OCR Text |
Show A-8 The Park Record Lawsuit against district advances Two of the five claims were recently dismissed CAROLYN WEBBER ALDER The Park Record A lawsuit a former Park City School District nurse filed against the district is moving forward. In a hearing on Sept. 26, Summit County 3rd District Court Judge Richard Mrazik ruled to not dismiss three of the five claims brought in 2016 by former nurse Nicole Kennedy, according to court documents. Kennedy alleges her contract with the district was not renewed in violation of state whistleblower laws. The Park City Board of Education, former superintendent Ember Conley, former associate superintendent Tom Van Gorder, and associate superintendent of human resources Tim McConnell are also listed as defendants in the suit. Kennedy was hired to be a part-time nurse for the district in 2013, according to court documents. In 2015, the lawsuit claims, Kennedy was involved in a “parent conflict,” which included an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into the mistreatment of a diabetic student in the district. The Office of Civil Rights interviewed Kennedy about the investigation, since Kennedy allegedly witnessed the discriminatory treatment of the student. The suit states that, during the 2015-16 school year, Kennedy also expressed concerns to district officials about “other nurses’ unprofessional conduct toward PCSD students and Van Gorder’s lack of leadership and supervision over the nursing department.” She raised concerns about a hostile work environment partly because of emails Van Gorder allegedly sent to the district nursing staff that were negatively directed at Kennedy, the lawsuit states. The suit also claims that Kennedy filed a formal complaint in March of 2016 about the district’s lack of a diabetes policy. Kennedy claims in the suit that her hours were decreased and that she was treated differently than other nurses because of her involvement in the Office of Civil Rights case and for raising concerns about the district’s policies and leadership. On April 1, 2016, the district notified Kennedy that her contract would not be renewed. The lawsuit alleges that the district, Conley, Van Gorder and McConnell violated the Utah Protection of Public Employees Act. It protects employees who “give information in an inquiry or administrative review.” Kennedy claims in the suit that sharing her concerns about the district’s training and leadership of its nursing department was within her rights. She also claims in the suit that the defendants deprived her of her First Amendment rights and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to court documents, the defendants deny that there were “unsafe medical practices in the district” and claim Kennedy did not live up to her “duty of good faith and fair dealing” and that the district was within its rights to not renew her contract. Kennedy is asking for the payment of back wages and benefits in lieu of reinstatement, as well as other damages, according to court documents. She also asked for the dismissal of McConnell, Conley and Van Gorder. Conley left the district earlier this year for a superintendent position in Arizona, while Van Gorder retired in 2016. According to court documents, the two claims Mrazik dismissed were alleged breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing against the district. The ruling was in response to a motion from the defendants for summary judgment asking that all claims be dismissed, court documents state. Mrazik stated that the other claims were more “factually intensive,” ruling that the disputed facts made summary judgment impossible. According to court documents, Mrazik suggested that Kennedy and the defendants settle the case with mediation. April Hollingsworth, Kennedy’s lawyer, said Kennedy is open to the option. The Park City School District and the attorney representing the defendants declined comment. Wed/Thurs/Fri, October 10-12, 2018 Independence has no age TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD Torain Kilian, left, plays with colored cloths during a sing-along about colors during circle time at the Soaring Wings International Montessori School’s infant program. Infants guide their own learning in school’s program CAROLYN WEBBER ALDER The Park Record When Jessica Backman was told that her months-old infant would thrive in a classroom with no cribs, high chairs or bottles, she was skeptical. That is the typical response of parents with children starting in the infant program at Soaring Wings International Montessori School, said Duna Strachan, founder of the school. But everything changes after parents see how capable their children are. The school started offering the infant program in January of 2017, and the program has rapidly expanded as parents seek a unique, alternative education for their children. In the classroom, everything is set up for the infant. Mattresses are on the ground and chairs are easily accessible. Toys are always within grasp. “The idea is that the child chooses what they want to do,” Strachan said. “When they are hungry, they eat. When they are tired, they sleep. Our slogan is to follow the child.” The teacher, Carmen Olivera, oversees the students and teaches them short lessons. Strachan believes it is never too early to start a child’s education. It was a new approach for Backman, whose 6-month-old son was one of the first infants in the program. Although she appreciated the school’s emphasis on teaching independence — her daughter was in the toddler program at the time — she doubted her son would be able to eat with a fork or spoon himself, for example. “It was really eye-opening to see how they could teach young children,” she said. “If you give them the independence to do things, they are completely capable of doing things that you wouldn’t think that they would.” Now, Backman said her child’s room is designed like a Montessori room, with everything easily accessible to her now-toddler son. Strachan said she is happy to see parents responding positively to the program, because it had been in the works for several years. Lina Singleton, the former director of the school and daughter of Strachan, first started a parent-infant class on Fridays at the school in 2011. It was not long before parents began asking to have the class all day, every day. After finding a teacher and planning the curriculum, the school started the infant program. Now, the classes are almost always full, and the school has had to add toddler classes to keep up with the demand as infants graduate from the program. The infant program is available to kids between 3 and 18 months of age. Girl Scouts cover youth needs PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Wilson Fundations focuses on phonetic awareness and phonics. It is a literacy teaching approach used at all elementary schools in the district. Continued from A-7 Literacy goals updated data is not reliable yet because next school year will be the first year that Wilson Fundations is sustainable at all of the schools. It is still relatively new for teachers, administrators and stu- dents, and since Wilson Fundations is a new way of teaching, it is taking time to implement, she said. “We can find little signs of success, but it is too early,” she said. “It is a struggle to implement anything new and ask for change.” Teachers continue to have monthly trainings for the new program. Hastings is hopeful that the program will help the district meet its new goals. The approach Wilson Fundations uses is aimed to help readers of all abilities, including those learning English as a second language. She said the district is taking the state’s focus on reading seriously. “We are focusing a large amount of the teacher time on literacy,” she said. After this year, Hastings said the district hopes to continue the program and keep monitoring it to make sure that it is making a difference in students. She said focusing on literacy from kindergarten to third grade will help the district reach its overall goals for student learning. “We are on the right path, we just need to execute this plan really well,” she said. COURTESY OF LAURA COFFEE The members of Junior Girl Scout Troop 410 of Park City recently donated clothing and Walmart gift cards to Utah Foster Care as part of the troop’s project for the Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can receive. From left: retention services specialist for Utah Foster Care Tina Porter, Girl Scouts Fabienne Kyle, Ruby Aikin, Shannon Coffee and Gabby Adams, and CEO of Utah Foster Care Kelly Peterson. Vote for Local Candidates Running for State Legislature Meaghan Miller Eileen Gallagher HD 54 Chris Neville SD 26 If it’s important to you, it’s important to me. HD 53 Integrity, Discipline, and a Vision for Utah. Fair Representation, Compassionate Government, Environmental Stewardship. ctober 16. ox the week of O b l i a m r u o y e in VOTE - November 6. Ballots will b Paid for by Summit County Democrats. |