Teacher says she’s sorry for letting students vote child out of class
February 3rd, 2009 by Cara FitzpatrickFORT PIERCE - A kindergarten teacher who asked her students last year to vote on whether a then 5-year-old boy could stay in her class said today that she never meant to embarrass him and regrets her actions.
Wendy Portillo, a veteran teacher, testified at an hearing to appeal her punishment, occasionally wiping at tears and looking away from television cameras.
“If I could take that morning back, I would,” she said.
Portillo is appealing the recommendation of St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon that she be suspended without pay for one year, return to an annual contract after that suspension and be prohibited from ever again teaching elementary-age children in the school district.
If she wins her case with the state Division of Administrative Hearings, Portillo will earn back pay from the school district. The hearing at Fort Pierce City Hall began Monday and is not expected to conclude today.
Wendy Portillo
Her testimony marks the first time Portillo has spoken publicly about the incident last year in which she asked her students at Morningside Elementary in Port St. Lucie to vote on whether Alex Barton should remain in class after misbehaving. The children voted 14-2 for him to leave.
The incident sparked a firestorm of controversy, with hundreds of letters and email pouring into the school district in protest of her actions. That Alex was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, shortly after the incident and had been undergoing evaluation at the time of it only fueled the controversy.
His mother, Melissa Barton, removed Alex from Morningside and has said she wants to see Portillo fired. Alex now is learning at home with a retired teacher.
Portillo has never denied asking her students to vote that day. She said she viewed the vote as a “learning opportunity,” noting that she tallied each child’s vote on the board and asked them to count the tally marks.
“At the time, I didn’t think whether it was appropriate or inappropriate. It just happened,” she said.
Portillo said Alex had difficulty behaving properly upon his arrival at Morningside in January of last year. She sent him to the office at least once a week between his enrollment and the incident in May last year.
She was the one who approached a guidance counselor about him, starting the process in which school officials created a plan to help address his behavior, she said.
On the day of the incident, Portillo said Alex flicked crayons at his classmates, kicked the legs of the tables and eventually crawled under a table, pushing it up with his legs until his classmates’ work scattered.
“He was off-task almost immediately,” she said.
She sent him to the office twice that day, once after he pushed the table and again after the vote, she said during her testimony. The second time he didn’t return to class.
Portillo said she apologized to Melissa Barton when she came to pick up her son and heard about the incident. She said Alex, when asked about the vote, told his mother it made him sad.
Her lawyer, David Walker of Stuart, characterized the vote as a single mistake in an otherwise celebrated career.
Several of her colleagues who testified today praised her as a caring, warm teacher who sought the best for her students and was held up as a model of teaching practices in the school district.
“This is what she was born to do,” said Tabitha Johnson, a fifth-grade teacher at Morningside whose two children were taught by Portillo.
Johnson said staff members at the school have been wearing Portillo’s favorite color, purple, to show their support. She wore a purple shirt to the hearing.
Portillo said today that the public attention following the incident turned her into something of a recluse, so afraid of the judgment of strangers that when she did venture out to the mall she sat near plants to avoid being recognized.
She said it left her unable to eat or drink and, at one point, she had to be hospitalized for dehydration.
“I am a very outgoing person,” she said. “What you see is what you get. But when it came, I literally became a homebody.”
What do you think? Should Portillo have allowed her students to vote Alex out of class? How should teachers handle discipline problems in the classroom?
Tags: alex barton, Asperger's syndrome, autism, David Walker, Division of Administrative Hearings, Melissa Barton, Michael Lannon, Morningside Elementary, purple, Tabitha Johnson, Wendy Portillo
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February 3rd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
This seems cruel. I wish the teacher had thought twice before subjecting the poor little boy to that humiliation.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I do not think this was a good way to discipline this child. On the other hand, it seems lately that any discipline is just not acceptable in our society. Start at home parents!
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
the kid deserved it. the kid’s mom should be voted off this planet.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
She is sorry now??? Only because she might loss her job?? She should have thought about that before she subjected a small child to that kind of behavior. She is a disgrace to the good teachers out there and should be fired.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I need to know what that child has done for her to vote him out. I heard only the version that she has done this. Now, I want to know what he has done. People usually think it’s the teacher’s responsability to educate a child, when in reality it all begins at home, the families have forgotten they are the ones to teach good behavior and dignity. What the teachers have to put up with is just unreal.
This child has to have done something awful.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
She is a moron and clearly wasn’t using her brain when she decided to let a bunch of kids who still pee their beds vote on removing a fellow classmate. I hope she gets fired and becomes homeless.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
nce again, The Palm Beach Post is MISLEADING readers! The kid was an absolute nighmare disrupting the class and causing problems evey day. The parents DID NOTHING TO CORRECT HIS MISBEHAVIOR! The teacher wanted to show the LITTLE RUG RAT how his DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR was NEGATIVELY IMPACTING his class mates so she LET THEM EXPRESS THEIR FEELING ABOUT THE DISRUPTION. the vote was totally and completely NON-BINDING and meant to bring the troublemaker into line. The media of course, blows it out of proportion because NEITHER THE CLASSMATES NOR THE TEACHER HAVE RIGHTS!
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
This woman should never be able to step foot back into a school or classroom - ever again! I cannot believe a grown woman would do such a thing. Who does she think she is? Let’s take a vote - should woman be allowed back into the classroom? Would you want your child in her classroom>
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The teacher should be fired… this incident could traumatize a child for years and turn him off from school or learning. Last year when my son was a fourth grader at a small Christian school in Boca Raton, was subjected to horrible humiliation from a teacher. He has ADHD and was forgetting to turn in homework and was disorganized. His teacher ridiculed him daily before his classmates, announcing to the class that he would be held back. He cried every day after school and gave up altogether. We have since left the school and he’s flourishing in public school where they recognize his ADHD and work with him. Meanwhile the teacher remains at this school and is continuing this treatment to other students…. I don’t think teaching via humiliation is effective, and can be quite harmful to young children.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:54 pm
This whole situation is sad. This is about a teacher with years of experience having received commendations for her excellent work throughout the years. This is also about a child with disruptive behavioral problems stemming from a physical problem. Why is the school board laying this entire problem on the teacher? Who was responsible for returning Alex to his classroom several times during that day? Why wasn’t the child in a special education classroom with a professional trained to handled his special needs? Why didn’t Ms. Barton insist he be offered special care when she knew he had special needs? What about the rights of the other children in that class? I think there are several parties that can take some responsibility yet all of the weight is falling on Ms. Portillo’s shoulders. Each of them, the parents, the teacher, the principal and the School Board, have played some role in this event. I’m sorry for little Alex Barton. His Mother is right. He may never forget the day he was voted out of his class. Instead of trying to resolve a terrible situation and demanding Alex be offered the special help he needed at the time Ms. Barton has chosen to pursue punishment against Ms. Portillo, and instead of taking responsibility for their role the School Board and Principal have been happy to throw Ms. Portillo under the “school bus”.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
ADHD is an excuse for poor parenting. I can’t remember anyone who wasn’t cured by a good taste of the old oak paddle.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Of course she’s sorry now - she’s afraid of the consequences of her stupid actions - I say we vote her out of her job (temporarily) and we should make her take some kind of compassion course. The mother should still pursue her lawsuit. There have been many instances of this kind of behavior that has gone unnoticed throughout our school system. Again, Bravo to that mother
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Dee, your point about this child having behavioral problems is the point everyone is missing. THE KIDS IS AUTISTIC. Therefore he has special needs and needs special help. Hello, she’s not a special needs teacher. She’s trying to teach, not play around. So therefore she was only looking out for the best interest of the rest of the children and trying to get him under control with any means she could think of.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
First of all, he should be in a classroom with others students like his self with a teacher that is prepared to handle austium children. you guys are not even giving the poor woman a chance. he had been to the office on more than one occassion that day.. then was sent back to class and still continue to misbehave. what about the other kids in the class if she let him continue to misbehave that way then the other kids will think it’s ok
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
This again is the “press” presenting only one side of a story to increase readership. Anyone with little boys knows how hard they are to handle without any learning or physical problems. If the child was removed from the class several time earlier that day, what does that say about the exasperation of the teacher as well as the other students. Why play the “blame” game with the biased press who are only interested in blowing stories out of proportion to make money and ask that a fair presentation of facts be made public by the authorities. AT SOME POINT, EACH ONE OF US MUST TAKE A STAND OR WE WILL ALL BE USED and ABUSED BY HALF STORIES FROM THE MEDIA WHO ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN GETTING THEIR NAMES IN LIGHTS NO MATTER WHO GETS HURT–the student and the teacher AND ULTIMATELY THE OTHER STUDENTS AS WELL.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Apparently some people do not understand the true meaning of ADHD. It is attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I am a mother of two . I have watched my daughter struggle in her adcadmemics,unable to sit still, unable to focus, on one thought. My daughter has never had a discipline problem in school, however was unable to concentrate or focus before being treated for Adhd. This child should have never ever been ridiculed in front of his peers. He has special needs that should definately have been considered. I feel like before people start blaming the parents of children with special needs they know the whole story,rather than quick to blame their parents for consitions their children have .
