Sunday, September 30, 2012

A Stinging Indictment of MCPS

THE MARYLAND State Board of Education has upheld the firing of a Montgomery County teacher who engaged in a pattern of suspect behavior with students. The decision is far from vindication of the county’s handling of the case. Rather it’s a stinging indictment of a school bureaucracy that for almost two decades believed it had a problem but reacted with a seemingly endless flow of ineffective warnings, letters, reprimands and — most appalling — reassignments of the teacher to other schools and other students. Montgomery officials boast about their skill at weeding out troubled and ineffective teachers. This disturbing case should temper the boasts and cause some soul searching.
Daniel J. Picca, most recently a teacher at Kemp Mill Elementary School, also taught at Candlewood, Rachel Carson and Luxmanor elementaries. He was dismissed in 2011 for insubordination and misconduct in office. The proximate cause for his dismissal stemmed from an April 12, 2010, incident in which another teacher at the Silver Spring school reported what she viewed as alarming contact with a male student. Mr. Picca, as was detailed by a hearing examiner who heard the case in 2010 and affirmed by an administrative law judge in July of this year, had been admonished over a 17-year period about his contact with students, mainly young boys. Reported contacts included inappropriate touching, having boys sit on his lap, wrestling and inviting boys to an after-school “Strong Boys Club” in which students said they were encouraged to take off their shirts. One 1995 incident resulted in a finding, upheld in subsequent appeals, by county child protective services that named Mr. Picca responsible for “indicated child abuse.” School officials say that the system’s central personnel office did not become aware of the child abuse findings until June 2010 when information was requested from child protective services as part of its then- ongoing investigation of Mr. Picca.
Mr. Picca, in a telephone conversation with us, labeled as false any allegation that he did anything improper. He noted that — despite investigation by police and the state’s attorney in 1995 — he has never been charged with a crime. He characterized the proceedings against him as a setup, partly in retaliation for his advocacy as a union activist. He noted that the parents of the boy involved in the April 2010 incident said that their son was pressured into making a false statement.
But three principals and two superintendents over many years raised red flags. “The evidence is overwhelming,” Administrative Law Judge David Hofstetter concluded in his July ruling upheld last week by the state board, that Mr. Picca “engaged in a pattern of conduct over many years which was reckless, brazen, unjustified and, most importantly, of grave potential harm to his students.”
How could school officials for so long do no more than put another strongly worded letter into his personnel file and move him to another school? Read the letter then-Superintendent Jerry D. Weast gave to Mr. Picca in February 2000 and consider whether you would entrust your child to such a teacher. The letter instructed Mr. Picca not to engage in any “bodybuilding”-type of activities with students or have contact with them outside the classroom. Shouldn’t the expectation be, as the state board wrote, that “when confronted with such obvious inappropriate behaviors on the part of a teacher toward his students . . . that the teacher will be removed from contact with students with alacrity?”
Mr. Picca was judged to be an effective teacher. He received high ratings on performance standards, but disciplinary proceedings are kept separate from professional evaluations. It’s not clear whether his principals even were aware of all the information that had accumulated in his central office file; as the state board noted, it is as if each reprimand stood alone without reference to past directives. School officials told us that procedures have been tightened, notably better communication between child protective services and the school system. We hope that they are following the advice of the Maryland school board directed to all the state’s systems to scour their personnel files and review policies to ensure “there are no cases, like this one, lurking in their schools.”
...read the rest of the Editorial at this link.

