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Pompano Teacher Facing Suspension Over 'Chocolate Boy' Comment
NBC Miami ^ | Tuesday, Feb 7, 2012 | Brian Hamacher and Ari Odzer

Posted on 02/07/2012 7:08:44 PM PST by nickcarraway

Teacher called student 'little chocolate boy': Complaint

A Pompano Beach high school teacher who's previously faced discipline for inappropriate conduct towards students is once again in hot water after she allegedly called a student "little chocolate boy," according to an administrative complaint.

Leslie Rainer, a teacher at Blanche Ely High School, is facing suspension over the comments allegedly made last May, according to the Broward School Board complaint.

Rainer attended a meeting before the school board Tuesday, where Superintendent of Schools Robert Runcie postponed making a decision on whether to recommend a three-day suspension without pay and require her to attend diversity training. Runcie deferred the decision to study the case.

Meanwhile, Rainer said the whole situation is a misunderstanding, and she thinks it stems from a vendetta against her.

“I’m a very stable person. I’m professional," she told the school board. "I know my role as a teacher in Broward County. I know my role in the community."

"I have not done anything wrong," she told NBC Miami afterward.

According to the complaint, the incident happened on May 6, 2011, when Rainer pointed a pointer at the student's face "in a threatening manner" and said "look little chocolate boy."

Rainer also told the student he was "chocolate that nobody wanted," and warned him "you got one time, chocolate," according to the complaint. The student recorded the incident on video, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Rainer's conduct constitutes misconduct and violates the code of ethics of the education profession.

Rainer claims that the schools investigative unit did an investigation and cleared her, which goes against the petition the superintendent signed to have her suspended for three days.

Asked if she insulted the boy, the teacher replied, "No, I did not."

"It's been proven through SIU that I did not insult any Haitian. It was a thorough investigation," she said. "I did not say anything, and the kid is not a Haitian student. He’s American. He’s my husband’s relative."

Rainer maintained that the whole thing is "a misunderstanding from the principal."

Last week, Rainer denied making some of the comments and said the "chocolate" comments were taken out of context, saying she was referring to a candy bar on her desk.

"I have never, nor will I ever, offend a child. I have nothing against Haitians, Italians or whoever else," Rainer told the Sun-Sentinel. "This is a made-up, false accusation."

Calls to Rainer's attorney Tuesday weren't immediately returned.

According to the complaint, Rainer "has had a history of inappropriate conduct towards her part-Haitian, minority descent students."

Rainer came under fire in 2008, when she told a student "I wish they would put you in a boat and send you back where you came from," according to the complaint.

Less than two years later, Rainer and fellow teacher Djuna Robinson were accused of dousing a colleague with hold water in a disagreement over religious views. Though both teachers denied the accusations, they were reassigned. After they were cleared in a criminal investigation, they were reinstated.

Rainer was counseled for both incidents, according to the complaint.

Jean-Robert La Fortune, an activist with the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, said his own daughter had derogatory statements made about her when she was in school 15 years ago, so he knows what this feels like.

“We must move beyond suspension," he told the school board. "If you allow that instructor to remain in the classroom, she is risky business."


TOPICS: Education; Local News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: florida; miami; pompanobeach
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1 posted on 02/07/2012 7:08:49 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Didn’t Nagan call NO a ‘chocolate city’? Oh, wait that was a liberal. Racism is okay for liberals especially if they’re black.

But I question this teacher’s intelligence.


2 posted on 02/07/2012 7:17:19 PM PST by ReneeLynn (Socialism is SO yesterday. Fascism, it's the new black. Mmm mmm mmm...)
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To: nickcarraway

new orleans is the chocolate city, they should take a field trip.


3 posted on 02/07/2012 7:17:40 PM PST by biggredd1
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

Thanks nickcarraway.
4 posted on 02/07/2012 7:23:07 PM PST by SunkenCiv (FReep this FReepathon!)
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To: nickcarraway

The head of the law department where I work, a fortune 100 company, refers to himself as the Ace of Spades. I don’t


5 posted on 02/07/2012 7:43:41 PM PST by muir_redwoods (No wonder this administration favors abortion; everything they have done is an abortion)
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To: devolve

pingaling of interest


6 posted on 02/07/2012 7:49:33 PM PST by potlatch
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To: nickcarraway

Is chocolate now a bad thing? Who doesn’t like chocolate?


7 posted on 02/07/2012 7:54:42 PM PST by 6SJ7 (Meh.)
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To: ReneeLynn

Nagin’s career ended when he made that stupid remark. He lost virtually all of his Uptown supporters.


8 posted on 02/07/2012 7:56:25 PM PST by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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To: nickcarraway

My first reaction was that “chocolate boy” could be a term of affection, although hardly advisable in today’s political climate. What boy doesn’t like chocolate?

But if some of the details given in the article are true, then it does sound as if there’s a real problem there, which the teacher’s union brushed over.

Who knows?


9 posted on 02/07/2012 8:27:12 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Kirkwood

But it didn’t end because of it.


10 posted on 02/07/2012 9:30:56 PM PST by ReneeLynn (Socialism is SO yesterday. Fascism, it's the new black. Mmm mmm mmm...)
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To: potlatch

.

Thanks potlatch -

Heavy Duty news from South Florida!

.


11 posted on 02/08/2012 1:11:56 PM PST by devolve (- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IT IS ALIVE! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
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To: devolve

Yeah, guess you had already heard about it. Wonder what the population of Pompano Beach is?


12 posted on 02/08/2012 5:03:19 PM PST by potlatch
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To: potlatch

.

Nice area

Grew a lot since I was there

Cities and Towns close together there on the coast and new communities to the West

.


13 posted on 02/08/2012 5:15:30 PM PST by devolve (- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - you can't do that on WebTV - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
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To: devolve

- And you would be so disappointed if you went back to your old ‘stomping grounds’ because they would be so changed. Any area along the beach grows and changes, and not always in good ways.

I remember West Beach in Galveston when there was nothing there but beach and we could drive clear down it. I can remember South Padre Island when it was like that too. Now it’s a steady stream of hotels, condos, nightclubs, etc.
The beach is lost.........


14 posted on 02/08/2012 5:49:42 PM PST by potlatch
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Click the Smoke       Thank you, JoeProBono

He's cute and tiny
But they grow up so fast


Become a monthly donor and kill the FReepathon dragons
Sponsors will contribute $10
For each new monthly sign-up

15 posted on 02/08/2012 5:51:17 PM PST by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
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To: potlatch

- I was not thrilled with the changes last time I ws there


16 posted on 02/08/2012 6:07:33 PM PST by devolve (- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - you can't do that on WebTV - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
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To: devolve

Well then, you know. My relatives in Carnegie always wanted me to go back and visit but I knew the whole side of the street where we had all lived had been turned into a big mall. My memories were sharp and I didn’t care to see the change.

I don’t like change


17 posted on 02/08/2012 6:12:50 PM PST by potlatch
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To: potlatch

.

Taking forever to navigate on FR tonight

No hope - either

.


18 posted on 02/08/2012 6:22:13 PM PST by devolve (- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - you can't do that on WebTV - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
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To: devolve

Hope and Change
Lots of change and no hope? snicker


19 posted on 02/08/2012 6:45:58 PM PST by potlatch
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To: potlatch

.

Did not check Yahoo!-FR

Something will happen soon

.


20 posted on 02/08/2012 6:50:55 PM PST by devolve (- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - you can't do that on WebTV - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
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