following:
Upton being informed of the incident, on May 16, the District administrator contacted the Principal and the parent who observed the incident. We asked the principal to notify law enforcement regarding the complaint. We learned that the Principal had conducted an internal investigation after receiving the May 6th report, and informed the teacher of the complaint. On May 6, the teacher contacted the parent of the student and explained the incident. Based on internal investigation and the discussion between the teacher and the parent, the Principal did not inform anyone in District Administration or law enforcement about the incident.
I placed the Principal and teacher on administrative leave pending the outcome of the police investigation and a thorough, objective, internal investigation. I ask you remember that administrative leave is not an indication of wrongdoing and that this incident may not have been an instance of abuse.
According to Mr. Adams, Erin Roberts will assume administrative duties.
Here is the full letter to parents Letter to parents 5-20-13
The incident was shared by in a post in the Special Needs Community Group
A mom of five kids witnessed firsthand another teacher/aide grab, shake and yell at a boy who looked about 3 or 4 years old . When he ran off to the slide (seemingly unfazed) she ran after him and proceeded to kick him down the slide and then slide down after him. The yelling started again until she noticed the parent watching again and immediately stopped. The parent has taken this information to Lauri James (principal) but doesn’t know if she has done anything about it.
The story has not been confirmed by the BUSD or Brentwood Police.
Updated:
Paula King of the Contra Costa Times is reporting the following:
According to the Brentwood police, which concluded their investigation Monday, there were allegations the teacher kicked the student down the slide.
“The teacher actually followed the student down the slide and the student turned around to bite the teacher on the leg and she moved to avoid being bitten,” Brentwood police Lt. Doug Silva said. “They later went down the slide laughing together.”
Before entering the slide, though, the student had thrown tan bark at the teacher, he said.
“She placed her hands on his shoulders to place him in time out,” Silva said. “That was the school psychologist approved technique to deal with that behavior.”
A Brentwood police officer interviewed witnesses of the playground incident on May 17 after James contacted them on May 16, according to district officials. James was asked to notify local law enforcement by Brentwood schools Interim Superintendent Doug Adams after district officials were informed of the incident by another parent on May 16.
Meanwhile, the Brentwood Press appears to want to take a more “friendly” approach of the incident.
43 comments
Your opening statement is priceless and so true. Fire her now!
I remember her as a teacher in Edna Hill and I didn’t care for her then and I’m sure she has changed much. She didn’t seem to care at all about the students. I agree that she should be fired.
An example of why you clean house the first time. BUSD earned this mess by keeping her around.
Wouldn’t you have liked to be a fly on the wall in the district office when this was brought to their attention??
Common sense, report everything in terms of abuse or potential abuse. What does this woman not understand since they just had training? Makes me scared that these are the people in charge of our children
I am sure an early retirement is on her agenda.
Personally, as a recent ‘immigrant’ from Oakley to Brentwood, I thought Ms. James to be a very nice person who cares a great deal about the children. Not knowing anything of her past history, I saw a great deal of positive interaction between her, the students, and parents of students at Loma Vista. Even when I was simply signing my child up at LV, Ms. James sat with her for about 10 minutes and engaged her in a discussion of things they do at the school as well as telling her how excited she was at having a new student. Everybody makes mistakes. Until all of the details are made public, people shouldn’t judge.
You have seen her charming side, then. We all have. But folks judging here are very likely doing so based on personal experience. She has a reputation among parents and health professionals that deal with the damage she inflicts in her wake. We had the same charismatic treatment by her at first, even befriending our son; right up until she allowed him to be abused, and turned on him rather than deal with the perpetrator. How would YOU like to explain to your 1st grade son why his “friend” is calling him a liar and not being his friend anymore? despite an eye witness. We chose to focus on getting our son the help he needed at a decent school – which Lowly Vista continuously refused to do – rather than bogging down in legal action. We kept him out months, you follow the money trail, they kept quiet and hoped we wouldn’t sue, and the district “amazingly” found a previously non-existing opening elsewhere. Some folks blissfully don’t experience this part of the “Laurie James” show. Perhaps you are one of them. That’s a good thing. But many of us know her for the monster she is. It’s up to you if you use this feedback to protect your kid(s), or not.
