Saturday, October 18, 2003
| Ronald Lee Mayfield Jr., 55, had been accused of assaulting a student |
Body identified as that of Roanoke teacher |
| Though sources say that the student recanted the story, they believe that Mayfield was not informed about that before leaping to his death. |
By LINDSEY NAIR and LISA APPLEGATE
THE ROANOKE TIMES
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Ronald Lee Mayfield Jr., 55, of Roanoke County was reported missing Thursday after a woman saw a man disappear over the railing of the parkway bridge across the Roanoke River, near Explore Park.
A cellphone was found on the bridge; a wallet and a suicide note tucked inside a Bible were found inside a vehicle parked nearby, police said.
Roanoke County police Sgt. Jeff Herrick said authorities and divers from the Scruggs Dive Team of Franklin County searched for the man all day Thursday with no success. They resumed Friday morning and, at 12:10 p.m., discovered a body submerged in the river about a quarter-mile from the bridge.
Herrick positively identified the man as Mayfield. He said the body was taken to the medical examiner's office in Roanoke for an autopsy.
Mayfield began teaching in Roanoke in 2001. He taught English to students from other countries through the English Language Learners program. He taught at both Patrick Henry High School and Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Students from Jackson Middle School were bused in for his class.
Four sources close to the investigation said Friday that Mayfield had been accused of assaulting a Jackson student at Woodrow Wilson about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Roanoke police spokeswoman Shelly Alley confirmed that the assault investigation was being jointly conducted by the police department, the school system and Child Protective Services.
The sources said the school system did not inform police of the alleged assault when the student said he had been shoved, despite the fact that it involved an adult and the child claimed to be hurt. Instead, they said, Child Protective Services was called, and Mayfield was suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
When a school resource officer later heard about the assault, the case was passed to youth detectives, who interviewed the student. The student recanted the story, sources said.
The interview is said to have occurred no later than Tuesday, two days before Mayfield committed suicide. He was still on leave at the time of his death.
Alley said that the investigation is closed because of his death and that the investigation did not indicate that charges would be placed.
School spokesman Scott Meadows did not comment on the investigation, saying only that "the superintendent and school board do express their deepest sympathy for the family."
Mayfield's cousin, Mel Mayfield, spoke on behalf of family members Friday, saying that they were devastated by the suicide.
"The reason is totally unclear to the family at this time," he said. "Until we know more, we have nothing more to say about it."
Rita Bishop, associate superintendent for instruction with Roanoke schools, said Friday that Mayfield was an energetic, experienced teacher who could convey words using pictures or charades.
"Ron could take a classroom [in which students] spoke 10 different languages and teach them English," she said.
Fellow teachers described him as a patient and loving teacher, and one said he reminded her of television's Mister Rogers, only gentler.
Although police did not confirm Mayfield's death until late Friday, Bishop said rumors swept through Patrick Henry and the middle schools that morning. She had a counselor available for Mayfield's students Friday and planned to have counselors and interpreters there Monday.
Mayfield worked closely with Roanoke's office of Refugee and Immigration Services to help students adjust to their new life, director Barbara Smith said.
She said Mayfield was a dedicated teacher whose students loved him.
"He was the kind of man that goes over and beyond what would be expected of him," she said.
Smith said her staff had talked to Mayfield after he was placed on leave.
"He was terribly upset about the accusation and his whole career being on the line because of that," she said, adding that her staff was extremely worried "about how distressed he was."
Mayfield is survived by his wife, Myrna, and a grown son, Dr. Robert Mayfield of Richmond.
He had a master's degree in education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
LINDSEY NAIR can be reached at 981-3334 or lindsey.nair@roanoke.com.