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I ditto this exactly!!!
This whole situation is sad. This is about a teacher with years of experience having received commendations for her excellent work throughout the years. This is also about a child with disruptive behavioral problems stemming from a physical problem. Why is the school board laying this entire problem on the teacher? Who was responsible for returning Alex to his classroom several times during that day? Why wasn’t the child in a special education classroom with a professional trained to handled his special needs? Why didn’t Ms. Barton insist he be offered special care when she knew he had special needs? What about the rights of the other children in that class? I think there are several parties that can take some responsibility yet all of the weight is falling on Ms. Portillo’s shoulders. Each of them, the parents, the teacher, the principal and the School Board, have played some role in this event. I’m sorry for little Alex Barton. His Mother is right. He may never forget the day he was voted out of his class. Instead of trying to resolve a terrible situation and demanding Alex be offered the special help he needed at the time Ms. Barton has chosen to pursue punishment against Ms. Portillo, and instead of taking responsibility for their role the School Board and Principal have been happy to throw Ms. Portillo under the “school bus”.
If you think you can do better than she did get your degree and go teach school.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
The teacher went too far but, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.
The kid was sent to the office twice. What did administration do? Where has this parent been? This seems to me to be a case of an administration too lazy to confron an enabling parent moreso than an issue of incompetence on the part of the teacher.
It also seems to me that this parent got the best diagnosis money can buy. Assbergers? I wonder. But, it’s more socially acceptable than emotionally disturbed and I’m sure that meant more to this mother than actual services.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
How do we ever stop children from being Bullies…When the teachers are?
She needs to be GONE!
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Apparently some people do not understand the true meaning of ADHD. It is attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I am a mother of two . I have watched my daughter struggle in her adcadmemics,unable to sit still, unable to focus, on one thought. My daughter has never had a discipline problem in school, however was unable to concentrate or focus before being treated for Adhd. This child should have never ever been ridiculed in front of his peers. He has special needs that should definately have been considered. I feel like before people start blaming the parents of children with special needs they know the whole story,rather than quick to blame their parents for conditions their children have .
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
This one is for E and old real estate Bag. Obviously you have never even been around an autistic kid so you have no knowledge on how these kids react. My PREGNANT wife teaches pre-k autism and for as much as parents try, these kids are just wired differently and the administrators should have noticed it. Its soooo easy for a WHAT, “A
REAL ESTATE LAWYER” to make judgement. Sounds like someone is opiniated towards who ever pays the highest amount. Get a respectable job wallet shark.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Unfortunately, many do not know that Alex Barton was not diagnosed as being autistic during or prior to this event. It was AFTER the action with Ms. Portillo that Alex was diagnosed.
The PROBLEM is relative to the parent of Alex. She knew something was “wrong” with her child and should have sought immediate and medical intervention, and then seek immediate attention to school needs. She didn’t.
I repeat, Alex Barton was NOT DIAGNOSED with Asperger’s while under the charge of Ms. Portillo. It was AFTER the incident.
So is Ms. Portillo suppose to be a medical, clinical diagnostician? NO. She is suppose to be a teacher.
Should Ms. Portillo have subjected this “unruly and socially unacceptable” behavior from all of the children in her charge? She shouldn’t have too. The administration of the school left Ms. Portillo to her own devices since they wouldn’t handle the “problem child.”
Years ago an unruly and behavorily challenged student was sent to the principal’s office for a good paddling with the “board of education.” Parents took that form of punishment away from the school system. Matter of fact, parents took many of the tools necessary to enforce good behavior of students away.
Bring back corporal punishment and most of these behavorialy challenged kids will begin to come into line. Their parents won’t do it, someone has too!
And before I get a good bashing, I am the parent of an ADHD child. He needed many a good paddling to bring him into line and I went to school each and everytime he “misbehaved” and gave it to him!
Ms. Portillo did not “fail this particular child!” Alex Barton’s mother failed her child, not Ms. Portillo and not the school system.
Now that Alex has a “condition,” Ms Barton is looking for someone else to “pay” for her own inactions.
Who loses and who wins? SLC loses the dedication of a caring teacher. The students of SLC loses. Ms. Barton will walk away with millions because of her own inactions.
We ALL lose.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
People keep saying that this is cruel and embarrassing and unfair to this one student. But what about all the other students affected by the bad behavior every day. If this teacher took others measures previously and spoke to the parents and nothing was being done then what other choice is there. One would think that seeing how their behavior is affecting their peers would make them wake up and behave. Let’s not forget that this teacher was a good teacher for many years up to this moment with this student. At what point do parents have to take responsibility for their children? And keep in mind, it was not known at the time of the incident that he was autistic.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
This is totally ridiculous, that mother has seen dollar signs since the day this happened. She went on and on about how humiliated her son was AS she went on every local and national tv show with him right there beside him… HELLLOOO!
That child was sent to the principals office twice that day because he was disruptive and he was sent back to the classroom. What kind of message does that relay to the children? That it is okay to misbehave?
When a teacher has a disruptive student,it takes valuable time away from the other children who are there to learn. I have a daughter at Morningside, she did not have Mrs. Portillo, I wanted her, but her class was full because everyone wanted Mrs Portillo.
Talk to any of the kids from her past years and see how wonderful they talk about her.
Someone really needs to look out for the teachers rights, or we are going to lose valuable teachers, like Mrs. Portillo.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I do not know enough about this to make a decision on the kid, teacher or school board. I only know bits and pieces as the story unfolded. By the extream responces here from one end of the spectrum to the other it would seem that parents are the biggest problem in our classrooms today. lmao
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Somehow it seems everyone, including the Post, is ignoring the rights of the other 16 children in the class. They have the right to be taught in an environment free from excessive distractions and unruly behavior. The fact that the other children voted 14-2 to have him removed from the class is a clear indication that he was a problem. If my child was in the same class as Alex Barton I would demand that either he be removed from the class or that my child be placed in a different class. The teacher did what she did to show little Alex that his behavior affected the other 16 children and hopefully this lesson will stick with him. If it “traumatized” him, so what - he “traumatized” the other children.
Palm Beach County School System, there is a very good teacher available.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
It is truly amazing that our educational system has once again come under fire…pitting teacher against student and parent(s). While I do not agree that this child should have been kicked out of the classroom by the teacher, one has to ask whether this disruptive child was in fact making it difficult for this tenured teacher to do her job…teach children.
Is it the teacher’s job to diagnose the child’s medical condition? Shouldn’t the parent and the administrative staff of the school have some responsibility in this matter, especially since the teacher had previously sent the student to the office. Or did the parent ignore the problem in the hopes of not wanting to label her child until the situation was beyond the teacher’s control.
Not everyone is willing to put up with what a parent has to put up with. In other words, deal with an unruly child. A parent should place themselves in a teacher’s position to determine how much they would be willing to put up with. I myself have used a multiplication system. Taking the most irritating thing that my child does and multipling it by the number of students in the classroom. Suddenly, it’s not so cute anymore.
