A former Spanish language teacher at Spring Street International School has been charged with second-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, accused of having sex with one of her students.
Prosecuting Attorney Randall K. Gaylord filed a complaint July 12 in San Juan County District Court against Olga M. Donoro-Rodriquez, 36, of Spain. The charge is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail or a $5,000 fine, or both.
According to a sheriff’s investigator’s report, four students awakened the dorm mother early April 21 and told her they saw Donoro-Rodriquez and an 18-year-old male student having sex in her room in the cottage behind the main dorm, formerly Blair House B&B on Blair Avenue. The dorm mother notified Head of School Louis O’Prussack, who interviewed the students and Donoro-Rodriquez. The teacher was fired.
O’Prussack said Donoro-Rodriquez first denied the relationship, then “eventually admitted to pieces of it and apologized.” The student was a senior at the school. State law treats students up to the age of 21 as minors when it comes to relationships with their teachers. O’Prussack said Donoro-Rodriquez was aware of the law.
Prosecuting Attorney Randall K. Gaylord said the school contacted the Sheriff’s Department and the Spanish Consulate in Seattle. Consulate representatives visited Friday Harbor and took Donoro-Rodriquez to Seattle. She was returned to Spain about April 23.
Donoro-Rodriquez had been hired by Spring Street through a foreign-teacher program offered by the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Government of Spain. She taught at Spring Street from September 2008 until she was fired.
Donoro-Rodriquez had her own room with a separate entrance in the cottage. The student did not live in the dorm, O’Prussack said.
O’Prussack said the relationship started as a student crush, and “the teacher responded to the crush.”
O’Prussack also said the relationship was a betrayal and a violation of trust.
“Our role as teachers is to be mentors, leaders, guides, inspirations, and sources of wisdom for your children,” O’Prussack wrote in a letter to parents. “And although students at times may confuse this relationship and look upon faculty as friends, we are not. Being friends implies a level of equality in a relationship that cannot exist between teacher and student. We care dearly for your children, but never may a teacher violate the sanctity of this role.”
Gaylord agreed. “There’s a different relationship between teacher and student, based on power and trust. It has to always be honored. Teachers must keep their distance in order to be effective. They have a different role to play.”
Gaylord said he doesn’t expect Donoro-Rodriquez to return from Spain to face the sexual misconduct charge. If she misses the court date, a warrant would be issued for her arrest. “We believe these charges will prevent her from returning,” Gaylord said.
Spring Street International School had 70 students and 16 teachers in the 2009-10 school year. The school is located in the historic Nash House — residence of an early Friday Harbor mayor and state legislator — on Spring Street and Blair Avenue. Other school buildings include classrooms next door and the dorm on Blair Avenue. Countries represented in the 2009-10 student body included China, Ethiopia, South Korea, Spain and Sri Lanka.
