NY: $10 million lawsuit implicates Bethel teacher

Educator accused of being negligently absent while at Darien school
By Ethan Fry
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 12/06/2008 08:57:40 PM EST
http://www.newstimes.com/ci_11157262

A current employee of the Bethel school system has been named in a $10 million lawsuit filed by the parents of four special-needs children in Darien over alleged incidents during the 2003-04 school year.

The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Karen Wilson was negligently absent from her classroom while teaching in Darien, facilitating a "circus atmosphere" that spun out of control and resulted in consistent abuse of the children by two of her aides.

The allegations, including those against Wilson, a certified special education teacher currently employed in the Berry School's Circle of Friends program for 3- and 4-year olds, date back to the 2003-04 school year, when she worked at Hindley Elementary School in Darien.

Lawyers representing the four children are preparing written responses to motions to dismiss the case from Wilson and other defendants, including the Darien Board of Education and the two aides accused of abusing children while Wilson was away from the classroom.

Both aides were fired after an investigation by Darien school officials in early 2004, prompted by concerns raised by other school employees.

According to Wilson's motion for summary judgment, "Following its investigation, the Board [of Education] allowed Wilson to continue to teach in the classroom for the remainder of the school year.

The motion continues, "Wilson resigned from the Hindley school staff at the end of the year to accept a position teaching special-needs preschool children at a public school."

The lawsuit claims the four children were abused on a "daily" basis by the aides, who would grab them, yell in their faces, slam things around, and poke them in the back so hard they would cry.

The suit -- which also claims the aides called the children "brats" and "nudges" -- was filed in federal court in March 2005.

Since then attorneys on both sides of the case have filed hundreds of pages of arguments. In April, the defendants in the case filed motions asking a judge to dismiss the suit, which have not yet been ruled on.

While not identifying Wilson as a perpetrator of any of the abusive behavior alleged, the lawsuit claims "the majority of the abusive incidents occurred when Karen Wilson was away from her classroom.

"In fact," the suit alleges, "Wilson's frequent absences even became something of an ongoing joke among Wilson's aides, who would ask out loud 'Where's Karen?' as the classroom tailspun out of control."

The lawsuit seeks a total $10 million in damages.

Neither Wilson nor her lawyer returned phone calls from The News-Times seeking comment. When contacted, the children's attorney, Mark Sherman of Stamford, declined to comment