Teachers

(WICHITA, Kan.) Summer vacation is a care-free time for many kids, but many of their teachers may be a little stressed.  Most will have jobs in the fall but don't know what those jobs will pay. "I heard somewhere that stay-at-home moms are worth about $120,000 a year and teachers are probably worth at least that much," parent Beth Rodriguez says. But its not a matter of what they're worth.  It's a matter of how much money their school district has.  And this year they all have less.

An investigation in the Atlanta, Georgia school district over the past year found cheating at almost all of the district's schools.  But students weren't cheating, teachers and administrators were.  The Atlanta Constitution newspaper has been covering the story.  Read the coverage here .  The governor of Georgia says there will be consequences.  The district says teachers will be fired and some may be prosecuted in criminal court....

An elementary teacher received a big surprise in her classroom Wednesday. It's called the "A Day Made Better" Surprise Award. " Second-grade Clark elementary teacher Jodi Morgan was the recipient. A store representative from Office Max came in with a new chair and a box full of school supplies. Two other in the Wichita teachers also got the surprise, one from Irving Elementary, the other from Griffith Elementary.

(STERLING, Kan.) It was their choice, But the votes cast by Sterling teachers weren't easily decided. "I know teachers that just agonized over it. It was a difficult decision because either way, either choice we made, people are going to lose money," explains 5th grade teacher Dwayne Wilson. He an others had to decide whether to take a 1-percent pay cut and force non-salaried employees to take seven furlough days, or deny the request and force the district to make up the $203,000 in budget cuts handed down by the state.

Wichita State's basketball team might have to drive to Omaha this season instead of flying. Times are hard. Boosters may not be able to come through on donations like they used to. Gregg Marshall says his job description as Shocker basketball coach doesn't change a bit. "I'm still going to be asked to graduate players, represent the university in a first-class way and by the way, win some championships," Marshall said. "There's not going to be excuses about not getting to fly to Creighton.

The Kansas Star Casino is giving back to students and teachers. On Wednesday, $500 'reward' cards were handed out to teachers in the Sumner County and Mulvane Public School district. It's part of the casino's Kansas All Star Scholars program. Every year, the casino will give $1.5 million to teachers and students in these areas. The 500 dollar cards handed out Wednesday is to help teachers with financial costs in the classroom. The casino began giving out 100 dollar gift cards last month to students.

About 150 teachers rallied outside Monday's board meeting.  Wichita teachers have gone four years without a raise. “We love these kids and this community,” says teacher Casey Christofferson who was rallying outside. Several others addressed board members to explain the impact it's had on their personal budgets.     “That temporary salary freeze has become a permanent crunch in my household budget,” Erin Dresher told the board.   “Four year's is enough...step up we want a fair contract the future is riding on it,” says Erica Penrose.

There was a lot of laughter Friday afternoon at the Dodge Literacy Magnet School. Students raised more than $3500 dollars for the American Heart Association during their jump rope for the heart campaign. Their reward, duct taping the physical education teachers to the wall.

Wichita teachers have ratified a new contract with the district for the 2012-2013 school year. The United Teachers of Wichita reports 88 percent of the teachers who cast ballots accepted the offer. The contract includes a one percent raise for Wichita teachers, their first in four years. The union had originally asked for a 3 percent raise, step increases and back pay. It's part of the $628 million budget the Wichita School Board agreed to publish and have a final vote within two weeks.

Members of the Wichita School Board approved Superintendent John Allison's recommendations for adding back programs and teachers. The district received $2.6 million dollars in reimbursements from the state for Medicaid and special education expenses. The money will go into USD 259's general fund. As a result of the additional money the district will: Restore 28 teaching positions to elementary, middle and high schools with the greatest need Restore 3.5 middle school band teaching positions Restore 4.5 strings teaching positions to middle schools 4 learning coach positions will be restored No staff furloughs 4 custodians will return to schools with the greatest square-footage needs High school C-team/Sophomore sports and outsource athletic trainers will be restored The board will receive the full 2011-2012 budget proposal on July 18. It will vote whether to adopt it on August 8.

