A 31-year-old high school English teacher in Gaston, North Carolina, was fired from her job and arrested for allegedly running a prescription drug ring targeting students at the school, according to a March 30 Gaston Gazette news story.
The School Resource Officer (SRO) investigated following an anonymous tip. Police say the teacher allegedly provided a student with four Clonazepam pills used to control seizures and also to relieve panic attacks.
The student allegedly sold the drugs to other students and then shared the proceeds with the teacher.
The story illustrates several key school safety and security issues:
- The impact of prescription drug distribution, use and abuse in our school-communities and with young people.
- How schools need protocols in place for anonymous reporting of school crime and safety issues.
- The value of SROs on campus for investigating and preventing all types of incidents including those involving school employees.
- The increasingly reported cases of school employee misconduct.
The vast majority of teachers and school employees are dedicated professionals. It only takes one to put a dent in the reputation of those many good, caring people who serve our children each day.
In this case, multiple people did the right thing: The person reporting the incident, the school police officer who followed through to investigate and the school administration that took swift action with its employee.
Are your schools prepared to tackle tough issues ranging from drugs on campus to employee misconduct?
Ken Trump
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