Victor Lopez Made Bad Choices At Boca Raton Middle School When He Nicknamed Students, Tapped, Pretended To Choke Hold. But Was Trying To Make Math Fun, Says Report.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A Boca Raton middle school teacher terminated for alleged misconduct will have that termination rescinded and replaced with a reprimand and mandatory training, according to a document obtained by BocaNewsNow.com.
Victor Lopez — a teacher at Boca Raton Middle School — was accused of multiple counts of, quite simply, bad judgment. He nicknamed students. He “flicked” students. And he pretended to hold one in a chokehold. But after nearly twenty students testified on his behalf, as well other other professionals and para-professionals, the Palm Beach County School Board is expected to reinstate Lopez during its next meeting.
From the final “finding” document obtained exclusively by BocaNewsNow.com: “In this proceeding, even though Lopez used poor judgment in referring to students by nicknames, flicking them to get them to pay attention in class, and mimicking a chokehold without pressure in celebration, none of his actions were malicious, derogatory, caused embarrassment, disparagement, or harm. To that point, the students even consistently testified that Lopez was not trying to harm or injure them. Hence, the Findings of Fact above do not demonstrate that Respondent failed to make reasonable effort to protect any students from conditions harmful to their learning, mental health, or physical health. The record is also void of any competent evidence of harassing or discriminatory actions by Lopez. To the contrary, the overwhelming evidence establishes that students in Lopez’s classes felt safe and were safe as Lopez attempted to create a fun learning environment teaching math.”
Among the nicknames Lopez apparently used to identify his students during the 2021-22 school year: “Four Eyes, Oprah, Beavis, Sheneneh, Ken, Barbie, Will Smith, Thing One, Thing Two, Dipstick, and Knucklehead.” While parents may have taken offense, the students — apparently — did not. Even so, Lopez was referred for review and ultimately terminated.
The Palm Beach County School Board, during special session of its December 6th meeting, is expected to approve the following language:
“Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Palm Beach County School Board enter a final order rescinding its termination of Victor Lopez and, instead, finding Victor Lopez violated Florida Administrative Code Rules 6A-10.081(1)(b), 6A-5.056(2)(b) and (c), and School Board Policies 3.02,4.a., 5.a.iii, and 1.013(1), and issuing a 30-day suspension without pay, one-year probation, and completion of professionalism classes.”
Read the complete report, below.
