Teacher Accused

Chapter I

How We Met

There were quite a few times in the late 1960’s into the early 70’s when I frequented a certain bar near Stanton, Pennsylvania at the Valmont Mall. The name was Barrels Whiskey and Rhyme, or better known as the Barrels.

It seemed most of the patrons there were in their early twenties and generally were there on a Friday night.

Friday was the night when the college people came home to visit family and friends. It was the night when the guys would check out the available choice of the opposite sex. This of course took getting our buddies’ approval when we spotted an attraction. Do you know that one over there, the one with the long blonde hair? One guy would ask. The other one or two friends standing there might know her brother, or might know her friend, or even something about her. On occasion, the girls may even come toward us if she knew one of your friends. If you were fast and bold enough to get the conversation started after the introduction, you were then undertaking a new relationship.

A guy and a girl may speak to each other about nothing except useless information for two to three hours. After that time one or both of you may have a good enough judge of character to decide if you wanted it to go further. The newfound relationship might go on a few more evenings, or it may be as close as spending some time together in the near future during the day.

Generally speaking, on saturday night at the Barrels, it seemed there were more couples than singles. However, we, the boys, would show up for a while just to check things out, and then we would leave and go somewhere else.

Another busy time was Monday night. That was a night when the real partiers were out. It was mostly the locals who couldn’t get enough of the bar scene and weren’t afraid to face the next morning. I happened to be one of them.

My name is Stephen. I married Susan Connor Brennan, who I met at the Barrels, in May of 1972. A friend of mine, Jim O’Hara, introduced us. Actually, he was friends with both of us, that is, Susan and me. I talked with her for a while one night, and then again a few nights afterward.

It was summer vacation from college for Susan, and my nights out after my job at Metrics Power Supply Co. We started spending more and more time together. One day one of my friends said, Hey Steve, you’d do anything to get a free ticket to the movies. At the time I didn’t know what that meant, until I learned that her family owned the Brennan Theater chain since the 1930’s and they were spread over three states.

Anyway, we started seeing each other for the entire summer. Our first actual date was on the tennis court at the Clareville Elementary School on Grove Street. I didn’t know the first thing about tennis and I don’t think we ever played it again in thirty-nine years and three kids later.

I frequently visited her at Mansfield College in Mansfield, Pa., where she was securing an education degree in early childhood education and special education. I probably saw her every other weekend, and she came home on other weekends. There were times I owned two cars, and I would give her one to take back to school so she could come home the following weekend. Other times she would take her family’s car, the yellow Challenger. She loved the Challenger!

When I met her parents they were not too sure of me, because first of all I came from a back woods coal mining family, and second I wasn’t Irish. My parents were polish, which in those days was a challenge in itself. There was once a comment made by her mom that I was like a new cut diamond, rough around the edges, but I had that certain glow about me.

Having dinner during the times I was invited to their house was like dressing for a special occasion for me, like church, or a wedding. It was sport coat and tie. When her mom cooked the food it was always the father’s job to cut the meat and serve it. They served very little portions and I always felt guilty going back for seconds. All in all, it was always a new experience to have dinner at her parents.

Then, it was a completely different experience having dinner at my house. It wasn’t London broil and sweet potatoes, and it wasn’t exactly steak tar tare.

No, it was pork chops and homemade mashed potatoes. Desert was a piece of homemade cake on special occasions. The pork chops were all cooked the same, like shoe leather. We drank mostly tap water with our meals.

My father sat down first, as my mother put big bowls of potatoes, vegetables and the heap of pork chops in the middle of the table. You took as much as you wanted. The only specific rule was that you ate everything you put on your dish. When Susan came for dinner, it was also a new experience for her every time. We ate dinner at 4:30-5:00 pm as opposed to 7:00-8:00 pm at which her family ate. Sue would watch, as my father piled his mashed potatoes on top of his pork chops, and then mixed in his vegetables of peas and carrots, and every once in a while took a drink of the tap water. My mother would cook and clean up the dishes, and wash them by hand in the kitchen sink.

There was certainly a vast difference in habits in the way we were raised and in the life styles our parents followed. But there were certain family values that we both believed in. Susan and I shared friends; in fact, it brought us together with everyone blending in. We went together on fishing and camping trips, bowling outings, and we shared many other events.

When Susan came home on summer college breaks we went on weekend trips to Jersey shore points with many of the girls and guys. We all spent the holidays pretty much in groups and it just seemed there was always something going on. We had get gatherings at my house, and summer outings at our friend, Ray Balts, who had a place in the country. We always hung around with a lot of great friends, and we still do to this day.