Think about it, we all have our limits. That is why we send our children to school! I am sure that the symptons of this childs illness were presented long before the teacher kicked the child out of the classroom.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Teachers should have the support of the school (Principal) if he or she is having problems. I also feel the parents must be contacted and it’s their responsibility to let the child know that his or her behavior is not tolerated. The communication has to be there. Teachers are not paid enough and put up with alot. We have to support them as much as we can. The teacher in this story is not typical and was so wrong to do such a thing.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:33 pm
The boy is autistic. She voted him out because his mental deficiency made him misbehave in the classroom. Can any of you blame that on his parents. She should never have been a teacher in the first place. It is not the boys fault he is mentally challenged and if the teacher was unable to handle him she should have asked for help or asked the parents to put him in a school which is better suited for him. Not have 5 year old children vote him out of the class. How would you like it if you were autistic.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Sammy; I believe you are totally right when you state that parents are responsible for a lot of the problems with their own children. The mother should have had him in a School that has a Specific program for children with Autism. My Husband is an Educator and has to deal with parents that believe the School system should take care of all the responsibilities of raising their children.
Most teachers are very dedicated to the children they have in their classrooms year after year. Most likely, The teacher lost her aide due to Budget cut’s and was at the end of her rope. I am sure this has happened to the mother of the child in this case from time to time.
The parent should have been aware that this was the wrong program for her child and should have asked that her child be placed in a more suitable program.
To me it is obvious that this mother has not used any of the taeching methods at home to curtail behavioral problems. How many support groups does she belong to? What exercises does she use at home to work with her child? Does she take her son to outside workshops to deal with his issues? I would bet no.
There are so many parents today that would rather sue the School Boards than work with their own child. Parents usually have one-thre or four children. Teachers have to deal with 28 + on a daily basis. Do these parents volunteer at the school? I doubt it. yet, they are the first ones to sue the School Board. If these parents stopped looking for a quick buck, we might have more money to support better programs for children such as this boy.
I do believe more responsibility will be falling on the parents very soon. Thanks to our new President. he wants to see parents take a more positive lead in their childrens education and behavioral issues, as well as they should.
Thank you Sammy,
d.s.riley
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
The school district has a CHILD FIND obligation to every child to seek out and find the children with any type of disability. What everyone is over looking is what the teacher just taught all of those children in that class….THAT IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO VOTE SOMEONE OUT OF CLASS. THAT is something that will stick with all of those children for the rest of their lives. I am a mom of 3 children with disabilties and what everyone needs to understand is that you just can not go walking into the school and say “My child has a disability” and they will give you help. It does not work that way. A child can wait YEARS for help through the school system. Austistic is NOT something you chose to be.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
SAD SAD SAD…….thats how Alex Barton said he felt after the vote. Not who is sad?
Portillo is only sorry because SHE is the one voted out now.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I don’t think the teacher should be fired. She took the wrong approach to the situation by letting other children decide the fate of a child. However, most parents of unruly children always blame the teacher and never seem to discipline or work with their child to have them behave in an exceptable fashion while in class, or in most other social situations. We have become so politcally correct in this society that anything goes, including raising obnoxious, uncontrollable, uncontainable, brats that are eventually grown up and let loose on society as obnoxious adults.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
This child is 5 years old. Maybe if the mother gave him half the attention she has given this incident. She would have noticed that he’s mentally challenged and would not have put him in the public school system to torment the teachers and other children. Shame on his mother for setting him up for all this humiliation, I do hope other parents will learn from this mother mistakes. We don’t allow teachers to lay one hand on our children, she was only reaching for any method to get through to him, so that he would be a good boy. She had already tried everything else. I remember if I was bad in school, I did get the paddle and suddenly I was a good boy!
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
What I would like to know is why this kid wasn’t in a special ed class if he has all these problems that the mother is saying he does? While he has every right to an education, he should be in an enviroment that can cater to his needs without infringing on the rights of all the other kids in his class to their education.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
If the school was mainlining the little boy rather than putting him in a special class, which his Mom,seems to have desired,the teacher should have had some,or much instruction as to how to handle the little boys behavior.
The teacher, in my opinion was doing her best to teach the children how it is in the real world. Some cultures “shun” those who do not line up with normalcy. She might have said to the class after the “vote”, “Children, all of you need to learn that this kind of behavior is not going to make a person liked by others. Now, (name the boy),please behave as I have asked or I must call your parents to visit class.”
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Lets also keep in mind the teacher is dealing with 5 year olds. If you make things seem like a game, you can get a 5 year olds attention. If you make it seem like punishment, there going to rebell against you.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:21 pm
TO: On the teacher’s side
You are so right. This is simply a case of an enabling, non-responsive parent that refuses to take responsibility for her child’s actions.
Now, the public has to pay and a good teacher is caught in the middle. I was in education for over 32 years and have seen this develop more and more over the years. I am so glad I’m now out of the school system and that my own children are through. I always told them to do whatever it was that would make them happy but begged them not to become teachers. Why? Because of situations just like this. The inept, uncaring administrations and irresponsible parents they would have to deal with on a daily basis. It’s just not worth it.
I also seriously doubt the autistic (asbergers) diagnosis. But, it is more socially acceptable than emotionally disturbed, for mom that is.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Send them to the office , let the “upper ups” take care of the “brats”.
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Colleen got it right, it’s all about money. That brat’s mother is looking for a quick buck out of this.
I admire the teachers in this country that can put up with
these kids without the paddle to keep order.
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Here are my comments from earlier today and in previous posts about this subject–God hail the teachers because without them we would be idiots!
“I think this poor teacher has already gotten a raw deal. She had no support from the administration or from the parent in dealing with a very unruly child. The aim of the classroom vote was to educate the child on what his behavior was doing to the other 16 children in his class whose learning was stunted in order to accomodate him. Even though I am with others in encouraging mainstreaming of special needs children, it cannot be at the expense of the progress of the great majority of children who do not have special needs. Many said that she needed training, she is a monster, et al. but none has answered this simple question.
I’ve asked this before–what do you do with a child when the principal has sent the child back to your classroom from the office twice in the same day, the parent has not been called to take her disruptive child home and the child still exhibits the class disrupting behavior?
Out of all the options that she knew (because there is no special training the school board offers for undiagnosed disorders), I think trying to get the child to realize the effect of his behavior on other students by walking him in front of the class is pretty good. It’s obvious no one else (mother, father, doctor, principal) had an answer for behavior control and I imagine sending the kid home wasn’t an option, so our solution is to kill the messenger teacher who tried to regain control? She was not the only one we should blame here. The principal would not call the mother to take her unruly child from shcool until the child could be taught proper behavior that would allow him to be mainstreamed into a classroom setting with other normal students.
I implore people to think about what we mean when we say “We support education”. Because to support education is to support your teachers and in this instance this teacher got thrown under the bus to support a cowardly principal and and even more cowardly administration.”
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Have any of you who are taking the side of the mother/son ever had to control a class of 5 year olds? It’s hard enough as it is to keep them focused and on task, but to add a child with behavioral problems to the mix is over the top. If this child was diagnosed with autism, then shouldn’t he have had an aide, or be in a special class, with a teacher that is specially trained to deal with his kind of issue? I’m annoyed by the mother’s refusal to admit any kind of wrongdoing in this incident and instead point the finger at the teacher. The mother should have gotten her child help long before any of this happened. Those kind of parents, the ones who take the offensive and always assume their kid is perfect and doesn’t do anything wrong, or worse yet, blame their bad behavior on ADD or some other convenient diagnosis, drive me insane. People: your child (most likely) doesn’t have ADD - he needs some attention, guidance and discipline!!! I know 5 kids whose parents have them on ADD meds, and only ONE of those really has ADD. The other four are just normal kids whose parents don’t want to deal with their child’s high energy level or discipline problems. They want a quick fix.
That mother needs to get her head out of her butt, realize that this incident did no lasting damage to her kid, and in fact probably helped him (and her) to realize that he was not acting appropriately and it is not acceptable. For her to expect this teacher to be fired is absolutely blowing this incident way out of proportion. Make the punishment fit the crime (lose a week’s pay, have to take a class on how to deal with special needs children, and an apology would do it).
This teacher didn’t yell at the kid, didn’t strike him or put him in danger. She was probably just frustrated by the ongoing issues with this kid, day in and day out… she handled it a heck of a lot better than I could have. These kids shouldn’t have free reign to do as they want and be able to blame some diagnosis. Our society is quick to make excuses for our behavior, and slow to admit wrong doing.
I know plenty of kids with disabilities (such as autism, downs syndrome and retardation), much worse than his, that are polite, nice, well-behaved, socially adjusted kids. But in those cases, their parents are pro-active in their upbringing and not willing to let a label allow their children to become a behavior problem.
