Port St. Lucie kindergarten student earns ‘dolphin dollars’ cleaning bathroom, mom complains
November 5th, 2009 by TCPalm.comPORT ST. LUCIE — A Floresta Elementary kindergarten teacher was removed from classroom duties Wednesday pending investigation of an incident in which she is accused of asking a 6-year-old girl to clean up another student’s urine and then rewarding the girl with play money.
Port St. Lucie police were called to the school Wednesday, two days after the alleged incident happened, when the 6-year-old’s mother came to the school “very upset,” according to the police report.
School Principal Harriett McGriff told police she spoke with kindergarten teacher Martha Ensley and that Ensley “admitted to having (the student) clean the urine and admitted giving her ‘dolphin dollars’ afterward,” the report states.
Dolphin Dollars are play money given to Floresta Elementary students to reinforce good behavior. The play money can later be exchanged for toys and activities at a school store.
Police consulted with the state attorney’s office and decided no crime had occurred.
Janice Karst, school district director of communications, said an internal investigation is under way to determine if school administrative rules had been broken.
The student’s mother could not reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, and Floresta Elementary administrators referred inquiries to Karst.
The investigating officer met with Ensley and asked the teacher to explain what happened. According to the officer’s report, Ensley said she has a classroom policy that students are supposed to clean up their own restroom messes.
A student urinated on the floor and did not clean up after the mess. Ensley is quoted in the report as saying the 6-year-old girl followed usual procedure by raising her hand and telling her the bathroom was fouled with urine.
“Mrs. Ensley told me she was in the middle of a lesson,” the report states, “and told (the girl) to just clean it up. (The girl) returned to the restroom and wiped up the urine. (Ensley) then gave (the student) Dolphin Dollars as a reward.”
Ensley told police she did not enter the restroom and did not know how much urine was in it. Later, the girl described it for police and school officials as “a yellow puddle on the floor.”
The officer’s report states that “Mrs. Ensley admitted she made a poor decision” and “was not trying to demean the student or cause her any harm.”
The officer reported Ensley also said “that this type of things happens often in kindergarten and asked what to do if a custodian was not available. I offered her some suggestions in regards to obtaining some cleaning solutions and rubber gloves for herself, but advised her against having children clean up bodily fluids, especially from other students.”
Subscribe to TCoastTalk's RSS Feed
Browse the photo galleries here
November 5th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Poor, poor decision by the teacher. Could she have just buzzed the office to ask for a janitor?
To the parent of this young accomodating student. This is a good lesson to teach your daughter to speak up, voice her thoughts and say, “no”. You have taught your daughter to respect authority and that has been abused. This is your teaching opportunity.
November 5th, 2009 at 6:05 am
God forbid a student should give a teacher a hand in helping keep the place clean, in this day of infectious bodily fluids. If that many kids are peeing on the floor, they’re not ready for school, imo. And no TEACHER should be required to play pt janitor duty either.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Anyone else sick of this politically correct society we are living in?
It would nice to see some organization, whether governmental or private, stand behind its people instead of being so quick to suspend and “investigate”
So she didn’t use her best judgment. How many of us could sit in a classroom of 6 year olds all day and not react that way in that kind of situation. She asked a kid to clean up a mess - granted it was urine - but it’s not like she abused a child.
Now there is a lull in the action while they “investigate” a situation in which the teacher has already detailed what happened - or confessed to the crime.
Sentencing will be announced shortly
November 5th, 2009 at 9:35 am
You know it’s not like she voted any students out of the classroom. She simply asked a child to clean up a mess. Granted she showed poor judgement in not ensuring the child had adequate safety equipment that really is no reason for this whole thing to be “investigated”. What is there to “investigate”? The teacher admitted to a lapse in judgement. I just love how our tax payer dollars get wasted and how we throw our teachers to the wolves instead of supporting them and helping them.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:54 am
The teacher should have checked the extent of the mess and called a janitor. That is the janitors job not a six year old childs job. All I request for my six year old child to do is GO TO SCHOOL TO LEARN NOT TO CLEAN UP PEE FROM SOME KID THAT MAY BE INFECTED AND WE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT. If my child came home with some illness contracted by cleaning up another persons urine because the teacher was too damn lazy to go look at the mess in the bathroom I would freak out. I dont understand some people, the teacher should have looked and if THE TEACHER didnt want to clean it call a janitor its his job to clean the school that is why he gets paid
November 5th, 2009 at 10:32 am
The teacher did show poor judgment; you don’t have a small child clean anyone’s urine, how well does a 6 year old clean, seriously. I agree with the post stating that this is the opportunity to teach the child that if their own parent wouldn’t make them do it, then to say “no thank you” when asked to perform a duty mom or dad would normally do. The teacher should have taken the 2 minutes away from the lesson she was teaching (afterall, its not likely they are actually learning geometry)and clean it herself or have the child who had the accident help her. No- she shouldn’t be fired or suspended; but maybe she should be leaving the cleaning duties to adults.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:39 am
[...] suspended for “paying” kindergartner to clean school bathroom. School Principal Harriett McGriff [...]
November 5th, 2009 at 11:37 am
What is it going to take to get the Saint Lucie County School Board to WAKE the F UP????? Clean house of these poor quality teachers already Or are you waiting for some kindergartner to do it for you?
November 6th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
This story made http://detentionslip.org ! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:50 am
How degrading, i can only imagine how this mother felt. who sends their children to school to “aspire to become ajanitor” Sending a child of any age to clean up the restrooms at school is a “horror without second guessing”. What is more applauding is the fact that she did not look at the mess FIRST!! Honestly, she deserves to be suspended immediately. a 6year old WOW!
November 7th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I would have to agree with Richard G. Kids who haven’t been trained to use the restrooms by the time they are in kindergarten need additional training before being sent into a full classroom. A teacher does not have the time to go clean up a restroom while watching a room full of 5 year olds. Wouldn’t everyone have been equally appalled if the teacher had left the room to go check out the restroom? This is a lose, lose situation for the teacher. Maybe the restrooms should be patroled on a regular basis by the janitors and the parents of kids in the schools can pay extra for this additional service. Also, to I. Maze, who finds it so degrading to be a janitor. Aren’t you arrogant. It is an honest job that needs to be done. Get off your high horse.
November 8th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Wrong-wrong-wrong!!! In these days of multiple diseases a child should never be forced to clean another kids urine or anything else.
November 8th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
cj, go cry me a river.
July 10th, 2010 at 6:16 am
Nothing beats washboard out there indicating what you would like. This particular matchup is definitely long gone, nevertheless only for protection add to it to suit your needs anyway.