PSL teacher who had students vote child out keeps her contract
June 10th, 2009 by Cara Fitzpatrick
Wendy Portillo answers questions during her administrative hearing.
FORT PIERCE — After teary pleas from supporters, the St. Lucie County School Board voted unanimously today to uphold a one-year unpaid suspension for Wendy Portillo, a teacher who asked students last year to vote on whether a child could stay in class, but rejected a recommendation to terminate her continuing contract.
Portillo, a 12-year veteran of Morningside Elementary, put her head down and wept after the vote. When she looked up she was smiling.
“I didn’t think this was going to happen and I’m just happy I’m going to go back to doing what I love,” she said after the personnel hearing.
Loading ...Portillo, who will finish her suspension in November, faced a tougher punishment.
Superintendent Michael Lannon recommended that Portillo be suspended without pay for a year, returned to an annual contract and prohibited from teaching young children again in St. Lucie. He had considered, but ultimately rejected, firing her.
Portillo appealed the punishment to the state Division of Administrative Hearings, but the judge ruled against her.
School board members had to decide today whether to accept the judge’s ruling in full or, based on the case record, to modify it. Their parameters for doing so were narrow.
The incident, in which Portillo asked her kindergarten students to vote on whether then 5-year-old Alex Barton could remain in class, polarized the community and attracted an onslaught of attention. Students voted 14-2 for him to leave.
That Alex was later diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, and had been under evaluation for it at the time only added to the controversy.
Melissa Barton, Alex’s mother, didn’t attend the hearing. She said she and her family had been threatened since the incident. She removed Alex from public school afterward.
She called today’s decision “disgusting.”
“What kind of message does this send?” she said. “Now I get to explain to my son, who was treated so disgustingly, that the bad guy won.”
Board members noted today that school officials and the Portillo family also had been threatened at times.
“This became an emotional firestorm that crucified everybody,” said Kathryn Hensley, a board member.
Carol Hilson, another board member, said: “As an educator myself this has tortured me. I want you to know that.”
Board members heard from about 13 people, all of whom spoke in favor of Portillo. They described her as a dedicated and caring teacher with a previously unblemished record. Many cried as they spoke.
A number of those present, about 50 people, wore purple, Portillo’s favorite color.
Portillo’s sons, Zak and Zayd, spoke.
Carol Sheldon, a teacher with no affliation to the school district, said the case had weighed on her heart nonetheless.
“There are no winners here and there will not be any,” she said.
Alex Barton with his mother, Melissa Barton
Tags: alex barton, Schools, St. Lucie County, Wendy Portillo
Subscribe to TCoastTalk's RSS Feed
Browse the photo galleries here
June 10th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
That kid AND her mom are *****.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I’m an experienced educator in Palm Beach County. Ms. Portillo’s actions lacked a bit of judgement. But it appears she did the best with what the school district gave her to work with. It’s obvious now that the student needed significant interventions. Where was the assistance with those interventions? I am confortable believing that Ms. Portillo meant no harm to the student. She did the best she could with the lack of support she had. I’m glad she is allowed to keep her job and tenure. But I feel the year off without pay was an extremely harsh penalty for her to pay. The school district needed a scapegoat for their lack of action in assisting the student. The found it in Portillo. As for the student’s mother: I am appalled at the way she exploited her son publicly for what appears to be personal gain and attention. These matters are best handled privately and not in front of a media circus. Shame on you mom. Are you wrong in fighting for your son’s dignity? Absolutely not. But please grow up and stop thinking about yourself. Your son deserves better. Now that her attacks against Ms. Portillo appear to be over, maybe she’ll move on the the District and see how far it will go.