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
She should be fired. Her actions went beyond inappropriate or a bad day. This isn’t something that “slipped out” in a moment of frustration. You are talking about a 5 year old child, not a junior high school student. She is a KINDERGADEN teacher, the child’s first introduction to school. Kids are expected to come into KINDERGARDEN needing to learn to behave properly - that is her JOB. Its not just teaching academically with children that age.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:01 pm
This kid was sent to the office every week for 5 months and now the teacher is in trouble.
I DON’T THINK SO!!!WAKE UP PEOPLE!
The kid was out of control!
The teacher did her best to control the situation.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
This was outrageous, cruel and shortsighted when discussing the teacher, but in consideration of the child it is an incredible horror that he will carry for the rest of his life and one that, in no way, he deserved. This teacher should be in another profession.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Parent should be aware of his propensity for misbehaving the teacher should have to atttend college level courses in classroom management ( that was stupid ) I should be the boss Ha Ha
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I feel sorry for this teacher who obviously made a mistake. I truly believe she is sorry, and I think the mother (who is going to sue) is going to extremes. I am glad she was getting her child tested for autism, I wonder if she said anything to the school that he was having difficulties before this incident? The mother seems VERY full of herself. I watched her last night on the news, and it is obvious she is loving this publicity. Maybe she needs a time out.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
As I understand the child had a medical condition that the teacher did not know about. No the teacher was not treated fairly. The parent should have told the teacher about her child’s condition. If that child would have done something to one of those other kids that was serious like poking out an eye or something, guess who would be in trouble?
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
This so-called teacher screwed up big time!!!!!! It is plain and simple, she DISCRIMINATED against this child. I agree that the school admin failed this child too.
It was well known to the parents that the child had a problem and they were trying to get the needed help and services. Getting a child on an I.E.P.(individual education plan) takes a significant amount of time and to often school districts fight it.(Cuts into the admin pay,kickbacks and their precious time) Unfortunately, during the time it took to get the child the right services, the teacher(if you will) took matters into her own hands.
Discrimination is a learned behavior and if anyone should know discrimination this woman should. No excuses for it period!!! No matter how good of a teacher she was, we all know now that she will cross that line.
Would you want your child taught by this woman who will discriminate and teach your child the finer points of discrimination? This teacher has shown no remorse to her actions nor considered how her actions have affected all the children involved! Instead of saying “sorry”, all she has done is defend her actions to save her butt and job! IN MY OPINION, she should be fired and not allowed to teach again, because she feels she didn’t do anything wrong. She’ll do it again to another child!
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I have said this before and will say it again. The untrainable kid needs special needs. Mother should have enrolled the kid into an institution so that he could get the mental help he needed. Why let him ruin the time the other kids are there day after day. Guess what it is having an affect on each and every one of us. We are becoming a third world nation. We have few that are edjucated enough to top the world. We have even fewer that expect that they will have to work to make it. People think they deserve what they see others doing. That is why they financed their houses to twice their value to live the life that they thought they deserved. Now the houses are going to foreclosure and guess what. We all will pay for the low lifes whom spent money they did not earn. Guess what they still think they deserve what they can not afford or do not intend to earn. In the wild only the strong survive. The would is still somewhat wild. We Americans want to give the week and the lazy the same prize that the strong and motivated people earn. Now little by little the whole nation is slipping heavily. Few can not hold up the many. Let go of the thought that everyone has the same talent and right and nobody gets left behind. Some just might have to be left behind so that others can rise. but dont take my work just watch and see for yourself how this system is working. Good day and God Bless
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:39 pm
TRY TEACHING WITH AN AUTISTIC CHILD…THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A BIG DEAL IF THAT CHILD HAD BEEN BLACK…HE IS A WHITE CHILD WITH BLONDE HAIR..HIS TEACHER WAS BLACK…==NO SUPPORT.
Oh please. And then they post that “cute” picture of him. Yeah Right…Video tape his ass for a day and see why my child voted give him the boot. He was a horror! COMPLETE HORROR! He hit my child. Nothing was ever done. He screamed ALL DAY! The principal didn’t give a crap. That child is out of control and when you meet his mother you see the rotten apples did not fall from the tree.
I am glad the mother is home schooling his ass. Good. Now she can deal with him whining, crying, throwing things, yelling, rolling on the floor and disrupting my child’s classroom learning that my taxes paid for.
My child was in that class and that child was a damn terror!!!!
Autistic children with these types of emotional problems need to be homeschooled or put into an insulated independent learning environment. Michael Lannon did this crap only because of the “public outrage”. Public outrage my ass. The outrage is that Fort Pierce is the most prejudiced city in Florida. That place sucks for blacks. If that teacher was white there would have been no problem.
That little blong haired monster needs his ass whipped.
WE SUPPORT YOU MS. PORTILLO! SCREW MICHAEL LANNON AND THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD!
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hey Billybob! Where is this school you think this mother should send her child? Is this the same school you went to?!? Institutions for special needs children hasn’t been around for almost 25 years! Houses going into foreclosure is not because of parents with disabled children! It’s because of greedy Realtors, banks and mortgage lenders!
So Billybob, please tell me what school your mother sent you so I can inform others. I’m sure they would not want their children growing up ignorant like you! Don’t bless me with your God! The God I know teaches tolerance and love!
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:03 pm
This child is only there to learn to be around other children. this was not a good choice of judgement on the techers part but it is not very much different than what other children will experience later in years when they become subjected to child hood sports when they pick teams and you have the kids that are always picked last… this could be just as bad as being voted out of class. maybe the teacher was wrong but to loose your job for 1 mistake is just as bad. now she is going to be voted out of a job because of it.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:24 pm
This B%%$h teacher made my little girl cry! TWICE! She is EVIL! She taunted my daughter for crying and made her an outcast. I am only sorry I did not take her to the press first!
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:57 pm
This teacher should not be allowed in the classroom anymore. In any shape or form. She should start a new career in perhaps,….. mortgage banking. She is not suitable for educating our little ones.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
The other kids voted 14-2 that he should leave. Kids usually know who is being a total pain in the a@@ . Do they and their parents have any rights or is it all about the one kid. How is the teacher supposed to control this kid?
He was uncontrollable. The teacher sent him repeatedly to the administration who just sent him back. If he has some kind of special need, he should not have been in the class.
The lawsuit is absurd. The possibility of the teacher losing her job is absurd. I am sure there are some kids that have ADHD, but how many diagnosed are just out of control kids?
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
The teachers LACK OF any good judgement …. WE CAN NOT allow her to be close to any of our children. A I mean in any way shape or form. Choose a new career… perhaps banking would be suitable for her. Thank you.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
The problem really is plain and simple. A teacher should never have asked her students to vote a child out of the classroom. It was a absolutely unethical thing to do, as well as a cruel act. Doesn’t matter if the kid was acting up, there are remedies for that. How would she like to be voted out of her job?
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
As a parent of an autistic adult who worked with teachers and professionals to get intervention, I know what can be done by school districts, teachers, and administrators to help teachers and students who need it. I would ask, did this parent ever communicate with teachers or administrators about her son’s special needs? Did the teacher or staff at the school ever contact the parent about her son’s behavior? Did this teacher think that by playing “Survivor” that this was going to help a special needs student who cannot always help himself? Did the teacher, staff, or parent ever contact anyone in special education in the county? It looks like everyone “failed” to help this youngster so that someday he ends up on the streets like many others like him. Anyone remember the middle school student who had been sent home the last day of school and returned to school with a gun and killed a teacher? The whole situation is an “accident waiting to happen.”
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I watched the teacher on tv tonight, first I would like to say her purple snuggie she wore the first day was a fashion faux pa and it looked more like she was ready for bed than to fight for her job.
Second, the video of her testifying (also online tcpalm.com) she comes across really cold. Stone cold. My niece asked if she was the boogie man.
February 3rd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
This is why kids are so out of control today. Parents don’t discipline their children or hold them accountable anymore. Then when a teacher tries to correct those problems they are attacked for not being politically correct. Teachers can’t win. This is why good people don’t want to teach and why many teachers are scared to take a stand against bad kids. This is a case of a misbehaved child and nothing more. His autistic label came from a private psychologist after the incident. This mother is looking to blame the teacher for her own inability to raise her child correctly and to litigate a settlement from the school board. This is a terrible precedent to set.
