Note: the meeting regarding this issue and referred to below, originally scheduled for Oct. 15, has been rescheduled to Nov. 5.
Robert Sprouse was a social studies teacher at Flagler Palm Coast High School’s i3 Academy for two years–from August 2017 to May 2019. His contract was not renewed despite evaluations that found him “highly effective” two years running, among other considerable achievements, state commendations and features in local media.
Sprouse is claiming in a whistleblower action that his contract was not renewed because of the way he reported on a male senior’s repeatedly inappropriate behavior toward several girls–to school officials, the sheriff’s office and the Department of Children and Families. The girls, who reported issues over several months this year, had felt uncomfortable in the boy’s presence because of the senior’s unwanted touching or harassment. To address the issue, the school imposed mutual no-contact orders involving both the student and his alleged victims.
Sprouse says the district did not handle the matter aggressively enough while taking him to task–and, in fact, counseling him–for documenting the issues in writing instead of verbally addressing the issues with his supervisors.
The school district’s position is that it did all that was required, that it disciplined and restricted the offending boy–who has since graduated–that it protected the girls, and chose not to renew Sprouse’s contract the same way that it routinely chooses not to renew numerous teachers’ contracts. But the contract wasn’t renewed, the district states, also because Sprouse had a few issues with the administration that were not related to the allegations of harassment or misconduct. (The issues were minor. None resulted in discipline.)
The case and its copious documentation from both sides opens an unusually detailed window into the district’s handling of allegations of sexual harassment involving students, its handling of a faculty member who reported the issue, and its implementation of procedures that raise at least some questions about the district’s disturbing discomfort with written documentation–and its mis-characterization of such documentation in the context of privacy and public record laws, at least to Sprouse.
“I was advised by teachers and administration not to put in writing potential child abuse claims,” Sprouse wrote in answer to questions by the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which is investigating his case. “As a mandatory reporter it is my job to report anything I see or [hear] that may constitute child endangerment or neglect.” Because he did so, he believes his contract was not renewed. (Teachers, among other district employees, are required by law to report suspicions of child abuse.)
Sprouse is not looking to have the decision reversed (he got another job in the Orlando area). But he wants the non-renewal letter removed from his record, and he wants the district to adopt a more rigorous system of training staff on addressing sexual harassment. “I merely ask that these matters be investigated and dealt with to protect children in the future,” he wrote the commission.
Sprouse is also going through the district’s own grievance procedure, having gotten no satisfaction at the first two levels. On Sept. 27, Jewel Johnson, the district’s chief human resources officer, informed Sprouse by mail that he would have a grievance hearing before the Flagler County School Board at 11 a.m. on Oct. 15, what would be considered a Level 3 grievance hearing.
The two page letter does not tell him where the meeting is to take place. Nor is that meeting of the board–a public meeting–noticed on the school board’s website, though the board has three other meetings that day, all of which are noticed: a 9 a.m. superintendent search meeting, a 1 p.m. workshop and a 6 p.m. meeting. All three are noticed on the board’s web calendar. All three are also noticed on paper in the lobby of the Government Services Building. The 11 a.m. meeting with Sprouse is not (and still wasn’t as of Wednesday morning.) Kristy Gavin, the school board attorney, was under the impression that it had been posted at the GSB, and said it would be posted on the web after an interview with a reporter. (At least one school board member will not be in attendance at any of the meetings because of a scheduling conflict.)
The board at that meeting will hear from Sprouse and any witnesses he wishes to present. He says that since the district scheduled the meeting for 11 a.m. (he tried to have the time changed), “anybody that was a witness to this is teaching or in class,” and the district, according to Sprouse, is not letting teachers or students out of school for the meeting. “They scheduled it at a time when getting a witness will be impossible.”
Gavin says it’s not quite accurate. “The one thing I will say we did tell him is we did not believe that a student should be losing instructional time, because there are allegedly other people that are not students” who may be witnesses and could relate the same issues, Gavin said (though no faculty member could describe what a student was experiencing at the hands of the allegedly offending boy, or speak for a student regarding no-contact orders). “And my understanding is he agreed that it would not be in their best interest to have students leave their instructional time.”
The latest problems with the student began last January. (He’d had issues last year.)
