Teacher Fired, School Disciplined For Student's Drowning

Aerial photograph of Long Beach from WPIX

A Department of Education investigation into the drowning of sixth grader Nicole Suriel during a class trip to Long Beach slammed Columbia Secondary School for poor planning that led to the tragedy. The beach had numerous signs noting there were no lifeguards on duty; there were three adults supervising the 24 students. The DOE fired first-year teacher Erin Bailey and disciplined assistant principal Andrew Stillman and Principal Jose Maldonado-Rivera.

The Daily News runs down some of the findings, including how "Assistant Principal Andrew Stillman decided at the last minute not to go, staying behind to do administrative work. Bailey's boyfriend - former teacher Joseph Garnevicus, 28 - went in Stillman's place, but couldn't swim." Also, "There weren't specific permission slips, just 'blanket' slips from the start of the year that didn't include swimming." The "blanket slips" were only for trips in Manhattan; instead of issuing a permission slip to parents, Stillman simply emailed them, "We're headed to the beach tomorrow."

According to the Post, a student told investigators that Bailey told students, "If you can’t swim, don’t go in the water past your waist; don’t go past the rocks," but the powerful currents swept some students further out into the water: "Nicole Suriel, who didn’t know how to swim, disappeared into the ocean for more than an hour after wading into water that reached above her knees and below her waist, according to one student." Other beach goers tried to save Nicole, but to no avail: One man managed to grab her, but he was overwhelmed by a current and went under, losing hold of her.

Both Stillman, who will be removed from his administrative position and "demoted to a teaching position," and Maldonado-Rivera assumed there would be lifeguards at the beach. The Times reports, "The report describes a last-minute decision to send the class to the beach as a reward for raising money in a school walk-a-thon. Mr. Stillman chose Long Beach, he told investigators, because he had been there with his family and knew it was easy to get to on public transportation."

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By Jen Chung in News on July 15, 2010 11:29 AM

Comments [rss]

Doug

In all the write ups about this case, in every paper but the New York Daily News, the reporter fails to mention that the "demotion" of the assistant principal is from assistant principal to a "tenured teaching position." So, should further investigations reveal his culpability or negligence, I wonder just what in fact will happen to him. And why is someone like that, who clearly has some role in the drowning or the lack of supervision that led to it, have the privilege of losing his job only to take on another one?

teacherman

The teacher deserved to be fired. As others have said, common sense isn't suspended because you are a first year teacher. She is partially responsible. If I were the chaperone on the trip a) I wouldn't have left the building without trip-specific permission slips with emergency contact info and b) not let anyone in the water if there were no lifeguards.

In my 7+ years of being a DoE teacher I have been involved in taking 100 7th graders to the Circle Line and 10 5th graders to a Technology Fair (as well as most size/styles of tris in between) and on every single one of those trips we had/have trip-specific permission slips.

And the the genius that said it happened because of budget cuts is a dolt. Budget cuts had nothing to do with it. Bad decisions have nothing to do with budgets.

Clarice City

The Times article says that the teacher was once (or is) a lifegaurd. This fact takes her irresponsible behavior to a whole new level. She absolutley knew better and went ahead with her day at the beach anyway.

I lifegaurded during college on Cape Cod and can say with certainty that there is no way that she didn't know, from her training, that she was putting those kids (several of which she knew could not even swim) in harm's way. She is more than familiar with the guidelines for safe swimming, I assure you. Riptides, kids, and no gaurds on duty is nothing to fuck around with.

bashmentgirl

All three should have been fired. The teacher was on probation so she was fired. Unfortunately, her bosses have tenure so they won't be fired.

zapzap

I am sure everybody here feels absolutely horrible, sad and overwhelmed. It is easy to blame somebody like the teacher. Look at the big picture though: all these shortcuts were probably forced by budget cuts.... we do not have enough resources to protect our children. No lifeguards... no time to ask parents... and so on.

Peter

>I am sure everybody here feels absolutely horrible, sad >and overwhelmed. It is easy to blame somebody like the >teacher. Look at the big picture though:

Sweet merciful crap. Albert Speer gave less excuses.

She should be indicted for manslaughter. Without the permission of their parents, she led a group of children, to a beach, without a lifeguard, and let them go in the water.

When I went to summer camp, you weren't allowed to dip your toe in the water until you could swim a 1/4 mile. No canoeing, no sailing, nothing. It didn't matter whether you had a lifejacket or not.

Peter

inklake

schadenfreudian mensch

Budget cuts? Truly, is it that difficult if there's no money for a proper trip with enough chaperon to just stay in class and wait it out till school is let out for the summer? Or just go somewhere else that doesn't involve kids life being in danger like a museum?

r1b2

Sorry, Erin, but that's really poor judgement and you needed to be fired. Be thankful your negligence hasn't put you in jail.

Clarice City

Seems like she was a little distracted by the presence of her boyfriend. What the eff kind of school sends out 24 kids with one teacher and her boyfriend who can't even swim (and a teenage intern for crying out loud)? I would personally walk into the princepal's office an dthow a chair at his face if it were mt kid on that trip without my consent.

Kudos to the intern who could actually swim and rescued something like four of the kids. Pretty sure she wasn't planning on that.

r1b2

Sorry, Erin, but that's really poor judgement and you needed to be fired. Be thankful your negligence hasn't put you in jail.

sadpanda

holy crap, the DOE actually managed to fire somone, instead of just put them in the padded room or wherever it is that teachers go when the DOE can't fire them?

grandzu

They all went to one of the few schools that actually has a swimming pool. After this tragedy, it should become mandatory that all students attending there learn to swim before graduating, like some colleges.