DWIGHT MAYBERRY, Petitioner, v. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEPENDENTS SCHOOLS EUROPE, FMCS Case No. 111118-51267-A
Jan 07, 2013OUTCOME: Ruled in favor of our client.
Mayberry v. Department of Defense Dependents Schools of Europe Mr. Dwight Mayberry was a first-grade teacher at the Schweinfurt Elementary School, a Department of Defense school located in Schweinfu ... rt, Germany to serve children in the military community, primarily Army families stationed in the southeastern portion of Germany. After twenty-seven years of unblemished record, he was fired for “repositioning” four first-grade students in his classroom. That is the issue of this appeal. Mr. Mayberry states that the penalty is disproportionate, that he was removed without notice that his disciplinary actions were disapproved, that his years of service and the many favorable reports and parental support were not considered, and that he offers every likelihood of corrective behavior. Although we believe that the courts should be reluctant to intrude into local school management, on the record before us the remedy of termination without opportunity to improve, in view of Mr. Mayberry’s long and favorable record as a teacher in the first grade and his representations of ready correction is not supportable. The “Memorandum of Understanding” between DoDDS and the teachers states that “an educator’s use of reasonable force to restrain a student is appropriate to prevent the student from harming himself or herself, harming others, or destroying property.” We reverse the dismissal, and remand to the agency for reinstatement and the application of guidelines relevant to the acceptable standards of discipline in a first-grade classroom.
