Teachers

A former Episcopal Academy teacher arrested in the sexually abuse of boys at a Massachusetts summer camp told investigators that about 35 years ago, he molested one of his Episcopal students and admitted the incident to the head of the school, according to court documents obtained by The Inquirer. The former fourth-grade teacher, Richard Perkins Smith, 65, of Media, told police that at some point after his admission, he was removed from teaching but kept on as an Episcopal fund-raiser, according to a search warrant application filed in the case.

In January, Michelle Friedman of Mount Laurel celebrated her 46th birthday with more than 100 friends, many of them e-mail buddies who came from all over the country to wish her well. Afterward, she described the experience on her blog, "I'll Say It Once!": "Nine days ago I had people treat me like a big star. I know what it's like to be treated like a VIP. It rocks; I hope you all get to experience it, especially for something like a birthday. " To her family, said her husband, Ken, she was always "a rock star.

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy has reached a settlement with a former math teacher who filed a civil rights suit against the school in December. According to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday, Arthur "Chuck" Matthews and the private school have ended the suit. Terms were not disclosed. Matthews, who is African American, had alleged that the school defamed him and violated his civil rights when he was fired last fall after allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to a female student.

The Washington Township school board and teachers' union reached a tentative agreement early Wednesday to settle a nearly three-year contract dispute. Negotiations continued well after Tuesday's board meeting, with the sides hashing out an agreement at 4:30 a.m. The contract between the Washington Township Education Association, which represents 850 teachers and secretaries, and the Board of Education expired on June 30, 2010. Neither side released details of the settlement. Both the union and board still need to ratify it. At issue was whether part of the board's $5.8 million budget surplus and $6 million in savings from staff attrition since 2010 could be spent on teacher salaries.

WASHINGTON - Investigators say Eric Justin Toth's five-year run as a fugitive began when he was fired from his teaching job at a prestigious private school in Washington after he was confronted about images of child pornography taken with a camera that was in his possession. It ended over the weekend when Nicaraguan authorities, acting on a tip, found him living in that Central American country illegally - with phony passports, driver's licenses and credit cards, authorities said.

A Delaware County man who taught at Episcopal Academy for 20 years has been arrested in the alleged sexual assaults of four children at a Cape Cod summer camp 30 years ago. Richard Perkins Smith, 65, of Media, was charged with rape of a child, indecent assault and battery, and other related crimes. He was arraigned and held on $10,000 bail, according to the Barnstable County (Mass.) District Attorney's Office. Smith, a 1966 graduate of Episcopal, taught at the school from 1970 to 1990.

Every lifetime should have at least one: The great teacher, the one who inspired, the one who changed your life. For decades of students in Delaware County, Robert Malkovsky - Mr. Mal, or just Mal - was such a teacher. Six-foot-four with a booming voice and a big laugh, he was a gentle giant who ignited a fire for physics in his students. He explained the incomprehensible. He would quietly foot the bills for prom dresses. He made all kids feel as though they were worth listening to. And so Mal's death - so unexpected because he appeared to have won his long battle with pancreatic cancer - was devastating news to those who knew him, as though a light had gone out for them.

IN WHAT is by now a rite of spring, Philadelphia's mayors have been making the trip to Harrisburg to lobby the Legislature for more money for one thing or another, often the public schools. Mayor Nutter made his on Tuesday, meeting with legislators to press for increased state funding for basic education and to reimburse the district for some of the costs of running charter schools, which the state used to help with, but no longer does. What's different about this year is how big the hole is, and how difficult it might be to fill it. The district says that it needs $300 million more to operate in the next school year.

Catherine M. Blumstein, 51, of Berwyn, a former principal and grade-school teacher at SS. Colman-John Neumann School in Bryn Mawr, died Thursday, April 11, of complications of liver disease at home. "She had a lot of energy and she loved teaching children," said her husband, Lewis. Mrs. Blumstein's teaching career was from 1984 to 2012. During those years she taught students in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. She was an advocate for the use of technology in the classroom, her husband said.

We are delighted that the Coalition for Effective Teaching (CET) in Philadelphia wants to improve public education. However, we think a more responsible approach would have been to consult with teacher leaders before publishing a position statement. As practicing teachers, we have a few suggestions about how CET can truly enrich public education: First, change the group's name to Coalition for Effective Education, as the current title implicates teachers. Philadelphia has thousands of effective teachers who struggle with ineffective working conditions and who passionately support children who are not necessarily "learning-ready.