Should This Teacher Be Fired?

I agree that this was a very serious issue, but teacher handled everything just right once she realized her mistake. I think there should have be some sort of repercussions, but I think firing her on the spot was too extreme.

It was poor judgment on the part of the teacher. Plus, three years old is young. Too young, in my opinion, to be left to find her way back to the playground. Swinging on a metal fence sounds dangerous enough. Personally, I can understand the actions of the principal.

If this was an elementary school child, I might feel differently.

Sorry I can see why she was fired. I worked at a daycare facility ( La Petite) and children were never to be left unattended...any number of things can happen in just minutes.

I'm sorry but I disagree w/ most everyone. No the teacher should not have been fired - suspended or warning, yes. But the school should be held accountable b/c the front door was NOT LOCKED! Obviously the front door was accessible to all the children or the 3 yr. old would not have been able to walk out the front door. I think the teacher was used as a scape goat to protect the school by firing the teacher. Also by firing her, that kept the school from paying out benefits when she left at the end of the year. The principal knew exactly what she was doing when she fired her!!! If I were you (or the parent involved) I would entertain the idea of suing the school for negligence. Especially since the teacher was fired as a smoke screen to the real issue at hand.

As an educator and mom of a three year old this is a tough call. I think the three year old should have had to wait for the teacher. BUT I am not sure this is grounds for dismissal. Maybe there was something else happening? The school is responsible for the children. How could a 3 year old push the door open by themselves? Isn't there someone near the front? Scary!! Maybe the principal was mad that she was leaving? A serious warning and letter in her file... again, maybe this isn't the first time???

The law for that age group is all children are to be within sight and sound of an adult. This is about accountability. I believe the teacher should have been fired. Not knowing that a child is out of your care is negligence. I wonder if this was common practice for the teacher to use this method to manage 3 year olds. It is unacceptable. I can't believe how many responses are so lax about LOSING a child, blaming it on relations with the principal.

UPDATE: In response to everyone wanting the front door to be locked from the inside...that is against most fire codes. Also, there is no need for a front desk person to monitor children going out if the teachers do their job effectively.

A 3 year old child was left without adult supervision. She went to the front of the school, where she could have wandered out into traffic or been kidnapped, molested, or who knows what else. Yes, the teacher should have been fired.

yes. i wish ppl that i know who have "lost" kids had been fired the first time. Girl #1 should have waited until they were all ready to go outside. Check with your states laws too. It might have something to do with that. And there may have been other reasons besides that incident (occurrences, breaking other policies...) . It could have been the final incident to get her fired.

I belive she would have been fired at our school. They have very clear and strict rules to prevent incidents like this. It only takes once and I don't blame them for a no tolerance policy. It's tough, but necessary.

I work at a pre-school and she would have been fired right then not later in the day. We get to paid to watch your children and assist them in learning. Its my job to know exactly where your child is while she is at school. I feel bad that she worked there 6 yrs but the safety of the children comes 1st, before I've never made a mistake like this before. I would be livid had it been my child !

I do think it is a tad extreme. It sounds like the principal maybe had a personal vendetta against the teacher and used this incident as an excuse, or she had other warnings.

I do think the teacher was wrong in letting the first girl go, so yes, I do think there should have been some major disciplinary action and a school wide staff meeting reinforcing procedure. However, I do think the principal had good grounds to fire her, so I would not be shocked. Three children were kidnapped and molested from my preschool when I was a child, one of them was a family friend. It's a blessing nothing happened to this little girl. If something had happened to the little girl, I'm sure most all the parents would want her fired.

my comment is coming from being a former teacher and having a child that attends a preschool right now... I feel this is extreme. There are a few things wrong with the situation that don't even involve the teacher. 1. There should be a front desk attendant, teacher or admin close enough to the door to see who goes in and out. 2. If the door is not heavy enough to keep kids from going in and out, there should be an alarm (a simple "beep beep beep" will do) to let a front desk attendant know someone went in/out if she was busy making a photo copy etc... 3. The teacher should have some sort of warning put in her file (especially if parents were not fighting the issue) and it should end there.

Is it possible more was going on with this teacher that the parents do not know about? If not, this is extreme.

I also agree with momma11: There is more to the issue about her leaving at the end of the year and paying out benefits etc...

Sorry, but I say, fired. Yes, the G. is fine, but the what if's are too great. It only takes one mistake in 6 years and a life could have been lost. 3 year olds cannot be trusted to get themselves places on their own. I think the principal made the right call. I wouldn't have wanted my daughter in her care anyways after that. Mistakes happen, but when it comes to the lives of children, they cannot be overlooked.

Three year olds are never allowed out of the teacher's sight.
She learned her lesson.
I'm sorry to be mean about this, but yes, she disregarded one of the most fundamental rules when watching small children.
You never let a child out of your sight. You count children constantly on the playground, when walking to and from classrooms, getting on and off busses.
Children wait for the others to finish before going anywhere by themselves. I would stand in my door and watch my charges go to a different classroom and wait for them to come back, at my door. We had aides deliver kids to the office, other classrooms, the speech room.
She should have kept the child with her.
I applaud the principal for her actions.

