04 BU pl STATE OF FLORIDA UP pee EDUCATION PRACTICES COMMISSION 02 Ap Ip few de PRec * "79 P A129 _ ce) TOM GALLAGHER, as i Commissioner of Education, Petitioner, vs. CASE NO. 990-1652-M GRETCHEN MARSH, Respondent. ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT Petitioner, Tom Gallagher, as Commissioner of Education, files this Administrative Complaint against Gretchen Marsh. The Petitioner seeks the appropriate disciplinary sanction of the Respondent’s educator’s certificate pursuant to Sections 23 1.262 and 231.28, Florida Statutes, and pursuant to Rule 6B-1.006, Florida Administrative Code, Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida, said sanctions specifice lly set forth in Sections 231.262(6) and 231.28(1), Florida Statutes. The Petitioner alleges: JURISDICTION 1. The Respondent holds Florida Educator’s Certificate 558579, covering the area of Music, which is valid through June 30, 2005. 2. At all times pertinent hereto, the Respondent was employed as a Band Director at Pompano Beach Middle School, in the Broward County Schoc1 District. MATERIAL ALLEGATIONS 3. On or about January 26, 2000, Respondent actec! inappropriately when she grabbed a minor male student by the collar, and around his neck and scraiched him in an attempt to discipline him. Respondent also threw a pen at another student and stri.ck the student on the head. On or about August 16, 2000, Respondent was suspended for three days, and received a letter of reprimand from her school district. Gretchen Marsh Administrative Complaint 2o0f2 * STATUTE VIOLATIONS COUNT 1: The Respondent is in violation of Section 231.28(1)(), Florida Statutes, in that Respondent has violated the Principles of Professional Coaduct for the Education Profession prescribed by State Board of Education rules. RULE VIOLATIONS COUNT 2: The allegations of misconduct set forth herein are in violation of Rule 6B- 1.006(3)(a), Florida Administrative Code, in that Respondent has failed to make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning and/or to the student’s mental health and/or physical health and/or safety. COUNT 3: The allegations of misconduct set forth herein are in violation of Rule 6B- 1.006(3)(e), Florida Administrative Code, in that Respondent has intentionally exposed a student to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement. WHEREFORE, the Petitioner recommends that the Education Practices Commission impose an appropriate penalty pursuant to the authority provided in Sections 231.262(6) and 231.28(1), Florida Statutes, which penalty may include a reprimand, probation, restriction of the authorized scope of practice, administrative fine, suspension of the teaching certificate not to exceed three years, permanent revocation of the teaching cer ificate, or combination thereof, for the reasons set forth herein, and in accordance with the Exple nation and Election of Rights forms which are attached hereto and made a part hereof by reference. EXECUTED on this_ \W* day of Dzeete. , 2000. Len TOM GALL. R, as Commissioner of Education State of Florida Boo BEHAVIORAL i Y oa HEALTLE_. PRACTIC ES INSTITUTE Sh Sensitive solutions to real world problems “HEALTH __ANSTITUTE O1 JAN 20) BN@ctBek M. Kravitz, Ph.D. Licensed Sensitive solutions to real world problems “tie. #PvOOOUOAy 188° University Drive, Sulte 104 100 E. Sample Road, Suite 200 1881 UNIVERSITY DRIVE * SUITE104 * CORAL SP oral Springs, FL 33071 Pompano Beach, FL 33064 . ‘ (954) 340-0888 (954) 340-0888 November 29, 2000 To Whom It May Concern RUE: Gretchen Marsh DOB: 2/12/58 SS#: 330-58-9046 : This is to verify that Gretchen Marsh has completed a program of anger : inanagemefit at my office. She was motivated and committed in her treatment. She docs ; not requjré any further intervention at this tini& ; . co / a cr we . { i _ ie ‘a of “Frederick M. Kravitz, PhaD. LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST FL LIC# PY0004047 i ‘ eee le i Cente a i seri ae eect eee wer er enee Seer aeeee Disputed Allegations I dispute the following allegations: a. Grabbing a student by the collar and around the neck and scratching him while attempting to discipline him. Chase Thurman left the class room without my permission in the middle of the band class, I was fairly new at teaching and my first instinct was -o keep in the room, so I Jed him by his backback strap back into the room. He struggled with me and the strap from his backpack probably pulled on his neck and scratched hit. He is 5°8” tall and weighs 180 Ibs. He is very strong and wrestles with kids often. He is also very intimidating to other students because of his size. My discipline was calling security to remove him, since Thad a feeling he would not go to SMART@a time-out roora)-that was my discipline. I would NEVER discipline a student that way or act toward a student in a intentionally _ harmful way. Chase has actually entered the bandroom several times over the last month or so, to carry stuff for his cousin who has been in band for 3 years. Why would he do that if he thought I was trying to harm him? Jeffrey Sylvain was fooling around a lot that week, and I me rely threw the pen to get his attention. It hit him by accident, as my room is very small-r ot a bandroom- and there isn’t a lot of space. You may note the witnesses’ interviews t> notice that he was not the one that mentioned it. He knew I was merely trying to get him to pay attention. That was not done to discipline. In fact, he is back in band this year, znd doing much better at focusing, since the bomb threats stopped. We had 4 bomb frreats in a 6 day period and "had quite a few of them along with false fire drills throughout the year. The children in that class particularly were bouncing off the