Accord following decade-old suit settlement underlies change; D’Agostino comments
UPDATED, June 26: A veteran employee of the Arlington public schools, in an administrative role for nine years following the settlement of a lawsuit, has been approved for a return to teaching — at Hardy School’s third grade next fall.
LeiLanie D’Agostino got her corsage in May for 20 years’ service.
Some parents are upset about the move, citing details of allegations made in the 2001 lawsuit. Other parents say the employee, LeiLanie D’Agostino, should be given a chance.
The School Committee met in closed session Wednesday, June 23. While only the general reason for the meeting may be disclosed, the session is believed to have been a discussion of issues surrounding D’Agostino.
Further, the teachers’ union issued a news release disavowing authority in teaching assignments.
In 2005, a judge ruled in favor of the teacher and the school administration in a lawsuit alleging sexual, physical and emotional abuse by D’Agostino, in 2000, when she was a teacher at the Brackett School.
Following the court decision, a 2006 agreement between the administration and the Arlington Education Association, the teachers’ union, permitted D’Agostino to move to administrative role. She is the director of data integration for curriculum, instruction and assessment and continues in that position.
Superintendent Kathleen Bodie wrote in an email to Hardy parents June 18 that the agreement gave “Ms. D’Agostino the right to return to a classroom teaching position in the future. It is a legally binding agreement between the School District and the AEA. Ms. D’Agostino has chosen to exercise that right.”
D’Agostino, who was among many school employees recognized in May, for 20 years of service, has responded after two requests for comment.
Bodie’s statement continued: “The process for classroom placement was the process the district follows for placing teachers who return from a leave of absence of a year or longer. Principals of schools that have openings interview the returning teacher.
In this case, there were openings at two elementary schools. The principals of both schools interviewed Ms. D’Agostino. The superintendent makes the final placement after discussion with the principals.
“The district will be exploring the possibility of an amicable resolution with Ms. D’Agostino.”
Agreement requested
Asked June 19 to identify the other school, Bodie responded June 23 that it was Thompson. Asked to clarify the issue over which an “amicable resolution” needs to be reached, she wrote, “For the purpose of process, her decision to exercise her right to return to teaching has been treated as a leave since she retained her seniority in the agreement.
“I am not at liberty right now to discuss any further what an amicable resolution would be.”
Robert Spiegel, head of human resources for the schools, was asked June 19 for a copy of the 2006 agreement with the union. He responded June 23: ” … [T]hat appears to be exempt under M.G.L. c. 7, sec. 4, clause twenty-sixth(c).
He did provide this information about D’Agostino’s work history:
Grade 5 teacher, Brackett, September 1995 – June 1996
Grade 3 teacher, Brackett, September 1996 – June 1997
Grade 5 teacher, Brackett, September 1997 – June 2006
Curriculum Developer/Data Analyst/Director of Data Integration beginning in September 2006.
Union release
Linda Hanson, president of the AEA, issued this news release June 23:
“The Arlington Education Association is aware that the administration is making teaching assignments for the 2015-16 school year. The AEA does not have authority over these decisions, and the AEA played no role in the decision to implement the provisions of an agreement with an employee that was signed in 2006.
“However, the AEA expects the administration to act in the best interests of our students and their families. We also expect the administration to protect the rights of all employees — and to provide appropriate support for every educator in the district.
“It is worth noting that, although the AEA has obligations resulting from the 2006 agreement, along with potential future obligations if the employee exercises her legal option under that agreement to resume a position that falls under the bargaining unit, she is not currently an AEA member.”
Meanwhile, some members of the public have spoken out for and against D’Agostino’s returning to the classroom. They did so on the Arlington email list June 18, and YourArlington quotes them after receiving permission.
Lisa Galen urged open-mindedness.
“I am not a personal friend of Ms. D’Agostino, and I haven’t seen or talked to her since my younger daughter finished at Brackett, about 14 years ago.
Loved her class
“Both of my daughters had Leilani D’Agostino when she taught at Brackett. They are now 30 and 25. Both girls loved being in her class, and counted her among the top 2 teachers they had at Brackett.
“My younger daughter was in the class with the girl, whose family was the source of the suit.
“No one can say for certain what exactly happened, but as it has been pointed out, the outcome of the investigation was in favor of the defendant (Ms. D’Agostino and the APS).
“My guess is that the source of the trouble grew out of a misunderstanding or personal falling out that escalated to an extreme.”
‘Could not feel safe’
Nayda A. Cuevas, writing as missartzy[@]yahoo.com, expressed a different view:
“After I have read what the victim suffered or accused this teacher of — Which I recommend everyone read and Google the teacher’s name — I as a mother could not feel safe leaving my child under her care. There is no way I would leave my child under her care.