A timeline prepared by Erin Davis, dean of students (and headlined “Documentation,” with the student’s name in bold letters, which clearly contradicts the school’s claim of uneasiness with written documentation and students’ names), in June lists a series of problems with the boy. One girl reported that he’d had “inappropriate conversations with her (and others) via social media,” that she’d blocked him, and that he “kept trying to hug her,” had unhooked her glasses from her shirt and taken them, that “he makes her uncomfortable and that there is a prior history with him and her sister.” No-contact orders were put in place.
Two days later, a girl who’d had a no-contact order in place the previous year, regarding the same student, requested to have it reinstated. Other students came forward with similar issues. “I have also heard he is doing stuff to other people he did to me in the past,” she wrote in her voluntary statement, which is then used to determine whether a no-contact order is warranted. Other such statements refer to “unwanted touching,” “harassing behaviors,” grabbing, “touching another female student,” “invading personal space.”
In late January the problem student was “counseled about personal space and comments,” according to Davis’s documentation. “Determined that his fourth period class should be switched as several of the students shared this period and not a good situation for all parties involved,” Davis wrote. “Asked [the student] to determine which online class he would like to take so that his schedule could be changed.” His schedule was changed, “he was removed from the i3 setting and became a Teacher Aide in the Student Hub.” But not entirely.
Problems again arose in April, when a girl reported that the student was in “her family time at i3,” allegedly breaking the no-contact order by being in the same room. But the “family time” teacher determined that the boy’s presence in the room was fine, because the student was part of the “family.” The teacher determined there was no violation.
Around the same time yet another girl reported that the student “came up behind me and got uncomfortably close,” according to her statement. “I could feel him against me and I immediately turned around and asked what he was doing, but he walked away and I messaged my teacher after school to inform her what had happened.” Another no-contact order was imposed.
Emails between Sprouse, FPC Assistant Principal Kerri Sands and Gavin point to a problem in March involving a girl who’d had issues with a different boy. She’d requested to be kept separated from the boy, and faculty developed a plan to accommodate her. Her teacher, according to Sands, had “already worked out a plan to not have them seating near each other ever,” Sands wrote Sprouse, “and she is good with this plan and says it is working.” But Sprouse wasn’t comfortable with the arrangement. (The girl in this case was deemed the aggressor. An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the boy was the same individual as in the other cases.)
“I just want to go on record that I am not okay with this arrangement and do not think this is benefiting her mental health in any way shape or form,” Sprouse wrote Sands, including several other faculty members in the exchange. He explained why, without mentioning any students’ names, and adds: “I realize this is not my call to make but if something happens, I want it made clear my opposition to this decision.”
In her email to Sprouse, Sands, who oversees the i3 Academy (where more than 200 students attend school) tells the teacher that “emails are public records so if you need to say something super personal, just come see me.” That’s accurate, but not complete: numerous exemptions legally exempt student-identifying information from otherwise public records, and Gavin examines all non-routine public record requests to ensure that the records are scrubbed of all exempt information. There is no district rule or policy, and certainly no law, against faculty or other school employees documenting issues in writing, whether by email or any other means, though many administrators often will use only initials when referring to students in electronic communications as an extra precaution. (Sands also uses first names in references to students involved in the ongoing issue, at least in documentation prepared by Gavin.)
Still, Sprouse’s written documentation became an issue.
Two weeks later, Sprouse sought to report “a delayed sex offense” to DCF, which transferred him to the sheriff’s office to report the incident to law enforcement. The allegation is by all indications an exaggeration: nothing in the record or in the girls’ reports of inappropriate behavior appears to rise to the level of a “sex offense” or abuse, though Sprouse says he was concerned about the pattern and the “possibility” that there could be abuse, especially if the boy remained in the presence of other students.
A sheriff’s report notes that Sprouse “was unhappy about how a previous incident was handled by staff.” But the sheriff’s report, which is not extensive, summarizes the resolutions of previous issues through no-contact orders and notes that both students and parents were satisfied. (Sprouse was also upset that after he reported the problem to DCF, a sheriff’s deputy assigned to FPC “outed” him by revealing to the administration that Sprouse had made a report to the sheriff’s office and to DCF–a violation of a person’s right to remain anonymous when reporting such issues.)
Gavin says that as a result, both DCF and the sheriff essentially investigated and found nothing there.
