BOLZANO. He had been suspended for three months after the manager Laura Cocciardi, between the end of December and the beginning of January last year, sent a report to the Prosecutor’s Office in order to ascertain any responsibilities. There is talk of inappropriate behavior that the teacher allegedly directed towards some of his students during a school trip. However, the disciplinary proceedings ended with a simple warning from the Superintendency and the professor was put back in his post until the end of the 2023/24 school year.
The decision sparked strong controversy: some students of the Pascoli high school had refused to go to class on the day of reinstatement, displaying banners and chanting with the megaphone: «School free from harassment or freed from us. The choice is yours.” Based on those complaints, as well as criminal complaints, the professor was assigned to another institute. The situation had become unsustainable for everyone. In fact, several parents wrote dozens of emails that were sent to the management. Added to these are letters and reports to the school also dating back to past years.
«I understand parents and their fear – underlines the Italian school councilor, Marco Galateo – because no one would want someone with ongoing proceedings for their children. But at the same time laws exist and they must be respected. Therefore it is right and proper to wait for the end of the procedure to understand whether he will be banned from holding public office or not.” The complaints and the defense The investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the teacher of the Pascoli art school are still ongoing and have continued since last February. The first known complaint dates back to 2021: in that case the investigation was closed due to insufficient evidence. Then others would arrive in the first months of 2024 for a total of five complaints. In the file that the Superintendency opened there was talk of «friendly physicality, such as a kiss on the head or a pat on the shoulder after a task well done. All this for the sole purpose of encouraging students”, was the defense of the then lawyer Luca Crisafulli. When asked again on the issue, he preferred not to provide further comments on the situation linked to the teacher.
The latter is regularly on duty because there is currently no conviction nor a request for indictment. Pascoli’s case hit the news after 150 students protested against his return to service: it was the first days of last April. In the following weeks the rumors multiplied through harsh stances, some published on social media, most anonymously. Some former students also took to the field. One of them, in a long letter, reported that these are not “isolated episodes, but have been going on for years”.
The Parents Committee
Professors and students discussed the topic in classes in the last weeks of the last school year. Not only that. A meeting had been called by the Pascoli Parents Committee. «Emphasis was placed on the protection of children – explains president Andrea Scalco – which must always be at the center of attention. We also agreed that the information communicated to families needs to be clearer and more precise. We have done awareness work with mothers, fathers and students: they know how important it is to report every suspected case in order to improve the environment within the school. Obviously we also talk about bullying and discrimination.”
2024-10-03 23:14:19