From Memoir Project Raw Materials and The Eye of the Needle

EVENTS OF WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2000

COMMUNICATION WITH ANA’S MOTHER ABOUT 8 AM
Just as school was starting Ana Rodriguez and her mother (wearing a visitors badge) arrived at the classroom door. The mother told me that Ana was afraid to come to school today because of Juan Diaz’s behavior and threats. She told me that yesterday she and Ana had talked with Mr. Franklin  [the Assistant Principal, a retired LAPD officer] complaining that Juan Diaz had put a long scratch into Ana’s arm. She wanted to tell me now that since that meeting, later in the day yesterday, Juan hit Ana, causing a large bruise on her back. Also, at the end of the day yesterday Juan stole Ana’s pens and told her if she tried to get them back he would beat her up. The mother said I must do something to stop Juan’s behavior toward her daughter. I told her I would tell Mr. Franklin what Juan had done since they met yesterday.

Just at that point Mrs. Hale [a school administrator whose exact job title I now forget] arrived to observe in the classroom. I repeated to her what Ana’s mother had said, while she was still there. Mrs. Hale reiterated that I should let Mr. Franklin know as soon as possible what was happening. The mother told Ana to stay away from Juan and left.

MRS. HALE’S CLASSROOM OBSERVATION IN THE MORNING
This was to follow-up on the commitment made by Mrs. McMahan on 11/14 to provide a mentor to help implement grouping for instruction. Mrs. Hale wanted to observe a whole class reading lesson as background for talking about what I  would need to do to implement grouping. The lesson was about comparing the three stories we had read in the Imagine unit on “Earth Patrol: Preserve and Protect”. Things went pretty well. I made several asides to her during the lesson about things I could see that we could modify.

George amazed me by suddenly dropping his gangster voice inflection and aggressively disrespectful attitude, paying attention and asking a very appropriate question about how the dried up duck pond would relate to recycling. I answered with the kind of higher level thinking response appropriate to what he had asked, to what I know he is capable of, and to what he was allowing to come out for the first time since he’d been in the class. One of the highest moments I’ve experienced in the classroom, to see that extremely bright tough guy drop his guard and shine.

JUAN’S BEHAVIOR AT 11:40 DURING FRACTIONS LESSON
We were doing a lesson on adding and subtracting fractions. During the lesson I was taking time out while students were working to try to convince Juan to participate. He was upset about something, wouldn’t open his book, and was playing with his pencils and his plastic pencil box. Finally I was able to get him to open his book, find the problem we were working on, and see that it was easily within his grasp. He raised his hand to come up and work the next problem on the board, and was very proud of himself. Then I called on somebody else to do the following problem. He would have none of that. Now that he knew how to do it he wanted to put every problem on the board. I told his that I needed to be fair and include everybody. He was suddenly very angry and loudly kicked his pencil box across the room. I knew I now had to start a process of trying to get him to cool down, intermingled with continuing the lesson. I asked him if he wanted to go to the round table to cool down. No. It was 11:40, just a few minutes before the time to go to the nurse to get his medication. Did he want to go get it a little early? No. But it was about time to start getting ready for lunch and he knew he would get to be the line monitor, so he quickly switched from angry acting out to model student, sitting up straight to be excused to line. He participated in helping get the stragglers into line, and we started out to lunch.

MY DESCRIPTION OF THE INCIDENT
About 5 min. before noon, time to line up and walk to lunch. The line is moving along, near the room. At the end of the line I suddenly see Juan chasing a group of girls, looking very angry and serious, with clear intent to harm somebody. I match steps with him at some point and say “Juan, you’ve got to stop”. Trying to stop him without touching him. He runs right past me, catches up with one of the girls, and pushes Cristal over a bench. She falls to the ground crying. He starts running after the other girls. I catch up with him and again try to stop him verbally. He clearly intends to hurt another one. I restrain him by the arm to stop him. As soon as I see he has been stopped and the girls are safe I let go. He falls to the ground crying. Instead of trying to convince him to come to lunch with us I decide to get the rest of the class to lunch and then come back to help him.

Actually he starts screaming bloody murder, which attracts the attention of a teacher (or t.a.) in the room next door, who looks out the window to see what’s going on. She is the closest thing to an adult witness. But she didn’t look until long after his violent behavior was over. I’m not 100% sure what she saw, but I remember thinking it probably didn’t look great for me. Maybe I was standing over him, watching him make his noise, trying to decide whether to try to convince him to continue to the lunch area with us or not. I don’t know if she got involved. I didn’t ever see her in the office or have any reason to believe she got involved.

The only possible doubt I have about what I did being 100% impeccable is very subtle shading in the matter of appropriate force to restrain him. I know that to stop him I had to restrain him. In the heat of the moment I had to decide precisely how much would be the absolute minimum force it would take to stop him from hurting more of the children. I grabbed his wrist and bent his arm behind his back. He was struggling fiercely to keep running toward the girls. I pulled up on the wrist, putting a strain on his shoulder. At the moment that I felt him stop struggling to run after the girls I let go. I think what stopped him was a little bit of pain in his shoulder when I pulled up on the arm. I don’t think I could have done anything less and still kept him from harming others. He is heavy, strong, and was single-mindedly determined.

The reason I am being so careful about this description is that when I went to the office (after dropping off the kids at the lunch line, talking with Mr. Franklin, and getting my food, per his suggestions) was that I saw Juan in the nurses office with what looked like a little ice pack on his shoulder. He was sitting comfortably and smiling, surrounded by the very kind and supportive ministrations of the nurse and his RSP teacher, Ms. Centeno. Ms. Centeno said to me, “I heard what happened to Juan”. I was stunned to see this little angel sitting there, having enrolled these two into a version of the event that obviously didn’t include his violent behavior. This was the only time in the whole incident that a little bit of anger arose. As I walked away I said to her, “I guess next time I should just watch and let him take out the rest of the kids[his intended victims].”

CHRONOLOGY AFTER THE EVENT

MRS. MCMAHAN’S CLASSROOM OBSERVATION AFTER LUNCH
Mrs. McMahan [the Principal] came in the classroom after lunch and observed while I taught an already planned, but quickly adapted, lesson on the Peace Scholars “Fouls”. There was a word web on the board with “Bullying” in the middle, and bubbles around it with the names of related Peace Scholar fouls. We had a calm and insightful discussion teasing apart the structure and implications of bullying. I think she expected to see a chaotic classroom. I think the lesson she observed was an example of creative teaching at its best.