June 10th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I can understand why she and her son have been threatened, duh - still the suspension was not just punishment for allowing the kids to decide -shame on the administration for using pc against the teacher - we actually need more teachers like her - maybe she can sue the mother and boy for financial hardship and not being allowed to teach prior and currently because of one child that was not behaving.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I have been following this story for some time now and feel the need to comment. First, we are talking about 5 year olds here. While some are fast learners, others will need specialized attention. This trained “educator” with 12 years experience is paid to teach our children and also be the eyes and ears of the school district. Ms. Portillo should have remembered that this is a 5 year old and used her experience to try and understand what the root of his problem was. It is my opinion that calling out this child during one of the most important development years of his life will most likely stay with him forever. Second, what would have been the outcome if this teacher was white and the 5 year old was not? In this scenerio, how would the school district have responded to Rev. Sharpton calling for someones head? My guess is that this teacher would be seeking employment elsewhere!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Under federal law, the SCHOOL DISTRICT (and the parents) are responsible for providing an appropriate education after identifying children with disabilities. This teacher was thrown under the bus by administrators who did not provide any support to Ms. Portillo. This disability doesn’t SUDDENLY appear in kindergarten. Shame on the parents and school administrators for shirking their own responsibilities and scapegoating the teacher!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Mike Lannon and his gang are at it again.
What kind of message is he sending? FIRE LANNON NOW.
This is NOT OK. Lannon, in my opinion you are *******.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
she won’t let it go, I’m sure she is trying her best to figure a way to get her name in the media again, like the pack of lies she told of a friend of portilla threatening her at morningside school
June 10th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Wow, what a disaster! We excuse the perp and persecute the victim here.
I hope everyone with a special needs child in Saint Lucie County GETS THE HELL OUT.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
It isn;t over til the fat lady sings….. and believe it I haven’t begun to sing yet !! The whole District has made a very big mistake on the decision making on this case. She will never be looked at the same way as before this incident. Portillo has a long road ahead of her come Nov. if she gets into a school in SLCSD. Parents will come out and say something……………..Believe is as I say it to you tonight and I will say it MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD while I am in retirement and can watch it all unfold again and again.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Black people can be racist and get away with it. This is a prime example.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
If Wendy Portillo’s kids were threatened it is likely because of their GANG status not to do with the awful mother they have. Get out of the gangs and you will not have threats ~ DOING!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
I have a child with ASD, if you dont, you have no idea of what it is you speak of.
The SLCSB Failed again. They failed Alex, my children and all children with autism or special needs.
Alex, hang in there buddy. These people have their day before God……..it will be payback at judgement day.
Shame on you bloggers who agree with the insane punishment of Alex Barton. Shame on this broken school district.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
What kind of message does this send?” she said. “Now I get to explain to my son, who was treated so disgustingly, that the bad guy won.”
Barton you shoudln’t have to explain this to him, let Mr. Lemon do that ??? If you want I am sure he is available since school is out to speak to alot of us tomorrow. I personally will be contacting him or even sitting in his office to get answers from him reguards to this matter. What a slimey goat he is ??? I thought he had learned you weren’t playing around with this matter ???????
June 10th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Glad to see there are still people with hearts for children out there !!!!! Are you a teacher AprilASD ?? I wold let you teach my children before HER anyday of the week ???
June 10th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Not for anything, how does a teacher DO THAT! Especially to a child that was later determined to have autism!
The School board didnt vote right…this woman does not deserve to teach again
June 10th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I am a teacher myself.. I don’t agree that this woman was right in having students “vote” the child out of the class. If the student was disturbing the class she should have called admin and had him removed. I have had a student with the same form of autism in my class before. I admit there were times when his behavior was unacceptable and he needed to be removed from the class. However, I also am very disappointed in the mom who is clearly looking for attention. This should have been kept out of the news and remained private. The 5 yr old prob would not have remembered the incident if it had been handled privatly now he will always remember…shame on you mom and use better judgement teacher.. BOTH are wrong
June 10th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I still believe the teacher should be terminated.My son attended elementary school in Port St Lucie.He is an adult now but he still scarred from a teacher who would make fun of him in front of other students.Humiliation should be an automatic termination!!!!
June 10th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
write to lannon……… school board members too
June 11th, 2009 at 11:43 am
For all the GREAT teachers that got laid off due to cuts - they keep this one??
