News - Don't Cross the Line

According to a 2007 annual report by the New York State Education Department Office of Teaching Initiatives, 134 teachers out of 249 cases brought to the department had their certificates revoked after being deemed the individual did not have the “requisite moral character” to possess a teacher or administrator certificate in the state of New York.

Types of behavior that can constitute a question of moral character are varied, but the vast majority of cases brought to the department involved inappropriate relationships (90 cases), sexual harassment (15 cases), sex with a minor (78 cases), drug problems (66 cases) and pornography (37 cases).

In early August, Mark Oppenneer, a 37-year-old tenured high school English teacher was fired from his position for having a relationship with a female student that was deemed inappropriate. The relationship was discovered by the ninth grader’s mother around Labor Day 2007. It was found that over the course of the 2006-2007 school year, Oppenneer and the student met at local eateries outside of school and had electronic communications, with more than 95 messages being sent between 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.

While the relationship between the teacher and student never became physical, it went past the boundary of professional to inappropriate.

“Relationship boundaries can usually be determined by common sense. People have a barometer that tells them right from wrong, and our teachers have learned right from wrong through orientation training and common sense,” Saratoga Springs City School District Superintendent Janice White said. “We want teachers to have a supportive, academic relationship with students, but we have to make sure the line is clear.”

From a report released by the New York State Department of Education, Oppenneer indicates that he knew his relationship with the student would be deemed unacceptable by school administration and would “freak out” the student’s parents.

New teacher orientations are held every year before the new school year starts at Saratoga Springs City School District and a main focus is knowing the boundaries of appropriate relationships with students, White said. All new hires in the district are fingerprinted and must provide three professional or personal references when applying. The new teacher orientation teaches the rules and standards for educating and teacher-student conduct and the school principals enforce these standards at the building level, White said.

According to Jonathan Burman, spokesman for the New York State Education Department, a law was passed earlier this year that will automatically revoke a teaching certificate from an educator, tenured or not, who has been convicted of certain sex offenses.

“First and foremost is the safety of our students. This law makes it faster and easier to get rid of teachers who put our children at risk of abuse,” Burman said.

State Senator Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury, is fighting to get a bill signed that would criminalize sexual conduct between school employees and students. Currently, there are no legal repercussions if a school employee has a relationship with a student who is 17 years old and older.

“We’ve seen cases of teachers ‘grooming’ their younger students when they are freshman and sophomores, and by the time they are seniors, they would be of legal age to consent to the relationship. We are trying to correct this, as it just isn’t appropriate,” Little said. “High school is a competitive time in a student’s life. They are vulnerable at this point, and their teacher, who is in a position of power and trust, should be there for guidance, not preying on their vulnerabilities.”

While Schuylerville Central School District has not had a problem, Superintendent Leon Reed and his staff are keeping their eyes and ears open for anything strange.

“If we see something strange, we don’t assume intent, but we certainly ask questions,” Reed said. “We seem to have a heightened awareness of what is going on in our schools. If a teacher or employee was having an inappropriate relationship with a student, a lot of people would start to ask questions.”

One of the most important things that could deter this type of situation is parent involvement in their child’s life.

“Parents should monitor their child’s activities. These things go unfounded until it is reported. Parents need to know who their child is in communication with and that role shouldn’t change when they deem the child is ‘old enough’,” White said.

With current technology, parents of students attending the Saratoga Springs School District can access their children’s grades and homework assignments, and students and parents alike can contact their teachers through a school-based website, ruling out the need to communicate with a teacher in an informal way such as “MySpace” or “Facebook.”

During school hours at Schuylerville Central School District, there are assistant principals who walk the halls to ensure things are running smoothly, monitor the school, and rule out one-on-one student contact.

“That’s one of the things that raise eyebrows. People begin to ask why a teacher is alone in a room with a student. We just need to rule out any opportunities for something to happen,” Reed said.