What would you ask Kyron's teacher?

[nurseratchett]

Well, since Ms. Porter is still teaching at Skyline for the 2010-2011 school year, I have to assume she has been found to have no fault/negligence in Kyrons disappearance. Which actually says a lot, without actually saying anything.

 

[debs]

Well, since Ms. Porter is still teaching at Skyline for the 2010-2011 school year, I have to assume she has been found to have no fault/negligence in Kyrons dissapearance. Which actually says a lot, without actually saying anything.

Not at all. It just says that nothing has come out of the GJ yet. Simply because she has not been determined to have been negligent yet doesn't mean she might not at some later date.

 

[debs]

I remember DY saying that she " knew the school very well " ( I believe she was refering to the interior of the school,because she was essentially disputing TH;s account of that morning ).

All JMO

I remembered that, too. I wondered then how it was she would have gotten such intimate knowledge, living 4 hours away and all. I was at my children's schools regularly and I can assure you I would never have described myself as having known the school(s) very well. Passably, I could get from the office to their class. After that.....eh, not so much.

 

[liz b.]

Well, since Ms. Porter is still teaching at Skyline for the 2010-2011 school year, I have to assume she has been found to have no fault/negligence in Kyrons dissapearance. Which actually says a lot, without actually saying anything.

If Ms. Porter is a mamber of the Teacher's Union, ( and she probably is ), she will have access to legal counsel through them... We don't know ( and I doubt we ever will ) what the inner workings of the school district are in Kyron's case. When all is said and done,Ms. Porter could have just made an honest mistke,as to where Kyron was that day.... IMO

All JMO

 

[Jade2010]

I think it odd that a child be mistaken and use "calm down, calm down."

 

[SmoothOperator]

No, it was the sign in for visitors that was deviated from that day due to the event. Not the check out for students leaving prior to dismissal that I was posting about. Kyron was a student, not a visitor.


The following is a statement relesaed Sunday, June 6, 2010, by Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith:

snip

We are re-emphasizing our existing policy requiring all school staff, contractors and volunteers to display their I.D. badges and for visitors to sign-in and wear name tags at every school, during school hours. Any visitors who refuse to sign-in and wear a name tag will be asked to leave.

snip

As part of this effort, we will review our visitor sign-in practices for school events that invite large numbers of family members and community members into our schools.

http://www.kptv.com/education/23812571/detail.html

okey dokey. Thanx for setting me straight as this entire time I have been under the impression that the "check out" procedure was not required on SF day.. Am always impressed with your ability to pull out the quotes and links to set those of us straight that may possibly have the wrong idea about certain aspects of the case...

 

[TxLady2]

If the report of Kyron's deskmate, TP, was accurate, an adult "sub" told Ms Porter that Kyron was missing and Ms Porter replied with "calm down, calm down, he's probably in the bathroom or getting a drink."

If the school administration had reason to believe that statement was accurate, I can't see them renewing Ms Porter's contract! If it were accurate, then that means she was alerted to Kyron's absence early on and apparently never followed up on it. That would be gross negligence.

If that statement were inaccurate, then the other portion of TP's statement, that he saw TMH walking away from the school alone, is also suspect.

Okay thanks.

 

[jmarple]

My question to Ms. Porter: Will you make any changes in tracking students who leave your classroom to go to the restroom or have a doctor's appointment? Many years ago when I taught 2nd grade, students needed to ask permission prior to leaving the classroom. We also issued hall passes so that others seeing the student in the hall knew he/she had permission to be there.
Although, one year I taught kindergarten in a room with an unlocked door to the outside and one boy did escape and go home. He lived across the playground. I did have 36 children in the class at that time. Those were the days!

 

[Reverie]

Ms Porter, did the student witness [TP] ever relay the info to you that Kyron was 'going to see the cool electric one'?

If so, at what time did this occur?

 

[liz b.]

Ms. Porter, Did Kyron Horman have an IEP ? Or a 504 Plan ?

All JMO

 

[M-pathetic]

I would like to know if Terri's behavior seemed to change regarding school activies and volunteering...? Did her demeanor change towards Kyron after it was discussed that he was "acting up" at school..? What was the "paperwork" about...? Did you ask Kyron what might be bothering him to start acting out the way he was..??? Did Kyron mention problems at home...??

Crucial...critical...BRILLIANT. Thanx!

 

[passionflower]

Were Kaine and Desiree as involved in Kyron's school activities as his step-mother?

Had Ms. Porter met ever Kaine and/or Desiree?

Did Kaine and/or Desiree attend conferences to discuss Kyron's progress, or was this Terri's responsibility?

How often did Kaine and/or Desiree attend school events?

Is it true that Terri wanted a daily report on Kyron's behavior (per Kaine in recent article)?

As Kyron's teacher, did you feel that this was excessive or that his step-mother expected too much from the child?

Did you discuss this with Kaine and/or Desiree?

ITA plus I would wnt to know when and if his attitude at school changed.
His grades and if she thought there was any signs of trouble at home.
Did he have friends?
Did any other adult ever escort him to and from school?
Did he ever talk about an aunt DeDe?
Was he ever tardy?
Any RED flags, woman's intuition?
How will she feel about going back to teach this year?
Is she afraid?
Does she think Terry is involved or a stranger in the school?

