The DCFS investigation at Whispering Pines Elementary continues

Boca Raton School in the Palm Beach County School District misrepresented the status of the investigation.

BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher

BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2024 MetroDesk Media, LLC) – The investigation into a kindergarten teacher at Whispering Pines Elementary School is ongoing, although the Palm Beach County School District issued a statement Wednesday indicating that indicating that the investigation was over and the teacher had been cleared of wrongdoing. The Florida Department of Children and Families confirmed in an email obtained by BocaNewsNow.com that the investigation is continuing.

“The DCF case is ongoing,” the investigator wrote to a parent in an email shared with BocaNewsNow.com. The investigator asked the parent for additional information and names of possible witnesses.

Sources tell BocaNewsNow.com that at least one investigator was back at Whispering Pines Elementary on Thursday and spoke with kindergarten students about their recent experiences with the teacher who is the subject of the investigation. The investigator also reportedly spoke to students the teacher previously had when she taught second grade last year. Parents were told their children could be interviewed by the DCFS caseworker. Under Florida law, DCFS caseworkers can speak to children in a school setting largely without parental permission.

The Palm Beach County School District identified the teacher as Kim Baker. A record review by BocaNewsNow.com confirms that Ms. Baker holds a valid and clean teaching license from the State of Florida. Ms. Baker told BocaNewsNow.com that the allegations against her were “not real.” Parents who speak to BocaNewsNow.com say the investigation is focused on Baker’s alleged behavior in the classroom. According to several sources, there are no allegations of a sexual nature.

Officially, the Florida Department of Children and Families does not respond to specific questions from BocaNewsNow.com. Most of what the agency does is protected by confidentiality laws. However, the Palm Beach County School District, which has a little more leniency, did not immediately respond to questions about why Whispering Pines school administrators told parents the investigation was closed if it continued. Ms. Baker was returned to her classroom on Wednesday after several days of “vacation.”