Criminals teaching your children?

By Eileen Lehpamer

  It's kind of amazing when you start to research the issue: Could "criminals" really be teaching your children in school?

First, you'd say, no, the school districts wouldn't allow it.

But then, explore further, and you realize the districts are really in the dark about the full extent of a teacher's background when they hire them.

Why? It's the law.

Yes. It is.

So, let me backtrack. I started researching this after covering the arraignment for an East Setauket gym teacher arrested for allegedly brutally raping a bartender in Mount Sinai. Guilty or not of this rape, Michael Wachholder has prior arrests for harassment and disorderly conduct, as well as a misdemeanor conviction from 12 years ago for Driving While Impaired.

The Three Village School District issued a statement saying: "Before being hired by Three Village, and in compliance with New York State Law, the district had been provided clearance by the State Education Department ..."

So here's how it works:

A school district wants to hire a teacher. They take the teacher's fingerprints and send them to the State. The State Department of Criminal Justice Services will do a background check, and then provide that information to the State Education Department. The State Education Department will then review past arrests, and past minor convictions and determine if that potential candidate should be eligible for hire.

Tom Dunn, a spokesman for the State Education Department says violations, which are the least serious class of criminal offense, are not considered in background checks for education jobs. Misdemeanors do not automatically disqualify an applicant either".

Districts will then get a simple letter that reads a candidate has either been "fingerprint cleared for employment" or not. There is no "rap sheet", no rundown of all convictions. The District therefore, does not make it's own determination.

As in the case of Wachholder, the Three Village School District says it got a clearance letter.

Dr. Ronald Friedman, the head of the Nassau County Superintendents' Council, says it happens all the time. He calls it "frustrating", and says the law needs to be changed, so that Districts can see all the information and make it's own decision.

Civil libertarians will no doubt have another view, but when it comes to parents, they want a "role model" for their children. For most, that means no arrests, and definitely no convictions.

What do you think?

Comments

[Chad]

Eileen, thank you for always providing reports with content, not just fluff like I see too much of. I learned alot -- Thanks, Chad (concerned father of 2)

[Jake]

I want to know why New12 has not visited Mike Keeler to get his take on what happened. We're all concerned that a teacher as hired. Look at your schools people, many of the teacher's shouldn't be there. There was an incident as Arrowhead with the teachers on myspace with beer in their hands mocking the school. Nothing happened. Do't rock the boat. Anyway Michael Keeler or Port Jefferson Station's picture and address were posted in town and I'm told in Rocky Point, Miller Place and East Setauket. Who is he and why isn't anybody putting his name out there. He's just as guilty. Come on News 12 let all know who this guy is and what he's done as he if he did not commit the crime, he didn't care that it was happening.

[K.Hoehmann]

Thank you for your report. I am a computer teacher at Smithtown Christian School. A large portion of our 7th grade curriculum is an intergration of computer skills with research online preditors. Many of the students and parents were aware of this story and were very concerned. People could not understand how this man was hired. I am glad you exposed the truth. I will be bringing your blog to read in class. There are a number of lessons to be learned from this. Thank you.

[getosama]

drug test these teachers and you'll eliminate the bad apples. too many schools are known as pharmacies on long island. it's amazing that someone with multiple arrests is in a position requiring high integrity. i don't associate with people who find themselves in handcuffs on numerous occasions, why should our kids?

[Maria]

Are you kidding me? His prior record from when he was younger should not have dictated if he was or was not hired.
My children were taught by him, and I will say that he was an amazing, and caring teacher. I myself, am a teacher,and perhaps because of that fact, I am very critical of my children's teachers.
He was one that I never had an issue with.
He has not even been convicted of anything yet.
What about all the teachers that have been convicted of horrendous acts on their students? Too me that is far more disturbing. And yet, I do not recall seeing a blog on here when those crimes occurred.

[Debbie]

Well, it has not been known that the district has had any problems with Wachholder, so we should thank God for that. When it comes to teaching children, the educator should have an impecable record to avoid any possible situations. After all, there is no gamble when dealing with children. Debbie

[John]

Whoa, there. "Innocent until proven guilty" is to protect US, including those children you're trying to protect. Otherwise, you're shipping them off to the pokey as soon as someone says they trespassed or shoplifted. I don't know about you, but I have enough of politicians adding to the hoops I have to jump through and the delegation of authority to private corporations who, thank you, ARE allowed to consider us guilty until we prove our innocence (ever had a problem with your automotive insurance?).

(Perhaps you'd also like us all to report on one another to the government, "just to be safe." Maybe we could all wear some snazzy brown shirts, while we're at it, and blame some successful minority group for the country's ills.)

I'm going to be completely honest, here, and say that teaching isn't hard. You don't need years of training to teach a room full of kids how to read and do math (and yes, I do sometimes teach), and yet we dump trillions of dollars a year into failing at that very task.

And we're so concerned about "protecting" the kids that they completely and utterly fail as soon as they're faced with the real world, because they're unable to take any responsibility for themselves. Rather than inventing, creating, and leading, they're answering phones, binge drinking, and wishing they could "hit it big."

Again, I absolutely do not believe that criminal history is a non-issue, of course, but I also don't believe that we should be encasing kids in plastic because, as parents, we're afraid of taking direct responsibility for making them whole people.

Something I don't see mentioned or asked in any of this coverage, by the way: Did East Setauket ever have a problem with Wachholder?

[SUSAN L.RUDNICK]

THERE MUST BE STRICTER GUIDELINES PUT INTO PLACE TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN.IT IS UNTHINKABLE WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THIS MAN HAD BEEN WITH A YOUNGER STUDENT.I'M DISGUSTED BY THE MENTALITY THAT THE CRIMINAL IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.OUR CHILDREN WON'T GET A SECOND CHANCE IF CRIMINALS LIKE THIS MAN ARE ALLOWED TO TEACH IN OUR SCHOOLS!WHERE ARE OUR PRIORITIES? A WELL QUALIFIED EDUCATOR SHOULDNT COME CHEAP ! WE MUST BE WILLING TO PAY FOR DECENT LAW ABIDING CITIZENS TO EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN.NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS. PERIOD!SUSAN L.RUDNICK

[Rich Carey]

Are you people kiding. There is no way the state should have a say in weather a school can hire an ex-con or convicted criminal. I't cannot be allowed at all !!! There are plenty of good people looking for great and fullfilling jobs. The schools sould have all the info. that they need to make the best chose. The kids come first not the criminals !

[James]

Prisons don't rehabilitate people. We all know that. We sent people to prison to get them off the streets. We certainly don't want them in our classrooms.

[John]

The knee-jerk reaction is "shoot the (insert your favorite pluralized expletive here," of course.

However, the prison system is supposed to rehabilitate the convicted. If we don't believe this, then we shouldn't bother sending people to prison. If we do believe it, maybe we should trust ex-cons.

Additionally, back in the day of the one-room schoolhouse, teaching was an unappealing career and many teachers were, in fact, ex-cons. That's back when kids weren't locked into school buildings and yet literacy rates were as near 100% as anybody has ever reported.

I'm not saying that we should recruit criminals to teach kids, of course, but I thought it was pretty interesting that they were once the only people willing to do the job and were far more successful than "No Child Left Behind."