The incident has led to Giordano being charged with child endangerment in connection to the death of Paul Pine, a fifth-grade student at Carpenter Elementary School. Giordano entered a plea of not guilty.
If found guilty, she could potentially be sentenced to a maximum of one year in jail and a fine of $1,000.
From Wyoming Tribune Eagle:
Giordano was charged by the Laramie County District Attorney’s office in late July because she allegedly “let a juvenile student (Paul Pine) be unattended after safety measures were put in place, contributing to (Pine’s) suicide,” according to court documents.
Pine, 11, died by suicide at the rural school in January. After his parents were notified of comments Pine made to a teacher that mentioned suicide, his parents had to work out an action plan to ensure his safety. His parents had worked with officials at the school to come up with a safety plan for their son, which they told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle the school did not follow.
“Everything that was in the safety plan, I followed it to a T to make sure he was safe,” Chandel Pine, Paul’s mother, told the Tribune Eagle. “... We expected the school to follow the safety plan.”
Paul, a fifth-grader, had experienced difficulty in school, reading at a lower reading level than his peers. Chandel said this led to him being singled out on some occasions by teachers and other educators at the school.
This plan was already in place at the time Paul was in Giordano’s class, according to Chandel, and Giordano was aware of this plan at the time of Paul’s death.
The family previously told the Tribune Eagle they were exploring the possibility of a civil suit against the school.
It's really heartbreaking that someone so young could feel such inner turmoil that they'd resort to ending their own life.
Honestly, if the teacher had paid closer attention to this child and his delicate emotional state, maybe he'd still be with us today.
All said and done, it's just an awfully sad situation for everyone involved, and it's bound to linger in people's minds for quite a long time.