So—are you saying that your first grader was “abused” by another first grader who called him a name and didn’t want to his friend any longer? Should the police have been called? Brentwood needs to hire more officers.
No! The “friend” was the principal. She falsely took him into her confidence. Too much to explain but this was an ongoing and serious issue with James and certain staff. Speaking from experience and not opinion.
Thanks, yes, I should have made that clear. She betrayed his confidence and trust. She knew this, and did it anyway.
“Early retirement”. That is one thing that should stop. She should have been fired the first time and never ever should retirement be given as a way to get rid of them. Giving them their retirement means you folks are on the hook for her the rest of her life and that is no punishment. Anyone, no matter their profession who has broken the law should ever get “early retirement.” That includes military, police….any profession.
She is fantastic with the kids at LV. Currently she is working as an administrator and not a teacher, her job is to ensure safety at a basic level.
“Based on internal investigation and the discussion between the teacher and the parent, the Principal did not inform anyone in District Administration or law enforcement about the incident.” -Doug Adams
She didn’t call anyone? This is a violation of the LAW! CA has mandated reporter laws for a reason.
Myk Mills, you can read HER deposition from the past case, her own words, where she admitted to violating CA Mandated Reporting laws.
Trust is a sacred thing when children are involved, how many chances do you get? How many times to get it right when a child’s safety is at risk?
Correction. It is not Mr. Adams. It is Dr. Adams. And as sad as I am that this happened please know that as teachers we are just as upset as any member of the community
The issue here is mandated reporting. If you wait 10 days to report, kinda impedes an investigation by the police. That gives you 10 days to get your story straight. I’m not questioning the outcome of the police investigation, or the actions of the teacher, nor denying what was seen by the parent… but that is why the law requires reporting. An administrator is not given unilateral authority to conduct their own investigation, especially one that impedes law enforcement or CFS.
A very little known fact that the Special Ed class is not a part of Loma Vista. The special Ed teachers have a separate “boss” that they report to who works out of the DO. Those teachers do not report to Laurie James. Loma Vista receives no financial incentives for housing special Ed at their school either. It was decided when the school was built that special ed would be housed there. It’s my understanding that these incidences get reported to the head of special Ed (as they should) and not directly to Mrs James which causes a lag in the reporting process. Unfortunately, people speak out without having all the facts and want someone to blame. Mrs. James ends up being the punching bag and the head of special Ed flies under the radar in the public eye… Not fair. Mrs James is an amazing leader and does her job very well. Special Ed needs to get their act together…. BTW, the report was “unfounded” by the police. There was NO wrong doing by anyone at that school. The teacher was dealing with the child in a way that is agreed upon by teachers and parents in Special Ed. Why would anyone need to report anything? Laurie James is living under a microscope after the last incident that the Special Ed dept mishandled in my opinion.
Mandated reporting is the issue. Any mandated reporter has to report to the police. Simple as that. To protect the kids and the adults involved. A parent saw what she felt was the inappropriate handling of the situation and reported it to the principle. Even if the principle is not the special Ed teacher’s boss, she is still a mandated reporter. It would have allowed the police to investigate right away and sent a message that procedures are in place to handle possible abuse. The delay looks bad and damages the reputation of the school and the administration.
Amy – According to Lauri James testimony on the Dina Holder case, she was in charge and still is in charge of the special needs program at the Loma Vista site since 2009. From her testimony:
Here is an excerpt – please feel free to read the entire testimony. https://eastcountytoday.net/busd-lauri-james-deposition-transcript/
“And then the district also chimed in behind me 11:02
11 and said yes, you will be the direct supervisor of this
12 program and the people teaching in it, because when they
13 first landed on my site, I was not, I was just a house
14 for them to operate out of, I wasn’t, it was not under
15 my jurisdiction in any way. 11:02
16 Q. Okay. So in the ’08/’09 school year, the
17 program and the people in it came under your
18 supervision?
