Dear Parents of Students in Ms. Dewine’s Science class,
We wanted to send an update about one of our staff members and next steps. A few weeks ago there was an allegation made by a student that an incident of harm occurred during one of Ms. Dewine’s classes. When such an allegation arises, we are mandated to report them to law enforcement who conduct the investigation. This process can take a bit of time. After law enforcement conducts their investigation, human resources does an internal investigation to see if any district policies were violated. In this particular instance, law enforcement was informed and they have fully investigated the situation with no evidence to move forward with any further action. Our district reviewed the law enforcement evidence and has concluded that no violation of our board policies has occurred and that it is safe and appropriate to bring Ms. Dewine back to work.
As situations such as this may come with many emotional responses by those involved, we work to have a mediator to facilitate a restorative justice conversation to heal the relationship before the individuals involved resume daily interactions. This process between the teacher and student and student’s family will be completed next week. Ms. DeWine will return to her full time teaching role on October 4th.
We value safety above all else, and value the productive relationships that our staff form with our students.
Thank you,
LCSD