In the elementary that my kids went to and in the elementary that I teach in, no, wouldn't be fired if she was there for six years because she would have tenure (public school). Whether the child was fine or not is not the issue. If she went out the front door, she could have gotten to the road, she could have been snatched, hanged herself on the fence because a three year old was outside with no supervision, and no one knew where she was for 5 or 10 minutes. However, if kids can wander out the front door with no one seeing them, there is another issue besides the teacher sending a kid outside unescorted. The fact that there is a door that kids can open and that there is no adult watching, is the real problem and has not been solved.

What is the school's written policy?

We don't know if this teacher has had other infractions, etc. It might not be based on this O. incident. You say "The teacher has been with the school for six years and has never had any issues before, no complaints or warnings" but do you know that to be true for sure?

She would not have been fired in a public school because there would be nothing legally the school could stand on. There was no misconduct or negligence. However, private schools do not have to follow the same laws since they don't accept federal or state funding. That's too bad for the teacher!

Leaving a child unattended is unacceptable. If the teacher had been there six years, she should have known that rule without any question. I don't have a problem with the firing.
Just my two cents,
R.

I think I agree she should have been fired. I am also wondering if the principal did it to cover her own butt. In all the preschools my kids have attended there is a barrier between the child and the front door. So to escape is not easy. The teacher should have been watching her, but the ratio of teachers to kids in never one on one, so the teachers do not always have an eye on all children, so there should be something in place to keep this from happening. When working with kids this young, you can not trust them to always do the right thing. So I am guessing the pricipal needed to make a drastic move to prevent further investigation from the parents.

Unfortunately, the teacher's actions were extremely careless and could have injured the child or harmed the child in some way. She should have never left the children unattended. I think that her punishment was right-- I wouldn't want a careless teacher around my child!

M

I agree with you that this was extreme and sounds like because the principal had these personal issues with the teacher, that it was an easy way to stop paying her (probably more $ than other teachers who have been there for less time) and dealing with her.
I'm guessing that some of these mother's who have responded to your post have never left their children alone for a few minutes only to have something bad happen (coloring on the wall or cereal all over the kitchen floor...). Sure, it's her job, but if she didn't have any other bad marks on her record, why would you fire someone who takes amazing care of your children? I bet she learned a valuable lesson from that mistake, and it will never happen again. People make mistakes and should be given the opportunity to correct them.

i don't think she should have been fired, suspended yes. I do understand the parents that say it could have been worse. but in the same token if the parents weren't angry enough to want her fired and she took responsibility for her actions then let it be. We all have made mistakes with our children and so have some of our family members. but we can't fire ourselves or family. Yes she is a teacher and could have made a better choice. actually the more i type the more I;m torn about my decision. I really don't know.

Yes, and not only that, if it were MY child I would be bringing charges against her personally AND the school. It ABSOLUTELY is negligence.

she made a mistake that could have resulted in a serious problem or many ... I understand the decision made and would expect something simmilar to be made if it were my child.

That seems very extreme to me. I taught elementary in the public schools for 13 years. I would definitely be filing a grievance if something like this happened to me. Perhaps it was bad judgement to trust the little girl could walk back to the playground by herself, but thankfully nothing terrible happened. Mistakes happen, but a stern warning should have sufficed. I am sure the teacher must feel awful and now this incident may follow her around for the rest of her career. That is really too bad. I hope the parents and other teachers rally around her and at least get this off of her permanent record since she is relocating to another area.
A.

not fired but maybe a small suspension for the poor judgement anything could have happen so a punishment of some sort was called for in my opinion even if this is her first time but as I said not FIRED jobs are hard to find and that really does not look good on her record as a pre-school teacher

She should have been warned and left it at lesson learned. JMO

She should definitly be fired. As an experienced child-care worker, I would NEVER leave a child unattended. She could have been nabbed by a pedophile, run out in the street in front of a car. Anything can happen when I child is left all alone. If I was her parent, I'd be out for blood.

The door should definitely be locked as well. I think the principle needs to be reprimanded too.

As a child of 2 teachers I can bet you anything that there is something going on politically in the school above what you have said. Teacher could have gotten on the principals bad side for not reuping next year for all you know...

At age 5, my daughter's teacher and aide both went inside leaving her locked outside alone on the playground. Luckily, a M. happened to be looking for a lost hair bow and found her. She was terrified and never felt safe there afterwards. She would not even be disciplined at our child's school, but I agree with the firing. My child is too precious for this.

If I'm not mistaken it is required by the preschool to have the doors locked in a way that they can't just leave. For example: our preschool has a big red button that has to be pushed at the same time as the door in order to open it. There is also a code in order for outsiders to get in. If they don't have the code, they must ring the bell and wait for someone to come from the office. i could be wrong on whether that's required or not, though.

