Parents split over Beaver Ridge principal

A sampling of parents at Beaver Ridge Elementary, where a principal ordered a boy to shock himself with a toy pen he brought to school, were divided about the fate of their administrator.

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Veteran principal Esther Adames-Jimenez, whom some describe as strict but caring, will stay on at the Norcross school until June after resigning from her job during a human resources investigation into her disciplining the student.

Some parents among 10 interviewed Tuesday and earlier, applaud the principal for wielding “old school” discipline that lets students experience the punishment they inflict on classmates. School officials said Adames-Jimenez told a boy who had a pen that emits a low current to use the device to shock himself.

Other parents say the principal’s actions shocked them. They want Adames-Jimenez to leave right away.

“I personally believe she should be relieved of her duties effective immediately,” said Alecia Rankine, who has a kindergartner at Beaver Ridge.

Lattoia Griffin, who has a first grader said the principal should have called the boy’s parents first. “It’s not her place as a principal to have that child shock himself.”

Adames-Jimenez, principal at Beaver Ridge since 2004, has been credited for helping to improve test scores at the school and increased parental involvement. Under her leadership, the school, which is 60 percent Hispanic and receives federal aid to educate the poor, has been named as a Distinguished Title I School for achieving student progress goals for four consecutive years.

“She is committed to the cause of education and is well-respected in the community,” said parent Paola Diaz-Torres, who would like the principal to reconsider her resignation. “She is constantly thinking outside of the box.”

The principal did not respond to calls for comment.

Nevertheless, Adames-Jimenez has faced several professional investigations during her career. In Boston, she was accused of a holding a 4-year-old student who bit classmates so his victims could bite him back. A parent settled a civil lawsuit filed against the school and Adames-Jimenez over the incident in 2001. In Georgia, the principal faced probes over the mishandling of national and state tests.

Gwinnett County Schools dispatched a district executive to Beaver Ridge to serve as interim principal and monitor Adames-Jimenez for the rest of the school year.

School Board member Mary Kay Murphy, who oversees Beaver Ridge, said she has assured parents who call her that the district is on top of the situation.

“They want to be sure that their children are going to be cared for during this time of change,” Murphy said. “We do appreciate the leadership that Ms. Adames-Jimenez has provided the school,” Murphy said. “This is a very regrettable incident.”