Quote:
Originally posted by Anon Parent
I told my friend that this needs to be told to the parent, it needs to be reported to the police, and they need to do something about this assistant who is inappropriately rough with the children.
|
You've received feedback on the law enforcement reporting issue, but not on the -- more important -- parental reporting issue. I think you are correct in your instinct that the school's (and your friend's) handling of the matter is something that will make a difference not only to the parents of the student who was directly involved, but also to other parents, who need to have confidence that the school will not cover up questionable incidents.
How your friend needs to respond depends to some extent on what her role is with respect to the child. I can't tell from your post whether she is the child's regular classroom teacher, an assistant in the classroom, a pullout teacher, or in some other role. If she is the classroom teacher, for instance, I think she has a responsibility to the parents to make sure that the school seriously investigates the incident, determines what happened, determines whether the (other) teacher's behavior was inappropriate, determines whether this is a continuing pattern with that teacher (and, if so, what needs to be done about it), and reports all of that to the parents. Even if your friend's connection to the student and the incident is more attenuated, it still may be the right thing to do to keep a fire lit under the investigation, both because your friend was falsely accused, and because of her suspicions that there may be a pattern of inappropriate behavior.