19 A. That’s correct.
20 (Whereupon, Pages 65 to 116 were designated 11:03
21 confidential and bound separately.)”
This recent episode is exactly why the district begin training on the mandated reporting. Regardless if the incident turned out to be unfounded, Lauri James is mandated to report this to the authorities and her district office. I would imagine that since she is still under a microscope that she would use this incident to allow for independent investigation (either from the police or district office) regarding these matters. This is not Lauri first incident of not reporting to the authorities, she needs to be removed as principal of Loma Vista.
Actually, regardless of who the boss is…. a mandated reporter is a mandated reporter. No where in the law does it say “your mandated only if your the boss of….”
Know that there are two separate “Amy’s” here… not the same post by the same person!
One can only report what one has been informed of. The observing teacher/assistant waited three days to tell the mandated reporter… Bottom line is the Special Ed students need special care and deserve special care. They are clearly not getting what they need from these awful teachers. The head of Special Ed needs to come out from under a rock and do something about this.
I don’t even know why this has been made public until the whole investigation has been completed. It is just like the Education field to abuse a school individual, teacher, teacher’s aid, councelor, secretary, prinicipal… the whole education field is under a microscope and you can believe one of the worse witnesses is a parent who truly feels what they see and then what they say is 101% correct. As a retired teacher who, just before retirement had this happen to me, reported by a fellow teacher on campus. The whole mess was a total misunderstanding with special interest involved! LUCKILY, it did not go public before it was found to be a total overblown mistake… So, for all you out there throwing stones, check your glass house first, I am sure you are all just perfect, have never made a mistake, have never over-reacted. To call for a full dismissal, firing and not allow retirement… really, check your laundry. NO one was hurt, no criminal acts have been broken or proven broken but you are all passing judgement, that makes you worse than this administrator. Lighten up smell the roses and reach out a helping hand to someone in need if needed instead of throwing an anchor to a drowning person
I have know Lauri James for her entire 30 years of dedication to the children in Brentwood. I am sickened to think that people actually think she doesn’t care. She does! She is one of the most dedicated and inspirational educators that I’ve ever known.
It sounds like there are a group of parents out to get her.
Sometimes, what a parent thinks they are observing, might not be what the reality is. Talking to the people involved and other witnesses before CPS and the police are called should be the protocol. If a child is a biter or a kicker or one who tries to run away, the teacher may need to restrain the child, for their safety or the safety of others.
It is just horrible that a woman who has dedicated her life to children is being judged and accused without investigation by parents eager to find something wrong.
As a mandatory reporter, should I be calling 911 every time I see a parent grab their child, spank them or yell at them in the grocery store? You don’t know how many times I’ve had to bite my lip not to say something to a parent in the store. I don’t believe in spanking and it certainly has no place at school, but sometimes a teacher does need to firmly hold a child who is out of control.
Please, don’t let this linch mob trample a wonderful educator. It’s just not right.
The fact is that there was a series of incidents under Lauri James watch that were not reported according to the LAW established by the State of California. These incidents resulted in a lawsuit against the district. Right, wrong or indifferent, here we are again and the reporting requirements have not been followed (even after recent training). Ms. James was disciplined by the district for failing in her reporting requirements within the last few months. And yet – there appears to be another incident of the reporting law and standard SOP (as set forth by the district) not being followed. This has nothing to do with Lauri James’s ability to care and love the children at Loma Vista. This has everything to do with the failure to not follow the rules and procedures set forth by the State of California and the Brentwood Union School District.
As a mandated reporter who has taken the training, I would think that you (as a retired BUSD teacher) would be familiar with the following section of your mandated reporter training – here is the text from a training module –
California law states that a mandated reporter must make a report “whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect.