“A person whom has done such harm should not be around children. Again.
“My opinion, I will continue to further inform myself on her 10-year-old case.”
Barbara Jones had only questions: “Has anyone asked why Ms. D’Agostino was put into an administrative position instead of going back to teaching? Why is she just going back now, all these years later?”
She declined to venture an opinion without answers to these questions.
D’Agostino and the agreement with the union might shed some light. So far, both are unavailable.
‘Intelligent, perceptive, caring’
Jan Stetson thanks Galen on the email list June 18: “When I saw the announcement on the list that LeiLanie D’Agostino was slated to return to the classroom at Hardy, I wondered how long it would take for the unpleasant accusations of years past to be resurrected.
“It didn’t take long.
“I also am not a personal friend, but both my daughters loved being in her class and found her to be an excellent and effective teacher. In my dealings with her in a parent-teacher capacity, I found her to be intelligent, perceptive and caring.
“I was sorry to see her shifted into administration, and I’m thrilled to hear that she is returning to classroom teaching. I agree with Lisa that her years out of the classroom have been a loss to Arlingtonchildren. There are more competent administrators than gifted teachers in this world, I believe.”
Stetson wrote to someone off-list, and the following is quoted with permission:
“Based on my older daughter’s experience, we actively wanted Ms D’Agostino for her younger sister. As teacher to my children, she did an excellent job. I do not yet have grandchildren, but if I did, I would go out of my way to get them into a classroom where Ms D’Agostino was teaching.”
Issue arose June 17
Various officials learned about objections to D’Agostino’s appointment on Wednesday, June 17, when they received this plea (the email text but not the author was provided to YourArlington from a credible source):
“It was recently released that the new 3rd grade teacher is going to be LeiLanie D’Agostino. She has been an administrator here in Arlington for 10 years, but before that she was a third and fifth grade teacher in Arlington who had charges brought against her due to her conduct with students. If you Google her name, it is the first thing that comes up https://casetext.com/case/doe-v-dagostino
“Reading the document explains what she did to a few of her prior female students. The case was about was if her actions constituted a sexual crime or not (which it seems it was decided it did not.) But when you read it, everyone agrees it is certainly not professional or behavior we would want our children to experience personally or be witness too. People are outraged to hear that she was appointed by Dr. Bodie to be a classroom teacher in our school without any interview process etc.
“A number of people have already written emails to Dr. Bodie and the school committee. The teachers are so upset and their hands are tied so parents are trying to band together to show Dr. Bodie and the School Committee that we are not ok with this person working with our children (at any of the schools).
The email adds the email addresses for Bodie, School Committee members and the town manager. It refers to a meeting 8 a.m. Thursday, June 19, in the Hardy office for parents to try to get more information from Principal Kristin DeFrancisco.
Further comments of support
Galen’s comments include this caution about the relevance of events from 2000-2001 to the present day:
“This episode came near the beginning of Ms. D’Agostino’s teaching career. I think that in her enthusiasm as a new teacher, clearly able to reach her students academically, she got caught up in her status as a teacher who knew how to make learning fun.
“Not every inexperienced teacher can manage teaching and managing the classroom behavior of young adolescents so successfully. Unfortunately, I don’t think that she completely understood the necessity of maintaining professional boundaries with her students and their parents.
“She loved teaching, loved (appropriately, I believe) her students, and enjoyed forming relationships with their families. Most young teachers grow to understand the need for keeping some distance before something blows up in their face. Unfortunately, Ms. D’Agostino was not able to get to that point. I (and apparently the courts) believe that she was naive, NOT criminal.
“My kids LOVED being in Ms. D’Agostino’s class. She enabled them to master things most adults find difficult (converting to metrics and back — easily), and making complex concepts (mathematical and otherwise) clear.
“She taught them how to organize themselves for studying, and gave them tools my older daughter says she continued to use through graduate school. She broadened their horizons by telling them about her work in the Brain Lab at the Shriver Center, and inviting them to visit it. She made REAL learning exciting and fun.
After the trial, when she was side-lined into administrative work (which I’m sure she performed at a very high level), I was sorry that she couldn’t be in the classroom, because I know she loved teaching. But I was sorriest for the children who never got to have her for a teacher. During all these years, they are the ones who really missed out.
OPINION: Who decides who teaches? Let us know what you think
June 26, 2015: D’Agostino offers her account
This report was published Tuesday, June 23, 2015, and updated June 26, to add a link to D’Agostino‘s viewpoint.
