January 2006
Keep Eanes Informed archive on
this story:
Eanes Westlake Boys Coach Resigns,
No Paper Trail of Complaints
The Austin American-Statesman reported on December 15, 2006, that Westlake High School boys soccer coach Jacob Hawthorne had been placed on administrative leave. Several days later, the Statesman reported that Hawthorne had resigned. STXSoccer has learned that the resignation was submitted on December 19, 2006. No other information was provided in the Statesman reports.
Pursuant to the Open Records Act, stxsoccer.com requested a variety of records relating to Hawthorne's resignation. The records requested included:
1) Letters or emails from parents complaining about Mr. Hawthorne; 2) Letters, emails or reports from anyone in the Athletic Department, complaining about the coach; 3) A completed report or investigation; 4) Any settlement agreement; 5) Any written report to the Texas Education Agency 6) E-mails between the coach and any player on the soccer team
Editors Note: Two emails regarding lack of supervision of the soccer locker room were received this afternoon from Eanes ISD. No records relating to the reasons for his resignation have been provided. Bernadette Gonzalez, the coordinator of records management stated that she was still seeking to confirm the existence of Athletic Department memos or records, but no updates have been received since January 12, 2006.
The only record produced by the School District was the letter of resignation. A copy can be reviewed here. Any person wishing to provide additional information, may contact us at news@stxsoccer.comRead more here.
WE TRUST OUR KIDS TO THEM EVERY DAY. BUT A CHRONICLE INVESTIGATION REVEALS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECONDARY SCHOOL COACHES AND STUDENTS IS RIFE WITH ABUSE.
Henry "Lefty" Fisher Assistant football coach
Austin Westlake
Resigned in March 2000 after school officials became aware of e-mail messages and other evidence indicating he was developing an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old female student. Among the things allegedly discussed by Fisher and the student was a proposed sexual encounter on the student's 18th birthday. The coach threatened suicide after the matter came to light and subsequently was hospitalized.
Records compiled by the Eanes Independent School District detail how an assistant football coach, Henry "Lefty" Fisher, threatened suicide after school administrators obtained e-mail messages and other evidence indicating he was developing a sexual relationship with a female student last spring.
When Fisher learned he had been placed on paid leave as a result of the matter, he went home, found a gun and indicated he intended to take his life. He eventually was talked out of it by police.
Fisher's e-mails to the student included one in which he berated her for failing to meet him after a school dance and said he would consider suicide if "any of this" affected his family.
"If you decided to cut my throat, so be it," the message said. "I have no control over that. But you can bet your ass that before I face (principal Chris) Hines or anybody else at that school over this, I will blow my ... brains all over the ground."
According to the Eanes ISD records, obtained by the Chronicle from the school district under the Texas Open Records Act, the incident resulted in Fisher's hospitalization because of an unspecified medical condition as well as his resignation. The matter was reported to SBEC but has yet to result in a ruling regarding the coach's teaching certificate.
In trying to account for these and other situations, educators generally return to two themes: the long and sometimes unstructured hours coaches and students spend together, and the power and influence wielded by many coaches in their schools and communities.
"You take your child to school.
The state requires it.
There ought to be some level of
protection." - Parent's attorney
January 16, 2008
"Our standard for safety and well-being for students is important to us," Eanes Superintendent Nola Wellman said outside court, "and we're pleased that that was found to be true."
Contrary
to the superintendent's assertions, Eanes ISD did not
earn a gold star from the jury for "safety and
well-being standards" The jury did not rule on the
district's general "standard for safety and well-being
for students" or the "importance" of that standard to
Eanes ISD. The jury ruled on a specific issue
regarding notification of the harassment which is
a legal standard. In order to hold a school
district liable, the parent must document that the
district received specific notification of the
harassment. Documentation is vital including
written communications and recorded conversations.
Title IX’s express means of enforcement requires "actual
notice to officials of the funding recipient and an
opportunity for voluntary compliance before
administrative enforcement proceedings can commence."
See
Gebser v. Lago Vista ISD. Read also
Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crimes.
Daniel Burns, the
parent's attorney, is quoted in the Westlake Picayune
"The plaintiff genuinely believes that there was
knowledge that something had happened at the school, and
that there was at least some effort to cover it up. You
take your child to school. The state requires it.
There ought to be some level of protection." Judge Sam
Sparks is also quoted as saying he thought it "very
close" as to whether the plaintiff had met the burden of
proof.
When children are hurt, they usually just leave the district and we never hear the details. If parents advocate, children and their families are often further hurt.