2 – A reasonable suspicion “means that it is objectively reasonable for a person to entertain a suspicion, based upon facts that could cause a reasonable person in a like position, drawing, when appropriate, on his or her training and experience, to suspect child abuse or neglect.
3 – Simply put, you must report abuse according to the law if you, in your capacity as a teacher discover, or reasonably suspect child abuse has occurred.
Please note, that just because you become a mandated reporter under the law does not mean that you must report any and all incidents of abuse or neglect you stumble upon. You are still a private citizen in your day-to-day life, and as such, your moral values can dictate when you make a report to authorities. However, when you are acting within your capacity, you must report any knowledge of abuse or neglect you discover in the line of duty.
For example, teachers are mandated reporters. If a teacher discovers suspicious bruises on his infant nephew, he is not legally mandated to report it to authorities. However, if he discovers the same bruises on a pupil, he must. The question turns on whether the abuse was discovered in one’s professional capacity (or within the scope of one’s employment). Abuse or neglect discovered within your private life is not subject to the legal requirements for reporting; however, abuse or neglect discovered within your capacity as a mandated reporter is. If you have any doubt about your need to report abuse or neglect, talk with your supervisor and he/she will be able to steer you in the right direction.
2. Reporting Abuse is Your Responsibility
So, if you become aware of abuse or neglect while working, you must report it. Discussing the matter with your supervisor does not mean that you have satisfied your reporting requirement. This basically means that you bear the burden of ensuring that the official report gets made, and that your report complies with the requirements the law, specifically Penal Code § 11166.
So—-any parent who makes a complaint about the way a teacher talks to or touches an out of control child should trigger a call to police or CPS without any investigation about the allegation?
And—how nice to know that I can ignore obvious abuse by a relative. Too bad all adults are not mandatory reporters. Nothing should have stopped a really concerned parent from making her own phone call. I hope the city is planning to hire more police officers.
You are being completely unreasonable. She is an administrator charged with the safety if hundreds of children. Her “investigative” skills are in question and parents are scared. Although I’m sure she’s a lovely woman, I don’t want her investigating possible child abuse. I have knots in my stomach every day when I leave three kids under her care, including one who is non verbal. As a teacher you should understand at a basic level the fear some parents have that James appears to always side with parents and that a call is never warranted. She should have been cautious and called to file a report, I would have been so relieved! Until parents believe their children are safe we will have a problem.
Pardon me, I meant sides with “teachers” not parents.
Retired BUSD Teacher – I just want to point out that you changed the constructs of your argument because you didn’t like my response. You state that you bite your lip while you watch parents spank, grab or hit their children. And should you, as a mandated reporter, report this behavior. You think not.
I provide you with clarification that in your capacity as a teacher, within the confines of your workplace are mandated by LAW to report abuse. There is not one place within the law that says you are first to do your own investigation.
After I point this out, your argument changes that “too bad all adults are not mandated reporters”. Again, I fall back to its a mandated reporting requirement if in your capacity as a teacher abuse is suspected. Not pick and choose which direction you want to go. And quite frankly, if I had just been disciplined and put on admin leave just under two months ago, had to under go retraining on mandated reporting and felt the sting of community backlash regarding my part in a abuse lawsuit – to quote my Grandfather, ” I sure as shit would of crossed my t’s and dotted my i’s”. (Pardon the swear word, old school military)
I am not questioning Lauri James love and dedication. I am questioning her ability to follow the rules as set forth by LAW and SOP from the district. Her inability to follow these procedures leads to the conclusion that she is not the right fit to contine to be an affective principal at Loma Vista.
Concerned mom, I agree with you. You have articulated your points clearly. Retired teacher, not so much. Your opinions are just that. My concerns with Ms James are NOT opinions or bias, they are first hand experiences with her involving my child!! I am seeing enough dislike towards this principal from parents who have dealt with her and if the super does his job right the allegations in question will be founded and she will be fired!! Plain and simple. This is not a popularity contest! This is about the facts and if you are doing your job right! She clearly is NOT!