But Gavin conceded to the Commission on Human Relations that written documentation can be a problem: Sprouse, she wrote, “was reminded that pursuant to FERPA and public record laws” [FERPA is the federal student privacy law] “if he needs to say something super personal, he should come see the administrator. The administration documented his concerns regarding a student and her well-being and took action on the matter, but as stated above, the administration reminded [Sprouse] he should not have documented his concerns in writing (via email) due to public record consideration.”
Gavin in an interview said Sprouse was not reprimanded but “he was counseled at that meeting that they would prefer him not to do that, it’s not a best practice,” meaning refer to students in emails.
Sprouse’s position is that his contract was not renewed as retaliation for the way he reported the problems in April. But Gavin points to his last evaluation, conducted on April 26, where he was found “highly effective.” “If in fact the District retaliated against [Sprouse] he would not have been found to be highly effective,” she wrote the commission. In an interview, she said: “We’ve had situations where we had brand new teachers who were amazing who were let go because we didn’t have a spot for them the next year, so the fact that you’re rated highly effective doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be retained.”
The district could cite only minor issues with Sprouse’s tenure, if that: In one case, a student complained to him that she’d been suspended, and he responded that she should consider it an extended break, a response the school administration found inappropriate. In another instance, a student had alleged that Sprouse had made inappropriate comments to him, but the administration agreed that the student had a tendency to himself make inappropriate comments. A third instance involved the same issue the administration would raise with Sprouse regarding the behavior of the harassing student: he’d documented his concerns about a student’s classroom plan, and was counseled against doing so–again, an administrative call against written documentation that raises more concerning questions about administrative protocols than about the teacher’s reporting. The school eventually acknowledged that the issues Sprouse raised about the classroom plan were valid.
Gavin says it’ll be up to the school board to determine whether Sprouse has standing as a whistleblower–a determination that will almost certainly go against Sprouse, since it will rely in part on Gavin’s analysis: she does not see him as a whistleblower.
“The question is what is the event that he was a whistleblower about,” she asks. “We were the ones to do the non-contact orders, so we did take action, and my understanding is when it was reported and the police followed up with the parent, the parent also said they were satisfied with the school district’s handling of the matter. So the question becomes, what event did he report that we did not act on?”
To Sprouse, however, the district took one other step–it got rid of him. But it’s his burden to establish a causal link between the issue involving the student and the end of his contract. That link, Gavin says, doesn’t exist. Sprouse disagrees. The board will weigh in, as might the state commission.
In early April, James Poindexter, an attorney he’d retained at the time, told him that based on documentation provided, he did appear to have whistleblower protection. “Any public employee who discloses, in a signed written complaint, concerns about malfeasance, misfeasance, or gross neglect of duty is [protected from retaliation under Florida statute.” (The district’s position is that none of those three elements are present.) “At this juncture, you could certainly file suit against the school district in an attempt to remedy the retaliation you have already experienced,” though the attorney cautioned that the retaliation had not at that point resulted in financial loss.
In fact, Sprouse was still employed when he got that letter from the attorney, and had yet to receive his “highly effective” evaluation, which is why Gavin’s position is that Sprouse’s timeline does not “correlate to the actual timeline of events to assert a whistleblower Act disclosure.” Sprouse says he’s continuing to pursue the matter because he doubts he’s the only teacher who’s found himself or herself in a similar position.
Resident says
Shame on our school system (or maybe just this administration). This teacher should be issued a public apology and have the offending paperwork removed from his state file. Best wishes to him, I hope he realizes what a great move for him getting out of this county. Everything is swept under the rug around here, including cases of bullying which they say they are against. What a joke.
NP says
This is common state wide. There are laws in place which districts refuse to follow and when teachers follow the difficult laws, but bring attention to the districts failure to enforce the teacher is targeted.
Many teachers in FL have lost their reputations and careers for speaking up on behalf of students. Districts, and if this is a charter, are afraid of parents, public backlash and most of all losing funding.
If you attempt to defend yourself against retaliation they will ruin your life. I was a highly effective teacher before reform in 2011. They targeted me, and specifically stated that if I did not resign I would never teach again. They followed through and took my state certification and now I am unable to find ANY employment long term.
No matter how in the right you are, they do not care. I stood in front of a state ethics commission, asked them to briefly summarize what I had done and I was told if you do not be quiet we will have you removed and held in contempt.