MEETING WITH PRINCIPAL, AP, AND STACIE. APPROX. 2:45-3:00 PM
Frank Salisbury [the UTLA Chapter Chair] had already left school so I asked Stacie [the Assistant Chapter Chair] to go in with me. Mrs. McMahan and Mr. Franklin were in the room. Mrs. McMahan spoke, Mr. Franklin did not. She said that a serious allegation had been made against me. She (and Mr. Franklin) had consulted with their superiors for advice about how to proceed. They were told what procedures to follow. I am not to come to school tomorrow. I am suspended until further notice. They will be investigating the allegation, and will call me to let me know when they know the results of investigating the allegation. I can remove my personal belongings from my room. If there’s anything I want to have secured that’s in the room let them know before I go and I can use school storage space if I want.

Stacie arrived late because she had to go to the bathroom while I was waiting for them to call me in. She came in after the above had been stated and I asked Mrs. McMahan to restate it for her. When she got to the word suspended Stacie interrupted and asked who was suspended, the student or the teacher. When the principal said the teacher Stacie was taken aback because her assumption was the student was going to be suspended.

They asked me if I wanted to say anything. I showed them the article I had just cut out of the 11/17 United Teacher about how teachers should protect themselves against such allegations. I said that I felt I needed to follow the guidelines suggested in the article. The two main things were, call the UTLA attorneys first, and secondly, do not try to defend yourself alone. Based on those guidelines I don’t have anything to say. The only thing I added is that I’m clear that I acted appropriately.

THE REST OF THE DAY WEDNESDAY 11/29/00
Meeting with principal, AP, and Stacie. Approx. 2:45-3:00 pm.

Talk with Stacie approx. 3:15

Called Trygstad [UTLA contracted law firm] 3:20. Appointment Tuesday Dec. 5 3pm (other choices were 4 or 4:30). .

Called Stacie around 5pm. She gave me Salisbury and Govea [Jose Govea, the Central Area UTLA support specialist for teachers] phone numbers. Said she had called them both. Frank wants me to call him. She left a message on both Govea’s numbers, giving him my phone number.

Called Frank a little after 5pm

Called Jose Govea 5:45. Left message.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2000
Started typing up my documentation, incl. generating these questions for Jose Govea:
What is the allegation?
What is the status of the suspension?
What do I need to do to protect myself?
How are they going to “investigate the matter” without talking with me, the only adult witness?
How did they decide to suspend me without talking with me?
What part did the nurse and/or Centeno play? Juan apparently enrolled them into his version. (Stacie’s comment about teachers sticking together).

Left another msg. for Govea.
Called the information assistant [UTLA  volunteers who handle a techer support hotline on a rotating basis] at 11:40. Talked with Charlene. Described the incident and the questions I have for Jose. She said it sounds like what you’ve done so far is absolutely perfect.
Jose was on his way out the door, on his way to a school. Has my information and will be getting back to me as soon as he can. She said he’s very conscientious about returning calls. Was there for years, but has only been back for a week and is running around a lot going out to schools. She will check with her supervisor, Paula Parr, to see if she has any advice for me in the meantime.

Charlene called back. Said her supervisor said my suspension should be with pay. That everything I’ve done so far is right. I should just wait for Jose to call me back. If I haven’t heard from him by Tuesday I should call her (Charlene) again.

FIRST CONVERSATION WITH JOSE GOVEA 3:55 THURSDAY
I was asleep, taking a nap. He called and was talking very fast. I didn’t have my notes with me, containing the questions I wanted to ask him. He was in a hurry to get to a 4pm meeting. Also, at another point he said “I have to run, I have some other fires to put out”.

My best recollection, 1 minute after getting off the phone with him:
He said “If they gave you no paperwork, there are no charges against you.” I said, “They said there are allegations”. He said “Yes, big difference between allegations and charges”.

Based on my description of how they told me I’m suspended, it must be with pay.
If I used “appropriate restraint” on him, that is I didn’t use a baseball bat or something, we have no problem. I said I have a little concern because of how I held his arm, and that the nurse later put an ice pack on it. He said, “Oh, that’s his own weight that hurt him”.

I said that Juan hadn’t taken his medication, he said “Oh the poor kid, he’s crazy”. His line of questioning was to the effect that a regular ed teacher shouldn’t have to deal with a person like that. He asked if it’s a special ed class. I said no, regular ed, but I’ve got more like that. He said, hasn’t anybody done any paperwork on them. I said Juan is pulled out for RSP. He’s the only one with an IEP. He’s out for an hour a day, I have him the other 5.
I asked how they can investigate without talking to the only adult involved. He said hopefully the kids will describe what a monster he is and how he attacks them. I said yes I would think so, they’re complaining to me about it constantly.
Which reminded me that Ana’s mom had come in the morning, talking about Ana’s bruises. He very much liked that there was at least one parent who had shown the bruises on their child from Juan to an administrator.

He said there are probably more parents that could lodge complaints. He passed over it quickly, but I remember now that there were at least a couple of parents who complained about Juan in parent conferences.

I mentioned that I had written a memo to the school psychologist 2 months ago describing the same type of attack Juan had made on a line of students. He very much liked that. Good job. Great documentation.

He said administrators will usually err on the side of caution in these matters. They are covering their behinds. There’s no way to know how long you’re going to have to wait to hear from them. You’ll be paid the whole time. He said, “My advice to you: Get a tan.”

You are the last one they will ask for your version of what happened. If after their preliminary questioning of others they think they have no way of making anything stick against you they’ll drop it without any further meetings or procedures. If they think they have something to go on we could have to go through a meeting or two and it could be fairly time consuming, but we will win.
He said, “If you need to talk with me, you have my number. Also, if you have anything you want to fax me”.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 1, 2000
Around lunch time, I called the West Vernon office, talked with Josie. Told her I wanted to leave a message for Mrs. McMahan that I realized I did leave one more personal belonging in the classroom that I need to get: 39 library books checked out on my public library card. Some are in the bookshelf, some are in students’ desks. She said she would tell Mrs. McMahan while I was on the phone. She came back and said Mrs. McMahan would call me right back.

About 3pm, there had been no call-back from Mrs. McMahan, and I needed to go out to get a flu shot and do some other errands.

At about 4:45, when I got back home, there were two messages from Mrs. McMahan on the answering machine. The first one said “Please call me. I’ll be here until about 4:30.” (I assumed it was to respond to my question and talk about how I could get my 39 library books). The second one said “Please report to work Monday morning. You can call me here until 4:30.” I immediately called the school but there was nobody there.

At about 4:50 I left a message for Jose Govea telling him what was happening and would he please call me before Monday morning to advise on what I should do.