 

[Aedrys]

Would she like to tell me the real story of what happened (maybe over a drink or two)? Seriously, if TH did do a lot of lying, I feel so sorry for this teacher. She must be so angry at TH right now. I'd love to hear the teacher's side of the story for once instead of Terri's "mistruths" about what happened.

And yes, I'm using that word, from the mouth of ICA's mother, in this case when talking about Terri's lies. Sadly, it really does apply here.

 

[Noway]

I would ask her if she was in her first year of teaching and if she was hard of hearing in one ear. Then I would ask her from the other side.

Finster said that when Kyron didn't show up at the bus the afternoon of June 4, Horman talked to the teacher who said she thought that Horman had taken Kyron to the doctor that day. Horman told Finster that the child's teacher was new, in her first year of teaching, and was hard of hearing in one ear. "She doesn't know if she understood her," Finster said.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/friend_says_terry_moulton_horm.html

ETA
I do not believe either is true.

 

[citigirl]

I checked Oregon teacher tenure rules, and it takes three years for a teacher to get tenure. Before that time, a teacher may be dismissed for any cause or for no cause at all. After that time it is difficult to fire a teacher. If it is true that it was Ms. Porter's second year, she could easily have been dismissed. And there would be several hundred aspiring teachers ready to take her job. Elementary jobs are the easiest to fill.

Assuming she didn't have tenure, Ms. Porter's continued employment at the school means the principal, superintendent and the school board believe she did not make any mistakes in this matter and nothing she did or didn't do led to Kyron's disappearance.

 

[sorrell skye]

When a child goes missing, anyone directly responsible for that child's safety & whereabouts may undoubtedly feel as if they are under scrutiny (and might also fear they may be blamed to one degree or another, even if they had nothing to do with the child's disappearance), including a step-mother, and including school staff & personnel.

I don't have to stretch my imagination very far to speculate that the discrepancy between what was reported in the various news articles in the early days might have been due to this factor.

I can imagine a teacher initially thinking (and reportedly even saying) she thought a student had gone to the restroom or was getting a drink of water when it was brought to her attention he wasn't with his assigned SF touring group.

I can also imagine a teacher (after LE was notified that this same student was indeed missing & perhaps the frightening possibility of any perceived inaction regarding his apparent absence on her watch might come into question) suddenly remembered a vague conversation about a Dr. appt. in an attempt to justify an earlier lack of investigation into his whereabouts (i.e. calm down, calm down... etc.).

Makes perfect sense to me, in terms of human nature.

However, these two statements/scenarios regarding Kyron's absence are still at odds with one another, and I still question 'why'?

MOO

 

[SacreBleu]

When a child goes missing, anyone directly responsible for that child's safety & whereabouts may undoubtedly feel as if they are under scrutiny (and might also fear they may be blamed to one degree or another, even if they had nothing to do with the child's disappearance), including a step-mother, and including school staff & personnel.

I don't have to stretch my imagination very far to speculate that the discrepancy between what was reported in the various news articles in the early days might have been due to this factor.

I can imagine a teacher initially thinking (and reportedly even saying) she thought a student had gone to the restroom or was getting a drink of water when it was brought to her attention he wasn't with his assigned SF touring group.

I can also imagine a teacher (after LE was notified that this same student was indeed missing & perhaps the frightening possibility of any perceived inaction regarding his apparent absence on her watch might come into question) suddenly remembered a vague conversation about a Dr. appt. in an attempt to justify an earlier lack of investigation into his whereabouts (i.e. calm down, calm down... etc.).

Makes perfect sense to me, in terms of human nature.

However, these two statements/scenarios regarding Kyron's absence are still at odds with one another, and I still question 'why'?

MOO

I do not disagree. However, that begs the question, then: why did she mark Kyron absent at 10 am?

ETA: In other words, why would she not have sounded the alarm that he was missing? I have to believe that she expected that he was legitimately absent, for whatever reason. IF she was truly just covering her A because of her earlier gaff, then the school district IS in deep doo-doo, lawsuit-wise.

 

[M-pathetic]

Did Kyron typically bring his lunch? Do you know if his lunch was in his backpack on June 4th?

GREAT QUESTION I had never heard yet!! I hope LE thought of it!

 

[debs]

I do not disagree. However, that begs the question, then: why did she mark Kyron absent at 10 am?

ETA: In other words, why would she not have sounded the alarm that he was missing? I have to believe that she expected that he was legitimately absent, for whatever reason. IF she was truly just covering her A because of her earlier gaff, then the school district IS in deep doo-doo, lawsuit-wise.

Why she never sounded the alarm, why was there a report that someone else tried to, why that was dismissed and it's all just been swept under the rug...........LOTS of questions.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

...However, that begs the question, then: why did she mark Kyron absent at 10 am?

Leads me to other questions for Ms. Porter: When were you supposed to take attendance the morning of June 4?

If the bell rang at the regular time (8:45), were students expected to be in their classrooms?

If so, why was attendance not taken at that time instead of at 10:00 following the SF?

Wouldn't all students have been in the classroom so that they could be assigned to their small groups w/chaperone for the tour?

Did some students not join a group but toured the Science Fair with parents/family members instead?

How did you keep track of which children were assigned to a chaperoned group and which students toured the SF with their parents?