They have no intention of upholding policies, statutes or laws if they are difficult decisions. You did the best you could in documenting, but any expectation beyond that, they are not going to account for.
I stood alone, and sadly, there is nobody willing to help. The grievance process is a sham and the hired NEA. attorney failed to defend me. Presented little to no evidence on my behalf, failed to question witnesses and refused to defend me on the laws the district broke.
If you fight, you have to be willing to lose everything. I was warned but did not feel I should sign something that was not true. So the threat was carried through and I have nothing.
Bobbi Jo McGuire says
My grandson loves this teacher and the way he sacrificed himself to save the girls who were being harrassed. If it was her daughter being harassed would she want to turn the other cheek? I understand the buy is mentally challenged, but this doesn’t give him a free pass. We need more teachers like Mr. Sprouse! I just want to thank him for all he has done and may you find a place who will appreciate your love for the children.
John R Brady says
There is enough failures here to go around. Child Protective Service Laws do not anticipate reporters of abuse to know the nuances of the law. The standard for mandated reporters to report is a reason to suspect. I did plenty of training in Pennsylvania and the take away for mandated reporters was to report any time they had a reason to suspect and the Child Protective Service would sort out the details.
As reported, ”Two weeks later, Sprouse sought to report “a delayed sex offense” to DCF, which transferred him to the sheriff’s office to report the incident to law enforcement.” A delayed report?
Now concerning what DCF is supposed to do with any report is spelled out in Florida State Statue 39.201 (2) ©:
(c) Reports involving juvenile sexual abuse or a child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior shall be made and received by the department. An alleged incident of juvenile sexual abuse involving a child who is in the custody of or protective supervision of the department shall be reported to the department’s central abuse hotline.
Note the Statute requires reporting on children exhibiting inappropriate sexual behavior.
It appears that the hotline did not take a written report but rather had the reporter call law enforcement.
Also puzzling is the response by the school administration. I think the school administration needs training on the Child Protective Service Law(CPSL)
The message is when you have reason to suspect call 800-962-2873
Amaryllis says
I want all Flagler County schools to find a safer, faster, and overall more effective way to keep their students safe from all forms of violence, abuse, or any misconduct. I want to be able to go to any teacher or administrator and be able to tell them when I feel unsafe and be confident that they will take their best next steps forward in order to make me feel safe in my own school. Thank you to Robert Sprouse for making yourself heard and raising your voice for students who can’t.
Steve says
Outstanding reporting!! This is journalism !!!!
Ridiculous says
If you could only see a list of highly effective and effective teachers that have been let go from Flagler County Schools… Teachers that students love and depend on, merely tossed away with a letter of non-renewal on their records because administration didn’t want them for some petty reason. They can get rid of anyone they want, at any time. Mr. Sprouse, and many others, have been cast off by this district because they ruffled the feathers of admin.
No says
As a former student at i3, this “effective teacher” wanted to fail the entire senior class last year. As he walked into class each day saying “I can’t wait till you all graduate, and not in a good way” he blatantly took favoritism, cussed at us, and refused to help at times. He was extremely unprofessional. The only reason I passed was with the help of other teachers like Mr.Rinyu. He discussed personal matters with students too much and let’s not forget almost adopted! a senior in my class to help with her FAFSA! he goes around all rules of the school for self gain and honesty made me uncomfortable. He was one reason I ALMOST dropped out of i3. Learning at i3 was difficult because of him, I’ve never had a teacher who gossiped like a little girl as much as he did. Blatantly talking about a student. Let’s not forget this senior that he is throwing under the bus, everyday in class Mr.Sprouse would tell him he had no friends or that no one liked him. I’m glad Mr. Sprouses contract didn’t get renewed, so no one will feel like my class did.
Lamo says
It sure sounds like red tape B.S. comes before student safety. The accused student, was probably effective in sports.
Past Student of Robert Sprouse says
This teacher was far from effective and spent more time talking about Star Trek and pushing his political agenda instead of teaching the class subject. I believe his contract was not renewed because of several students who reported him for pushing his political views on students. Robert Sprouse had also brought a Middle Eastern Man into his classroom to preach to the students for a whole hour which ended in the guest inviting all the students to join and visit his church. Robert Sprouse has also accused Chick-Fil-A of being anti-gay in front of the class and has told us not to vote for people who are running for senate when we aren’t even of age to vote. Although the altercations with this student are very frowned upon and should not go unpunished. Him reporting the student is not the full reason for his contract not getting renewed.
