Palm Beach County schools bypassed screening in hiring educator facing molestation charges

Yahoo

16-05-2025

Palm Beach County School District records show that the district bypassed its normal process in the 1999 hiring of Norman Riemer, the former science teacher who was arrested last month and faces five counts of child molestation.
The principal who hired Riemer requested a waiver for him because he twice failed a screening process. She indicated he failed the screening because he did not have an internship prior to applying for a job as a science teacher.
Riemer, who resigned on May 2 after a 2½-decade career as an educator that included a stint as a science teacher at John I. Leonard High and then another as a district instructional specialist, is accused of having two minors touch him in an inappropriate manner. He faces five counts of lewd and lascivious molestation involving a child under 12.
After Riemer's arrest, Circuit Court Judge Donald Hafele ordered that Riemer, 54, be held in the Palm Beach County jail without bail and to have no contact with school district property or employees, or anyone under age 18.
District personnel records obtained by The Palm Beach Post through a public records request show that, as he was moving from a substitute teaching position to a full-time spot, the district did conduct the typical law enforcement background check on Riemer and reported only a couple of old traffic violations.
But the records also show that Riemer twice failed screening through the Urban Teacher Perceiver, a tool developed by the Gallup Organization to assist in hiring teachers who would work in an urban environment.
The Urban Teacher Perceiver has been described in multiple reviews as a tool that assesses empathy, commitment, caring and student advocacy as well as training and competence.
It is unclear whether the school district still uses the Urban Teacher Perceiver in assessing potential teaching hires. Many references to it online date back a decade or more. A district spokesperson could not immediately answer a question on whether the tool was still in use.
Riemer's wife, Barbara Riemer, who worked as the principal at Whispering Pines Elementary in Boca Raton, asked for a leave of absence on the same day her husband resigned. The district announced on May 5 that it would be seeking a new principal for the school and has since filled the position, a district spokesperson said.
Riemer's resignation ended a bright career in education that saw him move from substitute teacher to full-time science teacher and then to a district position. His personnel records indicate he might even have been on a path to becoming an assistant principal.
That career has now been smashed by allegations that he molested children.
His arrest report states that a woman reported to investigators that two children younger than 10 told her separately that Riemer "permitted" them to touch his "private area."
In an interview with a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigator, one child confirmed the incident and also disclosed being touched by Riemer in an inappropriate manner, according to the arrest report.
Shortly after the incidents were brought to light, Riemer reportedly was having dinner at another person's home when someone confronted him with the allegations. He confessed to the inappropriate conduct, claiming it happened three times, and describing it as a "science experiment" to satisfy the children's curiosity, the arrest report said.
The woman who spoke to investigators said she became aware of the situation in late March during spring break for district schools.
Riemer's arrest report said the alleged molestation occurred in a residence, but it does not spell out his relationship to the children or provide specifics on where the incidents took place. Jail records show Riemer has a residence near Greenacres.
Michelle Suskauer, one of a pair of attorneys representing Riemer, did not respond to a request for comment on May 14. She has previously noted that "our client has no criminal history. He was a dedicated teacher's teacher."
Riemer hit a roadblock just as his teaching career was about to begin. He was helped over it by Nora Rosensweig, who was John I. Leonard's principal in 1999, personnel records show.
Riemer had twice failed the Urban Teacher Perceiver screening — the personnel records don't make it clear why he failed — but Rosensweig was having a hard time finding a qualified candidate for the science position open at her school, she explained in a note to a district administrator.
"We interviewed everyone else we could for the area of physics, but there were very few people who were certified and signed off," Rosensweig wrote.
So, despite Riemer's unsuccessful screening, Rosensweig asked for a waiver so his work as a substitute teacher could be considered instead of the regular screening process.
"Personally, I find it difficult to pass the screening interview without some teaching experience, such as a couple of years," Rosensweig wrote on Nov. 1, 1999.
Rosensweig, whose LinkedIn page shows her to be a consultant for the district, vouched for Riemer, saying that she had worked with him for 2½ months and that he had come to the school during his personal time to prepare for the school year.
"He is doing well in the classroom, and his students are experiencing success," Rosensweig wrote, according to Riemer's personnel records.
Rosensweig, who could not be reached for comment May 14, wrote that another district official asked for a letter "waiving the interview screening process and substituting his successful substitute teaching here at JILHS since August 16th."
Riemer would still receive a sub-par rating, Rosensweig noted. "I am the one hiring him so I know the concerns (it's the lack of serving an internship)," Rosensweig wrote to the district administrator.
Rosensweig then put in another plug for Riemer.
"I would not request you to sign off on Norman if it were not for the fact that the department chair believes he is doing great and I have observed him in action and he has established excellent rapport with the students," she wrote to the district administrator. "You are more than welcome to observe him yourself or send one of your area people if you want a second opinion."
Two days later, the district administrator wrote to Marcia Andrews, a current Palm Beach County School Board member who was then the district's chief personnel officer. The administrator recommended that the screening process be waived and that Riemer's subsitute teaching be used in its place.
Riemer's personnel records show that he was a highly regarded science teacher who, after earning a bachelor's in physics from Florida Atlantic University and a master's in education from Grand Canyon University, moved from the classroom to a district role as an instructional specialist who helped train teachers.
The records show that, in 2013, he completed the first phase of the district's "Aspiring Leaders Academy." The district told him where he could learn about assistant principal vacancies.
None of the personnel files reviewed by The Post indicate the district knew of any potential problem with Riemer and failed to act.
"The safety of our students is always the school district's top priority," a spokesperson said.
Riemer consistently received satisfactory or even excellent ratings on annual employee reviews.
One of the rare discordant notes in his file was an undated assessment noting that Riemer, then early in his tenure as an instructional specialist, sometimes struggled to connect with teachers his new job required him to assist.
"Norman is still learning his job, especially his role as teacher support in schools," an evaluator wrote. "This has proven to be the most challenging part of the job because of his assumptions about teachers and their capabilities. He is working towards being more of a coach and mentor to the teachers he works with, ultimately improving student achievement."
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [e-mail]. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida teacher facing molestation charges failed screening in 1999