Holyoke teacher held without bail in W. Va.
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
An eighth-grade teacher from Holyoke was being held without bail in a West Virginia jail today after being arrested in a hotel room with a 15-year-old student who had been missing for a week.
 Lisa Lavoie (W. Va. state police photograph) |
West Virginia State Police arrested the teacher, Lisa Lavoie, 24, at a Super 8 Motel in Morgantown, just over the Pennsylvania state line about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. Lavoie was allegedly holed up in room 214 with the boy, an eighth-grade student at Maurice Donahue Elementary School.
The boy "was found to be OK," said Holyoke Police Chief Anthony R. Scott.
Sergeant Michael T. Baylous, a public information officer for the West Virginia state police, said arrangements were being made today to transport the boy back to Massachusetts.
West Virginia authorities charged Lavoie with kidnapping and as a fugitive, which stems from a Massachusetts felony charge of enticement of a child. She made an initial court appearance before Magistrate Darris J. Summers via video conference from the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County.
Lavoie is being held without bail, a requirement for a kidnapping charge in West Virginia. She is expected to return to court March 4 for a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors also plan to schedule an extradition hearing for her return to Massachusetts.
The boy's mother contacted the school on Feb. 13, saying she was concerned about the relationship her son had with Lavoie. Authorities were unable to question the first-year teacher because she had left for the day as the school went on a one-week break. The boy's parents reported him missing Feb. 16.
Holyoke Detective David Usher tracked the pair to the hotel by using financial and cellular communication records, Scott said. West Virginia state police spotted the teacher's car in the parking lot at 11 p.m. on Monday, checked with the desk clerk, and found them in a room registered in Lavoie's name. She was arrested without incident, state police said.
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Classy. Too bad her fellow teachers, classroom aides, department heads and administrators weren't paying more attention.
Why is a 15 year-old in eighth-grade? Shouldn't he be in 9 or 10 grade?
The boy is 15 years old. What's he doing in an elementary school?
Isn't that high school age?
i've always failed to see the attraction a grown woman can see in a boy. i'm just a couple years older than this creep and i don't understand how she's so sprung off a little boy. i couldn't even date a kid *one* grade below me when i was in school because i thought it was creepy.
Stay classy honey..... stay classy.
Yeah, because I'm sure they had their relationship on display for everyone to see.
why is a 15 year old in an elementary school?
She is being charged with "enticement of a child"? If this was a male teacher he would be charged with at least 5 different crimes including transporting a minor across state lines but because she is a female teacher she will get a slap on the wrist. This is a prime example of the inequality that exists in our justice system
Since when do 15-year-olds attend elementary schools?
Since it was a woman teacher she will get a slap on the wrist. If it was a male teacher he would get 20000 years in prision. Sexism at it's best.
Let's stay tune to to this story and see if double standards takes place. It appears in many cases in the past, that women never serve the same prison sentences as males. I don't understand these female child rapists enjoyment with young boys. There are female meeting males adds everywhere. I'm wondering if this former teacher is blond with blue eyes?
Paying attention to what mrcyclops?
So what she ran away with a 15 year old. The real question is why is this kid still in Elementary school at age 15!!
OK, why is a 15 year old boy a student at an elementary school? Should he be in high school or is he Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies?
This woman is obviously sick.
Will the Globe investigate this problem of teachers having "relationships" with students? The Globe did investigative work about Priests and kids....how about teachers and kids. How much of a problem is it? Seems to be a real problem. Are there any cover-ups?
I look forward to a Spotlight Investigation.
Thank heaven she's not a blonde. Like all the houses that are blowing up due to natural gas, I was afraid this case might be a continuation of a bad stereotype. I'm hoping somebody will do a story about the psychology behind these women preying after young boys. What's with these chicks??
should've had a better plan!
Could someone please explain to me what a 15 year old is doing in an elementary school. Shouldn't he be in the High School. He must have looked like a man amoung boys in the teacher's eyes. Not that there is any excuse for this kind of behavior
wow
Can someone please explain how a 15 year old is a student at an elementary school. Was he wearing a helmet when they found him?
Why are they showing an "elementary" school? He's 15 and should be in the 9th grade (8th if he took his time). Teach doesn't look too bright...Probably thought this was legal in WV.
A few things that stand out in this case.....
1. Did the school actually do a SCREENING on the teacher they hired?
2. I agree with mrcyclops.....NO ONE knew this was going on other than the mother?
3. Mom should have done more than just "alert the school".
4. A 15 year old 8th grader? keep ANY 15 year old 8th grader away from my kids.
5. Reported missing since Feb 16th, suspected with fleeing with his teacher, and we hear about it today?
Something fishy about this case
Whoa! And they say there are no job openings for teachers in MA.
when they start paying more and demanding more from teachers we'll get a new breed of quality as well. I don't think its by accident we get these idiots (some of them) to teach our kids.
