NY - Joan Donatelli for child endangerment, Lewiston, 2007

Sad, very sad. I guess she thought the students would have no idea what she was up to.
http://www.wsbtv.com/education/10982731/detail.html

LEWISTON, N.Y. -- Police said a substitute teacher accused of snorting cocaine in front of her fourth-grade pupils will face charges that could send her to jail for up to three years.


Lewiston-Porter School District substitute Joan M. Donatelli, 59, has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.


Pupils said they saw her use the cap of a pen to scoop the contents of a small plastic bag and place it to her nose on Feb. 1.


Donatelli is a retired first-grade teacher with the district.


Don Rappold, Interim Superintendent of Lewiston-Porter Central Schools reportedly sent the following letter home to parents Feb. 2:


"Dear Parents,


On Thursday, February 1, 2007, it was reported that a substitute teacher in your child's classroom may have a substance abuse problem. This letter is to inform you that the Lewiston-Porter School District responded to the report by advising the police. The matter is now under investigation, and the District is fully cooperating with the authorities. Pending the outcome of the investigation, the substitute teacher has been prohibited from being on our campus."


The Buffalo News reported that when Sgt. Frank J. Previte of the Lewiston Police Department went to Donatelli's house the evening after the alleged drug use, she admitted snorting the drugs in the classroom. The paper reported that she said she disposed of the drugs in the school restroom after being interviewed by Don W. Rappold, the interim superintendent of schools, about the alleged drug use in class.


The paper reported that Donatelli gave police the plastic bag and two pen caps, which tested positive for cocaine.

WTF????? Did this woman think none of the kids would report her??

Sad, too, that 4th graders would be alert to cocaine snorting.

LovelyPigeon said:

Sad, too, that 4th graders would be alert to cocaine snorting.

Click to expand...

Exactly. I think the teacher probably thought they would have NO idea.

June 27, 2007

By Paul Lane/lanep@gnnewspaper.com

Accepting responsibility for what she did and vowing to make some good of it, a contrite Joan M. Donatelli avoided jail time during her sentencing Wednesday in Lewiston Town Court.

Donatelli, 59, of the town of Lewiston, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in April to seventh-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. The charges relate to an incident February during which she used cocaine while working as a substitute teacher in the Lewiston-Porter Intermediate Education Center.

Judge Thomas J. Sheeran sentenced Donatelli to 100 hours of community service with Literacy Volunteers of America — work she can’t perform with children — ordered her to continue her drug addiction treatment with Horizons and had her surrender her driver’s license. In addition, Donatelli’s teaching license has been surrendered, meaning she’s no longer allowed to teach in a school in New York state.

Much more at link:
http://niagara-gazette.com/local/x681278693/COURTS-Donatelli-avoids-jail-time-in-cocaine-case

Note: So, now the teachers can do drugs right in front of the students, right inside the schoolroom and walk away with community service. When are our children going to be valued?