West Boca Raton Elementary School Teacher Back In Classroom.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2024 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Whispering Pines Elementary School kindergarten teacher investigated by the Florida Department of Children and Families has been cleared of any wrongdoing and returned to her classroom Wednesday morning. Her return to the classroom was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County School District.
BocaNewsNow.com first reported on the DCFS investigation Tuesday. An investigator, according to multiple parents, interviewed children without parental permission. DCFS is not required to notify parents or a guardian to conduct an investigation or speak with children. At issue: whether the teacher was engaged in abusive behavior. There were NO allegations of sexual abuse.
While BocaNewsNow.com spoke with the teacher prior to publishing our article on Tuesday, we did not identify her by name. The Palm Beach County School District, however, says it is Kim Baker. Baker taught second grade in the school last year. She was reassigned to kindergarten this year. The investigation into her conduct is now closed. School officials say there is no concern that children were — or are — in any danger with her whatsoever. Ms. Baker has a completely clear record with the Florida Department of Education.
BocaNewsNow.com obtained the email sent to Whispering Pines Elementary School parents upon closure of the investigation. The email’s authenticity has been verified by Palm Beach County School District officials. It was sent by Whispering Pines Principal Barbara Riemer.
“I am writing to provide an update regarding your child’s kindergarten classroom teacher, Ms. Kimberly Baker. During a recent leave of absence, a thorough investigation was conducted and Ms. Baker has been cleared to return to the classroom. There was no evidence to suggest any concerns that would compromise her ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for your child.
Ms. Baker will be returning to the classroom tomorrow, Wednesday, October 23, 2024. We are committed to ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all of our students and staff, and I would like to thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this process. Our primary focus is always the well-being and education of your children, and we look forward to resuming our regular classroom activities.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the front office. Thank you for your continued support of Whispering Pines Elementary School.”
While the situation regarding Ms. Baker is resolved, it revealed what’s now described as “serious concern” about leadership of the Whispering Pines Elementary School PTA. Multiple parents reaching out to BocaNewsNow.com say members of the PTA’s leadership attempted to hide the investigation from parents to create a narrative that Whispering Pines is infallible. Some members of the PTA’s leadership may be accused of potentially defamatory activity through postings and verbal comments. We have learned that some parents, concerned about the PTA’s handling of the incident and specific actions by specific individuals, may request involvement from a state agency to review the PTA’s activities.
The school district said it was closed, but parents talking to the investigator have said it’s still open, but the school is allowed to bring her back if they want.
I don’t understand why the Boca News reveals the Kindergarten teacher’s name after she is cleared of any wrongdoing. Yet, her name is not released during the investigation.
Now, she has to be scrutinized further by parents, and others.
If she did nothing wrong, leave her name out of it. In legal terms, she was a person of interest. Now, she’s not. Her name should not have been published, whether you had permission or not.
Milt,
The name was released by the Palm Beach County School District. We did NOT release it until it was made public by an official source. We would not have released it had it not been made public by school officials. Thank you for your comment.
Comments are closed.