I realized that I could not be prepared to go in Monday I wouldn’t be able to do any planning. I would have no access to any books and materials needed for planning. Also, I would not know my status with regard to the allegations, and what’s been done with my class. (Also, I was thinking that the Stull Observation was scheduled for first thing Monday morning, although I see now that it is Wednesday.) So I decided the only way to protect myself and be prepared when I came back would be go call the sub desk and get a sub for Monday.

About 6:30 pm I called the Sub Finder and got a sub for Monday (job number 58280, reason: “Other”). (Note: On Monday 12/4 I realized that probably meant I wouldn’t get paid. I called the sub department at LAUSD and they changed it to “Personal Necessity” in the system.

MONDAY DECEMBER 4, 2000
6:55 a.m. – I called West Vernon office. Talked with Gloria. Told her that I had received a message from Mrs. McMahan to report to work Monday morning. (She didn’t know anything about it). I told her that I had called the sub desk and a sub would be coming in. I will call Mrs. McMahan later about coming in to pick up my materials so I can take them home and do lesson planning for the week.

10 a.m. – I called law office to see if I should cancel the appointment. Secretary said let’s leave the appointment on the books. If you go in to work tomorrow and the principal says everything is ok, you were completely cleared, there’s nothing in your personnel record, then you can call and cancel the appointment. If after talking with the principal you feel you still need the appointment then you can come in.

10:15 – Called Jose Govea. He’s not in yet, and the Information Assistants aren’t in until 11:30. I need to get moving on picking up my things from school to start planning, so I’m going to have to call Mrs. McMahan without talking with Govea first.

10:20 – I called Mrs. McMahan. She’s not in today. Talked with Mr. Franklin. Told him I need to pick up some books for planning. He said come in, just check in at the office first.

1:30 – I called the UTLA Information Assistant, this time Monica Vance. I started to tell her what happened and she interrupted, intensely urging me not to say a word of any kind to the principal when I go back in to work. She said she was a teacher for 31 years and had something like this in her 30th year. Says leave a message on Jose’s machine. Strongly suggests talking with him before going back in. She would recommend against going back in before talking with Jose and/or the lawyers. Since I have the lawyer appointment tomorrow, she suggests I get a sub for tomorrow too and see the lawyers. This is too serious to take any chances with.

1:45 – Called Jose Govea and left a message on his machine.

2:30 – Norm Saatjian called me from the Harbor Area office of UTLA. He said Monica had explained the situation to him. (This is independent of my message in to Jose Govea. Monica wanted to make sure somebody talked to me today. Norm is filling in this week for Mike Gipson, Harbor Area Field Rep, Jose’s counterpart in her area). He asked me a few questions and perked up when I mentioned that the principal told me there were “allegations”. He said Monica hadn’t mentioned that part to him. He said that means it’s a legal issue and you are due 30 min. of free time with Trygstad. You should take advantage of it. Take another sub day.

2:35 – I called West Vernon to have Gloria hold over the sub. She said she’ll take care of it. I don’t have to call the sub desk. Either she will get Ms. Little, who was in there today, or another sub who is in today, or if necessary she will call the sub desk. I told her if she does have to call it in, it’s “personal necessity”.

2:50 – I called the law office to confirm the appointment for tomorrow.

2:55 – I called Josie, track A clerk, to ask if any students had transferred into or out of my class since I had been gone. She said nobody had told her any.

6:00 p.m. – Jose Govea called just as I was about to start cooking dinner. I took the call in the kitchen and didn’t make any notes. I got off the phone one minute ago.

When they call you in, don’t say anything to them. Your answer is “I will respond in writing”. If they ask, “Does that mean you aren’t going to respond to us?” say “I will respond in writing”. He repeated it several times.

Take a witness in with you, preferably the chapter chair, if you trust him.
After they get your written response they may deliver a document, probably in the form of a memo, describing their findings of everything that happened. My response to the memo should be in writing, and can be as simple as, “Regarding the memo dated xxx, the allegations are not true” or something “is not true”. Just a one or two sentence response.

Yes, take advantage of being able to see the lawyers tomorrow.
Did she order you to come to work? Are you in danger of a charge of insubordination? I don’t think so. If they insist you come then you need to go and if it’s wrong we can file a grievance afterwards.
Do you have a copy of the contract? Yes. Look at the reasons for Personal Necessity. Make sure you’re covered. We want this whole thing to be clean.
I asked, so when I go in on Wednesday I should just do everything as usual, the only difference being that if they call me in to the office and ask me about the incident I should only say “I will respond in writing”. Yes, that’s right.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 5, 2000
3 p.m. – Office of Larry Trygstad. Was seen by Rosemary Ward.
The basic message: Don’t say anything. Don’t share your notes on this with ANYBODY. Put them in a folder and forget about them until you need them.
If the principal wants to talk to you about the incident, just like Jose Govea said, bring your chapter chair as witness, tell them you will respond in writing.
If a police officer or anybody from a legal agency wants to talk to you, you have been advised by your attorney not to say anything without them being present. Then immediately call her. If the people in the office say she’s busy tell them to go find her and get her. Her gut feeling is that they will probably have police interview me.
Suggests putting together a fuller packet. Not just the history of Juan’s behavior but also a couple of other types of items:
Phone numbers of parents who complained about Juan at the parent conferences and other times.
Character references, awards, other supportive letters like Shelley’s, any good Stulls, anything to show what a good honest guy I am and that I’ve never done anything wrong.
I must say I was very depressed and upset when I left her office. She kept insisting and referring to worst case scenarios. Kept bringing up similar cases that turned into criminal prosecutions. I realized as I emerged from the spell of that environment that I have choices and I choose to not dwell on that aspect.
She did say that everything I’ve done since the incident is exactly the right thing to do. Just don’t talk to anyone about any details of this. Suggests not even getting too far into it with Jose Govea.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 6, 2000
During lunch – Mr. Franklin told me I’ll need to come see him after school.

During lunch – I found Mr. Salisbury and asked him if he could join me in the meeting after school. He said yes.

about 1:30 – Got a typed memo from Mr. Franklin saying “Please plan to see me after dismissal today for a conference regarding an incident involving one of your students. It is your prerogative to have representation if you wish to do so.”

About 2:45 – Present were Mr. Franklin, Mr. Salisbury, me, and Danielle Jackson (office manager). Mr. Franklin read from a document that he would not show me. It contained the allegation. After reading the allegation he asked for my response. I said that I have been advised to respond in writing.
It was shocking and a little scary to hear the thing read. It was so one-sided and so different from my view of what happened. And I couldn’t get them to give me a copy of anything. They said I would be getting a copy probably on Friday. And that I would have until December 14 to respond.

