You are here: Home / Blog

Thousands of Dollars Donated for Texas Student Arrested for Truancy

May 30, 2012 by

17-year-old Diane Tran, a Texas honor student who was arrested for failure to comply with a probate court judge’s order not to be absent from school has attracted a considerable amount of support and financial assistance from people across the nation and from 13 other countries.  Thus far, more than $70,000 has been donated by people who are sympathetic with Ms. Tran’s situation.

This case continues to draw national and international  media attention.

Ms. Tran has developed a strong base of support in the United States and abroad.  Many people in other countries where truancy is much less of a problem than in the United States are particularly confused by this case.  The use of courts to help schools deal with severe societal problems like truancy, smoking, assaults, disorderly conduct, weapons violations and other common and problematic behaviors has drawn criticism in recent years. 

School officials have been trying for decades to address major reductions in the authority of school officials combined with many apathetic parents and top performing students like Ms. Tran sometimes get caught up in these efforts. 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Arrest of Texas Honor Student Diane Tran for Disobeying Judge’s Orders Raises Questions

May 30, 2012 by

There has been a considerable amount of controversy over the decision by Judge Lanny Moriarty to incarcerate 17-year-old honor student Diane Tran after she disobeyed the judge’s instructions not to miss school.  The Willis High School student has drawn much sympathy because she has stated that she has missed school because works a full-time job as well as a part-time job while she is taking advanced placement courses and dual credit college level courses. Ms. Tran maintains that she is often too exhausted to get up in time for school due to her heavily loaded work and school schedule

Probate court judge Moriarty has ordered Tran to spend 24 hours in jail and pay a $100 fine. Judge Moriarty has indicated that he wants to make an example of Tran to help deter other truancy violators.

Tran has stated that she is working two jobs to help support an older brother who attends Texas A&M University and her baby sister who lives with relatives in Houston. Tran has stated that her parents moved from the area after they divorced abandoning her.

Tran is Vietnamese and this type of work ethic to support family members in need while working hard to obtain good grades in school is fairly common from what I have observed living and working in Vietnam.

This case has drawn much attention in the press and has many people concerned.  This case also demonstrates the challenges faced in our society as school and court officials struggle in nothing short of an epic battle to reduce truancy and the drop out rate.  When I was a school district police chief, we had two school district police officers who worked with two school social workers to help reduce truancy and the dropout rate.  Citations to appear in court for parents and for students were an invaluable tool.

This case is far from the typical cases that we dealt with.  Our cases more typically involved students who were not performing well academically and had missed 15, 30 or more days in a single year and parents who sometimes openly encouraged their children to miss school.  In one case, a parent from Germany kept both of his elementary children home from school for two years.

Having worked directly in these types of truancy reduction efforts, I am reluctant to firmly conclude that the judge in this case is absolutely in the wrong, but the available information does raise some serious questions about whether this case has been handled in a reasonable manner.  I am concerned however about the judge’s assertion that Ms. Tran was absent from school following a direct court order from the judge.  Judges must take steps to maintain their credibility in the court process and other violators do react to what judges do or fail to do to back up their directives to defendants.

We shall be following this case as it develops.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Recent Missing Student Case Illustrates the Problem with Student Walk Offs from Schools

May 29, 2012 by

When 10-year-old Kit Colburn walked out of Russell Elementary School in Warner Robins, Georgia on May 8th, a 24 agency search estimated to have cost between $32,000 and $100,000 was begun according to the May 18, 2012 edition of the Macon Telegraph.  Fortunately, the boy was found unharmed two days after he disappeared.  In this instance, the student was sent to the office and simply walked out of the building and ran away from home.  The student’s disappearance was apparently not noticed for more than two hours at which point school officials called 911.

This case is a symptom of a significant issue for schools.  Each year, a number of students who are not being supervised properly or who are given passes to the restroom, office or other area of their school are sexually assaulted, die in accidents or leave school undetected. 

I was contacted by a defense attorney seeking an expert witness for a case where a ten-year-old boy sexually assaulted an eleven-year-old boy in a charter school in Pennsylvania after both students were given passes to go to the restroom by teachers in two different classrooms.  Neither teacher had reported either student to the office even though they were both absent from their classes for more than half an hour by the time the assault was reported by the victim.   The school was closed and a large settlement was paid in this tragic case.

Proper policies, supervision techniques and appropriate follow through by school staff can help reduce these types of problems.   Though no fool-proof measures exist, most walk offs can be prevented with appropriate policies and effective student supervision practices.   

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

God Bless our Fallen Military Personnel

May 28, 2012 by

God bless the many men and women who have given their lives in service to the United States military.

Freedom truly is not free.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

We Owe our Fallen Troops a Great Deal

May 27, 2012 by

America is a wonderful country.  Though I see our nation as a part of a global community, I also feel that there has never been a nation quite like the United States of America.  Having majors in both history and political science in my undergraduate studies left me deeply interested in both topics.  I read on average about two book each week and compare what I read to what  I see when I work and vacation in other countries.

There is simply no country in the history of the world that has done so much to help bring assistance to those in other lands.  Each and every time I return to the U.S. from a trip abroad, I have a deeper appreciations for the freedoms that have been paid for in sacrifice by our military personnel throughout the history of our nation.

From the soldiers who fought for our freedom, to those who fought to preserve and expand it during our horrible civil war, to those who died fighting in Europe, Africa, Italy, Asia, the Pacific and other regions during the most horrific wars of all time and to those who have fought since in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and other places, a tremendous price has been paid for our freedoms and though we often forget to quickly, for the freedom of others around the world.

I recall a billboard that was on the highway that read “If you can read this, thank a teacher.  If you can read this in English, thank the 101st Airborne”.  Though a bit tongue in cheek, it is an accurate reflection of the role our military has played in making every other facet of our lives possible.

We should all feel a deep sense of pride, appreciation and sorrow for the loss of so many men and women during the long and difficult struggles over the course of American history.   Though we have not always achieved our national goals when military personnel have been sent into harm’s way, the world would be a far more brutal and horrific place if it were not for the sacrifices of our military personnel.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Suspect Arrested for Child Abduction Tried Taking Home Other Kids Before

May 26, 2012 by

Milwaukee, WI

We’re learning more about the woman accused of abducting a child from a Milwaukee school.

The questions are swirling around Starms Early Childhood Center.  TODAY’S TMJ4 has identified the name of the suspect and TODAY’S TMJ4 is beginning to learn more about how she made her move.

As four-year-old Charity recovers from an abduction, her mom, Paula, is amazed at how this could have happened.

Witnesses saw 33-year-old Lisa Isaac walk into school and take her baby girl, while mom waited in an office just feet away.  “I waited for her a while and she never came, and the teacher came down and said that she had left with a lady with a curly wig, and said I told her to pick her up,” said Paula.

Milwaukee Public Schools Communications Director Roseanne St. Aubin told TODAY’S TMJ4 extra security staff has been added to the center.  She maintains Isaac snuck into school with daycare van drivers and snatched the girl.

“That little girl was passing close to that group of people, and the woman took her,” said Roseann St. Aubin.

Staffers at the Evans Academy of Excellence, a nearby daycare, told TODAY’S TMJ4 the woman came in twice, trying to take a child home.

Filed Under: Stephen Satterly Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »