Should This Teacher Be Fired?

I'm sorry but I disagree w/ most everyone. No the teacher should not have been fired - suspended or warning, yes. But the school should be held accountable b/c the front door was NOT LOCKED! Obviously the front door was accessible to all the children or the 3 yr. old would not have been able to walk out the front door. I think the teacher was used as a scape goat to protect the school by firing the teacher. Also by firing her, that kept the school from paying out benefits when she left at the end of the year. The principal knew exactly what she was doing when she fired her!!! If I were you (or the parent involved) I would entertain the idea of suing the school for negligence. Especially since the teacher was fired as a smoke screen to the real issue at hand.

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I agree that this was a very serious issue, but teacher handled everything just right once she realized her mistake. I think there should have be some sort of repercussions, but I think firing her on the spot was too extreme.

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As an educator and mom of a three year old this is a tough call. I think the three year old should have had to wait for the teacher. BUT I am not sure this is grounds for dismissal. Maybe there was something else happening? The school is responsible for the children. How could a 3 year old push the door open by themselves? Isn't there someone near the front? Scary!! Maybe the principal was mad that she was leaving? A serious warning and letter in her file... again, maybe this isn't the first time???

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It was poor judgment on the part of the teacher. Plus, three years old is young. Too young, in my opinion, to be left to find her way back to the playground. Swinging on a metal fence sounds dangerous enough. Personally, I can understand the actions of the principal.

If this was an elementary school child, I might feel differently.

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The law for that age group is all children are to be within sight and sound of an adult. This is about accountability. I believe the teacher should have been fired. Not knowing that a child is out of your care is negligence. I wonder if this was common practice for the teacher to use this method to manage 3 year olds. It is unacceptable. I can't believe how many responses are so lax about LOSING a child, blaming it on relations with the principal.

UPDATE: In response to everyone wanting the front door to be locked from the inside...that is against most fire codes. Also, there is no need for a front desk person to monitor children going out if the teachers do their job effectively.

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A 3 year old child was left without adult supervision. She went to the front of the school, where she could have wandered out into traffic or been kidnapped, molested, or who knows what else. Yes, the teacher should have been fired.

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yes. i wish ppl that i know who have "lost" kids had been fired the first time. Girl #1 should have waited until they were all ready to go outside. Check with your states laws too. It might have something to do with that. And there may have been other reasons besides that incident (occurrences, breaking other policies...) . It could have been the final incident to get her fired.

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Sorry I can see why she was fired. I worked at a daycare facility ( La Petite) and children were never to be left unattended...any number of things can happen in just minutes.

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I belive she would have been fired at our school. They have very clear and strict rules to prevent incidents like this. It only takes once and I don't blame them for a no tolerance policy. It's tough, but necessary.

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I think I agree she should have been fired. I am also wondering if the principal did it to cover her own butt. In all the preschools my kids have attended there is a barrier between the child and the front door. So to escape is not easy. The teacher should have been watching her, but the ratio of teachers to kids in never one on one, so the teachers do not always have an eye on all children, so there should be something in place to keep this from happening. When working with kids this young, you can not trust them to always do the right thing. So I am guessing the pricipal needed to make a drastic move to prevent further investigation from the parents.

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my comment is coming from being a former teacher and having a child that attends a preschool right now... I feel this is extreme. There are a few things wrong with the situation that don't even involve the teacher. 1. There should be a front desk attendant, teacher or admin close enough to the door to see who goes in and out. 2. If the door is not heavy enough to keep kids from going in and out, there should be an alarm (a simple "beep beep beep" will do) to let a front desk attendant know someone went in/out if she was busy making a photo copy etc... 3. The teacher should have some sort of warning put in her file (especially if parents were not fighting the issue) and it should end there.

Is it possible more was going on with this teacher that the parents do not know about? If not, this is extreme.

I also agree with momma11: There is more to the issue about her leaving at the end of the year and paying out benefits etc...

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Leaving a child unattended is unacceptable. If the teacher had been there six years, she should have known that rule without any question. I don't have a problem with the firing.
Just my two cents,
R.

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I work at a pre-school and she would have been fired right then not later in the day. We get to paid to watch your children and assist them in learning. Its my job to know exactly where your child is while she is at school. I feel bad that she worked there 6 yrs but the safety of the children comes 1st, before I've never made a mistake like this before. I would be livid had it been my child !

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i don't think she should have been fired, suspended yes. I do understand the parents that say it could have been worse. but in the same token if the parents weren't angry enough to want her fired and she took responsibility for her actions then let it be. We all have made mistakes with our children and so have some of our family members. but we can't fire ourselves or family. Yes she is a teacher and could have made a better choice. actually the more i type the more I;m torn about my decision. I really don't know.

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Three year olds are never allowed out of the teacher's sight.
She learned her lesson.
I'm sorry to be mean about this, but yes, she disregarded one of the most fundamental rules when watching small children.
You never let a child out of your sight. You count children constantly on the playground, when walking to and from classrooms, getting on and off busses.
Children wait for the others to finish before going anywhere by themselves. I would stand in my door and watch my charges go to a different classroom and wait for them to come back, at my door. We had aides deliver kids to the office, other classrooms, the speech room.
She should have kept the child with her.
I applaud the principal for her actions.