4 pm – I drove home and called Jose Govea. His answering machine message said to talk to an Information Assistant. The phone was answered by Philip Cook I told him what was happening and my question was “Who can help me with my written response?” He said there is some standard response language, which he started to read to me.
He stopped for a second and Jose picked up the phone. He said he was in the middle of a meeting and was just walking by. He asked me exactly what happened, I told him, and he said that they were reading from a Conference Memo, which is not charges, not a reprimand, not an Unsatisfactory Notice. Nothing has been filed against you yet.
He asked for my fax number and said he would fax me the response language while we’re talking on the phone. I should wait until I get the Conference Memo that they told me I would be getting on Friday. I should fax the paperwork they give me to him so he can see exactly what they put in writing. Based on his reading of what they have sent me he will advise whether I should use the standard response language or not.
This is what Jose and Philip faxed me:

RESPONDING TO
CONFERENCE MEMOS
Every day, somewhere in LAUSD, an administrator holds a pre-disciplinary meeting with a member. The conference is normally followed by a conference memo that is a record of the conference. The member is given the opportunity to reply in writing.

In the vast majority of cases we advise the member not to respond to specific allegations but to generally respond as follows:

I deny any wrong doing.
I will continue to act in a professional manner.
I will continue to comply with all directions and District requirements.

We also recommend that members document all the facts (who, what, when, where, witnesses) that occurred while still fresh in the memory. This documentation should be retained by the member. Do not give to the administration.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 7, 2000
During the day – There was an envelope in my box with the Conference Memo in it.

5:40 p.m. – I called the UTLA Information Assistant number to talk about faxing the memo. Answered by Jesus. He said Jose is not in, but I can fax it and he’ll put it in his mailbox. Then I left a message on Jose’s voicemail to tell him where the fax is. And I mentioned how sickened I am by how distorted the memo is. I used the word sickened more than once.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 8, 2000
5:50 p.m. – I got a call from Jose Govea. He said he received my fax and read it. He wants to get some legal opinion, and will get back to me Monday with advice. Just wanted to call before the weekend so I would know he got it and he’s working on it. I thanked him, and mentioned I had met with a Trygstad lawyer before receiving the memo, who said I should fax her anything I get in writing. He said yes, fax it to her too.

5:52 p.m. – I called Trygstad but the offices are closed. There is no fax number on Rosemary’s card or the voice message at the office. I left a message on her voicemail asking for a fax number to send the memo to.

MONDAY DECEMBER 11, 2000
4:45 p.m. – When I got home there was a message on the machine from Jose Govea. It said, write this and turn it in:

“I used a loose wrist lock. I placed my arm around student’s chest. I used only the amount of force necessary to prevent student from hurting himself or others”.

He said hand this in and it will make them (UTLA) happy. He said if I think it’s an important distinction that I did not use a choke hold I should use this language. He didn’t say anything about it being totally out of context, saying I approached him from behind. That’s just not true. I need to send a fax and/or voice message to Jose asking if we can talk tomorrow after I get home to get this flat before I put anything in writing. Actually, after sending the fax to Rosemary I decided to wait for her response before checking back in with Jose

4:55 p.m. – I called Trygstad. Rosemary was not in, but the secretary gave me the fax number, I faxed Rosemary the memo, the suggested response, and my concerns.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 2000
3:45 – I called Rosemary Ward. She said she received my fax, but I already got my free half-hour. I would need to retain her at $750/hour to do more. She asked if I had been contacted by the police. I said no. She said then you probably won’t be. I told her the language I faxed her was from the UTLA in-house lawyer. She said then that should be fine.

4:10 – I left a message on Jose’s machine to give me a call about the issue of not mentioning context at all. If we can resolve it I’ll write it up tonight and give it to them tomorrow, one day early.

8:40 – I wrote a draft response and faxed it to Jose. Left a voice message to ask him to confirm he received it and if it’s ok.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2000
4:00 – When I got home there was a message on the machine from Jose Govea. He said he received my fax. His advice is, keep the first and third paragraphs but delete the second. The reason is, it is their responsibility to conduct an investigation. If some discipline comes out of this, they’re going to look awfully stupid if they didn’t even know the context of what was happening. If there’s nothing about the context in the investigation from their side, then that’s a point for our side. I will follow his advice and submit the following response:

TO: Mr. Albert Franklin, Assistant Principal
West Vernon Elementary School

FROM: Mr. Edward Levin, Teacher
West Vernon Elementary School

DATE: December 14, 2000

SUBJECT: CONFERENCE MEMO – DECEMBER 6, 2000

With regard to your memo, I deny any wrong doing. I acted in a professional manner and I will continue to act in a professional manner. I complied with all directions and District requirements and I will continue to comply with all directions and District requirements.

I used a loose wrist lock. I placed my arm around the student’s chest. I was very careful to use only the amount of force necessary to prevent the student from hurting himself or other students.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 19, 2000
11:30 – Mrs. McMahan called me in my room to come see her at the beginning of my lunch time.

12:05 – She gave me the letter subject “CONFERENCE SCHEDULED – WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2000.”

12:10 – I went to Frank’s class and showed him the memo.

12:15 – I used Shelley’s cell phone to call Jose and leave a message (in which I read the whole memo). Also called the Information Assistant and left message for Jose to call me.

12:30 – I talked with Frank as he was taking his kids to lunch to confirm he could be with me tomorrow at 3pm. He expressed some impatience with the union position that I not say anything. (Actually, I realize as I write this that he hadn’t seen my written response to the Conference Memo. He only was with me at the Conference, but I didn’t keep him updated on what my written response contained). I told him I would try to talk with Jose or the lawyers to try to get their advice about how to respond tomorrow.

4:00 p.m. – I called Jose when I got home. He picked up the phone and said he had just walked in the door and hadn’t heard my message yet. I read him the memo. His advice was to go to the meeting with Frank, listen to what they have to say to me and to say “I will respond in writing”. I questioned this strongly. When do I get to defend myself?

He said that his reading of what they are doing is, they don’t really have a solid case against me and they want to get me to say something so they can use it against me to nail up their case. His advice is to not give them the ammunition to do that. Only if I feel I have such great rapport with the principal that I can convince her on the spot and she will drop the whole thing. Unless I have that confidence, I should not give them any ammunition. He says this is not the venue to try to defend myself. The venue is to let them make whatever accusation and disciplinary action they want to, in writing. Fax it to him immediately. The union will file a grievance within 3 days. I questioned him repeatedly about this, because it’s very counter-intuitive to me. I asked him if they issue a Notice of Unsatisfactory Act/Services and we win the grievance if the notice stays on my record. He said no, it will be on my record.
I was still uneasy about the whole thing, told him I would think about it, and asked him if I could reach him one more time before the meeting. He said yes, just call, and he will return the call.

4:08 – I looked in the Contract to see what it says about the Grievance Procedure. The first article says “A grievance is defined as a claim that the District has violated an express term of this Agreement and that by reason of such violation the grievant’s rights under this agreement have been adversely affected.” I immediately wondered what is the term of the contract that I would be claiming the District has violated? I called Jose and left a message on his machine asking that question. If he is so confident that the proper venue for defending myself is in a grievance proceeding, what is the Term of the Agreement that I am supposed to be saying they violated?

4:35 – Jose hasn’t called back so I called to talk with an information assistant. They said usually the first shift is until 3:30 and the second shift starts at 4:00pm but there is no second shift today, and probably won’t be through the holidays. So I called Jose’s number again and just got his message. So I may be getting hung out to dry until I have to go in with Frank. I have to get some clarification on this. I’ll call Frank next.

5:10 – Just got off the phone with Frank. We talked for a long time. His cut on this is that what he wants to do is talk with Mrs. McMahan before the meeting and try to soften the adversarial approach a little. Let them know that they don’t have the whole story. That when they do they will see I did nothing wrong. That it doesn’t make sense to get into a big adversarial struggle over this. That the position the union has advised me to take, which involves not explaining my side, makes it look like I have something to hide, which is definitely not the case. He will let me know what comes of that conversation. He says he’d like to see this whole thing be over before Christmas. Which means they just decide, once they hear what really happened, that this is not worth pursuing.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2000
About noon – Found a note in my box that Jose Govea left a phone message that said “Article 10, Section 11, Subsection h.”

3pm – Met with McMahan, with Gonzales and Salisbury as witnesses. She read the charges. I told my story. She said she heard it but has decided to go ahead with the suspension and notice anyway. Gave me all the papers. Added that the recommendation is dismissal from LAUSD.

4pm – I took the papers by UTLA but Jose wasn’t in and I couldn’t copy all the pages so I left.

4:30 – Came home and looked up the contract provision Jose had mentioned. Saw that it was about responding within three days so I decided to fax him the 2 forms tonight and deliver the rest of the paper tomorrow.

6:54 pm – I faxed Jose the 2 forms, one cover sheet from the attachments and a little note from me.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2000
10 a.m. – I went up to UTLA just as Jose was walking in the door to work. He wrote up and we faxed and mailed the notice of appeal. I gave him copies of everything they gave me yesterday. He also asked for my history on Juan Diaz. I gave him a copy of “my notes on incident.doc” dated 11/30 at 8:13 a.m.
He said we have a very strong case. Don’t worry about this, we’ll take care of it. They won’t respond until after the holidays. Have a nice holiday season.
He said they don’t usually suspend immediately, and asked me what I think the principal’s motivation for all this might be. I said I really don’t know, just like with the previous one. I told him our speculations about the previous one. He said I’ll get paid for these 3 days when this is all over and we win. He said even if we don’t win in the next stage or two this is perfect for arbitration. The case is very strong.

He said he knew Franklin from when he was a cop. He agreed strongly that it looked like Franklin led the children to all come up with the same statement. I told him that my recollection was very different from what they were all describing. He had me act out with him how I really held Juan so we could see where my other arm was. I immediately put it around his chest. No way it was up on his neck. I would have recalled that when I was writing it up for myself that afternoon.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 22, 2000
9:45 a.m. – Mrs. McMahan called and asked if I would be able available to come in to work today. I was completely dumbfounded. I assumed she was desperately looking for subs. All I could say, with very subdued energy, softly and slowly, was “I don’t think so…Not under the circumstances.” It was just unbelievable to me. She just served me with papers recommending I be dismissed from LAUSD, has my status for today as Suspended, without pay, based on charges backed up with 23 pages of documentation, and she simply calls up and asks if I can come in to work? Unbelievable.

9:46 a.m. – I called Jose but the offices are closed until January 2. Left a message on his machine to let him know what happened.

TUESDAY JANUARY 3, 2001
10:15 a.m. – I called Jose. He said even though the contract says they should respond by Friday, they usually take their time. And their response is just going to be to calendar a meeting for us all to discuss the appeal. He’ll let me know as soon as he hears from them.
FRIDAY JANUARY 12, 2001
2:50 p.m. – I called Jose and left a msg. on his machine just to check in and find out if he’s heard anything back yet. Also, I let him know I’m working on Secondary Credential, and would like to win the appeal, then teach high school in LAUSD.

THURSDAY JANUARY 18, 2001
2:25 – I called information assistant. Talked with Ernie Smith. He wrote down the message for Jose that I would like to meet with him at his office to talk about what my options are. Please call me to let me know when I could meet with him.
Then I left a message on Jose’s voicemail too.

FRIDAY JANUARY 19, 2001
4:30 – Phone message from Jose. Says we are scheduled for Tuesday Jan. 23rd at 10 am. We should meet Monday about 1 p.m. to talk about our approach. Call him and leave a message to confirm. I did.

TUESDAY JANUARY 23, 2001
10:00 – Hearing.

THURSDAY JANUARY 25, 2001
2:30 – Jose called to say he has a response, which is an offer. It’s basically being fired as an elementary teacher, but leaving it open for me to teach high school with the district. It would be a “non-reelection”, which means I would get an unsatisfactory rating at the end of the year and not be able to return to that school. The suspension is reduced to 2 days, so I am expected to return on first day back on track, unless I have found something else before that time.
Before telling him to tell them we accept I told him I wanted to check in with Mary. She had some questions.
At the end of this year would I be able to become permanent?
If I get another teaching job before the end of the school year does it have to be high school? Could it be elementary or middle school?
After the year ends would I be able to sub?
After I called him back to talk about these we also talked a third time, when I started to think maybe I should decline the offer and go to arbitration. He said even if we won it would just be a Pyrrhic victory. I would still get an Unsatisfactory rating for the year. He said I should just go down to 450 N. Grand and find out if they are hiring high school teachers, in what subject areas. Then I could use his directory to send out resumes.

FRIDAY JANUARY 26, 2001
I went down to 450 N. Grand twice. Found out how to transfer to high school and where they are hiring English teachers.