February 4th, 2009 at 12:11 am
I’ve been hoping to hear more from the parents of the other students in that classroom, to get their perspective on how their children’s education was affected by Alex’s behavior throughout that school year. You don’t have to be a teacher to know how just one individual can negatively affect the atmosphere around the entire group, in a classroom, workplace, or family gathering. We all know people like that, and know the sweet relief you feel when that person is absent from the group, and how much better the group can work and get along without that one disruptive individual.
What I had heard is that this teacher wasn’t trying to rally her students in a personal attack on Alex, not to say “you’re ugly & your mom dresses you funny”, but to get him to realize how his behavior was upsetting the class, as in “I cannot hear the teacher’s instructions when you’re yelling & banging the table”. I heard that the vote was to let him know how many of his classmates preferred the way the class was able to function without his disruptive presence there. Are there any more of Alex’s classmate’s parents available to comment?
February 4th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Should the teacher have handled the situation in this way? Well, she had tried so many things with a difficult situation. He had been sent to those over her to handle the situation. She needed help. Why should the whole class suffer? It wasn’t until after the fact that this child was found to have an illness and does that change the fact that there is a problem that disrupts the whole class. Perhaps the way she handled it was a means of showing the young man that his behavior was NOT acceptable to others. And making him feel sad was a good thing for it might help him to realize there are consequences to bad behavior and his classmates where upset by his behavior. Was it the best way? So far I haven’t heard of a way to handle the situation. She had him sent out of the room many, many times. Should she have him sit in a corner or put his desk completely away from other children? What should she have done? Any solutions here?
Even when it was found the child had a autism problem what would now be the way for the teacher to handle the situation? I have yet to see anyone come forward with what a teacher is to do when there is a disruptive child in the class that she hadn’t already done with no results. It is truly sad to see how powerless teachers have become. It is a wonder we have any teachers at all especially with the lack of respect there is for authority.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:18 am
“Johnson said staff members at the school have been wearing Portillo’s favorite color, purple, to show their support. She wore a purple shirt to the hearing.”
So, its Portillo’s version of The Color Purple.
Race Card.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:16 am
I think the entire situation has been blown out of proportion. Are you really saying that the teacher should stop teaching the other 24 plus students in her class and babysit this young man because he is disruptive and annoying the rest of the class. She asked for help 2 times and tried to continue her lesson. Yet having him returned back to her with the same disciplinary issues he left with. Is it possible that this teacher had planned to speak with the Childs parents but needed to get control of her class at that moment? I guess you would want her fired if she played Dr. and diagnosed him with ADHD herself too. Its possible she didn’t know this child had physical issues and she was only dealing with a regular Ed kid who just wanted attention. It is not a teacher’s responsibility to raise our children it is her job to teach them. Mind you these children are 5yrs old and not dummies. They did have a choice to vote no. I see they were smart enough to know that he wasn’t pleasant and they wanted him out whatever it was he was doing.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:04 am
She too will have to endure the public scrutiny that she placed on this young child. The correct spelling is Asperger’s not Asberger’s.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:09 am
A child is never too young to learn that there are consequences related to their behavior. If the parent in this situation had taught that principle then this situation may not have occured. The mother appears to be looking to grab some big bucks from the ever giving taxpayer. The victims here are the teacher and the other children in the classroom who had to put up with this child for so much of the school year. Their education and physical and emotional wellbeing was put in jeopardy and so few people seem to care. I think the teacher handled a very bad situation in a reasonable manner and tried to teach the disruptive child how his behavior was affecting everyone else. What is so horrific about that? If the child was sad that the other kids didn’t like his disruptive behavior then maybe the mother should be teaching him how sad he was making the other children instead of teaching him that he was a victim.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:31 am
If this person was a teacher for 12 years she should have known better! FIRE HER.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Some people really think that a teacher can do no harm. HA! This is a perfect example of a teacher doing not only harm to herself but ALL the kids in her class.
People like her need to move away.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I have never seen anything like this in all my 30 years of teaching.
I have had kids who were less then perfect, BUT I would never dream of doing such a horrible thing.
This is a teacher who needs to find a new career path.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:38 am
I have been a teacher for 12 years in a broken district. There have been many times that I could have dropped the ball. However, I never did because, I am a teacher not a tv show host, I may not be the best in my field but after knowing about Wendy Portillo, I am not the worst.
Wendy,
Please move on. You have given this title a bad name and I want you to muddy the waters elsewhere.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I work with special needs students on the jr/sr high level. I hope the little boy is getting some much needed medical attention. Non-action now causes big problems later in life for the special needs student.
At the time of this incident, the teacher did not know the child had special needs. She was trained as a regular classroom teacher and without knowing he was special needs, was left to assume he was an unruly child. Obviously this is but one facet to this story.
But really, parents really need to stop LOOKING the part and actually start LIVING the role. A good portion of disciplinary problems can be nipped in the bud if parents pay attention to their children. Any responsible parent [not looking for a payout] would’ve been at home working on discplinary measures and communicating any concerns or needs for the child with the school and other support networks. There are plenty of resources, you just have to put forth a little effort to set the ball in motion.
When I was in school, students were ashamed of going to the principal’s office and even moreso when going home (parents can dish it out even more). Now a visit to the office is no big deal or seen as a badge of honor. What’s up with this?!
February 4th, 2009 at 11:41 am
This is CRAZY with a capitol C- HOW can anyone act like her? This teacher, is a horrible person who should not be allowed around, kids,animals or clothes.
Alos, please tell Barney that she aitn nothing like the movie The Color Purple. She dont even sound like an American.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Hello,
I hope that the child has peace. His former teacher has some issues she needs to work out within her own soul. I will pray for the teacher to gain wisdom and understanding of those less perfect than herself.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:45 am
WORNG!
The teacher was not only an ESE teacher BUT was fully aware of this childs needs. She started the child find for this child. HOW could she not know.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Most of you are forgetting that even if the child was not disabled that HE SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN PUT INTO THIS SITUATION.
There is NEVER a reason to humiliate a five year old child.
HE WAS 5 SHE IS 50!
February 4th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Jack Says:
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
This question is for Jack.
Jack, do you have an Artistic Child or are you a Teacher? I ask you this because you are so judgmental of this teacher and seemingly bias toward the whole situation. Question Jack, if you have children in her class and they aren’t learning because she isn’t unable to teach due to one students action I am assuming you will hold her responsible for the lack of education your children aren’t receiving and you’d want her disciplined right? So now you are telling the entire Nation that if one kid disrupts the class then class is over because I as a teacher have to attend to this one child because he has a problem that I myself am not even aware of? And if I chose to think about the other 25 students that want to learn and ask the kid into the hall I should be fired and not teach again? Enlighten me sir because I just don’t understand why this Teacher should lose her job. Is there something I haven’t heard about the case? Did she hit this child, name call or something or did she give her class an option to deal with one child’s unruliness or not deal with it. They were 5 yr olds but they had sense enough to know that they didn’t want to hear the screaming and kicking and hitting this young man was doing. Sounds to me like the parent is looking for someone to blame for her sons disability? Your say?????
February 4th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Yes, you are correct Teacherssuc. I think she made a 50yr old and 13yrs of experience decision not to entertain this disruptive 5yr old. He is a child and the decision not to allow a 5yr to run her class was an adult decision don’t you think?
February 4th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The child has a form of Autisum, which the teacher should have known about prior to him ever being in her class. That being said, she should have had the knowledge of how to deal with that type of behavior, or had the common sense to ask for help in the handling of a child with Autisum.
There was a failure not only on her part, but also on the school’s adminisration.
Making an example out of a small child in that way, and then trying to pass it off as a learning experience for the other childern( counting on the board)is inexcusable.
She states that she became a recluse, and hid behind plants at the mall when she went out… imagine what the little boy felt like when his teacher (someone he is taught to trust)had the rest of the kids take a vote for him to stay or leave the class.
It doesn’t feel good when a bunch of your peers looks at you in a negative way, does it Ms. Portillo????
As for her collegues who stand by her, I suggust you spend some time in one of the Autisum classrooms in your school or school district and see how the special needs teachers and aides teach and deal with multiple behavior issue’s during the course of a day, without humiliating a young child.
Maybe you’ll learn an invaluable lesson, without having to hide your face behind a plant at the mall.
