Right and wrong are almost always cut and dried on TV, but in real life, they’re not always so clear. Nevertheless, we have to teach our kids the difference as best we can, and try to make our actions match those lessons, too.
Adults sometimes forget that they’re always role modeling for kids.
The young ones look up to us and at us even when we don’t think they’re watching. So what will they learn from this episode involving a school superintendent? Hard to say for sure — maybe she did something that a lot of us would have considered doing in her place, too.
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A school superintendent is facing criminal charges after trying to help out a sick student.
Casey Smitherman, the superintendent in Elwood, Indiana, faces charges of official misconduct, insurance fraud, insurance application fraud, and identity deception, according to Fox 59 .
The lines between caregiver and teacher can be blurred when a vulnerable child is in need.
Keep that in mind as we move forward, because not all criminal cases are black and white.
Casey decided to check on the welfare of one of her students when he didn’t show up to school on January 9.
“After making sure he had eaten, I could tell he had some of the symptoms of strep throat,” she said in a statement. “As a parent, I know how serious this illness can be if left untreated, and I took him to an emergency clinic.”
However, that clinic refused to treat the boy, so Casey took him to another clinic, where she told them the boy was her son.
Knowing he didn’t have insurance of his own, she tried to pass him off as her son so he could be treated. “I know this action was wrong,” she said. “In the moment, my only concern was for this child’s health.”
The student was prescribed amoxicillin for his throat, thus confirming he did have a serious infection.
Smitherman picked up the medicine for him at the local CVS pharmacy before dropping him back off at home.
And it all would have gone unnoticed if not for an attack of conscience on the boy’s part.
As Fox 59 reported, the boy “knew it was wrong,” so he tore the name off the bottle of medication he’d gotten — under Casey’s son’s name — for his strep throat. His guardian noticed the torn name and contacted police.
After police contacted her, Casey turned herself in and admitted everything.
She also noted that she had helped the same boy in the past, buying clothes for him and helping clean his house, adding that she never contacted the Department of Child Services about him so he wouldn’t end up in foster care.
Despite the fact that she faces criminal charges, the school board is standing by Casey.
In a statement, the board said that “She made an unfortunate mistake, but we understand that it was out of concern for this child’s welfare. We know she understands what she did was wrong, but she continues to have our support.”
According to court documents, the total claim was $233.
Police contacted the Department of Child Services to advise them that “financial help may be needed” for the teen.
Even the Madison County prosecutor is acknowledging that Casey was trying to do the right thing.
“I understand it was her desire to help a young man that was in bad shape but probably not the best example to set for young people to assume other identities and make false statements,” prosecutor Rodney Cummings said. He added that they are considering a diversion program that would mean no criminal conviction for Casey.
“I think there have to be some consequences but they shouldn’t be career jeopardizing,” Cummings continued.
He said they are looking at a diversion program, which if followed, would mean there is no criminal conviction.
This unfortunate case has brought a lot of things into perspective for not only the school, but the whole country.
Why is it okay that a student can so easily be denied the medicine they need because they can’t afford it, unless they can claim someone else’s illegally?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
What would you do in this situation?
h/t Fox 59
