WHITELAND, Ind. — The mother of a teen who drowned in a Whiteland Community High School swimming pool during class is demanding the school board take action to fire her daughter's physical education teacher.
At the Clark-Pleasant School Corporation board meeting Tuesday, Victoria Dildine said that the teacher failed to keep students safe.
"We come to you yet again to demand that the board fire (the P.E. teacher), she failed to uphold the job description of a P.E. teacher," Dildine said.
She then read off the job description of a P.E. teacher on the school's website, saying that the teacher directly failed its standards in multiple categories.
"Supervises students in and out of the classroom," Dildine said. "Again, another instance that's listed on the description of the job duty that was not fulfilled."
She also said that not only did the board fail her family, but also the rest of the community.
"Your position is to represent the voice of our community, to align with our parents, to serve the good of our children," Dildine said. "Continuing to employ this teacher I assure you does not align with parents, and it puts our children at the greatest risk of all . . . apathy."
Bernice Martin Lee, Chief Executive Officer of the Epilepsy Foundation, also spoke at the meeting and suggested that school personnel should be trained in emergency response, like seizure recognition and first-aid.
"Every student, including those with epilepsy deserve to fee safe. And every parent should have the piece of mind that their child will be cared for at school in the event of a seizure," Lee said.
Lee called for everyone to better educate themselves on disabilities and how to safely respond.
"I end my comments tonight asking that we work together to protect our children, and educate everyone around us about epilepsy and seizure first-aid," Lee said. "It is paramount to the safety and well-being of our children."
The Johnson County coroner determined the Whiteland Community High School student drowned as the result of a seizure in May.
Alaina Dildine died after being pulled from the swimming pool at the high school on May 16. That happened during a physical education class around 11:45 a.m., according to the school.
During a press conference on May 17, school officials said they believed Dildine was swimming laps with other students when she "went under a bulkhead" that divides the pool.
The school claimed there was a lifeguard and instructor on the pool deck when Dildine reportedly went under.
The Johnson County Coroner's Office later ruled her cause of death was determined to be both drowning and a seizure disorder, with the manner of death being ruled as an accident.
According to a statement on the investigation by the sheriff's department, staff was interviewed, and video surveillance was checked.
The sheriff's department said the students entered the pool at 9:37 a.m. At 10:18 a.m., Dildine went under water and below the bulkhead that separates swimming lanes and diving area.
The class ended at 10:30 a.m. with Dildine still under the bulkhead.