28 comments:

  1. The Post is busy going out to lunch with MCPS officials. Check out Dana Tofig's tweets. Let's hope that this Post editorial writer back tracks and starts investigating the many MCPS coverups that are out there. MCPS thought they could slip this one under the carpet. If the Parents Coalition had not brought this forward, students, teachers, the public would still be in the dark on this.
    Unfortunately, Weast's people are still running this county.
    Where is Dr. Starr in all of this?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Starr has his nose buried in his BB tweeting happy stories about MCPS.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There is no 'The Post.'. 'The Post' is made up of reporters, editors, and publishers with names. Here is one name: Vernon Loeb. Mr. Loeb is the editor responsible for coverage of Montgomery County, including MCPS. For some reason he has decided not to cover the county, or MCPS. Email Mr. Loeb and ask him why he made that decision. Ask him how many lunches he has gone to with Josh. Email him at loebv@washpost.com. If he replies, please post here, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. the story isn't mr. picca, the story is principal starnes - why doesn't the post investigate this? what has starnes been doing to children, what has he been doing to teachers (including picca), why does starnes get a free pass from cps, from mcpd, from mcps, why is he still in the school, why does he still have free access to children?

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    Replies
    1. The story is the fact that MCPS leaves known child abusers in classrooms and passes them off from school to school.

      What role did the principals play in this? What role did Child Protective Services play in this?

      Penn State right here.

      Delete
  5. There appears to be "too close" of a relationship between Child Protective Services and MCPS, which might give the aura of a coverup and prevent a quick, direct intervention by CPS. Even though most child abuse complaints come from MCPS staff and there needs to be major cooperation to fully get factual information, there also has to be a level of independence. And, suspicion is not enough. The facts must be clear enough to present a case in Court. Perhaps one should ask if there was only an indicated abuse investigation and why it did not proceed to a Court hearing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, Penn State right here. MCPS is being dishonest with regard to Picca and their knowledge or lack of knowledge of his past. Both principals at Kemp Mill were aware of Picca's past as was much of the staff at Kemp Mill. Teachers, at several schools in MCPS had knowlege of past accusations against Picca. The principals at Kemp Mill had directives not to allow Picca to shut his door or be alone with boys. Where did those directives come from? The directives came directly from Dr. Weast. MCPS Dana Tofig is not telling the truth. Picca, however is gone from MCPS. Starnes, the principal still remains. There is a pending lawsuit against this principal. He is accused of the most egregious behaviors toward staff and students. Why is this principal allowed to stay in his position? He should be removed immediately. Perhaps, the Maryland State Board of Education will follow up on the letter they sent to BOE's in the state of Maryland. Wups, I'm pretty sure members of the state board of education have been listed as expert witnesses for Floyd Starnes and MCPS BOE in the Kaltreider et. al. case against Floyd Starnes and MCPS BOE. I will check on that. Penn State right here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Picca graduated from Penn State.

      Delete
  7. Whoa...this is a FAR cry from Penn State. Was this teacher ever tried and convicted of a crime? Let's not use hystrionics please!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Defendants' Designation of Expert Witnesses for Floyd Starnes and the MCPS BOE:
    Carl Smith, Ph.D. from the Maryland Association of Boards of Education
    and
    Stephen C. Bounds, J.D. from the Maryland Association of Boards of Education

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ironically, Picca is a Penn State alumnus and a HUGE fan of the athletic program and of Saint Joe Paterno.

    hmmm....

    ReplyDelete
  10. Whatever is going on within a school community seems to be of little or no interest to those outside that community. In some cases the issue may be no more than a tempest in a teapot, but in others a particular community's concern may be an indicator of more systemic problems.

    It takes groups such as the Parents' Coalition and the MCCPTA to be squeaky wheels. PTA organizations generally stay away from "personnel issues" but in this instance I think the MCCPTA should press for procedures that assure the safety of students.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hah.... MCCPTA as a squeaky wheel? NO THEY ARE NOT. They only take on the issues the leaders feel are important and that directly impact the leaders and their families. Everyone else is left hanging as they spend our dues money on parties and bar tabs for the officers.

    ReplyDelete
  12. MCCPTA is a squeaky wheel as directed by MCPS. One voice, remember? That is their slogan. If you have a different voice, then go away or the PTA mean girls will attack you. Sometimes you will get threatening phone calls from the principal. Think this doesn't happen? Think again.

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  13. There is a MCCPTA Board meeting this evening (Thurs Oct 4th) at 7:30pm. Perhaps concerned parents should show up and see what they're getting.

    www.mccpta.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sure, it's a waste of time, but it is an open meeting - you just can't speak. Go and see how trivial the discussion is.

