Embattled teacher won’t return to school

Greg Risling

NEWPORT BEACH -- A teacher whose removal was called for in a

petition won’t be returning to her school.

Absent from a class list posted at Andersen Elementary School on

Friday was the name of Tricia Wood, a tenured teacher who some Andersen

parents claim wasn’t teaching their children effectively. Accounts of

Wood’s failing health and strange habits, including donning a mask over

her face in class to protect her from children’s germs, prompted the

petition to be circulated this June.

Jill Money, one of the parents who signed the petition, said she was

told by school officials that Wood wouldn’t be coming back to Andersen

this year. Money doesn’t believe that the petition and Wood’s departure

are related.

“I think the district just did their job irregardless of the

petition,” she said. “I think this is the best thing for everyone,

especially Tricia.”

Neither Wood nor school officials could be reached for comment Friday.

Wood has hired an attorney but he, too, was unavailable for comment.

The petition was given to the district on June 17. About 90 parents

signed the petition stating “we are requesting that Tricia Wood not teach

our children.”

Parents said they lost confidence in Wood’s teaching ability over the

last several years, claiming that her health problems and her behavior

affected their children’s education adversely.