BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- A teacher's aide at the Nightingale School has quit her job amid scrutiny stemming from a situation in which she reported a special needs student was allegedly assaulted by another aide.

Karen Garcia took to social media and spoke with North Country This Week to tell her side of the story, noting she "barely knew" the accused.

Garcia worked for the Massena Central School District for about a year-and-a-half as an aide, a job she said she loved.

She detailed an incident in February involving a six-year-old special needs student and Darlene Bourdeau, a teacher's aide in the district.

Bourdeau is alleged to have grabbed the child's wrist on Feb. 3, squeezing with enough force to cause the child to scream and cry, according to State Police.

State Police said a staff member reported the incident to a school administrator, but police were not notified until March 6. On March 27, troopers charged Bourdeau with second-degree assault and first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.

Bourdeau was subsequently ordered by the court to surrender all firearms. Police determined she did not own or have permission to possess a loaded handgun surrendered to State Police, and she was later charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

On April 15, Amy R. Wells, 54, was charged with criminal possession of a firearm after claiming ownership of the High Standard pistol. Police said an investigation showed she did not own or have permission to possess the handgun.

Bourdeau was arrested on the same charge the following day.

Garcia also claimed Bourdeau was in a relationship with Wells, the district's director of special education, who oversees teacher's aides. North Country This Week could not independently verify the relationship, but court records show Wells and Bourdeau shared an address at the time.

School's response

Superintendent Ron Burke said the incident has raised concerns among the public and that the district has worked to address them.

In response to questions from North Country This Week, Burke said the district had not received updates on the criminal proceedings from the District Attorney's Office or State Police.

"Understandably, the allegations have raised concerns among our families. I am grateful for the families that have reached out with concerns or questions. In many of these conversations, we have been able to quickly address the issue for the betterment of the student," Burke said.

He said the district had reviewed its process and timeline for reporting allegations of abuse in an educational setting and that faculty and staff had received training on updated de-escalation strategies and procedures.

"One of our three primary goals continues to be improving the culture and climate of our school," Burke said.

Burke did not specifically address Garcia's allegations that she was retaliated against after reporting the incident or her claims regarding the handling of photographs and notification of the student's parents.

Reporting vs. action

Garcia said she was eating lunch at a table facing Bourdeau when she witnessed the incident. She alleges Bourdeau "lost her patience with the student," grabbed the child's wrist and squeezed until the child cried out. Garcia said she then texted the teacher who was at lunch and described what happened. She said she was the only other adult in the room, along with several students.

About 20 minutes later, Garcia said, she photographed the child's wrist and could still see marks.

"I wanted to throw up and after realizing that the teacher wasn't going to confront her or report her. I decided to do the right thing and I reported it to the school principal," Garcia wrote.

Anthony Diagostino serves as elementary principal for the district.

Garcia said she was visibly upset and nervous when she told Diagostino what had happened and emailed him a photo of the marks.

"The next afternoon the TA was called down to the office and she was asked about it and denied it,” which she believes Bordeau denied.  “The next week our boss (her girlfriend) moved her to the Jr. High for a position that she wasn't even qualified for," Garcia wrote in her social media post.

Garcia said the student's parents were notified about a month later, after which Diagostino asked her for the photographs again.

"He deleted the picture I sent to him and he never filled out a report or even had any information about it," Garcia wrote, adding that she believed the parents were notified because of rumors surrounding the incident. Garcia said the principal asked her to resend the photos when the rumors surfaced as he no longer had access.

Garcia said the parents subsequently contacted State Police and that the principal stopped speaking with her.

Retaliation?

Garcia said she experienced what she described as cold treatment from staff and the principal following the incident and eventually took a leave of absence.

"I was stressed out and had no support from the school. No one ever checked in to see if I was ok," she said.

At the conclusion of the school year, Garcia said Diagostino told her he wanted her to remain with her student for the following school year in the PLEASE room.

She said she later received an email saying he had to "juggle some Aides around" and that she had been moved to PSPK at the high school, a special-needs pre-kindergarten program.

Garcia alleges the district had gone through several aides in the position and said she later spoke with other teacher's aides who told her no one else had been moved.

Garcia believes the reassignment was retaliation for reporting the incident.

"There was no reason to move me than to get rid of me! We are trained and constantly told 'If you see something, say something.' I did the right thing but I'm being punished for it," she wrote.

Garcia said she was "heartbroken" to leave the district and the students she had worked with.

In an email to Diagostino included with her social media post, Garcia accused him of failing to properly investigate or report the incident and said she was being punished for reporting it.

North Country This Week reached out to State Police, who confirmed the investigation remains active and would not provide further details.

North Country This Week also spoke with another teacher's aide who resigned from the district around the same time. The former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said she had similar concerns about retaliation after reporting concerns to Wells.

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