Student's suicide leads district to investigate former teacher's treatment of children

Marion County Public Schools has decided not to renew the contract of a teacher who, according to a school district investigation, "chronically inflicted psychological distress on multiple students by verbally insulting, humiliating and embarrassing students, which created a hostile educational environment."

The actions of Dawn White, a fifth grade teacher at Legacy Elementary School, violated the Marion County School Board's Anti-Harassment Policy and two counts of the Principals of Professional Conduct for the Educational Profession, the investigative report states. The report also was critical of other Legacy Elementary employees.

Once the district's investigation was completed, White was suspended for five days. District officials decided not to renew her contract for the upcoming school year.

Reached by phone, White declined comment and referred questions to her lawyer, Shannon Davis of Orlando. Davis also declined comment.

White has one disciplinary infraction on her record: a verbal reprimand for an action not related to students, according to school officials.

This latest investigation began after one of White's students committed suicide in April. The boy's parents later stood outside the school handing out flyers that blamed the teacher for their son's death. Neither the district nor law enforcement has blamed White for the suicide.

White's employment history with the district began in 2009 at Legacy, where she was an extended day leader, according to the district. From 2012 through 2014 she was a paraprofessional at College Park and Maplewood Elementary schools.

Three years later, White was a fourth grade teacher at Legacy. In 2021 she was a fifth grade teacher at Belleview Elementary. Last school year, she returned to Legacy.

Student's death sparks investigation

Tyson Collins, a special investigator assigned to the district, wrote in his report that the Marion County School District "was notified that a teacher was alleged to have bullied/harassed a student during the 2022-2023 school year, resulting in the student's suicide on April 27, 2023."

White was identified as the teacher in question, and an internal administrative investigation began on May 2.

The deceased student is Louis Johnson III, who was a fifth grader at Legacy Elementary. HIs parents were contacted by a Star-Banner reporter and asked to comment for this story. They told the reporter that they would think about it. They never contacted the reporter.

A Marion County Sheriff's Office report states the boy's father, Louis Edmond Johnson, called 911 on April 27 to report that his 11-year-old son had shot himself and was bleeding.

Deputy C. Rafferty went to the Silver Springs Shores residence and saw the boy on his back in the living room. Johnson had a towel on his son's head to control the bleeding, deputies said. Rafferty took over from the boy's father until medical personnel arrived.

The boy was taken to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. Once stabilized, Louis was transported to UF Health Shands Hospital, where he died two days later, according to the sheriff's office report.

Louis' parents interviewed

Detective Nick Sutliff went to Shands to interview Louis' parents. Sutliff first spoke with the boy's mother, Tyka, who said she was at work when her husband called and said their son had been shot. She said she went home, saw her husband, and they went to the hospital.

The woman said they own firearms, which are stored in a combination gun safe. She said the safe is locked in the master bedroom and her son doesn't know the combination. When she and her husband are not home, they lock the closet that holds the safe, the woman said.

Johnson was interviewed by the detective. He said he took his son with him to work on his food truck and gave him a writing assignment as a form of punishment. After work, the man said, they drove home. He said he went inside and placed several items, including cash and a 9mm Ruger handgun, on the counter.

Johnson said he typically would put the gun in the gun safe. But on that day he went outside to make sure that his truck had power. While outside, he said, he heard a gunshot. When he went into the residence, he saw his son bleeding and called 911.

The couple told the detective they recently had moved from Virginia. In Virginia, they said, Louis did well in school, never had any behavioral problems, and was happy. Since moving to Florida, they said, his grades had slipped and he was having behavior problems.

The Johnsons said they tried talking to and encouraging their son. They said their son didn't have any problems with depression and had not talked about suicide. The boy's father said he showed his son how to clear a weapon and the boy knew basic gun safety.

The parents gave sheriff's deputies permission to search their home.

Detectives closed the case. The report never mentions anything about Louis being bullied or him complaining about his teacher.