Doors were locked at Newton High School Thursday. School officials say it was a precaution after one of their teachers was arrested Wednesday. According to Newton Police, 45-year-old Eden Bloom was asked to leave the school several times before a School Resource Officer arrested her. That's when they found methamphetamine in her possession.  “At the time of the incident no students were in danger,” said Newton Police Deputy Chief Eric Murphy. Newton parents received an alert on Thursday afternoon around 1:30 that there was increased security at the school.

A man who taught math at Dodge City Middle School faces 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Joshua Lesser made his first appearance in court last week. Lesser taught sixth to eighth grade math at the middle school. The judge ordered Lesser to stay away from places where children may be unsupervised, school grounds, arcades, pools, playgrounds, parks, malls or movie theaters. His bond also prohibits him from using a computer, unless he is e-mailing his attorney.

A Winfield High School teacher is on administrative leave. The Cowley County Attorney is investigating accusations of improper sexual contact with students. Winfield's Superintendent J.K. Campbell confirms they placed a teacher on paid administrative leave while the matter is under investigation, but did not offer any more information about what happened. Stay with Eyewitness News for any new developments as they become available.

The nation's school districts continue to search for ways to respond and train for school shootings.  From the Columbine shooting in 1999, to the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, schools have learned from violent gun events and improved their safety plans. FactFinder 12 Investigators learned some schools outside Kansas are going well beyond the current standard approach of locking down in place and putting more control in the hands of teachers and students. In McCook, Nebraska, about five hours northwest of Wichita, the public schools have adopted a controversial security program called ALICE.

News of the high-profile violence that terrorized Boston can be difficult to process, but it can be especially hard on young children. Children may be just as emotionally upset about the tragedy in Boston as adults. But it is important to be honest with young kids about how you are feeling. Dr. Molly Allen, a child psychologist, said it is important for parents to take care of their own emotions, but not become hysterical. "Kids are going to mirror that response," she said.

Students in a small Kansas town are being disciplined after spreading a rumor about a teacher on Twitter. Several students at Halstead High School are facing detention and in-school suspensions for spreading a salacious rumor about a teacher's inappropriate relationship with a student. The tweet said the teacher was involved in a sex act with a student that occurred in a classroom during the school day. Rumors in the small town are nothing new, but social media allowed this one to spread much faster and further.

The Wichita teachers union says the state legislature has declared open season on teachers, and other public employees. Union president Randy Mousley today spoke out against a bill passed in the house last week. It would eliminate automatic deduction of union dues from the paychecks of teachers and other public employees. Proponents of the bill say it will protect union members from pressure to make political contributions. But the union chief says the issue is really more about free speech.

A former Solomon teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with high school students is now in police custody. Amber Stroda, 28, turned herself in to authorities Wednesday morning, one day after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She is charged with three counts of feloniously engaging in consensual intercourse and three counts of feloniously engaging in sexual sodomy. The two alleged victims are Solomon high school students. Jim Runge, USD 393 superintendent, said Stroda was a third grade teacher and a high school dance sponsor.

The Wichita School District placed an elementary teacher on leave.  A district spokeswoman tells Eyewitness News that a report was made against a teacher at Gammon Elementary. The spokeswoman says the teacher will remain on leave while an investigation takes place.  She did not release specifics about allegations against the teacher. Stay with kwch.com for updates on this story when they are available.

A mom says a Wichita middle school teacher sexually harassed her son and the district did nothing about it.  The woman claims a female teacher at Robinson Middle School inappropriately touched her son. She says it happened during and after school.  The mother says she reported it to the school in December, yet no one contacted her until this week.      She says school officials questioned her son four times without her permission.  She also claims instead of removing the teacher her son was taken to another classroom.