 | | 03-23-2005, 12:07 PM |
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Joined: Dec 2004
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| Teacher Charged With Spitting...On A Student
Quote:
Teacher is charged with spitting on boy
By Alexa Aguilar and William Lamb
Of the Post-Dispatch
03/22/2005
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...2?OpenDocument
It was the spit - not the spat - that got preschool teacher Nancy Jo Kuehn fired Tuesday.
Kuehn, 43, also has been charged with battery in connection with accusations that she spit on a 5-year-old child at La Petite Academy in O'Fallon, Ill.
"Basically, our investigation into the incident revealed that some children were engaged in spitting on each other," said Sgt. Eric Van Hook of the O'Fallon police. "And Nancy Kuehn interjected, and an act which she said was an act of discipline to correct the situation turned out to be a bad decision."
Van Hook added: "She asked one of the boys involved to spit back on the 5-year-old. And when he didn't want to do it, she made an action with her mouth simulating spitting and some of her saliva may have inadvertently struck the 5-year-old. She indicated it was inadvertent. The juvenile's mother felt it could have been deliberate and felt that, either way, it was not appropriate."
Kuehn was a nine-year employee of La Petite, part of a chain of child-care centers throughout the country. Karen Craven, a spokeswoman for the company, said Kuehn's termination doesn't necessarily mean the company's internal investigation proved Kuehn purposely spat on the boy.
Regardless, Craven said, the teacher wasn't operating to the company's standards. "Right or wrong, guilty or innocent, that trust that parents have has been undermined," Craven said.
Kuehn wasn't available for comment Tuesday.
Craven said that all the teachers at La Petite had taken early-childhood college courses and that the company's policies were listed in handbooks. "We don't condone any kind of spitting" in a classroom, she said.
"We were stunned," said Craven, "because of the stellar reputation of this teacher and the school. But right or wrong, it doesn't matter. The question is whether we could keep this teacher at La Petite and still maintain our reputation."
On Friday afternoon, the boy's grandmother picked him up at La Petite Academy and was told about the alleged spitting incident. She took the boy to the O'Fallon Police Department to file a complaint but was told that the complaint would have to be filed by the child's legal guardian. Later that afternoon, the boy returned to the police station with his mother.
The boy's mother complained that Kuehn, of the 300 block of Edna Drive in O'Fallon, spat on her child, apparently after the boy had spat on one or more of his classmates.
Later Friday, Kuehn went to the O'Fallon Police Department to give her own account. She said that she had been trying to discipline the boy for spitting and that, in doing so, she made a spitting motion with her mouth and may have inadvertently spit on the boy, police said.
Following an investigation, Kuehn was charged Monday with one count of simple battery, a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail or a fine of up to $2,500, Van Hook said.
She was released after being given a notice to appear in court on May 18.
|  Gross! The teacher is either a) sick b) has no common sense c) All of the above. She either needs help or at least get a year in the slammer. |
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