MONDAY JANUARY 28, 2001
9:30 a.m. – Jose called me with the clarification of the offer. First he said, in answer to the question would I be able to sub after this year ends, yes. The offer is: a two-day suspension and an Inadequate Service Act. This is not a notice of Inadequate Service. Very different. In fact: I will be GUARANTEED RE-ELECTION (with an understanding that I will not take it at that school), AND AN EVALUATION OF MEETS OR EXCEEDS.
He had been concerned that I would be interviewing with a shadow over my head, of getting that Unsatisfactory year end evaluation. That will not happen. The only way an interviewer would know of the Inadequate Service Act is if I tell them.
He reiterated that I should use his directory, fax out resumes and cover letters, and call the schools I send them out to. I told him I would be doing that. I was going to talk with some of my daughter’s teachers and other resources first to make sure I am prepared for the interviews.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2001
1:00 pm – During my meeting with Rosemary Ward I realized I have some questions for Jose.
What safety valve if any do I have if I don’t have a job lined up by the time I’m supposed to be back at West Vernon on March 1st? Rosemary suggested I should see if there’s such a thing as a leave for reason of stress.
The other lawyer in the office that we met with, (she said it was going to be David Penner), said that “re-election” would not be necessary if I was already permanent. Check with Jose about that.
In other words, what exactly is my status? Do we have anything in writing?
This comes up because I’m doing job interviews in LAUSD, and for example, at the first one I did, today, at South Gate High for a librarian position, they asked who they should talk with at my current school, and I gave them the name of the principal.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2001
2:15 – After returning from the police interview, I worked on the above questions and sent a revised fax to Jose. See Juan Diaz incident 001129\govea fax 010213.doc.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2001
8:10 pm – I sent the fax to Jose again, with some extra underlining added, with note on front again “Please acknowledge receipt”.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2001
5:20 – I sent a fax to Jose asking if he’d seen the previous 2. Actually left it as a phone message first, reading it into his machine.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2001
1:15 – I called Information Specialist. Got Charlene Vance again (she’s the one I talked to the first day). What she said was:
You didn’t have to tell South Gate about your incident. According to what you read me from your notes that Jose told you on January 28, it’s not on your record. Now that you have told them you don’t have a chance in hell of getting the job. I told her in the absence of any response from Jose, I felt I had to before they talked with McMahan, knowing they would be hearing her side with no input from me. She says that was the wrong thing to do, but she understands how frustrating it is not to get an answer back
On future interviews, don’t give McMahan as a reference. Anyone calling her will ask “Does he work there?” and she will say “Yes.” Then they ask, “Would you hire him?” and Charlene says, all the principal has to say is “Well…” and you won’t get hired. That’s the signal. This principal will not say anything good about you. No matter what Jose said, she will not help you get hired.
I told her I had a mentor teacher who would give me a great reference, should I offer the mentor as the reference? She said yes. I told her I had two, she said that’s fine, offer two references.
In answer to the question about a stress leave, her understanding is DO NOT try to do that. They’ll make you see the District doctor, and to get it cleared you’ll have to see him again, and they will never clear you.
I told her I think it’s impossible to try to work at West Vernon. She strongly agreed.
One suggestion she had is, do you have a friend somewhere who’s going to be off for a while that you could work for? Or do you know of a principal or a school where you’d be comfortable and you could work while you’re looking for your other job? I told her that from what Jose said, I’m not free to look for elementary positions. But my credential and my only experience is in elementary. I told her I’ve started a process of looking into high school English, but the timing is such that I can’t see getting hired as a high school English teacher before I have to go back to West Vernon. And anyway, in pursuing that I decided I would much rather get a library media teacher position, which may not come to fruition before March 1. And based on what you told me in this conversation I’m discouraged about for the first time. I need to stop, take a breath, and do my first sitting in two days.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2001
3:30 p.m. – Faxed to Jose: govea fax 010220.doc
~5:00 p.m. – Jose finally returned my calls. He said he hadn’t received anything in writing from the District. He called them and they said they had mailed it to him and didn’t know why he hadn’t received it. They said if he didn’t receive it in the mail Wednesday he should call them and they would fax it to him. In any case, he would be faxing it to me tomorrow.
He also said that what he has always told me about my status is that I have a job at West Vernon and I am expected to go back to work there. Certainly if I have a job and I want to pay the rent I should go to work. He said just go as if nothing had happened. His gut feeling is that Mrs. McMahan isn’t out to get me, that it all escalated when it got to the Local District level. I should not be squeamish, I should just go to work and pay the rent.
The other issue, about interviewing for jobs, is that the agreement is there will not be anything on my record that any potential would know about unless I told them about it. I said I want to see that in writing. And also, Charlene Vance told me they give each other signals. That’s when he said he doesn’t think the principal is out to get me. She would probably cooperate in helping me find something away from her school.
On the issue about probationary vs. permanent, he says his gut feel is there is a special ruling for LAUSD District Intern program. He thinks I am a Prob. 3, and won’t be permanent until after THIS year. If this is true, the oral agreement that they guarantee re-election is critical.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2001
~2:00 p.m. – When I got home there was a message from Jose that he had tried to fax me the thing to my voice number. So I called him back and left a message with his secretary Lynette. She called back and confirmed that, as I had heard on his message, he is no longer Central Area Rep. He’s going to work on the campaigns of Julie Korenstein and Valerie Fields to get them re-elected to the school board. He’s out at lunch at a farewell party for him. When he gets back she’ll get the fax from him, call me to let me know it’s coming, and fax it to me. OK. Fax received. They back dated it to February 7, which I don’t believe, but it’s not materially changed from what Jose told me. It’s just good to see it in writing.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2001
When I got home there was a letter with one clean copy of the agreement, dated February 7. First time the district had shown it to me. It has a space at the bottom for Jose Govea to sign.

TUESDAY MARCH 6, 2001
When I got home there was a letter from Patricia Recinos, the new Central Area Rep. It contains 2 copies of the settlement, with a note asking me to sign them and send them to her asap, and if I have any questions to call her. So I called and left a message that I want to clear up the third bulleted item before signing. I want to make sure that I am free to make whatever kind of transfer I want within the district. I left a message for her to let me know the best way for us to communicate.

BEGIN HERE FROM A DOCUMENT CALLED LEGAL 1 – THERE IS SOME OVERLAP BETWEEN 1/26/01 and 3/6/01

Officer Gaeta, Newton Division, (323) 846-6569. Ref. # A2 11-14
Law office of Larry Trygstad (310) 552-0500 (Rosemary Ward x.16); fax (310) 552-1306
Secretary – Sally
Counseling: Scott Harris (310) 477-5299. 11645 Wilshire Blvd. #1150. 1 block east of Barrington

1/26/01 – Friday, got a postcard in the mail saying to call Newton Division regarding a police report, ask for Officer Gaeta.

1/29 – Monday. I called but she wouldn’t be at work until Tuesday.