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I do think it is a tad extreme. It sounds like the principal maybe had a personal vendetta against the teacher and used this incident as an excuse, or she had other warnings.

I do think the teacher was wrong in letting the first girl go, so yes, I do think there should have been some major disciplinary action and a school wide staff meeting reinforcing procedure. However, I do think the principal had good grounds to fire her, so I would not be shocked. Three children were kidnapped and molested from my preschool when I was a child, one of them was a family friend. It's a blessing nothing happened to this little girl. If something had happened to the little girl, I'm sure most all the parents would want her fired.

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Sorry, but I say, fired. Yes, the girl is fine, but the what if's are too great. It only takes one mistake in 6 years and a life could have been lost. 3 year olds cannot be trusted to get themselves places on their own. I think the principal made the right call. I wouldn't have wanted my daughter in her care anyways after that. Mistakes happen, but when it comes to the lives of children, they cannot be overlooked.

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She would not have been fired in a public school because there would be nothing legally the school could stand on. There was no misconduct or negligence. However, private schools do not have to follow the same laws since they don't accept federal or state funding. That's too bad for the teacher!

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What is the school's written policy?

We don't know if this teacher has had other infractions, etc. It might not be based on this one incident. You say "The teacher has been with the school for six years and has never had any issues before, no complaints or warnings" but do you know that to be true for sure?

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Unfortunately, the teacher's actions were extremely careless and could have injured the child or harmed the child in some way. She should have never left the children unattended. I think that her punishment was right-- I wouldn't want a careless teacher around my child!

M

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Yes, and not only that, if it were MY child I would be bringing charges against her personally AND the school. It ABSOLUTELY is negligence.

she made a mistake that could have resulted in a serious problem or many ... I understand the decision made and would expect something simmilar to be made if it were my child.

I think the school is more at fault. Our elementry school does not let any child out the front door without having to pass by an adult. they are essentially in Lock Down. The child should have been safe in the school and not have been allowed to leave on her own accord. Non of the children up to age 6th grade can eave our school unless the marked adult on the emergency sheet picks them up. Not any child they will leave them there until 5-6pm until they can contact the parent/gaurdian if they have too.

The teacher definitely exhibited poor judgment in this instance. Is there a written policy about accompanying the children/not leaving them unattended?

maybe a written warning!

if i was boss yes she would have been fired. they got lucky the kid didn't get hurt or snatched. so yes I would have fired her.

Good working history or not, the teacher was severely negligent & made a very dangerous mistake. One can never assume that a 3 year old will do what they're supposed to do - that's preschool 101. You'd think after 6 years she would've known that. I think the firing was justified.

At my DD's old daycare, a "teacher" (and I use that term loosely) was fired for leaving a 2 year old on the playground (and yes, there was a fence). So for those of you who say the teacher in the article shouldn't have been fired, you'd seriously be ok with this happening to your child? And you'd trust that teacher to continue to care for your child? I know I wouldn't.

I have a feeling there is way more to this story, though. Is there an article at all?

As a child of 2 teachers I can bet you anything that there is something going on politically in the school above what you have said. Teacher could have gotten on the principals bad side for not reuping next year for all you know...

My first question would be as the parent, How the hell (excuse my language) did she get out the front door. I have complained on numerous occasions about my kids' daycare and no one being up front. You have to put a code in to get in the front door from the outside, but kids can easily run out. I think maybe the teacher should have gotten written up, especially since she is leaving soon. I think the school has bigger problems than this teacher...maybe the principal should have been watching the front door rather than her office window. (Hope that doesn't sound to bitter-the director at my kids' daycare is completely lazy and I have no time for her,...this principal at your school may be totally great, just taking my frustrations out on others) :)

I think the principal is covering her butt, probably she spent the afternooon consulting with her boss and school authorities and the powers that be decided the teacher had to go. Keeping her is probably too much of a legal risk. Parents may say now they aren't too upset, but after they get to talking about it with friends and family, someone may convince them to file a lawsuit, easy money. Firing the teacher immediately puts 100% of the blame on the teacher. They school is off the hook. The focus then cannot be on the school logistics (door security) or policy (3 year olds should not be left out of adult sight). And I think it is a shame because I would bet anything this teacher would be 200 times more careful than others in the future having had this experience. No I do not think the teacher should have been fired. Disciplined, yes. Fired, no. Unless this was not the first violation. Unfortunately, though, it does not surprise me.

It happens more than anyone wants to admit. I think appropriate actions would be to set up a plan for kids to get inside to go potty. A teacher has to be with the kids at all times, even if they are walking back to the playground. The teacher made a huge mistake by letting that child out of her sight. She should have told the child she had to wait. It depends on the printed policies of the school. No tolerance means no tolerance of neglect. This was neglect.