I think the school is more at fault. Our elementry school does not let any child out the front door without having to pass by an adult. they are essentially in Lock Down. The child should have been safe in the school and not have been allowed to leave on her own accord. Non of the children up to age 6th grade can eave our school unless the marked adult on the emergency sheet picks them up. Not any child they will leave them there until 5-6pm until they can contact the parent/gaurdian if they have too.

The teacher definitely exhibited poor judgment in this instance. Is there a written policy about accompanying the children/not leaving them unattended?

maybe a written warning!

This is why teachers lie. If she had lied and said Sally ran out, then it would have been all okey dokey.

Now, I bet all of the teachers at the school will become liars to cover their butts.

if i was boss yes she would have been fired. they got lucky the kid didn't get hurt or snatched. so yes I would have fired her.

My first question would be as the parent, How the hell (excuse my language) did she get out the front door. I have complained on numerous occasions about my kids' daycare and no one being up front. You have to put a code in to get in the front door from the outside, but kids can easily run out. I think maybe the teacher should have gotten written up, especially since she is leaving soon. I think the school has bigger problems than this teacher...maybe the principal should have been watching the front door rather than her office window. (Hope that doesn't sound to bitter-the director at my kids' daycare is completely lazy and I have no time for her,...this principal at your school may be totally great, just taking my frustrations out on others) :)

At my son's school, his teacher let a 4 year old child go in the hallway to do his work. This child walked out of the front door, was gone approximately 15 minutes and walked three or four blocks from the school before being found. The teacher was not fired.

I won't share my personal opinion as to whether either teacher should be fired, as I have limited information and don't know the schools' policies. I am simply sharing this story to show it is more extreme and our teacher was not fired. She did call the parents to report the incident, same as your scenario.

The real problem in my opinion is the ability of these children to just walk out the door with no one catching them or no locked door stopping them. There should be some sort of system in place to prevent this from happening, as it is obvious teachers cannot possibly be in every place at all times.

It happens more than anyone wants to admit. I think appropriate actions would be to set up a plan for kids to get inside to go potty. A teacher has to be with the kids at all times, even if they are walking back to the playground. The teacher made a huge mistake by letting that child out of her sight. She should have told the child she had to wait. It depends on the printed policies of the school. No tolerance means no tolerance of neglect. This was neglect.

Definitely it wasn't smart. But firing her is over the top for someone that hasn't made other mistakes previouisly.

I think it was done out of spite. Most people get warnings the first time they do make a mistake. The front door being unlocked is THE PROBLEM. anyone could walk in that school with a weapon at any time. I would not want my kid there.

Good working history or not, the teacher was severely negligent & made a very dangerous mistake. One can never assume that a 3 year old will do what they're supposed to do - that's preschool 101. You'd think after 6 years she would've known that. I think the firing was justified.

At my DD's old daycare, a "teacher" (and I use that term loosely) was fired for leaving a 2 year old on the playground (and yes, there was a fence). So for those of you who say the teacher in the article shouldn't have been fired, you'd seriously be ok with this happening to your child? And you'd trust that teacher to continue to care for your child? I know I wouldn't.

I have a feeling there is way more to this story, though. Is there an article at all?

I think the principal is covering her butt, probably she spent the afternooon consulting with her boss and school authorities and the powers that be decided the teacher had to go. Keeping her is probably too much of a legal risk. Parents may say now they aren't too upset, but after they get to talking about it with friends and family, someone may convince them to file a lawsuit, easy money. Firing the teacher immediately puts 100% of the blame on the teacher. They school is off the hook. The focus then cannot be on the school logistics (door security) or policy (3 year olds should not be left out of adult sight). And I think it is a shame because I would bet anything this teacher would be 200 times more careful than others in the future having had this experience. No I do not think the teacher should have been fired. Disciplined, yes. Fired, no. Unless this was not the first violation. Unfortunately, though, it does not surprise me.

I think that she should have been fired. Yes, nothing happened to the child - that is pure LUCK. Something could have happened to the child - she could have been hurt, kidnapped, killed - any number of terrible things could have happened. It was poor judgment on the Teacher's part to let the child leave her sight, regardless of what the child wanted to do or if she was finished first. As a teacher, you have to lead and direct and realize that a 3 year old doesn't get to make certain decisions. I would also question that maybe the Teacher had a little bit of 'short timers' syndrome and although she would not have normally been so careless, might have been preoccupied with the fact that she was planning on leaving soon and was taking more risks than normal.

The school's principal also has a duty to make sure that the entrance was secure, either by positioning aides or other personnel within eyesight of the door or herself being in the area when no one else could be, which she failed to do. She holds part of the responsibility in this case and should also be reprimanded by whomever has authority over her (director? school board?).

If I were the parent I would have definitely been upset and would do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen to someone else in the future. If that meant suing the school, so be it. Sometimes lessons have to be learned the hard way. All to often people are given passes out of compassion, but it is doing a disservice to them and to yourself to not hold individuals accountable for their actions, and appropriately based on the severity of the infraction.