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
| Ronald Mayfield buried Monday |
Teacher's family demands answers |
| A family representative has sent letters to city and school officials asking for "a thorough written explanation about this entire event." |
By LINDSEY NAIR and LISA APPLEGATE
THE ROANOKE TIMES
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Roanoke school administrators said Monday that they followed proper procedures when investigating the accusation, determining it was not necessary to notify police. And although three separate departments had cleared Ronald L. Mayfield Jr. of criminal wrongdoing, he was apparently never informed.
Mayfield, 55, taught in the English Language Learners Program for two years. About two and a half weeks ago, a student accused him of assault, and Mayfield was placed on administrative leave with pay. On Thursday, he took his life by leaping off a Blue Ridge Parkway bridge, leaving behind a two-page suicide note that discussed the accusation and the pain it had caused him.
On Monday, the day of Mayfield's funeral, several unanswered questions plagued his family and friends.
Mel Mayfield, a cousin who is serving as the family's spokesman, sent a letter to Superintendent Wayne Harris, City Manager Darlene Burcham and School Board Chairwoman Gloria Manns asking for "a thorough written explanation about this entire event."
First, the family wanted to know why administrators did not inform police about the incident right away, saying that might have resolved the matter sooner. Second, they wondered why Ron Mayfield was never informed when his name had been cleared.
"It certainly appears that the Roanoke City School Administration mishandled the entire situation," Mel Mayfield wrote.
After he was accused, Ron Mayfield told a close friend that he'd placed two fingers on the student to stop him from entering an area of the school building that was off-limits. The student then told another teacher that Mayfield had punched him.
The question of whether police should have been notified immediately points to a standing debate over how much disciplinary influence police should have in the schools.
According to school system policy, the principal must report any act that may constitute a criminal offense to local law enforcement. But Harris wrote in a letter to school board members Monday that police don't have to be informed unless there are visible signs of harm.
"If in the course of our investigation there was evidence that a criminal act had occurred, the police would have been notified," Harris wrote.
Instead, Harris said, Roanoke Social Services' Child Protective Services unit was called as soon as the accusation was made. The Human Resources department placed Mayfield on paid administrative leave and began its own investigation.
Harris wrote that after CPS and the school system investigated, they still found no reason to involve police because "neither deemed that the alleged offense was a crime." It is unclear when they concluded that Mayfield had not assaulted the boy.
But police later began their own investigation after a school resource officer overheard a conversation about the accusation.
More than a half-dozen sources who asked to remain anonymous said the student recanted his story when police interviewed him at least two days before Mayfield committed suicide.
Harris said the school system "received no information from the student or parent/guardian that indicates the student recanted his original statement."
Roanoke police spokeswoman Shelly Alley declined to comment on the investigation, saying the final report would not be compiled until today . However, she said Friday that the investigation showed no charges would be placed against Mayfield.
Family members said Mayfield never knew that investigations by police, social services and the school system found no fault on his part. He was still on leave the day he died.
Harris declined to comment on why Mayfield remained uninformed.
Some school board members said Monday that they still had questions and wondered whether the entire protocol should be re-examined.
Member Melinda Payne said she's heard from three teachers who expressed concern that administrators too often take the side of students over its own employees.
"I don't know what the best resolution or solution is, but ... we've got to find some way to protect teachers in situations like this," she said.
Family and friends said Mayfield talked about suicide the weekend before his death, but they thought they'd talked him out of it.
"Ron was sweating bullets over this thing, and we were trying to calm him down, we were telling him: 'This is a piece of cake. You're going to walk right through it,'" said a colleague who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from the school system. "He thought he was cornered and that was the only way out."
Mel Mayfield said his cousin felt alone and unsupported by his employer.
"I think one of the reasons he was so distraught was that he felt like he was left dangling on this thing, and he didn't know anything, and he didn't know what his future was."
LINDSEY NAIR can be reached at 981-3349 or lindsey.nair@roanoke.com.
Let's see, the guy was on paid leave and wasn't arrested, so he jumps off of a bridge after leaving a suicide note in a Bible?
Just my humble opionion, I think the guy had other "issues".