Another former student says
Their has been proof of chick-fa-la being anti gay, and that guest I’m pretty sure was for the fundraiser
On the contrary says
Mr. Sprouse incorporated Star Trek into his curriculum as a way to make projects more entertaining. If you were to complain about him expressing his interests in his teaching, you would have to also apply it to the other teachers at i3 that explored projects based around Star Wars or sports.
As for inviting that man to your classroom, he did so to better understand your standards, as World History has an entire section dedicated to religion. His invitation to his church was not to push his religion, rather for you to see how the three faiths were combating homelessness.
As for the “anti-gay” accusations aimed towards Chic-Fil-A, he was merely reporting current news, as he always did such as when he kept everyone informed with the war in Syria. He explained that accusations were made against the fast food company, as they made donations to an organization with supposed anti-lgbt views and claimed he would not continue to eat at their establishments as a precaution in case the claims were true.
Also, he routinely reminded people when elections were coming up and stressed the effects of the low voting turnouts in younger generations as well as how monumental and impactful the ratification of the 15th and 19th Amendments were. If anything, he was hinting towards those able to vote to do so, as our ancestors fought for said rights and young votes actually account for a large portion of the voting population.
He did not deserve what the school board has done to him and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be slandered. Have a good day.
FPC Sad Grad says
How about a statement from Sheriff Staley about his officer at the High School outing Mr. Sprouse as the person who complained to DCF? That is a clear violation. Sheriff Staley loves to involve himself in news stories – well, this FPC Graduate would love to hear his response on what discipline his SRO will be receiving.
It seems to me like this teacher really stood up for girls who were not interested in receiving any unwanted touching. When I was a student there (a very long time ago) we were told things like “just stay away from him” or “don’t talk to him then” or “he just likes you.”
It’s a shame that there was “no room for” someone who is obviously an ally for kids’ safety. I hope everyone who got a spot over this “highly effective” guy is absolutely amazeballs.
ASF says
Let me guess: The allegedly harassing male student has a parent or other relation who either works at the school also or is “prominent” or politically connected within the community.
Flagler County Resident says
Best wishes to Mr. Sprouse. In my personal opinion, the Flagler County School District will do just about anything to “punish” their staff for standing up for what is right or fair. They could care less about the damage they cause their staff members by their actions or lack thereof. Just interested in covering their butts. Most of the School Board members support whatever the District does whether it is right or wrong, proper or not.
palmcoaster says
One more case in Flagler county witch hunt against whistle blowers of wrong doing..? If so is sad.
I read above in some cases school officials moving these girls to other spots away from their harasser when should have been the other way around..? I recall many years ago in my daughters high school years “up north” she was made uncomfortable by a male student in her class and as per her own choice she stood up stoic against his unwelcome advances, as she used to reassured me, as long those advances will not become physical. She didn’t want to create a problem for that student and neither for herself as she said similar situations were not uncommon in school grounds , but was some difficult year for her that should not be endure.
Leo says
As someone who has been sexually assaulted and harassed in the pass it disgusts me that nothing was done about it, I’ve had at least one run in with the student myself. Spouse was a good teacher, he made people feel welcome, and he helped stop homophobia in his class. If I’m honest it’s the whole school system that sucks. I mean they hired a principal who was fired for making sexual comments to both the male and female students , and one of his old students go here and he made a comment to her as soon as he seen her.
Richard says
Obviously the administration at Flagler Palm Coast High School does not want to be transparent when it comes to documentation of student problems or anything that would point to them not performing their jobs. I guess corruption is prevalent at all levels of public jobs.
Florida Voter says
Who is the Title IX coordinator for our district? What did the Title IX training say about issues like this? What procedures for a response did the Title IX training give to the teacher, school administrators, and district? This is clearly a Title IX case, so there are laws and “clarifications” that must be followed.
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/publications.html#TitleIX
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201010.pdf
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201504-title-ix-coordinators.pdf
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocrshpam.pdf
and of particular note:
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.pdf
which states “the requirements of Title IX override any conflicting FERPA provisions.”
Of course, the district’s Title IX coordinator should have a thorough understanding of all of these documents and more.