February 4th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
The problem is not the situation in the class, but the way it was handled. ANY adult should know better than to do something like that to a child. She totally embarrased Alex and probably broke his little heart! I try to teach my child not to belittle any other children and to always try to be nice. This teacher asked these children to be mean, by telling them to tell Alex why they didn’t like him and that they wanted him gone. This just really hurts me and I don’t even know them. I definitely would not want a person that is that cold-hearted to have anything to do with my child or any child for that matter! She should never be allowed to teach anywhere ever again!!!!
February 4th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I would like to know why is this happening to this teacher because she didn’t do anything wrong. trying to maintain order in her classroom, she ask the other children who couldnt benefit from her teaching’s becaue he was having fits as my mother used to call it. I his mother did want to subject him to real everyday life maybe she should have been homeschooling him from the start, how dare she say she want the teacher fired, and how dare you the scool board take her lively hood from her for a whole year, what you are doing to her is far worse than that vote could ever do to him for his life time, in fact kids bounce back, but not the parents. Ms Portillo keep your head up high because what they are dong to you is truly uncalled for, the problem is they are scared of being sued. Ms. Portillo don’t give up, you keep praying and I’ll being praying for you too, God Blees you, and good luck.
February 4th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I love this part of Ms. Portillo’s testimony:
“…the incident turned her into something of a recluse, so afraid of the judgment of strangers that when she did venture out to the mall she sat near plants to avoid being recognized.”
Sooo… Ms. Portillo claims she never thought about whether her actions on the day in question might be inappropriate - yet she personally is terribly sensitive to what strangers think about her. She felt it was okay for NON-strangers - essentially, the only friends 5-year old Alex Barton has (or had) in the world - to publicly criticize and ultimately ostracize a special needs child. But she personally can’t stand the idea of strangers passing judgment on her.
This is just one of numerous ‘contradictions’ surrounding Ms. Portillo’s statements and general behavior…which contradictions are in turn indicative of someone who just wants to get their job back. She doesn’t appear to be genuinely remorseful about the incident, she only regrets that the incident exposed her as the callous and incompetent “education provider” that she is.
February 4th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Turned her into somwehat of a recluse because she was afraid of judgement? I have a child who has PDD-NOS and let me tell you about being afraid of judgement and being a recluse! Other people have no idea why my son acts the way he does sometime, I do, his brain doesn’t work like yours and mine. So they immediately jump to the conclusion that he is spoiled, that I am a lousy mother, that he is a delinquent when he does things that the others don’t understand. This teacher approached the school about this child and yet chose to kick him out after totally humiliating him? This was a learning experience? Alex was to learn what? That his classmates hate him, that his teacher is ridiculing him and that differences are not tolerated? This was a young child and so what does Ms. Portillo think he learned about school after this?
Sorry she feels everyone staring at her, judging her. Walk in the shoes of a parent of a child with this little understood but rising disorder. The kid can’t help how their brain is wired, the parents can’t re-wire it either. And yet those parents are judged DAILY on the actions of the child who needs to be intensively treated and taught. If Ms. P is such a great teacher, she would have realized this and been working more with Alex, not shunning him.
Remember, the schools kicked Einstein out saying he would never amount to anything and was retarded. Teachers do not always determine destiny and they most certainly are not always right.
February 4th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
For those that are claiming to be ME…… try harder next time. You all have no lives. WHY ARE YOU ALL HATING ON ME ?? I KNOW WHY …… HATING CAUSE YOUR TEACHER AT MSE IS NOT COMING BACK !!!
You all can’t fess up to who you are ???? I am not ashame of standing by this mother who’s child was hurt more than Portillo could ever …… Now you all know who I am so be brave and put who you all are ??? I have posted my email on other sites so talk to me …….Afraid to come forward to someone who sdoesn’t have anything to do with the cases………………… email me anytime.
February 4th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Ok this women may be sorry for what she did but should never have done it in the first place. Of that was my child i would want the women to get fired and never allowed to teach again and for you people that say it is the parents fault that the children act like that in some cases it may be but still that is no reason to have a child voted out of class by classmates its wrong and imoral and just think if it was your child you would be doing exactly the same thing to that teacher she deserves everything that she gets and like i said i hope she never has another teaching job the rest of her life!
February 4th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
“…the incident turned her into something of a recluse, so afraid of the judgment of strangers that when she did venture out to the mall she sat near plants to avoid being recognized.”
Vengeance belongs to God and God alone. This is a case of karma.
This woman, made the child feel the judgment of his peers and yet she can not take the judgment of hers.
The child, has more strength in his soul at five then she has at 50.
Pray for forgiveness Portillo.
February 4th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
If the child was mine, I would be in jail and she would be six feet under.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
My heart goes out to Alex and his parents and I am upset by the tone of some of these posts. My son, who is now 13, has had a really hard time at school - he is ADHD/bipolar and has a hard time academically and has very few friends. No person should express an opinion about “bad parents” sending a child with this problem to school. It was years before my child was diagnosed and treated properly for his condition, and this REALLY is a medical condition and not an excuse for a child to misbehave and a parent to ignore this behavior. All the punishment in the world wouldn’t have made a difference in my son. I often say that, had he been physically handicapped, people would be understanding, but because he is mentally challenged, people just think he’s a “bad child”.
I do empathize with the teacher as it is hard to deal with one disruptive child in a classroom setting, however, she did not go about resolving the matter in a positive or helpful manner - isn’t what’s best for the child the issue which should matter most?
February 4th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Wendy sucks as a teacher and as a person. I understand Alex might have been disruptive due to his disability but come on use your head these are chidren. Honestly I don’t know of any 5 yr old who would behave perfectly all the time. Wendy needs to have her license revoked. The lesson she should have taught could have been to be accepting of others and to help each other out. NO ONE is perfect and we all need help and support every now and then. In this case Alex has much more intelligence than Wendy will EVER have.
Teachers like Wendy help create the monsters who walk around only caring abt themselves and not bothering to look at those around them that is why the world is soo cold sometimes.
My Vote is for Wendy to get a new profession.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I WONDER WHAT STATE GAVE THIS THUG A LICENSE TO TEACH.
I ALSO WANT TO KNOW WHY SHE THINKS SHE CAN NOW APPEAL AND NOT TAKE ANY PUNISHMENT AT ALL. SHE THINKS OBAMA IS GOING TO SAVE HER FROM ANY CONSEQUENCES, NATURALLY.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
If she was any kind of teacher or even a decent adult with common sense, she would never have done it to begin with. She obviously has problems a court of law cannot fix. She is intolerant, and an abuser of young children.
I am glad Alex’s mom is not backing down, because neither am I. Nor would I if it were my child. I will keep harping on this Portillo case as long as there is one. So,Ms Portillo,until you go away and leave kids alone, you have a lot of us to deal with. I share the sentiment of another poster above, you should lose your license and become a street urchin. It’s more befitting anyway.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
to “bb”, how is this appropriate? You say Wendy did nothing wrong? Yet you say Alex’s mom was wrong because she had her kid in a school with other children?
It is a parent’s choice and their right to give their child an education, and in fact it is the law. The teachers are expected to not abuse or isolate and single out the kids for humiliation like that and (shocker) parents are supposed to be assured that their kids will be safe and accpeted and welcomed at school.
Portillo was wrong and we all know it. She even has admitted she was wrong,so she needs to be a woman and take her punishment. Just like she expected the five year old to take her crap.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
If I ever find that this woman is teaching again, I will make a huge stink. Talk about lawsuits? I will ensure that Portillo and the community pays. Every time an abuser goes free or goes unpunished it hurts me and my family personally. And endangers the rest of our society. I am with “fire bad”, I am not going away or letting up either. Melissa and Alex, count me in!!
February 4th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
people,people,people; if he was disruptive, then there are more professional and appropriate ways of dealing with it. He was FIVE. some disruption is normal at that age. Take into account his disability, then there is even more reason her actions were hysterical and immature and stupid. If she lacks the credentials to deal appropriately, she cannot have her license or her classroom anymore. Take it like a big girl, Portillo.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
You’re sorry?! It just “happened?”! The whole thing sounded calculated to humiliated and grind a tiny child into submission.