      Delete
  14. A year later Dan Picca has now moved to PA. State College to be exact. He is now targeting football players wrestlers INCLUDING my son saying he is a recruiter for colleges. [comment deleted]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Be that as it may, surely you can't miss the irony in that situation.

      Delete
    2. http://smepreps.com/staff/

      Picca's continued targeting of children is concerning. It doesn't matter where he is.

      Delete
  15. I always found it strange how my parents let my younger brother (hang out) and play sports with a so called role model- Dan Picca on various weekend days at his house. I had a weird feeling from him even at my younger age. Now that I'm older and came across this, let's say I'm not surprised and how it explains my brothers odd behaviors that came thereafter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If your brother has a story to tell, he should tell it. Picca still has a following who think he was shafted.

      Delete
  16. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can you give us a year that this would have happened?

      Delete

  17. The Post's View
    A teacher’s dismissal
    Correction: An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly stated that former Montgomery County teacher Daniel J. Picca “operates” Upper Hand Promotions. He has described himself as Upper Hand’s national recruiting director and chief sports editor. A co-owner of the company said that those titles are incorrect and that Mr. Picca is “an independent contractor that writes articles about the athletes in our program. He is not an employee, has no ownership stake or managing authority within Upper Hand Promotions.” The following version has been revised.

    By Editorial Board September 29, 2012
    THE MARYLAND State Board of Education has upheld the firing of a Montgomery County teacher who engaged in a pattern of suspect behavior with students. The decision is far from vindication of the county’s handling of the case. Rather it’s a stinging indictment of a school bureaucracy that for almost two decades believed it had a problem but reacted with a seemingly endless flow of ineffective warnings, letters, reprimands and — most appalling — reassignments of the teacher to other schools and other students. Montgomery officials boast about their skill at weeding out troubled and ineffective teachers. This disturbing case should temper the boasts and cause some soul searching.

    Daniel J. Picca, most recently a teacher at Kemp Mill Elementary School, also taught at Candlewood, Rachel Carson and Luxmanor elementaries. He was dismissed in 2011 for insubordination and misconduct in office. The proximate cause for his dismissal stemmed from an April 12, 2010, incident in which another teacher at the Silver Spring school reported what she viewed as alarming contact with a male student. Mr. Picca, as was detailed by a hearing examiner who heard the case in 2010 and affirmed by an administrative law judge in July of this year, had been admonished over a 17-year period about his contact with students, mainly young boys. Reported contacts included inappropriate touching, having boys sit on his lap, wrestling and inviting boys to an after-school “Strong Boys Club” in which students said they were encouraged to take off their shirts. One 1995 incident resulted in a finding, upheld in subsequent appeals, by county child protective services that named Mr. Picca responsible for “indicated child abuse.” School officials say that the system’s central personnel office did not become aware of the child abuse findings until June 2010 when information was requested from child protective services as part of its then- ongoing investigation of Mr. Picca.

    Mr. Picca, in a telephone conversation with us, labeled as false any allegation that he did anything improper. He noted that — despite investigation by police and the state’s attorney in 1995 — he has never been charged with a crime. He characterized the proceedings against him as a setup, partly in retaliation for his advocacy as a union activist. He noted that the parents of the boy involved in the April 2010 incident said that their son was pressured into making a false statement.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But three principals and two superintendents over many years raised red flags. “The evidence is overwhelming,” Administrative Law Judge David Hofstetter concluded in his July ruling upheld last week by the state board, that Mr. Picca “engaged in a pattern of conduct over many years which was reckless, brazen, unjustified and, most importantly, of grave potential harm to his students.”

      How could school officials for so long do no more than put another strongly worded letter into his personnel file and move him to another school? Read the letter then-Superintendent Jerry D. Weast gave to Mr. Picca in February 2000 and consider whether you would entrust your child to such a teacher. The letter instructed Mr. Picca not to engage in any “bodybuilding”-type of activities with students or have contact with them outside the classroom. Shouldn’t the expectation be, as the state board wrote, that “when confronted with such obvious inappropriate behaviors on the part of a teacher toward his students . . . that the teacher will be removed from contact with students with alacrity?”

