MedicCook
12-07-2006, 10:36 PM
Assault charge dropped against teacher
CAMBRIDGE -- Prosecutors have agreed to drop an assault charge brought against a Cambridge High School teacher who was accused of hitting a student.
The misdemeanor assault count brought against Elaine Archer, 45, of Cambridge will be dropped if she stays out of trouble for 6 months. She had been accused of punching, shoving and physically restraining 16-year-old student Samantha Schmidt.
The Washington County district attorney's office agreed to adjourn the case in contemplation of dismissal for a number of reasons, said Assistant District Attorney Don McPhee, who handled the case.
Archer had been a teacher in the district for years with no prior problems, had no criminal record and there had been an "outpouring of support" for Archer from the community, he said.
"The school was handling things internally," he said.
Schmidt also moved to Florida in the weeks after the incident.
Archer was charged Sept. 12 after a fracas with Schmidt in a classroom that apparently began over the student's desire to leave class to talk to a counselor.
A call to Cambridge School Superintendent Melody Troy was not returned Thursday afternoon.
Prosecutors said it was their understanding Archer -- who has been with the district for more than two decades -- would keep her job as a teacher in the district if she completed certain programs, such as sensitivity counseling.
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2006/12/07/news/doc45787d349d5b7536380967.txt
CAMBRIDGE -- Prosecutors have agreed to drop an assault charge brought against a Cambridge High School teacher who was accused of hitting a student.
The misdemeanor assault count brought against Elaine Archer, 45, of Cambridge will be dropped if she stays out of trouble for 6 months. She had been accused of punching, shoving and physically restraining 16-year-old student Samantha Schmidt.
The Washington County district attorney's office agreed to adjourn the case in contemplation of dismissal for a number of reasons, said Assistant District Attorney Don McPhee, who handled the case.
Archer had been a teacher in the district for years with no prior problems, had no criminal record and there had been an "outpouring of support" for Archer from the community, he said.
"The school was handling things internally," he said.
Schmidt also moved to Florida in the weeks after the incident.
Archer was charged Sept. 12 after a fracas with Schmidt in a classroom that apparently began over the student's desire to leave class to talk to a counselor.
A call to Cambridge School Superintendent Melody Troy was not returned Thursday afternoon.
Prosecutors said it was their understanding Archer -- who has been with the district for more than two decades -- would keep her job as a teacher in the district if she completed certain programs, such as sensitivity counseling.
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2006/12/07/news/doc45787d349d5b7536380967.txt