Susan and I each seemed to want a lot of the same things out of life. We wanted some of the joys our families had with each other, and more so, more of the experiences similar to what we shared with them when we were growing up. We loved our families, and we needed good friends, there was no mistake in that. There were as many differences as there were similarities. I felt we both believed we were self-motivated and had a genuine compassion in caring for others. That was one of the bonds that brought us closer to each other.

Within months we were engaged, and we decided that marriage was in the plans for us.

On August 23, 1974, we took that step toward our future together.

Throughout the first few years, we stayed pretty much the same with our friends and family and doing what was right to steer our careers in a positive direction.

Chapter II

The Beginning of Her Career

Susan was solid on track for her career in Early Childhood and Special Education. In addition, she had a certification in Montessori, where a structured design of equipment and its theory is implemented in working with pre-school mainstream and special needs children. She was one of the first teachers in the area to have such specialized training.

We were both very involved in our careers and over the years we seemed to make the right decisions with our children and our jobs.

I attended evening college at the University of Stanton, pursuing a business degree, and Susan kept abreast on requirements and extra classes in her field.

On September 19, 1977, three years after we were married, our first of three children was born. He was born Connor, our new joy in life.

Then on September 11, 1980, we had a lovely daughter Stacie who from time of birth seemed to require an insurmountable amount of attention, and finally there was Jonathon, with blonde hair and hazel eyes, born on April 9, 1983.

It was right after college graduation that Susan began working at the Easter Seals Society in Banton City, Pennsylvania as a teacher of pre-school age children. In attendance in her class were three to five year olds, both handicapped and mainstream children. (Mainstream means students who could and would be included in regular classes.).

The handicapped children in her class were unfortunately faced with various physical and mental abnormalities. Given that type of combination of mainstream and handicapped children further inspired Susan to attain new goals. Her first classroom teachers’ aide was Cheri Wandel, with whom she became not only working partners, but also great friends.

Susan was always amazed at the positive occurrences and the interconnection while she worked in such an assorted environment.

Her position as a Special Education Montessori Teacher made her proud to live up to the expectations of those who entrusted her with their child.

Susan was in her job for about two years at the time of our son Connor’s birth. We decided it would be beneficial for her to request a few months’ sabbatical leave to raise our first child.

She absolutely loved life overall, and she especially loved and enjoyed teaching young children.

She stayed with the Easter Seals Society until 1974 when she then obtained employment with the Capital District Intermediate Unit (CDIU14), under the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Her first class in the public system was located at the Easter Seals Society where she taught pre-school special education children from ages of three years to five years old.

Susan was rapidly gaining recognition throughout the special education community. For the next twenty-five years or so, her classes were one of the most requested in the unit. Most of the more severely handicapped children or severe behavior problems were directed to her.

Throughout Stanton and the local communities there were always social gatherings occurring. Saint Luke’s Center is the main caretaker in the area for severely physically and mentally handicapped children. It has one of the largest social gatherings that support fundraisers for children with handicaps. For years, Susan asked our three children and me to work as volunteers at the weekend event. She made sure that she made donations at each and every stand.

So many times Susan and I would be out in public, and when she saw one of her students, present or past, she would approach them by name, and carry on a conversation with them and their parents, as if they never separated.

On many occasions Susan would receive phone calls at home from parents of her students, and never hesitated to give them all of the undivided time and attention they required. She was recognized by the Stanton Times newspaper as an Outstanding Woman, a prestigious recognition nominated by her peers for outstanding contributions to her profession, and her existence as a model parent.

Susan loved working with children and she had constant hopes and dreams that each handicapped individual had a certain potential for improvement, and she believed it was her job to have that person perform to his or her fullest. She put her heart and soul into the wellbeing of everyone she ever had contact with. She never, ever complained about any part of her teaching career. She loved her summers off and she looked forward to the next class year.

For twenty-eight years and throughout her career she worked with various administrators and a multitude of professional support workers such as physical therapists, speech therapists, therapeutic support staff workers, student teachers and teachers’ aides.

The teachers’ aides were the people who learned Susan’s teaching techniques and would eventually know, without a thought, how to respond to the needs of Susan and her students. The teachers’ aide is the cushion between the instructor and the structure of the teaching techniques.

Cheri Wandel was an aide with Susan for three years. After awhile Cheri understood Susan’s teaching structure. She was a partner in the classroom, and a friend to Susan forever. Afterwards Cheri started her own insurance business, which was a great success; she unfortunately passed away at a very young age and will always be missed. After Cheri, Susan worked with Amy Olds as an aide for 12 years. She was very enjoyable, still lives in the Center Valley area and they still see each other occasionally. Amy was older than Susan, but they seemed to just fit together with each adding a lot to the new class. They worked well together at the Easter Seals, building with the pre-school class.