      Mr. Picca was judged to be an effective teacher. He received high ratings on performance standards, but disciplinary proceedings are kept separate from professional evaluations. It’s not clear whether his principals even were aware of all the information that had accumulated in his central office file; as the state board noted, it is as if each reprimand stood alone without reference to past directives. School officials told us that procedures have been tightened, notably better communication between child protective services and the school system. We hope that they are following the advice of the Maryland school board directed to all the state’s systems to scour their personnel files and review policies to ensure “there are no cases, like this one, lurking in their schools.”


      This case did feature a few bright spots. The Kemp Mill teacher who walked in on Mr. Picca and a student she saw to be uncomfortable immediately reported what she saw to the principal, who requested investigation by the central office. Mr. Weast rightly rejected a suggestion from Mr. Picca’s counsel for a voluntary resignation or early retirement and insisted on termination, a decision the Montgomery County Board of Education backed in the face of community pressure for a teacher who enjoyed considerable popularity. Montgomery officials said they have requested that the state revoke Mr. Picca’s teaching license.

      Mr. Picca is contesting that move and said he may appeal his termination in Circuit Court.

      Delete
  18. On the Federal level one is disciplined for even giving the appearance of misconduct.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Please delete the prior comment submitted
    It is factually correct and submitted by me. However it was not able to get to edit some info and proofreading errors. I will resubmit a more concise comment after deletion if the previous one. Thank you for your help.

    ReplyDelete
  20. There is even more to this story that has been covered up. I just decided to check out Dan Picca again due to past concerns that I had brought up to the Principal Howard Wohl at Clearspring Elementsry in Damascus MD. Mr. Picca suddenly arrived to teach right before school the year was to begin . The staff was told that he was coming from Candlewood Elem. (Principal Donald Graham ) because of a staffing ratio change. Student class assignments were revised for Mr. Picca to teach a first and second grade combination class.
    At one time there was a fire drill at recess time and when teachers were to report all students accounted for or missing students assembled by class on the playground Mr. Picca did not appear to be there and students were unaccounted for. It was my responsibility as team leader to inform the administrator or designee the information which I did. Later I saw Mr. Picca and asked him where he was and the students not present for the fire drill. He told me he had a lunch club that he took to Damascus McDonalds. I told him he was not authorized to take any children from the building without written parent approval. This was a well known policy required for all field trips. I was later told this club was called The Strong Boys Club. I shared my concerns with Mr. Wohl.
    Later in the year I saw the Principal Donald Graham with Mr. Wohl in the cafeteria. Mr. Picca had a meeting scheduled with MCEA Personnel and MCPS personnel in the staff conference room. Mr. Picca informed me of that. To my recollection Mr. Picca did not return to Clearspring the next year. There was an interim Principal assigned in April to finish the year. There were other issues of concern regarding handling staff concerns that put students at great risk. There was a new Principal assigned the fhe following year. When I became aware of the concerns regarding Mr. Picca several years later I contacted the schools that would be involved with Mr. Picca’s former students to alert them to the possibility that similar incidents that were of concern at the other schools could be the situation with the students he was involved with at Clearspring Elementary. I did not hear from anyone. I also contacted the hearing examiner listed in the published article or NEA representative I am not positive who it was. I was told that they did not need additional information and it was a matter that could not be discussed because if personnel privacy issues. Since Clearspring is not listed in any of the reports I have read it is obvious that the concealment of Mr. Picca’s known issues of not following MCPS regulations and transfer from school to school without informing staff and parents put students at extreme risk and the assumption that the potential for abuse while unsupervised in Mr.Picca’s car and actually saying he would take them to a nearby park with their lunch for The Strong Boys Club is beyond outrageous, unconscionable and against what MCPS requires of all staff and employees as mandated reporters of ANY suspected abuse.

    ReplyDelete

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