I wish healing and comfort for these three little girls who were hurt during their time in Eanes ISD. I wish the same for their families.
It is important to remember that this abuse could have happened to any child ... including our own.
Jurors say district had not been notified of child's harassment claims.
"Our standard for safety and well-being for students is important to us," Eanes Superintendent Nola Wellman said outside court, "and we're pleased that that was found to be true."
The mother who filed the lawsuit claiming violations of Title IX of federal education law on behalf of her daughter left court without comment. Another mother, whose daughter's outcry first revealed possible sexual interaction among kindergarten girls at the West Lake Hills-area school, sobbed outside. She also sued the district and school Principal Jennifer Dusek, but those claims were dismissed by Sparks before the trial.
"My main goal was to make sure that the school take responsibility for what they let happen," she said. "Now it seems like they are questioning whether it ever happened."
First article (of two articles) published on January 15, 2008
Lawsuit challenges district response to reported sexual
contact among children.
By
Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The kindergartners called it the "gross game."
Taught by one student to two others at Valley View Elementary School in West Lake Hills during the 2005-06 school year, the "game" involved little girls touching each other sexually during nap time and under a picnic table during recess, according to testimony in federal court Monday.
One girl, now 7, testified that the sexual contact happened daily for months, mostly under a big, orange blanket her classmate used while they rested in their classroom. They were all 5 at the time.
"Did it make you feel bad?" asked her lawyer, Daniel Burns.
"Yes," the girl said.
A federal jury heard the girl's testimony at the start of a trial in a lawsuit filed by her mother against the Eanes Independent School District and Valley View Elementary Principal Jennifer Dusek. The mother claims that the district violated her daughter's rights by failing to stop the girl who is accused of being the aggressor, even though Dusek had been aware of the allegations.
"She's going to need more therapy for years to come because of this," Burns said during opening statements in U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks' court. "She can't complete the first grade. ... She can't even bear to look at the school."
Second
article (of two articles) published on
January 15, 2008:
School district being sued over alleged
sexual contact between kindergartners.
July 12, 2007 Ruling -
5th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals denial in Eanes ISD lawsuit regarding the sexual abuse of young children ... check back for most recent public information.
Excerpt: We further note that the district court denied Dusek’s request to stay proceedings on April 19, 2007. Yet, Dusek waited until July 2 to file her motion in this court and requested that it be treated as an emergency, seeking a decision before July 13. This court strongly disfavors the practice of creating an “emergency” by waiting to file a motion. Click
here and search for "Eanes ISD" and then on to "July 12, 2007" to read full ruling.
IT IS ORDERED that Dusek’s motion to stay district court proceedings pending appeal is DENIED.
DALLAS —A review by The Associated Press shows Texas is No. 2 in the nation in the number of teachers sanctioned for sexual misconduct. Texas Education Agency records indicate at least 200 teachers have active sanctions on their certifications for sexual misconduct that occurred between 2001 and 2005. At least 50 more certified teachers faced sex crime allegations, but had their sanctions lifted or have decisions pending.More than 1,300 certified teachers in Texas received sanctions from 2001-05 because of allegations that ranged from the mundane to the macabre. They included mail fraud and violating open records, as well as kidnapping and attempted murder, according to TEA records.
"And that's just what we hear about," said Peggy Bittick, a Houston attorney whose client says she was sexually assaulted in school. "There are so many kids who never report what happens to them." The Texas figures were gathered as part of a seven-month investigation in which AP reporters sought records on teacher discipline in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Computers and telephones have been crucial to Jones' work as lead investigator. Electronic records — such as text messages, e-mails or phone records — are often the best evidence in sexual misconduct cases.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the most likely perpetrators are young teachers or those who are highly involved in sports or student groups. It is often coaches, drama teachers and club advisers, Sacken said, who face sexually charged allegations.
From Aug. 4 to Aug. 17, an assistant band director was arrested, a former substitute teacher was convicted and an ex-middle school teacher was sentenced. The three men — one in suburban Fort Worth, one in suburban Dallas and one in Austin — each faced charges of sex crimes against students. It was a typical two weeks in Texas.
"It's important to look at what the school failed to do," says Mark Loevy-Reyes, a Chicago attorney who represents some of the families, including the one profiled in this story. He claims that Sperlik's behavior came to the attention of school officials on various occasions.
"I think it's easy for school districts to turn a blind eye to it, unless they know they can be held accountable."
The student told
police that Arias
first asked her out
about the first
weekend in March,
according to the
affidavit. The two
went to the movies
and met several
times at Arias'
apartment. They had
sexual intercourse
several times, the
girl told police.
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