walls most of the time, Everything I did was to get the children in a frame of mind to learn. c. Rule violations 1 and 2. Tam being accused of failing to make a reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to learning and /or to the student’s me ral health and/or physical health and /or safety. To the contrary, my actions were an ¢ffort to create an “ environment conducive to learning and for their safety and well-being. Two children had been beaten outside my room during the year, and I though: I was using reasonable " restraint to protect Chase, not to discipline him. There were so many problems security was dealing with on a daily basis that I knew he would be sit ing outside my room, unsupervised, or walking around. If something had happene] to him outside the room, I would have been accountable. I have been told by administration that if any teacher leaves a student outside their room unsupervised and they get harmed (another student from another teacher’s class did by being bit by a squirrel) they will get no administrative support. Jeffrey Sylvain was leaning and falling out of his chzir and not only keeping me from teaching him, but also the rest of the class. Music perfomance itself is a discipline 1 oS) AS st eel requiring concentration and minimum disraction. I asked him 3 or 4 times to pay attention. J believe this happened after 3 or 4 bomb/fire drills in a row. Tam also being accused of intentionally exposing a student to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement. While Chase was emba rrassed, he was the one bringing attention to himself. When a child blatantly defies a teacher’s direction, he/she is the one embarrassing himself. Chase was running around outside the bandroom before class that day as he often did, slapping kids, and throwing berries at them through the cement lattice outside the door. He ran directly into me when I blocked him from going after another student. That behavior, along with the defiance in the room ,was his doing and caused the children to laugh at him. Everyone else I asked to go in the back room with Mr. Balogh complied. Forcing me to call the office several times was his doing. I always complimented him in front of the class when he pk: yed well on a playing test, and phoned and e-mailed his mother several times to tell her that there were behavior problems, but he showed a lot of promise and would benetit from private lessons. I always praised him when I could. Jeffrey Sylvain was embarrassit ig himself by doing poorly on playing tests because he wasn’t practicing at home, and wes consistently fooling around because he didn’t understand what he was doing. He wouldn’t allow me to help him, because he wasn’t paying attention. He would throw wads of paper at other students and distract me and the other students. He embarrassed himself by his actions. Kids would laugh at him whenever he “horsed around”. I could not st op him from what he was doing. It was his choice. He was not paying attention when I was trying to explain something, so I threw a pen at his direction to try to get his attention. It was not aimed directly at him. I believe that if he thought I embarrassed him, he would not have returned to band this year. Summary of Events -Wednesday, January 25¢-12:20 PM Pompano Beach Middle School 310 NE 6% Street Pompano Beach, FL 33060 I met my students at the band room door, at ‘12:20, as I do every day. They often arrive early, and Winifred Mason and Chase Turman are rumiing around, harassing other students from other classes as they walk by. I opened the door and let them in -one at a time, trying to keep Chase away from Winifred, as they are always picking on each other. I had to almost physically keep Chase away from Winifved by blocking the door with my arm, as he was trying to follow her in. I told him to wait a moment, and then let him in when she was getting her instrument from the other room. I had the students sit down to prepare to play, and told them that Mr. Balogh-clinician specializing in trombone and tuba-was going to be coming and working on sclos with those students who were participating in solo and ensemble contest that was coming up. I could see that Chase was excited at the prospect of working with him. Once everyone was settled down, I had the trombones, baritone, and tubas play a test for me, and it was evident that Chase was the only one that understood what to play and had been practicing. After testing, I asked the ones that played if any of them wanted to do a solo. One student decided not to, and the other one hed not developed his playing enough . Although I had left doing a solo as an option for Chase several days ago, I felt that from a music professional’s point of view, and a: a professional adult- who is supposed to do what is in the best interest of the student- that doing a solo would help his attitude, and give him confidence, and more self-esteem, as I had seen other students - get from this experience.-I feel that with Chase’s ability, he would greatly benefit from the services of a professional, which would enable him to deve op and grow musically. I _would be doing him an injustice if I did not encourage him in this direction-and Mr. Balogh agreed, I expect more effort from my accelerated students-which includes Chase. - Therefor, his noncompliance with my ”strong recommendatio 1” signaled to me his lack of desire to participate any further in the band program. I was paying Mr. Balogh to come in and help those with solos, and figured if I could get Chase to agree, he would then be able to basically have a private lesson for that hour, and perhaps be more motivated to stick with doing a solo. If he did not want to after the lesson, I would ,of course, not have forced the issue. When I mentioned Mr. Balogh’s vist to Chase, he was very excited, and I was trying to make a way for Chase to worl: with him. I told Chase ‘from across the room I would like him to do a solo, and he sail “no”. I asked him again, and he again said “no” and put his tuba on the floor. I said ,”Cthase-you are doing a solo- go back there.”