Recently, the folks at ClubMom.com cancelled their blogging program to focus all their efforts at CafeMom.com, a social networking site for moms.

I’ve been blogging at ClubMom at A Readable Feast and will be taking my 18 months of content to a self-hosted blog called My Readable Feast at www.myreadablefeast.com around January 1, 2008. Also, I’ve been hired to work as a community manager at CafeMom. So between the two projects, I’m going to be very busy.

With that in mind, I had to look cut out some things. Ultimately, that’s why my time at Teacher Smackdown has to end.

I’ve enjoyed my time here at 451Press. It’s a great team and a great community. I would encourage any blogger, especially those just starting out, to blog at 451Press. They offer great support.

The money hasn’t been great, but it’s never been about the money. Instead, it’s been about exposing the creeps who pray on our kids. If that’s your mission in life, why not apply to become 451Press writer and take it over?

Teacher Kelsey Peterson Caught in Mexico After Kidnapping 13-Year-Old Student

Kelsey Peterson, the Nebraska schoolteacher accused of having sex with her 13-year-old male student Fernando Rodriguez and then fleeing with him to Mexico, is now in more legal trouble. Peterson is going through a custody battle for her eight-year-old daughter. She had left the girl with her her parents before escaping with the boy,

Now the girl’s father, William Alexander Long who lives in McKinney, Texas, has temporary custody of the girl.

Peterson gave birth as a teen and never married Long. Long said he, Peterson and the girl lived together for part of 2000 and 2001, and that he regularly visited his daughter after that. He had a traveling sales job and saw the girl every six weeks, every holiday and for extended periods in the summer. He has been married for five months, and he and his wife look forward to having his daughter live with them.

Long said he had trouble contacting his daughter in recent months. He thinks that’s because Peterson was trying to prevent him from learning that the girl had moved in with Peterson’s parents.

Maybe the farther away the girl can get from the publicity surrounding her mom in Nebraska, the better. After all, Long was given temporary custody because he feared she suffered harm.

In Hillsboro, Oregon, teacher Elizabeth Lucinda Logan, 42, was sentenced to 18 months of probation for stealing a student’s coat and selling it on eBay. She was found guilty of attempted first-degree theft, computer crime, and third-degree theft.

Judge Hernandez lectured Logan and said that he expected more from her because she was a teacher. He said that she should have known better.

The judge sentenced her to perform 150 hours of community service in the next six months, refrain from computer auction transactions during her probation, and pay nearly $1,400 in fines and fees. If she violates any terms of her probation the judge said he would send Logan to jail for up to 90 days. The judge also will let Logan’s probation officer decide if she needs a mental health evaluation. (She acted a little kooky during her trial.)

According to the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, a conviction for theft is considered misconduct but does not require immediate teacher’s license revocation. The commission will look into Logan’s case in February. Until then Logan could apply for a teaching position.

Nice. Let us hope that any potential employers Google her.

Logan is appealing the case. Her lawyer has filed a motion to contact a juror who said she was upset with how the verdicts were reached. Court papers show that some jurors were whining and said they wanted to go home on the second day of deliberations. Also, an email the defense says it got from a juror after the guilty verdict, states that there was confusion and a rush to come to a decision.

Walling is a physical education teacher at Barnwell Elementary School. He also helps coach the middle school football team.

Police say the incidents involved a fourth grade girl and happened during the past two years. I am not sure that this means the sexual abuse started when she was in second grade - that means the girl was around seven-years-old folks! Still a fourth grader is only nine years old.

What a sick fuck.

Walling has been placed on administrative leave at his job at Barnwell Elementary School teacher. Walling is out of jail on bond.

Walling is also a Barnwell city councilman. Wonder how long it will be before the good citizens kick him out of that job?

To view the warrants, click here. (Adobe Reader required)

For more South Carolina Teacher Smackdowns, click here.

She said she used the money for her personal use. However, police say that it may take up to two months to determine how much money Blackford stole and when. She will not be arrested until the investigation is complete.

Blackford went on personal leave from her teaching position at Rocky Mountain Elementary. The school district says it cannot put someone on administrative leave for admitting that they did something wrong. Instead, they have to wait for police to offer evidence of theft or make an arrest.

The school district will hire a firm to conduct an audit based on Blackford’s confessions, but the district will not launch a separate investigation. Instead, they will let people handle it.

Blackford was honored in October 2006 as an outstanding school volunteer at the elementary school level for the 2005-2006 school year.

For more stories of teachers stealing, click here.

Police said that they caught the suspects cooking meth, and finished product was sitting on top of the stove. A total of seven grams of meth was confiscated.

The lab, located in a home in a residential neighborhood, was so contaminated with chemicals that the suspects and sheriff’s officers had to be decontaminated before they left the scene.

After one look at the arrest warrant, the Campbell County school system automatically suspended Pebley. They also made sure that he did not try to go to school after he was arrested. And they have given police full access to Pebley’s classroom and computer to make sure there was never a threat to students.

Pebley also worked for the Christian radio station WLAF for over 15 years. He hosted a drivetime sports show from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day after school.