Ok, so he was disruptive twice that day– Walk your rotund body down to the principal and tell them what’s going on! Then it’s the administration’s job to make sure he is placed in a spot to prevent disruption! So you send him three, four, five times back to the principal; it’s not your place to belittle your students!
Afraid to be judged by others are you? Didn’t eat and drink for a few days huh? Doesn’t look like you suffered any and could go a few more days without.
If she is apparently the one who brought this to the attention of the administration she SHOULD have done some research and understood HOW TO DEAL!!
Why did she think this would help? Did she think that if given enough personal feedback he would miraculously pop out of his autism and become a perfect child? How do the kids in her class act usually? If she says they are all perfect she is LYING!
If she did this to my child, mental disorder or not, she would be nursing more than a bit of dehydration and every penny she made would be paid to my child’s therapists while they try to undo the emotional damage done.
And I would certainly vote against every school mileage or renewal of teacher contracts since they feel she wasn’t at fault- that little Alex deserved it.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Restraint & Seclusion Awareness Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8RlcIRkBkw
February 4th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
FIRE WENDY PORTILLO & RENAME Morningside Elementary to Alex Barton Elementary
February 4th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I support the mother!
February 4th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I support Alex Barton!
February 4th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I support the Teacher… Have you ever had to work in a work place with people who are always disrupted in the work place, it’s not easy, and as for Alex and his parents Meds arent always the answer they also cause other health issues READ YOUR LABLES. This is a conidtion your have to work on with your child. Alex should of known better if he was normal but this isn’t the case. So why should the teacher have to put up with a student like this and have the whole class disrupted. WAKE UP. I would have done the same. She is there to teach the kids and the parents should of started at home on his behavior. She could of made him sit in the corner but do you think that would of help him in any way….I don’t think so. 14 kids Voted him out, out 16, WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU.
February 4th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I am disgusted by many of the comments in favor of Portillo. The people attacking Alex are full of ignorance. Little children, autistic or not, should not ever be expected to act like mature adults. You also should not expect every little boy to be a “real boy”. If you think every little boy is going to be like the crowd, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and should just kill the train of thought on having children.
I also have asperger syndrome and I’m set in stone on the Barton’s side. I’m glad Portillo is suffering from all she’s stated. She brought it on herself.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
my moms an ocupational theropest so we support alex 110%
February 5th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Portillo knew of a behavior problem for 5 months. She sent Alex to the office. How many times did she contact Alex’s mom Melissa? If school administrators are unsupportive teachers should call parents often. Most parents appreciate frequent feedback about their kids school performance good and bad. If done often enough Melissa should have told Wendy Portillo about the diagnostic evaluation process that WAS ongoing although had not reached a diagnosis. I hope Melissa tries to salvage some contact between Alex and ex-classmates by at least arranging play dates with the two kids who voted to keep him in class. The other 14 were 5 year olds and may have had some good feelings toward Alex that could be revived within the context of someone, other parents hopefully, explaining to the kids how Portillo’s actions were completely inappropriate despite ‘good’ intentions ‘at the time’ out of ‘desperation.’
I have AsPerger’s (not Asbergers) but only knew of it in mid to late 20’s. It wasn’t even a diagnostic label until 1994. Self-disclosure shouldn’t matter, this situation is simply how not to deal with disruptions to a learning environment.
February 5th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I have been quiet too long! Wendy Portillo needs to know that people support her in this case! Is Wendy employed as a Special Ed teacher? Yes? Well then, stop here. She was hired for that expertise. No? Then, did the school administration support Ms. Portillo between January and May 24? If the answer to that question were Yes, we would not be discussing this problem. Did Alex Barton’s mother support Ms. Portillo, ie., talk with Ms. Portillo daily or weekly regarding Alex’s difficulties in the classroom? Was Ms. Portillo commended for beginning the evaluation - and eventual diagnosis - of Alex’s behavior? Did Ms. Barton thank Ms. Portillo for advocating for her son? If Ms. Portillo has sent Alex to the principal at least once a week since he entered her class, did no one recognize that Ms. Portillo was in crisis? Did Ms. Barton and the school district not recognize that an average classroom was not well-suited to Alex’s needs? Does Ms. Barton take no responsiblity for her son’s care? She could have requested that Alex be moved to another class in an effort to find a better fit for him. It is my guess that May 21 was not the first time Alex felt sad about his day in school! I don’t blame Ms. Portillo for telling the class that she would protect them — Alex’s behavior not only disrupted his own day; it disrupted the day of an entire classroom of children! If Ms. Portillo is accredited as a Special Education teacher, then Alex’s mother’s complaint valid. If not, Ms. Barton’s guilt is equal to that of Ms. Portillo. -Or worse - Ms. Barton is Alex’s Number One Advocate. She should have come to the aid of Alex and his classmates long before May 21 because Ms. Portillo has been crying for help since the first day she sent him to the principal’s office. Ms. Portillo has been crying, “I don’t know what to do for this child! Principal, help me! Guidance Counselor, help me!” - and I am guessing she has cried this as well, “Ms. Barton, help me!” No one did, and now Ms. Portillo is the scapegoat. How dare you parents and administrators! for condemning Ms. Portillo in what we all know is the best job that public education can do. How dare you hang your shame on Ms. Portillo. St. Lucie County Schools, have you no respect for Ms. Portillo? Have you been waiting for her to slip up so that you could fire her? The support of her (purple) peers and her tenure tell me this is not the case. Shame on you.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Sharon Kolor
you should have stopped SHE WAS an ESE certified teacher!
Portillo’s mouth was too busy writing checks her butt cant cash!
As for The Color Purple………..
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088939/
February 5th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
If Portillo did her JOB and sent the child to the office with a referral LIKE she is suppose to IF a child is in trouble, the office would have been able to SUPPORT her.
However, she was just plain lazy and didn’t want to take the extra time for the child she should have. That is her JOB.
Teaching is a privilege.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095930/
QueenAnne,
The above link is what the Purple Portillo People are supporting.
Wendy Portillo, why would you do such a thing to a child? You love every child in your class? Do you know what love is?
This child was sent out of the class ONCE that day for being under the desk. After that he was sent into the principals office for a chat the principal, your boss, sent him back into your class. You chose to send him out again not for something he did but because YOU held a vote!
You are ill. I hope that the Barton family sues you into next Tuesday. Not only should the Barton’s file suite but ALL the parents with children in the class should sue you too!
February 5th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Hope you to know I love my children all the same…….. Portillo should have taken her time with this little boy.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
alexmommyluvzhim
Are u Alex’s mom?
February 5th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
i do have a daughter name Alexandria. we call her ALEX though cause she likes it better.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
sorry didn’t mean to confuse anyone with this name but I assure you that I am not this mother……… We live in Texas anyway.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I had reieved this email concerning an article about what happened there in Florida. I read and thought I could give my views about how I felt.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
maybe if the teacher had good staff at the school where she was then this could of been prevented. I only read a few articles about this situation.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Sharon you are part of the reason this world sucks. Wendy P is an adult and she needs to act like one. Brad Cohen was a child with a disability who suffered in school because the majority of his teachers assumed everyone fits into a nice little box and they thought he was just acting up. They wrote him off and punished him for having Tourette’s. Finally he went to middle school with teachers and staff who cared about him and guess what he is one of the best teachers in the country now. Teachers need to realize people are different people they learn different and if they can’t understand or respect that they shouldn’t be a teacher.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Well, if she is a special education teacher, then you are right. There should have never been a cloud in her judgement.
I know her and the facts were misrepresented to me.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Yea, I feel like an ox’s azz too. I just watched the over-sized monster’s testimony I can tell she is CYA all the way.
I am sorry to Alex and his family.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I should have stayed quiet.
February 5th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Alex Barton’s Teacher Saw Humiliating Him as “Just Another Learning Opportunity”
http://specialchildren.about.com/b/2009/02/04/alex-bartons-teacher-saw-humiliating-him-as-just-another-learning-opportunity.htm
February 5th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
What I would like to ask Old Real Estate Lawyer is, do you feel like a big shot now that you have called Alex all these names? Have you lived with a child that has Autism? Do you know anyone who has a family member with that illness? If you did, you wouldn’t show such disregard nor disrespect for Alex or his parents.
Perhaps you should look in the mirror and ask yourself, what would you do if someone used the same terminology about your children, if you were so blessed to be given any. You are a disgrace.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
this must be the color that supports ALEX BARTON…….no movie of it either!! maybe it should be a rainbow of colors Lets take a POLL about it !! whats a POLL u ask ???? Its like a Vote !!