. He replied,” you can’t make me do anything” [ saw right then that I was losing the class, and wanted to keep control of the classroom. His “attitudes” he gets on numerous occasions are infectious to the rest of the class, and ] did not want to keep him in the room. At that point, I said to Chase,”pack your stuff-you’re getting out of here” and he proceeded towards the door with his backpack on his back, and then opened the door. I said to him” Don’t move. Do not leave “and he left ancl went outside instead. I immediately called the front office on the intercom-because the phone that is hooked up is in my office, not in the classroom-and asked Janette to get somebody to my room to athe ke oe ence ll. eerie ein i in A Me a le kk ie a ba i, — Si teem: meets bt stk Lana remove a student. I then went outside, and he was standiz ig there. By this point, the kids ‘were getting restless in the room and there is a lot of equijment that I am responsible for. Tasked him two times to go back inside, and when he did-1’t, I placed my right hand on his left backpack strap ~exercising reasonable restraint to in order to prevent him from leaving my supervision so as to guide him back into the rcom and he pulled away from me very hard. Because of his size and strength, thé force i: which he pulled away may have pulled his shirt tight around his neck to make him fee] as though a hand was on his neck, I could see at this point that he was not moving insicle, so I went inside and closed the door. At this time, Chase was still outside and refused to comply with my direction to stay in the room. I then went to my phone, since no one had responded to my request to send someone for him, and called Janet again to ask for some assistance. After atleast 10 minutes had passed, Ms Hurley came by to ask me somett ing, and I asked her if Chase was still out there. She said that he was. So I asked her if $1 would take him. This was the last contact I made with Chase before I was called intc: Mrs. Gilbert’s office to meet with Mrs. Gilbert, Chase and his mother. During the conference, Mrs. King stated her defense of Chase -who alledges that I put my hand s around his neck to “drag him back inside”. Furthermore,he claims that Winifred Mason could be his witness. However, we were tie only 2 people outside. I can say with confidence that Chase’s recollection of thes= events are false. In my ".. attempts to defend myself, I felt that I was encouraged noi to speak until the next day, when I would meet with Mrs. Gilbert, my administrator. I feel that I was found guilty, and now have to prove my innocence, I am also being faced with permanent documentation in my personnel file without any investigation into the incident. Therefor, this statement that I am submitting is my only means of vo cing any rebuttal to false statements that were made. I felt that I was put into a corn2r, and then was told not to speak about the incident -a gag order of sorts, Gretchen Marsh-Band Director Mr. & Mrs. G. Neubert 1924 SE 17th Court Pompano Beach, FL 33062 ; November 15, 2000 To Whom It May Concern: As parents of a Pompano Beach Middle School student, a State University student as well as business owners, we are extremely concerned about the handling of a ‘situation involving our daughter’s Music Arts/Band teacher Ms. Gretchen Marsh. Supported by personal observations as well as our daughter's fine educational progress, great subject iaterest and motivation, Ms. Marsh exemplifies what an educator should be and is viewed as a valuable asset to Pompano Beach Middle School. — Being involved with and close to the public education ovr children are being exposed to, it is quite easy to recognize Ms. Marsh’s impressive subject expertise zs well as her excellent leadership, instructing and motivational skills. She is among the minority of instructors that consistently demonstrate and apply high energy, strong drive and donate many extracurricular hours for the good of the student and school district. One can only hope that their children have an opportunity to be placed in classes with educators as such; what a difference it makes in the child’s education. While there are some fine professional teachers employed within the Broward district, the majority do not have command of these qualities as well as strong inner work star idards such as those present in Ms. Marsh. The system has a way of losing fine teachers for the lack of support from those guiding the organization. Hence, the remaining educators handle just their basic responsibilities without instilling any student motivation, control as well as applied discipline where required. It would be a sincere loss to all of Ms. Marsh’s students if her teaching techniques and style of maintaining respect in the classtoom is stifled. ; We are available to discuss this matter further and can be 2ontacted at (954) 958-9777 (days). Sincerely, Vicki & George Neubert TSR rn penny TT i led i ut oy Mrs. Cartisa Penn 2500 NE.48th Street Lighthouse Point, Florida 33064 November 21, 2000 To Whom It May Concern, It really concerns me when I hear People like her being targeted or labeled its unprofessional. So often we ild no matter what the circumstances may prove. If Sincerely, a a a eas Carrisa Penn Pompano Beach Middle School Parent Volunteer Pompano Beach Middle School Band Parent Volunteer

Docket for Case No: 02-001376PL