Parents interviewed by Collins

On May 2, school district investigator Collins interviewed Louis' parents. Collins was told Louis apparently did not do well on a progress report. His teacher, White, was asked about the grade. She said Louis "needed to participate," and requested a parent meeting, Collins' report states.

In that parent-teacher meeting, it was suggested that Louis move his seat closer to the front of the class. However, the report states, "White continued to say Student Victim needed to participate during class to pass."

The report notes that when Louis went home on Oct. 28, 2022, he said he didn't want to be in White's class any longer. There was an alleged incident where Louis was talking to a friend in line when White reportedly said, "I don't know why you're talking because you don't even know anything. You don't know nothing in this class. Isn't that right, kids?" Several students reportedly agreed with the teacher.

One of Louis' parents called the school but was unable to reach anyone. On Oct. 31, one of Louis' parents called the school to set up an appointment, the report says.

The parent did not get a response for a week, according to Collins' report. Another call was made to the school and the parent was told a message would be sent to the principal. The parent was never contacted, according to the report.

White and Louis' parents met

On Jan. 9, 2023, one of Louis' parents arranged a parent-teacher conference with White. The conference was held on Jan. 12. Two of Louis' other teachers, James Oliver and Tracy Willis, also attended.

At the meeting, White was asked about the alleged comment she made to Louis while he was in line. White was "defensive, started to cry, and suggested they go to her classroom," according to the report. There, White showed them the classroom, but "never addressed the comment she made to the Student Victim," the report states.

White told the parent that Louis was not doing his work, and allegedly talked about going to the beach and getting crab legs with the family, according to the report.

The next month, Louis' parents were told that Louis was sleeping in class. The parents talked with Louis and he told them he wasn't sleeping in class.

In April, White told Louis' parents that he was playing with someone's hair. The reply from one of Louis' parents was that he had "lost momentum." One of Louis' parents asked White if there was something different that could be done to inspire him. White never responded, Collins said in his report.

On the day of the shooting, the boy said he never had these kinds of problems when he was in Virginia. Louis said he heard White tell the class about his bad grades. He also described how White had treated another student. A text message viewed by Collins showed Louis wanted to tell a school resource deputy about how White was treating him.

Students interviewed by school investigator

Collins interviewed more than three dozen students, asking them about White. The students gave numerous examples of White's behavior, and a majority of them were not favorable to the former teacher.

Some examples mentioned in the report: White got angry when students received bad grades; White would get mad or yell at students for not turning in homework; White laughed at a student for not getting good grades and not turning in work; White once made fun of a student, which made the student cry; and White appeared "stressed out all the time."

One student said White was mean or rude to students even when they did nothing wrong. One parent tried to talk with White several times about her attitude toward their child, who would often come home crying and not wanting to go back to school.

One student described White's class as "fun." The student said White yelled at students who were "goofing off" because "she was trying to get their attention."

One student said White frequently yelled at the "bad students" because "they do bad things." One said that when White was "happy" she would jump around. However, when she was mad, "she shows her passion." The student said White "wants them to succeed." One student said White had "less patience for Student Victim" because she knew he could do better.

Other students said either that White embarrassed them or they had witnessed the teacher shame others. Some students said they had reported White to their parents.

Parents, school administrators and teachers interviewed

Collins spoke with school administrators, teachers and parents about White. Most of them described White as a good teacher who's passionate and cares for students.

One teacher said a student told her about White's behavior. The example given was White allegedly told the class about that student's bad grade. That made the student "really sad," according to the report.

One parent said she removed her child from White's classroom because of concerns. The child left Legacy and the assistant principal was informed, according to the report.

The investigator met with Ann Hembrook, an area superintendent. Hembrook told Collins her staff went to Legacy to support students and staff after Louis' death.

She said she was told about a conversation the school's principal had with Louis' family on May 1 relating to the bullying accusation against White. Hembrook was asked if the principal was aware of the alleged bullying by White. Hembrook said the principal was not aware.

