Fitchburg Teacher's Aide On Paid Leave After Racy Modeling Photos Surface
FITCHBURG (CBS) - A 23-year-old teacher's aide in Fitchburg has been placed on paid administrative leave after the school system received some revealing modeling photos that featured her.
Kaitlin Pearson apparently felt she had no reason to hide the photos, many of which can be found online and in ModelsMania magazine, showing her scantily clad or partially nude.
News of the photos and the administration's decision sparked a debate at South Street Elementary School where Pearson has worked with special needs students since November.
"You're trying to be a role model for the kids," said parent Andy Saocedo.
Superintendent Andre Ravenelle tells WBZ-TV he wants to make sure there was nothing else behind the photos.
In a statement he said he wanted to assure student safety and that "paid administrative leave status does not constitute a finding of any wrongdoing."
Chuck Pearson says her daughter should not be fired. "That's her private life. She's 23," Chuck told WBZ-TV. "She's a grown up woman."
One parent has no issues with Pearson's after school hours.
"She probably leaves work at work and her modeling career separate from her teaching career. She knows how to handle it," that parent said.
The superintendent says the school system does criminal background checks on prospective employees, but not any kind of social media searches for additional information, something that could change with this case.
A search would have also found photos on her open Facebook page, including a biography describing herself as "energetic" and "creative" with a background in business and graphic design.
Pearson told WBZ-TV, via her Facebook page, that she can't comment while the investigation is ongoing, that will decide if her second job is all too revealing for the classroom.