Concerned Parent says
How the school administration treated Mr. Sprouse is outrageous. I am furious that they made his hearing at a time where it would be impossible for students, teachers, and working parents to go support him!
Jay H says
No more gate-keepers for public schools – Enough is Enough – Protect the students – Love the students – Enforce Disobedience
Act like the leader you are suppose to be Administration – The disconnect in leadership has affected our students and their future.
FPC Granny says
It is very sad that FPC continues to have “excellent” teachers treated like yesterday’s garbage!! As far as Ms. Sands (in my opinion) should be the one who should be exiting her contract/position!! Approximately 2 years ago another “excellent” teacher was let go “2 months” before the end of the school year and just before his 20th year with FPC. This left students very upset and parents as well. But FPC didn’t give it a second thought. This messed up this teacher’s retirement funds and shamed him as well!!
I can as a fact say that Ms. Gavins as stated and as quoted above by Ms. Sands: “Gavin examines all non-routine public record requests to ensure that the records are scrubbed of all exempt information.” is a completely false statement. I have in my possession (in a safety deposit box) records related to the “other teacher” that was let go and along with every student’s/teacher’s/administrator’s name of which is clearly legible! An entire file was released to me as being a public record! Much of that file did not and should not have been given to me. As an attorney, Ms. Gavin should have been fully aware of the information given to me was “not” for “public” consumption!! (in my opinion, says very little for Ms. Gavin, as well as Ms. Sands)
Ms. Sands (in my opinion) did and does continue to follow in the prior principal’s (being Mr. Sims, who low and behold has been promoted to the Department of Education and took that job a week after school starting that year leaving FPC scrambling for a new principle that year) journey to eliminate any “good teacher” who does not beckon to their whims. It was a scarey thought when I saw Ms. Sands had applied for the principal position this last time and I was so relieved when I saw she had been passed over!! Ms. Sands has a serious problem with “her power” of better judgment, of which I myself have dealt with her very poor decision-making abilities in the past!!
Land of no turn signals says says
See something say nothing keep your job.
Time for action says
It is very true in all government…..keep your mouth closed. Look what the county has done to those who have spoke up and exposed wrong doing!! This is how they keep people from complaining and get to do what they want, when they want and how they want. This is how the BOCC is planning a sheriffs district office in Palm Coast and in Bunnell to duplicate costs to us tax payers and we just let them do what they want. I hope this is appealed and an injunction will evenually be filed and I hope this teacher will file and appeal and sue this school district. This school district has so many high paying jobs in administration and teachers leave the class room to take school board positions and administration jobs leaving our kids to suffer. The school board needs to reduce salaries of those that are NOT educators and distribute those funds to teachers and investigate this and reinstate this teachers job.
Anonymous says
I am a student of FPC, but not in the I3 program. I am a main campus student and I first heard of this on instagram where people I followed was posting this on their stories. I was first livid that a teacher was fired for doing what he is suppose to do when he does hear or see something like this. I am someone who has been harassed by a student in FPC where this boy somehow knew my name, where I lived, what bus I rode, my class schedule, and where to find me at all times. Not to mention that he was calling me sexy and wanted to sleep with me. I went to the school about this and they said that they were not going to do anything expect advise me to stay away from this boy and tell him to leave me alone. I did what I was told to do and it didn’t work. The boy I told to leave me alone then touched my upper thigh and made me feel uncomfortable. I went back to the school and reported this to them and they refused to look at the cameras or talk to the boy until my friend who saw this boy touch my thigh went to the school and reported it. Even then all that happened was they told the boy to just leave me alone, which for the most part he did. FPC is known by many students for not handling situations like these in an effective way. I do agree that Sprouse wasn’t doing the wrong thing and that is why I was so angry that he lost his job for this. I later found out that there was more to the story. The school does deny that the reason why his contract wasn’t renew was because the sexually harassment report, but they never did go into detail of what other than minor reasons that this article didn’t say. I then heard from students in the I3 program that just because the feedback says “highly effective” doesn’t mean he really was. Every I3 student that I knew who had Sprouse all said that he wasn’t teaching his students. He would just put on a documentary and quiz the students on it later. The program of I3 is a hands on deck project based class and none of the students in his class did any projects. They all also said that Sprouse just cursed students out and there is a video of this. A lot of students claim that this teacher was the reason why they almost dropped I3 just so they would stop feeling verbally attacked by him. All of these students are saying that all Sprouse wants is to clear his name. As said in this article he doesn’t even want to work at FPC he just wants the contract gone. I personally think there is more than Sprouse is saying or is wanting us to believe.
