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Las Vegas teacher facing child abuse charge
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MARGARET BOYETT
West Prep teacher arrested
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A West Prep Academy special education teacher was arrested Tuesday morning on felony charges of child abuse and coercion involving a student in early February, according to Clark County School District police.
Detective Mitch Maciszak said Margaret Boyett, 41, was arrested at her lawyer's office and later booked into the Clark County Detention Center. Boyett is also known as Margie Terranova.
She was in jail Tuesday evening on $6,000 bail. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance Thursday.
According to the district, Boyett was hired into the school system in August of 2009. She teaches autistic students at West Prep.
Maciszak said on Feb. 8, Boyett took a student's hand and struck him with it several times. She also attempted to slap the 13-year-old student, but a teacher's aide stopped her. The report does not specify what prompted the incident.
"She caused him to strike himself seven to eight times about the head," Maciszak said. "She attempted to essentially slap him, but was stopped."
Maciszak said the student was not injured.
The report said the teacher's aide yelled at Boyett to stop after she raised her open hand in a motion as to strike the student, and she did, temporarily. When Boyett again raised her hand the aide "had to physically grab the arm of Boyett to stop the attempted strike."
Boyett made the student apologize to her, according to the report. Maciszak said school police learned of the incident through the school staff the following day.
Police spoke with the boy, but because of his disability, he was unable "to comprehend the event and form a cognitive statement," according to the report.
David Roddy, a spokesman for the school district, said Boyett has been assigned home duty.
"She's not in the classroom," Roddy said. "She's not allowed in the school."
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
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Troubled children are all over our city and country. There is no control over them. You can see it in the grocery stores, classrooms, streets etc. Kids get away with things that I would have been spanked, we kids learned respect. Today, forget it, all respect, rules and expections are gone. Oh, did I mention MORALS. I hate to see this let alone, say it....Our laws, lawyers, judges and so called parents that care have killed our country. Please do not get me going on Politiciations
Most teachers would be much better off getting baby sitter wages.
Back in the day paddling kids was appropriate, I'm not sure of the effect on the students, but the teachers sure felt better. LOL
OK, not a paddling or strike on the hand by the Nun. The mentioned alleged type of 'discipline' is plain wrong. However, I was paddled in the day (justifiably so)and turned out OK. Some teachers then, proudly displayed the woodshop-hole-drilled paddle for all to see. Talking about Eldorado HS in the mid-late '70s. And they need it again...
Whatever the legal issues, can we REMOVE THIS INEFFECTIVE TEACHER IMMEDIATELY without two or three years of union / association intervention? SHE NEEDS TO CHANGE HER CAREER PLAN.
The article doesn't state the student raised his hand to the teacher. In fact, the report does not specify what prompted the incident. The student was lucky the aide was there to witness the abuse and stop it. There is definitely something wrong with a teacher abusing a student, especially a disabled one.
Anyone that thinks it's ok to hit an autistic child is a complete idiot. These children have difficulty with interacting with others and need a patient teacher to help them learn how to interact with others in a correct manner. Alot of times they may get a little aggressive because they are frustrated because they have a hard time communicating their needs. How would you feel if you couldn't express verbally when you needed something as basic as having to use the bathroom or needed help with something?
That is why I could never be a teacher! I would beat the crap out of any kid that raised their hands to me, and then I'd make them pick their teeth out of my knuckles afterwards. And if their parents wanted to say anything about it to me, I'd do the same to them.
Sorry Royalmile, but there is nothing any child can do that deserves getting slapped by a teacher. You can debate about whether PARENTS are allowed to slap their own kids all day long. But a teacher does NOT get to hit students who make her angry. They are the children, she is the adult, and she damn well should have known better. Especially after trying to hit the kid, being stopped, and then TRYING TO HIT THE KID AGAIN!
When I went to school, we received swats with a paddle in front of everyone in the class. An incentive to do what was correct.
There are always Two sides to these stories, maybe just maybe the student did deserve what he was about to get, I would bet this woman has kid's of her own, and knew what she was doing, Of course the Student's parents think that their special kid would not do any thing wrong to any one, but who actually knows, Again I have no idea as to what happened, but this Teacher did not pick this one student out from othrs, with out reason, Do wonder why the teacher goes by two different names, does this sound right, Not to me it does not, what gives................