Pebley was a popular teacher and well known - and liked - in the community. He taught at Campbell County High School for 35 years. His colleages and friends had no idea he was involved with drugs. And worse of all, his mom is devastated.

Meth is so insidious, dangerous and seductive. I just wonder if Pebley was having money issues (maybe because of addiction?) and thought making meth was an easy way to get some quick cash. Or maybe he was romantically involved with one of the women who was arrested in the meth bust. The whole thing is just so sad.

For more alcohol and drug related Teacher Smackdowns, click here.

Baker was working at Pfieffer-Burleigh Elementary School until the district suspended her. Previously, Baker was a student teacher at Strong Vincent High School where she met the then 16-year-old student.

The two were originally friends then their relationship became sexual over the summer. The girl, who is still a student at Strong Vincent, would meet Baker and drive to a parking lot near the entrance to a local state park to have sex.

Court records show that Baker recently divorced, and is also known as Erica L. Mceldowney. Also, the arrest complaint also states that Baker admitted to the sexual relationship with the student.

An interesting part of this case is about the age of consent versus if the student gave consent to the sexual activity. By all reports the sex was consensual. However, the student’s consent did not prevent the district attorney’s office from arresting Baker. Instead, the police based the charges on student’s age rather than whether or not she agreed to have a sexual relationship with her teacher.

The laws in Pennsylvania:
1. The age of consent is 16.
2. A charge of corruption of minors applies to inappropriate contact (sexual or not) between a legal adult and someone younger than 18.
3. Sexual assault charges usually apply to cases where the sex if forced or in which the victim is younger than the age of consent.

Looks like the police had to charge Baker with corruption of a minor since the sex was consensual, the girl was 16, and she was not sexually assaulted.

According to Tina Cornell, supervisor of the children services office at the Stairways Behavioral Health, in the cases of student-teacher sexual relationships, it is about a person in a position of authority taking advantage of a child. Cornell feels that it is an abuse of power and that teachers should never take advantage of that power. She also believes that children in that position are not truly able to give consent.

Many states have sexual assault/abuse laws that deal with a “person in a position of authority.” Maybe it’s time for Pennsylvania to add that to its list. Then next time this happens, police can press better charges against teachers trying to take advantage of kids.

For more Pennsylvania Teacher Smackdowns, click here.

His arrest is a result of an incident when when police searched a house in response to a report of a burglary in progress. Neighbors reported seeing a bunch of kids entering and exiting through the back of the home, and said they were carrying large trash bags filled with unknown items. (Hmmmmm…drug runners?)

When officers arrived, they found the back door open. They entered to search for suspects or victims, but no one was at home. However, the police found evidence of someone growing marijuana.

When police were searching the home, Schwartz arrived and was taken into custody on suspicion of unlawful possession of marijuana for sale and unlawful possession of narcotic paraphernalia. Uh oh. He was released the next day on bail.

After he was indicted, Schwartz was placed on unpaid leave at St. Ambrose. The principal sent out a letter to parents stating that their kids were never in harm’s way.

By the way, this is not the first time Schwartz has been in trouble with the law about pot. Court records show he pleaded not guilty to involvement with marijuana 10 years ago.

For some reason this either did not show up in his background check when he was recently hired at St. Ambrose Catholic School. (This was his first year teaching.) Or maybe they did not think a 10-year-old charge was important enough to not hire him. Either way, the school has already found another language arts teacher to replace him.

For more drugs and alcohol Teacher Smackdowns, click here.

Since it’s Thanksgiving day, I’d like for all my readers to take a moment, and think about all the good teachers, instructors and coaches you knew during your school years (college, too!)

The ones who supported you and told you that you were smart. The ones that inspired you and exposed you to great books and ideas. The ones who got you started on your career path or helped you through a difficult time in your life. The ones who gave you a second chance when you screwed up. The ones who made you laugh.

Thank you wonderful teachers for all your hard work, love and dedication. We appreciate and give thanks for you today!

(Feel free to share below about your favorite teacher. And Happy Thanksgiving!)

Wade worked as a teacher’s aide at Steele Elementary School, a preschool through fifth grade program. When it came to the faculty’s attention that he had done something inappropriate with a student, they contacted the Denver Public Schools Safety and Security Department. They in turn contacted police.

After a five-day investigation, police arrested Wade. He is out on bail.

The principal sent a letter home to parents asking for anyone with information about the sexual assaults on students to contact police. Always good to hear that a school is being very open with parents and not trying to hide a very embarassing and terrible situation.

Most parents are supportive of the school and do not plan to remove their kids. However, one parent thinks Wade is being falsely accused. Kim Sutherland says that Wade is a loving and dedicated father. She says his son has has a traumatic brain injury and Wade has devoted his life and career to this boy.

The police are still investigating Wade, and cannot elaborate on the nature of the crime. He has a clean record, but recently had several traffic violations and failed to show up in court. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Is that a sign of a once tidy life that is slowly unraveling? Who knows? Stay tuned.

For more Colorado Teacher Smackdowns, click here.