A 3rd period sprouse student says
For the ending you said, in 3rd period we did projects and he never cursed anyone out in my class. He may have got mad at certain days and yelled, or threatened referrals to homophobic behavior. And if that was the reason shouldn’t they do something about medearias for basically joking about parental abuse?
Meghan Pollock says
AMEN!!
Mary Fusco says
Wouldn’t it be nice if parents started really parenting, instead of just procreating, and teaching their sons and daughters right from wrong. Teachers need to go back to teaching a curriculum. Thank God when my kids went to school, teachers were teaching. Obnoxious kids were thrown out. End of discussion. This is ridiculous. Why aren’t kids going to their parents with these problems and the parents can deal with the school. Whistle blower teachers need to go back to teaching.
Former student of Sprouse says
Sprouse was a interesting teacher. He was someone you could talk to about personal life and when you needed help. But he wasn’t exactly a teacher teacher, he would get off topic quite often and didn’t teach much. He had the class teach instead. He would say he’s an “open person” but he had zero tolerance for anything that he didn’t believe in. We weren’t allowed to say “trump” in class because of how pissed he would get. We referred to him as “the ‘t’ word” instead. The point of being open is being tolerable to anyone and anything, even if you don’t agree on the matter. Sprouse definitely had a firing coming whether or not this incident happened.
WILLIAM J NELSON says
Before you “bash” the school department or administration, PLEASE talk to as many students as you can about this effective teacher. What he reported on a student may be considered admiral (don’t know because I don’t know all the circumstances”, but what he was teaching was FAR from being a “healthy” education for the majority of students. My opinion? “good Riddance”
GlowWorm says
You girls need to learn how to smile real pretty, slide your hand down on top of his then quickly grab his two middle fingers and twist and bend them at the same time until you have him kn his knees and begging. Then you tell him, “Touch me again and all my Redneck uncles are going to teach you what no contact means.” Then let him go and walk away. Or kick him in the balls and walk away.
FPC SOPHOMORE says
YES! We are 1 step closer! FPC is out here not pinning homosexual pedophile seniors for sending messages asking for nudes and “pics” BEGGING! all because it goes against their “Agenda” that we tolerate homosexuality by letting them get away with whatever they want. I don’t care how you slice it, an 18 year old asking 13-14 year olds for pics sounds illegal, goes against their own rules, and downright nasty. Now if a dude were to do it to a girl then they would be all over that with “Expulsion” “Re-education Camp”
WHISTLEBLOWING says
The cat is out of the bag for FPC. Students are sick and tired of the school caring too much for rips in your jeans, but not sexual harassment/assault. I’ve had numerous friends go to report another senior boy who was sending messages to Sophomore/Freshmen boys, but they give some sham excuse about “oh we don’t know what he was asking for.” all because they didn’t want to ruin their reputation. but now their reputation is getting ruined, people are going to start speaking up. I am disturbed about how even going to the sheriffs office didn’t produce results. I consulted my father who is an administrator at another school, and he agreed that the way they “handle” these things is downright wrong. I think its time that FPC owns up to their gross mishandling of cases like these, and figures out the right thing. a slap on the wrist and a restraining order isn’t enough to stop predators within the school. FPC discipline is a sham, and people are becoming aware.
Suspicious says
I’ve heard they’re rescheduling this meeting. Now why would they do something like that? Frustrating, love how they’ve gotten up and moved only this meeting. Sounds like they don’t want people to show up for Robert Sprouse and give him any support. Wonder if their is any way to contact someone and ask why would they do that?
Former i3 student says
FPC is the worst when it comes to solving sexual harassment problems (which happens often because it’s high school), they just talk to both individuals and put them on a no contact order and call it a day. Mr. Sprouse was the only one (from what I heard and saw) that tried to do anything about the male student. He has gained my respect not only as a teacher but as a person, he didn’t treat his students like students but as actual people. He was one of the few teachers that I knew that truly cared for his students, he helped me with personal issues and was just a nice person overall. Robert if you’re seeing this, thank you from the bottom of my heart, you truly made the two years you taught at i3 the best years of high school.