If I, as an educator, suspect abuse I am required by law to report that suspicion. Second-hand information DOES warrant investigation of some sort. From the police investigation, it appears that the parent did not see an abusive teacher. Mrs. James came to that conclusion after her investigation of the situation. I guess she should have called the police even though she did not suspect abuse. She wouldn’t be in this situation if she had. SAD
I’m sorry that you didn’t recognize some of my sarcasm. Abuse is abuse and yes, child abuse, if suspected, should be reported by all, including relatives, neighbors and friends. We are a “Village” and it DOES take all of us to raise a child. If the parent was sure she was witnessing abuse, she should have called 911.
You’re right, we wouldn’t be here if she just called. But, we have an administrator with a philosophical disagreement with mandated reporting. Parents don’t trust her judgement, she knew this. She should have called until she earned trust back. Just one call would have really done wonders with me, and went a long way.
But…here we are…again! Her 10 day investigation sided with a teacher (the teacher did nothing wrong) and no one outside of LV even knew about it? She should have called and helped bridge the gap.
Calling the police does not mean the allegations are immediately found true. The police make their own determination. By not calling them she deprived the family of their services. She is not the police. She does not have their training, to replace their evaluation skills. The accusations of violent behavior both inflicted and invoked merit evaluation by trained police investigators. That is the basis of the suspension, I suspect. Instead she made a judgement call – contrary to the request of her supervisor – and she’s already been disciplined for poor judgement. Parents and her own supervisor do not have faith in her judgement. Frankly I think this makes her unable to perform her duties, and if this was the private sector she would have been fired already.
She has made her bed, it’s a mess, and if you still have kids at Loma Vista, you’re stuck laying in it, too.
Retired Teacher – I understand the sarcastic nature (believe me, I do) And I agree that we need to act like we live in a community. If there was an emergency or any situation – I would look out for my fellow man/woman/child as if they were part of my family. If I see something at my daughter’s school that is an issue between the kids – I call it out (even if mine aren’t involved). And yes, if I were in the same situation as the parent who thought that they witnessed abuse, I would like to think that I would walk over and try to immediately find out what is going on. Some people aren’t like that – some people don’t say anything after watching years of trauma. That is why we have these laws.
I think that even if Lauri James called the district on 5/6/13 (as soon as she found out) and asked for someone else to do an investigation that would of been acceptable. It is very difficult to earn back the trust of parents once is has been lost, and quite frankly, if she would of gone the extra mile there wouldn’t be such massive WTF is going on moment.
Mom – I hear you, I honestly do. And you are not the first parent that I have run into that has the same concerns or has had incredibly negative interactions with Lauri James. I, personally, have not. So, I can’t speak to anything of that nature. I cannot imagine the hurt in your heart or the hurt that you feel for your child – I have no words.
Thank you for your honesty. Being understood and respected is hard to come by these days. My family has mostly taken criticism from ignorant people tight with the school district that think teachers and administrators can do no wrong. It’s very frustrating. Luckily we got out of the situation and found help for our son. We did discover some wonderful teachers along the way! It’s just too bad that he was not able to experience a typical childhood for K-5 and grow up with the same school friends etc. Lauri James is responsible for this by flat out refusing to accommodate his needs, as he didn’t fit her cookie cutter mold for regular OR special education services. Instead he was bounced all over the place. Luckily he’s an intelligent boy and able to overcome a lot of the BS that was flung our way.
Lauri James is a decent, honest person who has dedicated her life to education. Please let the cards fall into place before casting judgement.
I am not in agreement with this teacher’s behavior. However, teachers today face so many issues that the teachers in the 50, 60, and the 70’s didn’t. For one thing they did not have 35+ kids in their class. The students respected their teachers and we were given swats by the principle if we ever got out of line. Today parents drop their kids off at school with no breakfast, they expect the teachers to be respectful to their children despite the children kicking them, name calling, biting, bringing weapons to school. Parents don’t take any time with their kids today. But boy if you say anything to their child, they are going to sue you! So before you hang this teacher why not find out the real facts! It is a scary and dangerous job to be a school teacher in today’s times. Parents need to teach their children how to respect teachers, police officers and other adults. Had I misbehaved at school and received a spanking, my mother would of said, “well I hope you learned a lesson” ! I never did anything in school and never would of dreamed to say anything disrespectful to my teachers. Their are always two sides to the story.
