Antioch Charter Academy II

“East Bay teacher duct taped boy's mouth shut,claim alleges.” Contra Costa Times (CA), 2/20/2013

ANTIOCH -- The family of an 8-year-old boy filed a claim Tuesday alleging the boy's third-grade teacher duct-taped his mouth shut and that another teacher punished him by placing a chair over him and sitting on it in separate incidents earlier this school year.

Another student's hands were duct-taped by Antioch Charter Academy II teacher Michelle Mankewich in November, the claim alleges.

All four charter school employees who witnessed or learned of the November incidents failed to perform their mandated reporting duties and notify authorities about them, the claim alleges. The charter school principal -- the mother of one of the teachers alleged to have abused the boy -- conducted an internal investigation that found no wrongdoing.

"These are highly inappropriate forms of restraint on a student. It's abusive. I'd call it child abuse," said Larry Cook, the Walnut Creek attorney who filed the claim. "There's got to be other ways to control kids in a classroom."

The Antioch boy, through his mother Luvy Torres, filed the claim against the Antioch district, the charter school, The Learner-Centered School, Inc. (the nonprofit that operates the school), Mankewich, teacher Marianne Dubitsky, teacher Julie Fajeau and Principal Jeannie Dubitsky alleging they violated his constitutional rights, assaulted him and discriminated against him, among other charges. The boy's family seeks more than $10,000 in damages...