1/30 – Tuesday. I called 7 am. The desk officer said Officer Gaeta wasn’t in yet, but recognized my voice from yesterday. She knew I was concerned about what it might be. She said she had read the report and could put my mind at ease, that it was nothing to worry about. She said it’s just an incident involving a 9-year-old named Juan Diaz. It looks like a couple of kids got into a fight and you broke up the fight and had to restrain one of the kids. So you can see it’s no big deal, there’s nothing to worry about.
I talked with Officer Gaeta. She wants to hear my side. She sounded extremely sympathetic. I told her I have to check with the lawyer and I’ll call her back. She said what usually happens is the parent was upset that the school didn’t do anything about their complaint, so the school says, we can’t do anything else but if you want you can file a police report.
I called Rosemary Ward at Trygstad. She’s not in today so I left a voicemail asking her to call me.
I called Officer Gaeta back to tell her I left a message for the lawyer and I would have to wait for the callback before I can make an appointment. Officer Gaeta wasn’t in so they asked if I wanted to leave a message. I said yes, and the answering machine answered, “Newton Division Detectives, Major Assault Crimes investigation”. This thing gets really blown out of proportion.
Then Ms. Ward called back. After I refreshed her memory about the whole thing and answered some of her questions she said her gut feeling is it will probably go to a City Attorney Hearing. In her 9-10 years of experience with these matters, in 100% of the cases no charges were filed. Also, in all these cases that only went as far as the City Attorney hearing, the LAUSD insurance covered the legal fees.
Another possibility is that we meet with the officer and she doesn’t even take it to City Attorney. She believes in this case the fees would be covered by insurance also. She went to talk with someone who knows more about the insurance than she does. She came back and said that it’s just about for sure the insurance would cover in both the above situations, although it’s not guaranteed. I would have to pay about a $700 retainer which would then probably be reimbursed by the insurance.
I should come in at 10 am tomorrow, Wednesday 1/31. Get some character reference letters. If they are already aware of the allegations they can mention it in the letter.
I should also bring something to show what a good citizen I have been: working in the business world, any awards I have etc. If I have a phone number for Ana’s mother I should bring that.
She said we may need to meet with the officer Friday, although she would prefer Tuesday or Wednesday. She told me not to talk to the officer again, but just refer her to the attorney. She got Officer Gaeta’s phone number from me and said she would call her and leave a message to introduce herself as my attorney.
To get Character Reference Letters I left phone messages with Derick Mitchell and Selwyn Eiber, and an e-mail to John Kulas, Richard Irwin, Shelley Saunders, Mark Wilcox, Frank Lewis, Egyoku Sensei, Daishin, and Les Klein at 2:42 p.m.

1/31 – See 010131 ward meeting prep.doc and 010131 ward meeting notes.doc.

2/1 – I called the Employee Assistance Program number Rosemary gave me to get counseling. (Actually the right number is (800) 955-2873). She said it looks very good to the police that I have sought counseling. She wants to be able to say that I already have an appointment made (or that I have already been) by the time we talk with Officer Gaeta Thursday.
First I had to get registered in their system. They assigned me Reference # 1134090. The receptionist told me I get 1-3 sessions free. Then she gave me three referrals. She said when I select a provider I should call her back (have the reference number ready) to tell her which one. She will send out a billing package to the counselor.
I made an appointment for Wednesday 2/7 at 1pm with Scott Harris (310) 477-5299. 11645 Wilshire Blvd. #1150. 1 block east of Barrington. That would be right after meeting with Rosemary at 10am.
I called Rosemary to tell her and she said we should change our appointment to 9:30. She said there’s another attorney in the office she wants me to talk with also.
She asked if I had gotten the message about changing Carol’s letter. I said yes, and I delivered the message to Carol last night. She asked if I had asked Shelley to re-write hers. I said I was just about to send off the e-mail. And as soon as we got off the phone I did.

THANKING PEOPLE FOR CHARACTER REFERENCE LETTERS
Wendy Nakao
Thanked in person Wednesday
John Buksbazen
Thanked on phone Wednesday
Shelley Saunders
Thanked via e-mail, asked her to re-write (Thurs.)
Selwyn Eiber
Thanked via phone message (Thurs.)
Carol Schmitt
Thanked and asked her to re-write (Wednesday)
Frank Lewis
Thanked via e-mail Thursday

2/6 – Rosemary called to say she got a message that Office Gaeta needs to reschedule the Thursday meeting. She’s trying to get a hold of her to firm up the new date. They are playing phone tag.
She asked if I had gotten Shelley to re-write her letter. I said I sent her an e-mail, had not received a response, and hadn’t followed up on it. She said please try to get her to re-write it. In fact, she said that she went over the packet with another lawyer in the office and he said I should have a letter from a teacher at West Vernon saying they know me and they have seen that I am appropriate with my students. Also, if they know about the allegations, that they have seen Juan’s behavior to be not appropriate. She asked if Shelley would be a candidate for this, I said yes. She asked if there are any others who could write one. I said maybe a half a dozen, it’s just a matter of getting a hold of them.
I was working on my job search, but this trumps that. She emphasized that I should work on these letters. I looked up my list of third grade teachers and Juan is almost the only one I don’t know who was his third grade teacher. I thought it was Najam. Would be really good to talk with him and get something from him, or whoever the third grade teacher was. Whose class did he go to? Was it Jimenez? If so, ask him to look it up in cum and also how is Juan doing with him?
So, I sent an email to Shelley Saunders, Richard Irwin, John Kulas, and Mark Wilcox. It wasn’t easy, because the Netcom server isn’t letting me send mail for some unknown reason. So I had to copy it all over to Rebecca’s Yahoo account. Now I need to make follow-up phone calls.
Rosemary called again at 4:15. The meeting with Officer Gaeta has been rescheduled for Tuesday Feb. 13 at 10 am. I will meet with Rosemary Monday Feb 12 at 12:30, after my 10:30 job interview at South Gate High School.
She said the letters should tell how I am patient and not rough with children. That they have observed me teaching (Shelley and Kulas are the two who have seen me the most). I should fax any to her as soon as I have them (or have the writer fax it to me and to her). She will be in Wednesday and Thursday but not available except for emergency Friday. Fax any time of course.
John Kulas called just before dinner time. He will be leaving for his brother’s place in Arizona early tomorrow morning, but he will write a letter tonight and leave it under his doormat. Lives at 2441 Arizona in Santa Monica (between Chelsea and 25th). Will be in Arizona from Wednesday to Sunday at (623) 869-8006.
Shelley Saunders called at 7:20. She’s a little sick but will try to write a letter tonight. I told her it would be OK to fax it to me tomorrow if she has to. If she doesn’t call back tonight, I should call her tomorrow.
Ozzie Jimenez called about 9:45. He will write a letter after school tomorrow in the computer lab and call me when he is done, sometime between 3 and 4:30. He will tell me to come meet him at Kinko’s to pick up the letter. He says he can put in the letter that Juan was transferred to his class and did some of the same behaviors there. He was transferred out to another class 10 days later. He will also state that Juan told him that I didn’t hurt him and nothing really happened. Sure would be nice to have that in writing. I need to be home to wait for his call.