Lauri James is the best, most caring Principal I have dealt with! Three of my five kids attended Loma Vista, as district lines changed for the third I requested a transfer so he could remain there. Ms. James is the one who makes this school so special. On many occasions she has gone ‘above and beyond’ what should be expected. I should mention all of my kids are special needs students. Seeing her reputation trashed online based on an incomplete investigation breaks my heart.
I’d just like to provide an update for all concerned parents. The principle and teacher in this case were determined to be innocent of the charges and taken off of administrative leave today. I just want to add, I’ve met so many teachers in this district. They are dedicated professionals who really deserve the benefit of the doubt. Please let the school districts do their jobs before casting judgement and hurting the professional reputations of the teachers. Yes, mandated reporting is their obligation. Let them report, conduct investigations and inform the public of their findings. These educators really want to work with children and their parents to provide the best possible education with very limited resources. They deserve your support.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-times/ci_23303376/brentwood-loma-vista-teacher-cleared-child-abuse-complaint
Warm Regards,
Carissa
Well glad to hear it. I have so much respect for our teachers. I have helped in my grand children’s classes before and like I said they have a hard job. With all the cuts and large classes I am sure their job can be quite stressful. Having said that I have never witnessed a teacher lose control or behave in a manner that would cause reporting. Gossip travels fast and I don’t think people understand how devastating it can be for someone’s career. I am sure the teacher will be found innocent too. But no one will talk about that!
A correction to my above post: Lauri James has not been cleared quite yet, but the teacher was exonerated. Thank you for posting the update, Burk.
After reading the deposition, all the articles and comments, I see that regardless of what any of the investigations outcomes might be, parents have already made up their mind on Mrs. James. The police report has shown that this was not child abuse. A principle gets so many reports from parents, teachers and children and reporting every single one to the police would be overkill. You might as well have a police officer be the principal in that case.
Training seems to be an issue here by the district and a lack of clarity on the SOP’s.
I think that it is quite unfair that Mrs. James is taking all the blame for everything that has happened here. There is practically no mention of the director of special ED here. Even if Mrs. James were to come back, the environment would not be the same and she would likely not be able to do her job as she would be under a microscope even more so now (imagine you doing your job under that pressure). Additionally, I am almost certain that she has parents that regardless of the investigation, will be unhappy and try to perhaps set her up to fail.
It is sad that Loma Vista is under a microscope now and that people are focusing on the negatives. I definitely respect everyone’s opinions on here and I hope mine is respected as well. I will have to form my opinion on the facts of the case, the results of the court, the police reports as well as the District investigation and so far I would not agree that Mrs. James has shown to be incompetent in her role as a Principle of Loma Vista.
I hope that once the report is complete that we can move on from this and begin to recover so that we as parents and teachers can focus on education once again and teach the 3 R’s: Respect, Responsibility and Resiliency.
Its funny how the parents of the child in question had no issue with the teacher and sent her a thank you card for handling of the situation. People are so quick to react and judge and everyone jumps on the band wagon where is the persons name who brought all these accusations you where so quick to release everybody else’s name and brand them.If she was so sure why didn’t she call 911. She waited 10 days to report it to the school board. How did that look.. Mandated reporting laws are there t protect the children as well as the teacher, thee is no fine line definition that says you do this if that happens. Its a reasonable expectation and look how it came out nothing founded by Brentwood PD . Has anyone apologized to the teacher for falsely accusing her? Of course not….Its sad….. the whole thing is just sad…….
[…] you recall, Brentwood Union School District Interim Superintendent Doug Adams placed James on administrative leave after a May 16 incident where she failed to report an incident in a timely manner and was investigating whether or not she […]
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