February 5th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
I have learned that a majority of these people writing about this story are teachers in the district……. Lets not worry about them because we should be focusing on ALEX BARTON and HIS FAMILY!! Along with all the other kids in the class too.. God Bless them ALL that suffered because of the ignorance of this ONE so called teacher.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
barbarad it very hard for us parents who know how she feels. These bloggers are mostly teachers and staff at Morningside Elementary School.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
hope everyone gets good rest.. be back on tomorrow morning after I finish doing my running around …. OFF WORK TOMORROW AGAIN !!!
February 6th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
This situation underscores the failure of our educational system to work equally well for all. It is time that we all stopped whining and complaining about the problems and stand up instead to be part of the solution.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I am the mother of a child with autism. I am the daughter of a father who probably would have been diagnosed had he not grown up in a farm environment among people paranoid of doctors and hospitals. I am a sister to two brothers who grew up with symptoms of autism. That is the life I grew up with. What you grow with is what is ‘normal.’ I can easily understand how a mother could not suspect something is different about her child if there is a family cluster of undiagnosed autism. That said,
Even if a teacher is ESE certified, if her training has all been in the physical disabilities or things like downs syndrome then she is not going to have the tools to work with autism. Many people don’t understand that offering a social example like a vote won’t teach the autistic child anything because social eptness is where he has a deficit. Also, experiences aren’t necessarily transferred from one setting to another. So for example I have a rule of no hitting at home. At school one of the teachers had an attitute of boys will be boys on the playground. That led to hitting behaviors at school by my son. We had to re-teach him the rules at school (no hitting even if you call it horsing around) If the rules seem inconsistent the autistic child tries very hard to determine what they are and make everyone follow them.
I think that the teacher/parent and child are making mistakes because they each are lacking information and training about how to work with each other. If the teacher is willing to work from the attitude that she too makes mistakes and can learn better ways of doing things then she should teach again. If she comes from the attitude that all mistakes are ‘chosen bad behavior’ then she is only going to make things worse.
Physical punishment can put a child with sensory issues in a place where they are not able to learn from the person punishing. They also don’t lead to ’self-control’ which most of us want our children to learn.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
If any one here is, or has ever been, the parent of a special needs child they would understand Melissa’s position on this issue.
I totally support Melissa and Alex.
Not to say the teacher should be condemned to hell but would I put MY special needs child in HER class? Not for all the money in the world!
I will not even put my special needs child in public schools now just for reasons such as these!
Melissa, you did exactly what any great Mom would do … your job … you stood up for your son when he couldn’t stand up for himself!
A thousand kudos to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 7th, 2009 at 10:41 am
No matter the behavior of a five year old child, nor what that behavior was, Portillo’s response to it was inexcusable.
1. Teachers have recourse for dealing with poor behaviors in their class. She should have been using the child study team system, the school counselor, and her own supposed training to deal with the behaviors in a constructive way. Children on the autism spectrum are regularly included in their school communities, all around the country, with a great deal of success. This was a failure of the teacher, and the school, not the child.
2. She should have been teaching her students to reinforce good behavior with each other, not to reject someone because they act/behave different. If the young man had behaviors not being controlled by routine classroom practices, the correct procedures for dealing with those problems were not being followed, and the school, and her, are liable.
3. If this was an ongoing issue with this child, where was the school principal, the discipline policies, and the child study team in all this?
4. Portillo said recently that “she never intended to hurt Alex.” How could anyone think that having a group of people tell you that they hate you and want you to go away, would not be a terrible hurt to anyone? Not to mention that children do NOT have the choice about who is in their classroom, nor do teachers. There are due process procedural safeguards that have been horribly violated here.
5. The complaint most non-autistic people have about autism is that people with the disorder don’t openly “adequately” show empathy or thought for others in a way that others can easily understand or recognize, and have difficulty understanding other’s feelings and behaviors, as well as shared social rules. And yet, look at all the people here who are immediately rejecting and refusing to learn about the child’s situation, point of view, etc. What do you think you look like to someone on spectrum, when in one breath you want everyone to comply with what you think is the right way of showing empathy and understanding to you, and yet you don’t show empathy and understanding to them?
I am a special education elementary teacher, married to a regular ed English teacher. I work regularly with successful inclusion of autism spectrum and other students with physiological differences and challenges, have a son on autism spectrum who is on a standard diploma track at high school in full inclusion, and am myself diagnosed with Aspergers.
I live daily the proof that with adequate supports, people with differences in perception and behavior can live and work successfully together.
Not only should Portillo not be reinstated, but the district itself should be brought under scrutiny for how her earlier problems with the child were handled by administrators.
The school counselor and administrators should have been pulling him from class and working on structured positive behavioral supports with him individually, and then back in the classroom with the teacher. While in process of getting additional services for him, there should have been a strong focus on building the child’s positive moments and preventing negative impact on other children’s learning through pulling him from class to a quiet place for him to work, counselling sessions, etc.
I applaud Alex’s mother, and encourage her to continue to fight for the rights of her son and others with differences, in how those differences are handled.
February 8th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
This teacher is a disgrace. She should not be allowed to teach one more day. If Alex was disrupting the class she should have just taken him out of the room; there is no excuse for humiliating him. I’m glad she has to hide her face when she is at the mall, she deserves it. I hope Alex’s mom sues her for all she’s worth, and the school system too.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I am someone who can professionally speak to the issue of education, the legal and ethical aspects of teaching children with Autism Spectrum issues or behavioral issues, and I am also personally experienced. Studying these areas as well as living them, I can guarantee you that Portillo’s actions were wrong, possible torts were committed, and at the least, were unprofessional and unethical. This woman is guilty and she should be required to attend classes on understanding autism and other disabilites, have her professional license revoked, and what ever else comes naturally as a consequence to her. Alex and his mom should be compensated by the school district for this abuse and this mess.
I support Alex and his family and I support all families and children affected by Autism and similar disabilities.
I will never support a so- called teacher abusing children.
Remember, Alex suffered but his classmates were used as her tools of hatred. They suffer as well and will not get a decent education if they are taught to be little hateful bigots by “teachers” like Wendy.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
As a teacher, AND a mother of a child with asperberger’s disorder…My child has NEVER flicked crayons on another, upset a table, or been disruptive to the point where someone wanted to vote hi m out. Yes the teacher was wrong, but so was the parent. Why subject the other 16 children to outrageous behavior by ONE student? Do the other kids have rights? The teacher had a lapse of judgement for one second, this kid had disrupted his class all year. So,voting him out made him sad? Gee , he should have thought of that before he pummeled others with crayons!
February 10th, 2009 at 10:33 am
To this peron who claims Alex flicked crayons on students…. One question do you have a child there at the time ???? I did and she told me that “he was not hurting anyone” So what is the big deal ??? Focus on what is the issue here? I want justice for Alex and for my child too !!
April 1st, 2009 at 10:04 am
I have a special needs child (home-schooled), but if he were in school and he were causing that much commotion, I would expect the school to call me to come pick him up. Voting a child out of a class is just unacceptable.
If she is really the great teacher that those who know her say that she is, then I think she should be reinstated and the school should change their policies about disruptive children. The children need aides or better placement or more parental involvement at the school. Challenging children are just that: challenging. But nonetheless, they have the same right to a public education that other kids have. The problem comes in that there are more and more kids with serious problems, whether the problems stem from poor parenting, drug use during pregnancy, environmental toxins, poor diet, too many vaccines or whatever. The school districts are not suited to handle so special needs kids. Schools offer education to the masses. That’s their role. There is not enough funding and there are not enough teachers to offer each child a 1-to-1 teaching environment.
It’s a tough situation all around. But if this teacher is really a good teacher who made a big mistake, then let her learn from her mistake and let her return to teaching. We need all of the good teachers we can find.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:36 am
The impact on the class full of “normal” learners can not be completely overlooked when an autistic/ausburger student is intoduced into a classroom. What interventions did the “office” provide when the teacher refered the student? Not much I’m sure.
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Just imagine if the teacher had been white and the student black…
That teacher would be in JAIL for child abuse. Instead this one is getting her job back…PATHETIC.
America, on its knees as usual.