Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Friday, November 30, 2007

Jenna Hermann & Sex Abuse Charges At Pittsville Elementary


Letter To The Editor:

Joe:

Please feel free to inquire about this information but my sources have shared this information with me regarding the incident at Pittsville this week.

The SU student involved is not considered a "teacher's assistant" as was shared in the paper, news, and on your blog. Yes, she did "assist" in the classroom but many people may be confused because the WCBOE employs many staff under the title "teacher's assistant". These staff members are full time benefitted employees who have met all of the legal qualifications set forth by the state and WCBOE. The two should not be confused.

The SU student is considered a "Block C" student as determined by the education dept. at SU. This means that she spends 1 full day per week in the school to observe a teacher and teaches a few lessons in preparation for student teaching the following semester. She has gone through Block A and Block B where they just observe teachers and begin to spend time in schools. This usually begins their first year in the education dept. Block C students are nearing their end of their degree and usually just have to student teach.

In times when the education systems across the US have unfortunate situations like this occur, this is one instance where the local school system could do little to prevent it. SU is accountable for its students but in this case, it is hard to prevent unless previous situations occurred at other schools. From what I have been told, background checks are not done for prospective teaching candidates at the university. Not sure of the legalities of this but maybe this should be done. This may or may not have prevented this unfortunate event.

As always, you provide a great service to the public and I am sure that this information will never be found in the "mainstream media". Please feel free to share.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another I did not know... teachers in Wicomico County are not subject to drug testing.

Anonymous said...

I know for a fact that there is a policy for school bus drivers. Not sure about the teachers but I am sure that if there is a problem where a teacher appears to be under the influence, a test could be conducted.

Now if we could only get the students tested!

WatchfulEye said...

It is true that student teachers are not background tested, nor drug tested. The only test they need is either a negative TB test or a Chest X-ray (if they had a positive PPD). It can take months for the fingerprints to come back fron CJIS and the FBI. It is also expensive, about $42.00 per background check. It is something worth thinking about.

Anonymous said...

This info was incorrect. This student was in the classroom everyday as a student intern, not one day a week.

joe albero said...

If you want ANY credibility, use your name at the end. If not, your comment is worthless. It could be anybody out there making such a statement just to stir the pot. I allowed it this time but unless you want to back it up with proof, to me, it's useless.

Anonymous said...

There seems to be conflicting information as I heard today that this person was not an intern, just a methods student. From my experiences, a method student only comes once or twice a week which supports the initial story.

Anonymous said...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE IT IS NOT ABOUT HOW MANY DAYS SHE WORKED OR WHAT SCHOOL SHE ATTENTED OR EVEN IF THE BOE DOES A BACKGROUND CHECK THIS WOMEN HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THIS TO THIS OR ANY OTHER CHILD. I AGREE WITH THE STATEMENT ABOUT THE PARENTS, STEP UP TO THE PLATE MOTHERS AND FATHERS

Anonymous said...

Who cares what she was, method, intern, student teacher, teachers aide, none of that is relevant. What is relevant is the fact that she had sex with a minor child. As far as I know it is called statuatory rape. Why wasn't she charged with that on top of all the other charges? She's a pig, plain and simple. If she were my daughter she would be disowned. She made her bed now let her lie in it. She really isn't much better than the animal that raped the 8 month old baby.

Donna

Anonymous said...

I don't care how often she's in the classroom. If she's having sex with students, she's got a problem and needs to be out of there for life!

And with all due respect to some commenters here I respect, the jokes about "where were all these hot young ones when I was a teen boy" convey a double standard that encourages this sort of thing.

As long as our boys are encouraged to "get laid" as soon as they can and as often as they can and it's a "rite of passage," then there's an implied permission for this kind of thing to be "okay."

And where there are boys "gettin' some," guess who their "gettin' it" with? Yep, those teen girls who happen to be our daughters whose only support is, "Now honey, just say no."

Think about the boys 8 and 9 in Marietta, GA, arrested for raping an 11-year-old girl. What are we promoting here?

C'mon, folks. I'm no prude, but can you see the conflicts we're creating for our kids? Can't we do better than this?

Anonymous said...

Why does it matter how many times a week a person is in a classroom with children. I dont care if you deliver the mail to my childs school, you should have a background check. This is just sick.

Chimera said...

Unless required by DOT drivers or law enforcement jobs,drug tests are a terrible invasion of privacy.If an adult teacher wants to smoke weed in their own home thats their business.Lets worry a little more about the perverts we are letting get close to our kids.

Anonymous said...

I banged a student teacher at Bennett my senior year. (Very Recently). It's not really that big a deal, I know a few people who've had sex with student teachers.

Anonymous said...

Donna, You equate some horny teenager getting some from a teacher to the rape of a baby? I think your way out there!

Anonymous said...

Wow. Where were all of these hotties when I was in school?

Anonymous said...

You know, the trooper shagged one of these student teacher types back in the day. She was twenty-one, I being a just a few days north of sixteen. By the letter of the law, I suppose I was violated. I gotta say that the trist was one of the sweetest violations I could think of. And I do mean SCHWEEEET!

Anonymous said...

Did she get accused of drug use?? I had not heard anything about that?

Chimera said...

Sooper,were you "scarred" for life?
My own husband,at 16,had a married 23 yr old girlfriend picking him up from school for "trysts".Its not like that is an isolated situation either-young guys are horndogs.I dont know what an adult female sees in a 14 yr old but I have no doubt he is still bragging about it.

Anonymous said...

Jenna Hermann is in one of my classes at SU. I am in the same education program that she is in. She is the classroom for 1 full day a week. This is still considered part of the education department's "internship". Yes i know.. it's sick.. I agree.. also I know she is innocent until proven guilty-America the land of the free

Anonymous said...

the 14 y.o. probably is still bragging about it & how special is he for taking the pics & making them public? while I certainly don't condone this behavior from anyone(doesn't have to be a teach)the boy didn't say no or resist..."Wait a sec while i take a picture"... surely he could overpower her at 14 y.o....unless he's a real wimp. To my mind he didn't do anything he didn't want to do.
Wonder if he'll have any trouble getting anyone to go out with him cause he kisses & tells & takes pictures yet.
Maybe next time he'll be raped by a big burley 14 y.o. basketball player. What then? Would he be "consenting?"