Principal accused of making pupil shock himself

Beaver Ridge leader, who has resigned, faced scrutiny in past over discipline

By D. AILEEN DODD

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, March 30, 2009

An embattled Gwinnett County elementary school principal is under fire for ordering a student to shock himself with a pen he carried to school that emits a low current.

Esther Adames-Jimenez, principal of Beaver Ridge Elementary School, apparently wanted to teach the student a lesson.

So when the boy was summoned into her office to face discipline consequences for bringing the toy to class, Adames-Jimenez asked the student to turn the pen on himself, said Gwinnett school officials.

“Her actions reflect poor judgement,” said Sloan Roach, a spokesperson for Gwinnett County Public Schools. “It clearly violates our discipline procedures.”

Beaver Ridge faculty reported their principal to Gwinnett schools’ human resources officials after the incident.

Adames-Jimenez could not be reached for comment Monday.

This is not the first time the principal’s judgement has come under scrutiny for discipline allegations.

She was placed on paid administrative leave from East Boston Early Education Center in 1999 amid allegations that she disciplined a 4-year-old who bit classmates by holding that student down so his victims could bite him back. The incident was investigated by school officials and the Massachusetts Department of Social Services. That department found that no physical abuse of the child had occurred but said the principal’s “handling of this situation was not in good judgment,” according to a report by The Associated Press. Adames-Jimenez was reinstated without disciplinary action. The mother of the disciplined student, however, filed a civil lawsuit against Adames-Jimenez and the Boston school in June 2000 alleging assault. The case was settled for an undisclosed sum in August 2001.

Adames-Jimenez told the AJC in June 2008 the Boston allegations were “false.” “The truth is that I never touched the child,” she said earlier in a statement.

“Upon completion of the investigation, I was able to work in the same school for five more years, until the superintendent invited me to open another school,” she said.

Last school year in Gwinnett County, the principal was investigated by human resources and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission for mishandling a national standardized test and a state exam.

She was accused of losing an examiner’s manual containing test questions during the exam, among other things. She received a warning from the Professional Standards Commission in November 2008 on the ethics breach.

In the latest incident, Adames-Jimenez was issued a directive warning her to follow school discipline procedures. Gwinnett Schools Human Resources chief Frances Davis did not report the incident to the state ethics agency, Roach said, because findings did not warrant it.

Adames-Jimenez resigned during the investigation.

“The district was going to recommend that her contract not be renewed next school year,” Roach said “This incident was taken into consideration as well as other issues we’ve had. Ms. Adames-Jimenez was aware of that when she tendered her resignation.”

The principal will be allowed to stay on at Beaver Ridge through the end of the school year, but she will have a shadow monitoring her leadership.

Betty Dominy, a former Gwinnett principal, executive director for school improvement and a principal mentor, will serve as interim principal at Beaver Ridge and work with Adames-Jimenez “to aid in the leadership transition,” Roach said.

This article found at ajc.com