They should fire her and bring back one of the teachers that love and care for the kids they teach.
A good teacher would have talked to the parents and suggested that this kid may have some sort of problem and should be tested. ESPECIALLY being a teacher for that long she should notice these things.
June 11th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I think what this teacher did is aweful. For all of those who say the child won’t remember because he is five, your wrong. This will effect his self esteem the rest of his life. How could an experience teacher let children vote a child out of the classroom. I have a kindergartener who is not the best behaved. The teacher discussed his behavior with me and we devised a plan to improve his behavior in the classroom and at home. It took much effort and support for the both the teacher and myself, but I see a huge improvement. Ms. Portilla should have tried to use a plan like this. If she has so much experience, she should know many different ways of handling children with behavioral problems. In addition, if she didn’t know, she should have advised help from the school and from the parents as well. If I were the child’s mother, I would be so upset. I don’t think Ms. Portilla should ever teach children again. She has demonstrated that she does not know how to handle children who act up so she should not be in the position. For those of you who disagree, how would you feel if this happened to your child.
June 11th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
No one won in this situation, for all of the parents out there with children with Autisim you know how your child behaves, so should it be alright to condemn this teacher because his behavior is okay because of his disease? Why not inform the teacher of his behavior and play a proactive role. And Why on earth is it OKAY to keep this child in a class where there is at least 15 other students that have to learn required materials so that they may for one PASS FCAT and all other Things to be PROMOTED. have you parents, teachers friends & administrators forgot that one child has been blocking the learning process for atleast 15 other children. We as the Community are asking a whole lot from not just this teacher but all of our teachers. After all, she is human and is entitled to make a mistake. But instead of assisting this teacher, because if the parent and administrators would tell the truth Ms. Portilla requested assistance with this child,and she got little assistance from both.What does this say about the parent and the administrators? The teacher was aware that sometimes our peers do help us in learning and changing our behaviors. We use peer teaching techniques in classrooms everyday so why not allow the children to voice their opinion about their learning process. Stop beating up on this teacher and help!!!! Parents Do your job teach your child that they are going to school to learn not to disrupt the class, Administrators assist your staff a lot better teachers are not GODS get the proper help for these teachers. When they call, come don’t just chalk it up to its your job to deal with the behaviors and teach these kids. Teachers my advice to you is to document time date and circumstances when dealing with these parents that know they have difficult children and feel that it is your job to teach them discipline and well as reading writing and arithmatic. I feel so sorry for everyone envolved. Mother get the help your child needs, ms. Portilla continue to fight don’t allow the school district to suspend your pay, it is not your fault that you didn’t know that the child had a learning disability it was the school board responsibility to give you all info to better educate every child. Hold your head up and keep God First.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am
To err is human. To forgive is divine.
June 13th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
This teacher may have her job back, but after the poor judgment she showed, I would make sure that my child was not in her class.
This woman is not someone who should be making an impact on impressionable children.
>To err is human. To forgive is divine.
Beautiful sentiment. And my first reaction, actually.
But the damage is already done to that child. Do we just disregard that?
“Oops. My bad. Sorry about that.”
June 13th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
“I didn’t think this was going to happen and I’m just happy I’m going to go back to doing what I love,” she said after the personnel hearing. By that, does she mean that she can now go back and torture/bully the helpless children in her class?
The school board is absolutely NOT right to reinstate this woman. She obviously has no sense of decency, no feelings in her heart.
How is the school board going to make sure that no other children are taunted and tormented in this woman’s class simply because she doesn’t like/understand them? Will she next choose to ostracize someone because they are in a wheelchair, because they’re deaf, because they have a speech impediment? What if she doesn’t have a child with special needs next time? Will she simply choose the Jewish child, the Muslim child, the fat child, the child with homosexual parents, the child with a funny name?
Because she is a “teacher” this is even more chilling, since the bullies in her class are obviously learning that their behavior is acceptable, since she is leading by example.
Deplorable and disgusting. It’s a shame this woman will be allowed around children again, to enforce her agenda on another unsuspecting class.