After all this time Susan was offered a job to move the pre-school class from a private building in Center Valley to a public school building, and Susan jumped at it. Amy didn’t like the idea of driving every day to Clareville, which was about 20 minutes away, and therefore, she refused the transfer. In turn, Susan was given a new assistant, Grace Monti. For the next thirteen years, Susan and Grace worked hand in hand, building a new class, and setting up the program. Grace was also a partner in and outside the classroom, and still today is a friend forever. Lucky for Grace, after thirteen years she retired, and the retirement took Grace to Palm Beach Florida. Grace still visits on her way through Clareville, on her way to visit relatives in Montrose, another rural community in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Nancy Kizer was also an aide to Susan at the CDIU14 for thirteen years following Grace Monti, until Susan was forced to bid into an autistic support class that would take Susan through to retirement.

Her early intervention program was being adjusted to a twelve—month program, and Susan wanted to stay on the ten—month schedule, as was the autistic support program. The opportunity was there for Susan to remain on the ten-month schedule. Susan will forever regret that Nancy did not follow her into the program, but stayed instead in the early intervention program.

The fact remains that Susan worked with different teacher’s aides and support staff and among many other classroom teachers. She worked for different administrators, and different supervisors, and she worked with student teachers, many of which had a great deal of admiration for Susan’s teaching skills. Over the years, the friendships were endless, and she heard frequently from one or the other. After being involved in special education for so many years a person gets the sense of what a good structure is within that teaching environment.

Chapter III

Susan Stands Up For education

In the year 1995, Susan happened to hear from some influential people that Mr. Paul Ross, the director of the Capital District Intermediate Unit (CDIU14), and the CDIU14 board were investigating the possibility of moving Susan’s class from Clareville Elementary to Belmont, Pa, and the YMCA. This in itself sounded OK, but when you look at all of the advantages offered in a public school, Clareville Elementary was the preferable choice. The public school included a gym, library, field days, all outdoor activities, kindergarten, art, etc. The school had secure doors and administration was always within steps away, and in this day and age it was a very secure feeling. The outdoor play facility at the school was second to none; swings, slides, and enclosed playgrounds were in a secure part country setting and away from main street traffic.

The Y, at the time, had none of this!

In moving to this day care site, the students would be in an unsecured location next to a main eight-lane highway. The children in the Y’s program run in age from 3 months to 5 years. This sounds too great, but it would be two separate programs. Anyone walking into the YMCA would be within reach of the special needs students. The classroom was small about 14feet by 16 feet and situated on the right side of the entrance foyer across from the registration desk. The actual security didn’t start until the next set of doors that entered into the main fitness center. Everyone who entered the building had to pass by the unsecured classroom. The problem would develop not only when the summer came and anyone walking by would have access to the classroom, but also teenagers walking by, with their language, would be heard by all the students. If one of the students ever wandered off, they would have easy access to the outside, and no secure gates around the building at the time. Now, I am sure that if the YMCA heard the complaints, they would have fixed the problem, but to this day no class has ever been placed in that small classroom.

Most of all the class would be totally isolated from all the school interactions. The parents of the Special Ed students heard of the probability of this happening and hired an attorney. They had meetings at the school with administration, parents and Susan. They all gave their opinions. It was still up to Mr. Ross to present it to the board, and for them to approve their move. Mr. Ross still wanted them to move to the non-public school position, so he put it before the board. It seemed like it would easily pass, or so Mr. Ross thought, but Mrs. Diane Kasko, the teacher located next to Susan in the public classroom, was on the CDIU board.

She brought up how she included the special needs students in all activities and how the kindergarten considered the pre-school just like their brothers and sisters and would tell them stories and help Susan’s class. It still would have lost, except one member on the board worked at our local prison, and stated that they had a few instances where individuals who were at the YMCA in the past had been accused of sexual improprieties. The board was shocked at this information, and voted down the proposed move. The board agreed with Susan’s’ recommendations that an open pool area and an uncontrolled environment (especially due to strangers) were not conducive and voted against the move. They voted for the class to stay in the Ably Heights school district at the Clareville Elementary school. You would think this was a good thing… but this would become a vengeful act upon Susan, with Ross against Susan. Revenge is a terrible thing and Mr. Ross took this as a personal loss. Not only did Susan take on the top administration, but she also questioned him. And he did not like it at all. Nothing was said at this time but it would come back to be a reason so many other things went wrong in this case, and he would be the person Susan blamed the most for not backing her after 28 years of teaching with the CDIU.

There was never any friction or cause for disrespect between Susan and any other administrator, as there was between Susan and Mr. Ross over a single issue.

