New details have emerged from an investigation into a Stevenson High School teacher’s classroom punishments, revealing students spun her so-called “Wheel of Misfortune” every day, often several times in one class period.
The practice had been going on for a year until student cellphone videos surfaced earlier this month, showing students hiding their faces behind textbooks as their classmates took turns throwing rubber “Koosh” balls at them.
The firing squad was one of the options on science teacher Kemberly Patteson’s wheel, a disciplinary tool used for minor offenses, such as tardiness, chewing gum or talking at an inappropriate time.
For low-level misconduct, students could choose between serving lunch detention and taking their chances spinning the wheel. In addition to the firing squad, options on the wheel included: buying Patteson a bottle of water, passing the punishment on to another student or automatically failing the next exam.
Once each of the students had taken a throw, Patteson, a former semi-professional baseball player, would get the last throw, said Wendy Zapfe, one of two parents who filed formal complaints against the teacher this month.
Patteson was placed on paid administrative leave for several days as Roger Rada, an administrative consultant with ESD 112’s Risk Cooperative, conducted an investigation into the complaints. The Skamania County Pioneer shared Rada’s report with The Columbian on Friday afternoon.
In his investigation, Rada interviewed Patteson and nine of her students. Some of the students said they felt embarrassed to be the target of the firing squad, and they admitted getting hit with the rubber balls hurt.
Rada concluded that the wheel ultimately served as a distraction, encouraging bad behavior. And not only were the consequences inconsistent, some of them were actually rewards, such as getting a free candy bar.
The district removed the wheel and allowed Patteson to return to her job on Oct. 16, keeping quiet about the specific consequences she would face.
“Our general practice is not to comment on specific employee disciplinary or personnel matters,” Superintendent Dan Read told The Columbian. “That said, I believe we have taken steps that are appropriate to ensure appropriate classroom disciplinary techniques are utilized in the future.”
Students could opt out before or after spinning the wheel, Patteson told Rada. Patteson also said no one was forced to stick with the punishment they received on the wheel.
But two of the students Rada interviewed said there were times when Patteson didn’t let them opt out from the firing squad.
The idea for the wheel came from a casual conversation with students, Patteson told Rada. They suggested it would be fun to randomly spin for their own punishments, she said.
So, a student in a shop class made the wheel, Read said. Patteson fastened it to a post and began using it last October.
Some of the students enjoyed the wheel, as anticipation built that someone might spin and land on the firing squad, Rada said.
In addition to the interviews, Rada states that he reviewed district policies, the school’s handbook and the Code of Professional Conduct for Educational Practitioners in Washington. Though Patteson’s wheel violates numerous policies and the code of conduct, Rada said he found the wheel was used with good intentions.
Ultimately, he recommended Patteson receive a letter of reprimand and attend a behavioral training workshop before the 2015-2016 school year begins.
