School District Presents Case Against 'Doc' Wollkind

The first official hearing was held Wednesday in the termination proceedings for Dr. Robert “Doc” Wollkind, a Brookfield High School (BHS) math teacher who has been on paid leave since making two questionable remarks to students on November 18. The two incidents were the latest in what is a recurring pattern for the teacher, who has .

, which makes interpersonal relations difficult. Students who are able to cope with Wollkind’s personality and teaching style go on to do exceeding well in math and many are his most ardent supporters.

The hearing on his termination opened with comments from the Brookfield School District’s attorney, Patrick McHale, who read through Wollkind’s disciplinary file, taking over two hours to document what appeared to be a history of verbal and emotional abuse toward students.

“This reflects a failure on the part of the administration to rehabilitate Dr. Wollkind,” McHale said, “And it reflects, in our mind, a failure on his part to meet our standards.”

The district went through the litany of complaints filed against Wollkind since 1980, leading up to the two errant comments made this past fall. McHale worked to establish a pattern of offense, discipline, short-term progress (in some cases with counseling) and eventual relapse.

“There is no reason to expect that it won’t end,” he said. “The school administration is unanimously in support that termination is the right decision. I request that this panel help the school system end this madness.”

After a brief break for lunch, the three-member impartial panel reconvened and heard testimony from a student of Wollkind’s. Though the proceedings were open to the public, the two parties agreed before starting that all students would be protected, including their testimony, records and identities.

Afterward, Education Consultant Dr. Jo Ann Freiberg, of the Connecticut Bureau of Accountability and Improvement Division of Teaching, Learning and Instructional Leadership, gave testimony on professional ethics, classroom ethics and anti-bullying laws.

“Every profession has some kind of professional code,” she explained. “Professional ethics has to do with how people treat one another and specifically how adults treat colleagues, those under them, in a school situation, parents…”

That code of conduct translates down to classroom-based ethics, as well.

“We used to call it ‘character education;’ today the word is ‘bullying’ or ‘bullying prevention,’” Freiberg said. “The language nationally is changing to ‘improving school climate’ — the quality of life at school, specifically pertaining to the quality of the relationships.”

Through the questioning by school district attorney Jennifer Dixon, Freiberg explained the power relation between students and teachers and the inherent influence that adults have over children, which, if abused can be detrimental.

“Being in a safe and positive environment is the foundation for learning,” she said.

Though the state’s anti-bullying law only pertains to student-on-student offenses, Freiberg said that 8 percent of the calls fielded by her bureau involve “allegations against adults.”

“Would you be surprised to hear of a case where a teacher’s demeaning and negative behavior has been tolerated?” Dixon asked. Freiberg replied that it would not surprise her.

In the cross-examination, Wollkind’s attorney, Randy DiBella, asked Freiberg about intent and whether something can be labeled bullying if it was not malicious.

“It’s very, very difficult to prove,” she said. “Part of the struggle with the current legislation is that kids can say, ‘I didn’t mean it; it was just a joke.’ That’s one of the gapping-wide loopholes.”

Panel member John Gesmond, an attorney with a practice in Hamden, wanted to know how the term bullying “can be used in a proceeding like this without a definition?”

“That’s a good question,” Freiberg answered, succinctly. “I’ll also remind you that this legislation is geared toward student-to-student.”

The district rested their argument and the hearing broke for the day.

DiBella will present Wollkind’s defense on Thursday, March 3, at 10 a.m. in the school district office in Town Hall. He has chosen to forego an opening statement in favor of going right into testimony and offering summary remarks.

If the proceedings are not finished on that day, the panel has scheduled an additional hearing for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30.

Out of session, Wollkind said he enjoys teaching, but stated that it wasn’t always his intention to become an educator.

“I just ended up there somehow,” he said.

While on administrative leave from BHS, Wollkind is still teaching Calculus II twice a week at Western Connecticut State University, where he has taught for 30 years without an official complaint.