2/7 – I got letters from Kulas, Jimenez, and Saunders, faxed them to Rosemary and discussed. She said they will be very helpful. She said when I come in Monday after the job interview I will also be talking with David Penner, an attorney in their office, who she works with on such cases.
Had first appointment with Scott Harris. Very nice. He will be helpful in getting clear about what’s happening in my life with regard to career/livelihood. He suggested calling MHN to see if I have benefits beyond 3 freebies. I called and the recording says after 3 I need to use my major medical provider. That would either be my Kaiser or Mary’s UCLA, which I think does have counseling. I’ll check on the web.

2/12 – Met at Century City office to prepare for going to Newton Division tomorrow at 10 am, 3400 S. Central. I have notes on yellow pad. My mantra became: “Don’t be angry. Don’t be dangerous. Be humble”.

2/13 – Met with Officer Gaeta and Rosemary at station. Met at 11:40 because Rosemary was caught in traffic. I thought it went well. Officer Gaeta said she will forward her report to the City Attorney Thursday 2/15. We should call her in two weeks if we haven’t heard what the status is. (I put a note in my calendar for 2/28. I should call Rosemary. If neither of us have heard anything, Rosemary will call the police). She said the City Attorney will either throw it out or establish a date for a hearing. Rosemary asked if the officer will be making a recommendation. She said no, she will just be telling them what I said (which is a version of the story that begs for the complaint to be thrown out).
I was left with a question I want to ask Rosemary:
We were preparing for some kind of surprise evidence or allegation. There wasn’t any. Does that mean there just isn’t any, or is there still the possibility that something will show up at the City Attorney hearing that we haven’t been prepared for?
I called and left the message on her machine about 2:15.

2/14 – Message on machine that she returned my call. Out for rest of day. Try her tomorrow or Friday. Not sure I really need to ask her this question. See how I feel tomorrow after I get back from a day observing at Hamilton.

2/26 – The letter came in the mail from the City Attorney’s office. Hearing is scheduled for March 2 at 3:30 at 312 South Hill St., 2nd floor.
I called Rosemary. She will be there with me. We will talk on the phone before then, tentatively set for Thursday 10:30 am. I will have to call her, as I will be at West Vernon, in the first day of teacher meetings. Need to have my folder with me for the call. She said if the secretary says she’s not available tell her “Interrupt her, it is an emergency”.
I faxed the letter to her after the call. She had a couple of comments about the letter when I read it to her on the call. First, she was a little surprised that the code violation has changed. She needs to read the code section before we talk. Secondly, she wanted me to know that one of the hearing officers (I can’t remember if that’s the exact term) downtown is a lady from hell. She screams, shouts at, and insults defendants. Be ready for this possibility and be ready to sit calmly through it and not get bothered.

2/28 – In therapy session with Scott Harris he suggested writing a letter that might be helpful for my hearing. When I got home I left a message on Rosemary’s voicemail that I would fax it and I faxed it.

3/1 – Called Rosemary at 10:30 to prepare for hearing.
She needs to reschedule call to tomorrow at 11am.
She said she got the therapists letter, and it is good. She’s not sure yet if we will use it tomorrow.
I asked her if she knows what the change of code section is about. She said she’s not sure it’s a change. The criminal battery was just her assumption of what to call it. She never saw or heard anything specific from the police. And I guess where I got criminal battery from was sneaking a look at her papers. She went and looked it up and said she will fax it to me. I should leave my fax machine online when I go back to school.
She looked at it briefly and said she thinks it could be pursued as a felony or a misdemeanor, which is probably why they say “great injury not likely”, to indicate it would be a misdemeanor.
She said she thinks we’ll be fine at the hearing tomorrow. That’s what she’s always thought, and she still does. I said I want to do a little refocusing before we go in. She said that’s exactly why we’ll be talking at 11 tomorrow.
I want to remember to ask her if she knows if the person filing the complaint will be at the hearing.

3/2 – Also want to ask her what she knows about what the procedure is and what my part in it will be.
So, we talked on the phone. She said Juan and his parent or parents will probably be there. OK to say hi to them but don’t get into any conversation. If a parent is belligerent, walk away from the waiting room and wait downstairs or somewhere else. Hearing office will probably talk with them first. Expect maybe 10-15 minutes, while we wait outside. If parent is really belligerent, hearing officer may take more time, because wants to defuse the situation.
We go in next. Rosemary will try to walk the officer through the packet, especially highlighting Jimenez letter and Juan’s office referrals. Then the officer will ask me what happened. Rosemary had me tell the story to her again. Remember, don’t use your hands. When I get to the part about stopping him, stop and be really gentle with the language. If the officer asks if I could have touched his neck or lifted his arm, it may be possible, with his flailing, that it happened momentarily, but not that I intended or recall. I was aware and careful to do the very least I could to keep him hurting a second student.
If the hearing officer decides to throw it out, we could get a closing letter before we leave. Breathe a big sigh of relief. She kept on saying she thinks we’ll be fine.
Some preparation for difficult twists. Could get the hearing officer who is really hostile and nasty. If so, don’t get rattled. Just remember that you didn’t do anything wrong, and don’t be angry. There could be a surprise of new information we haven’t heard before. Don’t be taken aback, don’t get excited. Just remember that you did the right thing. You were protecting a child and I only did the minimum reasonably necessary to do so.
It’s 11:35. Time to put on my suit, and go back to West Vernon. I want to show up at the hearing about 3:00 pm. Could have library teacher book with me to read. Means I should leave West Vernon about 2:30 to give me time to park and get into the building.
I mentioned that Juan has been put back into my class as of Monday. She said that’s a message from the school that they think nothing serious happened. If they thought something serious happened they wouldn’t put him back in your class. If it .comes up, it would be fine to mention that.

OK. NOW I’M BACK FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY HEARING. A very sweet hearing officer named Yung Hae Kim (she looked Japanese to me) said “This is going to be a very short hearing. I’m not even sure why this complaint got as far as it did”. Rosemary gave me the reject letter, which I will make a color copy of, and return the original to her. She wants me to give her a call sometime next week, after I’ve had a chance to relax, to reflect on where we’ve been. We can talk a little about my present situation at W. Vernon at that time if I want. She can wrap it in under the insurance that covers this whole thing.

3/6 – I faxed Rosemary a copy of the hearing officers note, and mailed her my color copy. I kept the original.