SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A female teacher at the Oregon School for the Deaf lost her job after sending personal messages to a 14-year-old male student. A dorm counselor was disciplined for letting a 14-year-old girl living at the school leave campus on a weekend without parental permission.

These were two of nine incidents revealed this week when the state Department of Education released files on improper contact between staff and students at the Oregon School for the Deaf, and staff’s failure to properly oversee students or report incidents of student misconduct.

The incidents occurred between 2003 and 2006. The files were released in response to public records requests from The Oregonian and Salem Statesman Journal newspapers.

The School for the Deaf and the Oregon School for the Blind are operated by the Education Department. About half of the 110 students at the deaf school are residential students.

On Tuesday, State School Superintendent Susan Castillo announced a series of steps to improve safety at the deaf school. Ed Dennis, Castillo’s deputy, said he was working with the city of Salem and the Salem-Keizer School District to see if a school safety officer could make one or two visits a day to the campus.

Moreover, Dennis said he would institute more frequent training for staff on mandatory reporting of inappropriate student behavior. He also said he would arrange meetings with students and parents to reinforce the idea that they should come forward when they learn of inappropriate behavior.

The school is operating under a temporary director, Jay Gense, until a new director is named. Jane Mulholland, the former director, was fired Dec. 28. No reason was given for the firing, and Mulholland’s departure has upset some members of the deaf community.

Public Opinion comments responses through Statesman-Journal….

Comment #1
by DeeDeeDee
Keep watching…
I agree. Keep watching.

True, the article does not mention Jane filing proper paperwork. Oh, wait. Except a tag at the end of the story about why there is a temporary director, Jane Mulholland is not mentioned in the report AT ALL!

The report doesn’t specify that ANYONE filed the proper paperwork, but yet the incidents are on public record. Someone did file paperwork. It may very well have been Jane. Until more facts are given, we can’t judge a thing.

I would venture to say that OSD probably has no more “incidents” regarding the health and safety of its students than any other public school. There may be a few more because OSD has dormitories, so some students spend more time on campus.

Again. Keep watching. Don’t make assumptions. Wait for the facts.

Comment #2
Oregon-Lover
Having intimate knowledge of the inner workers of ODE I can tell you they are scrambling to create a “spin”. How sad for Jane Mulholland. She is absolutely one of the most ethical and honest persons I have ever met. Something I cannot say for the administration at ODE. The simple fact is ODE wanted to do something Jane didn’t agree was best for the school. (of course, she knows nothing right?) So out she goes… forget what is in the best interest of the children.

I hope the SJ staff sees this for what it is and does not turn it into a negative and misleading story. Please tone it down. As one of the previous posters said, similar occurances happen at all schools. Should we compare to make it fair????

Comment #3
Pubwood
The ODE is spinning the news. Many public schools have more serious incidents than the deaf school and they don’t let the principals go. I see the incidents at the OSD are minors.

In the fact, the Oregon School for the Blind property still belongs to the Asahel Bush family! The family used to own the Statesman newspaper which later become Satesman Journal. Am not sure the family still owns the stock in the SJ newspaper. The ODE has to return the property to the family if they don’t need the property. The OSB director Don Ouimet hides this fact! Am not surprised Ms. Castillo and Ed Dennis are aware of this Trust land.

“The school operates today on the same eight and one half acres Asahel Bush donated to the state in perpetuity, so long as it was used to provide educational opportunities for the handicapped.”

This info is found on the last paragraph of the article at:

http://www.salemhistory.net/education/oregon_school_blind.htm
Can’t you smell the dead fish at the ODE offices?

Comment #4
Curmudgeon
Doesnt’ it seem a bit suspicious that this is an Associated Press article? Being in our own back yard, I would expect to see a S-J byline.

As for nine incidents between 2003 and 2006, that number is so small that it’s insignificant for that length of time. Without something to compare it to, it means nothing. If the media wants to give us a true picture of things, give us a number of incidents per 100 students per school year, and then give us the same statistic for other area schools. Keep in mind that, according to the article, this number supposedly includes incidents of student misconduct reported during that period. That makes nine sound like an incredibly small number.

Comment #5
dsammy
Don’t trust ODE damage control
This article is from ODE.

The Deaf Community was alerted to Castillo’s news release, which forms the basis of this news article yesterday.

The one by S-J will be forthcoming within next few days. We already have Jane’s response to this press release by ODE at
http://blog.deafread.com/dsammy/2007/01/23/oregon-jane-mulhollands-response-to-statesman-journal-inquiry/

Suggest you read Jane’s response carefully. You will see it’s ODE trying to do damage control

only 9 incidents? that is less than what you would expect in public schools. You can expect rapes, attacks, etc in public schools more often per ratio.

David