Coral Park Elementary is an A+-rated school with – according to one group of parents – one F-rated cafeteria worker.
More than a dozen families have been complaining about this employee, who is new to the school this year, saying she has created an abusive atmosphere at lunch every day.
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They felt vindicated Friday, as the principal told them she was being suspended while Miami-Dade Schools Police conducted an investigation.
“They’re treating the children like if this was a correctional facility, a military school,” said Jorge Del Rio, a parent of one child at the school.
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He then described some of the cafeteria worker’s alleged behavior.
“Whistling in their ear, throwing away their food while they’re eating, sitting them away from other kids to humiliate them, for what?" he said. "Kids come to school to learn, the only time that they have to socialize is at lunch, and you’re punishing them for being kids and socializing at lunchtime? It’s wrong.”
The parents’ group chat is filled with complaints about the woman.
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“There was multiple complaints from multiple parents about this employee being verbally abusive towards kids,” Del Rio said. “It was only after I filed a police report that something was done.”
The school district confirmed that she has been suspended while the police investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, another group of parents at the school has another complaint. They have special needs kids, and they say Coral Park Elementary is not allowing Registered Behavior Technicians, or RBTs, to spend enough time with their children during the school day. That drew the attention of State Senator Ileana Garcia, who said it’s a statewide issue, and possibly the catalyst for new legislation.
“Yes, definitely, why not, I think everything’s a work in progress especially with the amount of new children that have come in, the amount of immigrants that are now in Miami-Dade County that have special needs that might not have been diagnosed in their countries,” Garcia said.
A state law passed last year allows RBTs to accompany special needs kids into classrooms, and schools are supposed to work with families to determine how long they need to stay with the kids each day. Garcia said maybe more uniform standards are needed.