This incident would later prove to be a significant part of Ross refusing to support Susan in the coming legal events surrounding her accusations against her.

More so, Ross himself would find out in later years that his refusal to act responsibly as an administrator would land him in a legal battle that would destroy his reputation in and around his hometown. As you will read later Ross’ holier than thou attitude does not withstand the strong arm of the federal investigators as they search out his underhanded strategy in securing himself a ridiculous retirement package. A retirement issue similar to which he denied so many of his subordinates.

Unfortunately the case you are about to read stripped Sue herself of an authentic retirement celebration for which I have heard her regrets.

Chapter IV

Change The Teaching Schedule

In the year 2000, the CDIU14 board of education voted to have the early intervention departments go twelve months of the year. When Susan found this out she was disappointed, because she knew that one of the reasons she loved her job so much was that for twenty-seven years, she loved her summers off. Part of teaching is to have down time. Susan felt, for her, it was very important to clear your head, breathe, and then come back in September with a new outlook. She was sure that this twelve-month program was not what she wanted. Susan tried for one year to do the program, but complained, You start in August and then in October you have a week off, a week and a half at Christmas, a week in February, Easter week, and work until the beginning of June. You then have 4 weeks off, and start again right after July 4th. The time just does not work to replenish you as a teacher. After one year Susan knew she just did not enjoy the pre-school program as much and it was time to try something new. After 28 years, she was looking to bid out of the program although she was hesitant.

The first program to open was in autistic support. It was located in the same building as she was in at the present, at the Clareville Elementary School. All of her friends would remain the same. This is a new area to special education, and not a lot of classes were available at this time. For the most part autistic children are located in other special classes or regular classes, and everyone tries to adapt. She had hoped that her assistant Nancy Kizer would come with her, but Nancy wanted to stay in the pre-school program. Therefore, Susan’s assistants would change. This class was new, so everything would be new, an adventure, or would it be?!

On August 6th, Susan was accepted into the program and was sent to Pennsylvania State University for training in autism. This was a voluntary program but Susan thought starting with a new class, she should have some idea in how to set up the classroom. There were classes available in many areas: Behavior Classroom Management and Classroom Set Up. Susan’s first concern was, Classroom Set Up. All the equipment had to be ordered when she returned, and areas of learning set up.

For four days Susan went with two other teachers and was learning everything about how to set up the classroom, very different from an early intervention program. The students have to have workstations, areas for computers, areas for group instruction, areas for teacher equipment, and areas for small group instruction. So, for the four days instructors helped her in setting up the classroom and what she would need physically in the classroom. At no time did she take any classes in autistic behavioral management and this would make a big difference later in this case.

When Susan returned to the Clareville class, all equipment had to be ordered immediately. So, she conferred with other autistic teachers, Pam Benjamin and Donna Hanson, and saw what was needed. Then they ordered thousands of dollars worth of equipment from catalogs. Reading programs, math programs, tables, books, book shelves, everything was ordered the same as was located in other autistic classes.

In the fall of 2001, Susan started her new class in autistic support at the Ably School District Elementary School located on Grove Street. CDIU would be dividing the local students between two classes.

September came, and Susan was placed in the class with eight students. Some had individual educational programs (IEP), some were outdated, and some were up to date and written by another teacher for her class.

For the past 28 years she had taught special education, and during this time, for the most part, she had her regular assistants, Grace Monti and Nancy Kizer. Susan was soon to receive a new assistant, Jane Lopez.

Susan started to set up the class by unpacking the equipment and visiting other classrooms, and beginning the long process of making workstations. Workstations are small file folders that are made to help students with an area they are in need of, e.g. matching numbers to numbers, or matching pictures to pictures. Jane assisted her in making about 50 workstations by the time the class started. She appeared to be a very good assistant and knew some of the students from previous classes. Jane worked with teacher Pam Benjamin the year before.

So, when the students arrived, Jane would tell Susan how the other teacher handled this or that student.

Susan sensed many teachers had different techniques. The new special education teachers and aides were dealing with larger children who would flip out, turn over a desk, or take out another student in the blink of an eye. Every day could be a new and frightening experience for the teacher, the aides, and the other students.

At one time in particular one of the students literally tackled a pregnant woman as she stood near the entrance to the school.

Another child pulled the fire alarm as he entered the door, not once, but twice. With Jane’s previous experience, it was her job to take control of the students immediately, as they entered the school. Susan said at times she had a difficult time with Jane’s techniques, but she assumed Jane had the experience to handle those various situations. Up to this point Susan admitted she had no experience in the autistic environment with absolutely no training.

Susan worked with Jane for some time, and before long, she understood that the classroom would need yet another assistant. One person she had in mind