Serious lapse of judgment or lack of supervision in the classroom

An investigation is under way at Markham Elementary School in Oakland, California where a second grade teacher was placed on leave while police and school investigate accounts by students that classmates stripped off some of their clothes and engaged in oral sex and during class, officials said Friday. Principal, Pam Booker notified parents of the situation in a letter on Thursday. It seems unthinkable to us, just the same way it does to the public.” “Upon hearing these reports, we immediately launched an investigation which to date suggests that the reports have merit,” Also in the letter Booker told parents “I apologize for this and assure you that we are collaborating with counselors and parents to provide support to those involved, address any concerns and take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that a similar act does not occur again.”  “We believe if the reports are true, there was a serious lapse of judgment or lack of supervision in the classroom.” Some parents said they were outraged when they received the letter and saw the story on the news. “It’s an incident of kids expressing their natural curiosity that went too far because an adult didn’t step in said Troy Flint, a spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District. “We’re investigating how could this have happened.” We have interviewed all the student participants who were implicated, as well as their teacher and we continue to investigate the matter aggressively.” The male teacher whose name has not been released told investigators he did not see any of the acts that authorities suspect happen  last week. He is barred from campus until the investigation is completed.