Hembrook said Louis' family was at the school on May 1 distributing flyers about suicide prevention. White's name was on the flyers. Family members were asked to "move off campus when distributing the flyers," according to Collins' report.

White heard about the flyers and went to the school. White was taken to a room and she was "very distraught and very loud," the report states.

In the room, White said she "thought there was something wrong with Student Victim." According to Hembrook, White said "she had three parent-teacher conferences about Student Victim," and "White described how she met Student Victim every day at the reception desk" to see how he was doing.

Hembrook was asked if it was normal for a teacher to check in with a student. She said though that was normal, "typically, it would be documented with the student services manager."

Hembrook said she asked the student services manager, Marie Cox, if she had any documentation and was told "nothing had ever been reported to her all year about Student Victim."

White told Hembrook that, on the night before the shooting, she gave the boy homework to help him prepare for an upcoming test. Hembrook said White told her Louis didn't finish the assignment because he got into trouble and had to do extra chores at home.

Principal's interview

The investigator interviewed Principal Shameka Murphy, who said she wasn't aware of anything involving Louis until after the shooting.

Asked about the conference she had with Louis' parents, Murphy said they told her White had "bullied their child" and he's dead. She said they told her White made Louis "sit out during recess and was controlling over parental conference meetings."

The principal said the parents "never went into the details about either issue." She said the only thing White said about the parent conferences with Louis' parents "was her concern about Student Victim's academics."

Murphy said the only interactions she had with White was during "walk-throughs." The principal said she didn't see anything inappropriate during the "walk-through." She said White is "very structured" and "made sure her students do their work."

As for any issues she knows of with White, Murphy said two parents were "adamant" about taking their children from White's class. One child was allowed to go to another school. The other was able to get their schedule changed.

Assistant Principal Marie Elena Curty said she wasn't aware of the bullying allegations until May 1, "when the parents came in." She said she did not see White mistreating the children and called White "a phenomenal teacher."

Several teachers interviewed by Collins said White was good at her job, had high expectations of her students, and did not disrespect the students.

White's interview

White was interviewed by Collins. She said she felt like something was wrong with Louis. She said she had more than one parent conference to talk about Louis. At one conference they discussed moving Louis to another class. At another they talked about his behavior in her class.

She said at the end of one parent conference, "everyone was smiling and of one accord." White said Louis' parents did not ask her about her alleged comment she made to Louis while he was in line about him not knowing anything.

In her interview with Collins, White denied saying anything inappropriate to Louis. To the contrary, she said she "always" provided Louis with support, and in fact he "has had extra support the entire school year."

White said she never wrote Louis a referral. Also, she never told the school administration about her concerns because "they were not severe enough for me to report."

She denied yelling at students, though she did tell Collins she raises her voice "collectively, but not at a specific child." White said she didn't think the interview process was fair and she's a "great teacher and the data reflected that."

The report's conclusions

Collins concluded that Louis wasn't the only student whom White had ridiculed. He said other students also had bad experiences.

One teacher, Robin Morin, who had spent time in White's classroom, said she witnessed White "embarrassing students in class weekly," according to the report. Morin said she saw White yell at students. Collins said although Morin "witnessed unprofessional conduct by Ms. Dawn White, she failed to report the conduct to administration."

Collins said the staff and administration "received several complaints from students about Ms. Dawn White yelling and being mean prior to the incident with the Student Victim. Those student reports resulted in no action taken other than a conversation with the students who made the report."

The complaints from several parents about White to the administration "resulted in students being removed from her class, students transferring to another school, or remaining in her class. The conduct students endured in Ms. Dawn White's classes was unprofessional, and egregious, and should never occur in the classroom," Collins wrote.

The report doesn't implicate White in any wrongdoing or specifically name her as the cause of Louis' death.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Death of student led to investigation into former teacher's practices