Why is a 15 year old only in 8th grade??? Something isn't right here...
omg! wow teachers are getting more desprate every day!
Do we know why a 15-year old is a student at an elementary school??
mrcyclops, the teachers, classroom aides, department heads, etc. do pay attention to these types of things. But the people involved tend to keep these things highly secret... they are not exactly broadcasting the fact that they are in a relationship.
How can you blame the teachers, etc. without knowing the facts? I am willing to bet she was keeping it pretty quiet. You'd probably find that his friends knew more about it than her colleagues.
Evil....whacko....
This kid is 15 yrs old and in 8th grade??? Whats wrong with this picture!
Elementary school?
What a piece of work... I just want to know, how long will people in this great USA Country continue to judge people by the color of thier skin and less by the content of thier character....Honest truth, had this woman been a minority, asian, hispanic, black or otherwise.. the school system would have been all over her, but because, she is a European American and considered SAFE,,, she was allowed to do this, HER as well as OTHERS women of non-color...This is pathetic......People in this Country are only suspcious of others who are non-white. and this is why these types of crimes are committed and will be continued to be committed, NOBody is wATCHING THE REAL CRIMINALS>>>>>>.
Lets see, it took a week for the picture of this tramp to get posted in the media. Why wasn't it done before this?
If this had been a man his image would have been the lead on TV and front page of every newspaper along with his lifes history, type of car, license plate and comments from his neighbors.
This is a double standard that can NOT be allowed.
How can a 15-year old be in an elementary school? Hello...?
Why is there a fifteen year old in 8th grade?
Look at the dimwits teaching our children. Should at least have been smart enough to leave her personal cellphone behind, and not use a credit card with her own name!
Yuck. Wonder why the parents had to wait until the 16th to report him missing though. What's up with that? He is a child. Must have the school wrong though..why would a 15 year old be in elementary school?
The bad news here is the caliber of teacher we are hiring to educate our children. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a teacher dumb enough to think she can get away with this is so dumb she doesn't think to use cash and pay phones. I bet she's been writing Love letters to Clark Rockefeller while he's awaiting trial.
How much greater would the outrage be if the teacher was male and the student female?
Oh yes - of course it is the other teahcers' faults. Teachers are terrible and lazy, they should have been monitoring this woman's activities day and night.
Mr. Cyclops, yeah, it's always someone else's fault. Next time you get a speeding ticket, blame the automaker, road builder and your family for allowing you to have the keys when you were clearly going out to break the law. The woman is an adult. She lured the student under some sort of pretense, or perhaps it was a collaboration. Either way, she's going to jail. The fault may lie in the system or it may not, just don't blame everyone else until otherwise proven. Classy.
Guilty! (Photographic evidence, LOL!)
As hard as I try to find out a reason why would anyone risk their careers, their reputation and their freedom, I can not come up with a single one. Furthermore, the embarrassment brought to the family, friends and co-workers of the alleged perpetrator's has to be incredibly painful.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young victim in this case.
"Classy. Too bad her fellow teachers, classroom aides, department heads and administrators weren't paying more attention.
Posted by mrcyclops February 24, 09 09:24 AM"
Please.... its naive to point fingers at the school. Obviously the blame should be focused on the individual teacher for her actions, not the school.
Attention to what?
Road trip.
What a sad, pathetic woman.
Er, mrcyclops, you can't make that assumption based on what is written about the story here. but "fellow teachers" work pretty independently from each other, makes it hard for them to spy on their colleagues all the time.
I'd more like to know why it took the parents from September until now to be "suspicious."
yet another case of double standards.
the walpole coach get charged with a bunch of horrrible crimes.
this teacher takes a 15 year old boy across state lines and she gets charged with enticing a minor.
why dont we just give her an award and get it over with.
What's a 15 year old kid doing in an elementary school?
Howie...HOWIEEEEE!!!!
Nice that the parents have so much wonderful communication with their son, and such a wholesome family life, that the boy would want to run away.
15 and in Elementary School?
all that work to become a teacher - and then you can't keep your hands off a 15 year old boy your FIRST year of teaching. Sick and Stupid.
So bizarre.... Did this happen all the time before and we just never heard about it? Seems like it is happening more and more....
That kid is so TOTALLY grounded.
How did this nit-wit become a teacher?
I an only think that these women were the unpopular kids in school. They now find themselves back in the class room, this time able to get the attention of the "cool boys."...
True... but... parents need to be held accountable, too.
I can hear the Teachers Union now,
"Ms Lavoie is a fine young teacher who exemplifies the dedication of the Mass. Teachers Association. Ms. Lavoie at her own expense took her student on a field trip to explore diverse areas of this great country. We stand by her and would like to use this situation as an example of why our teachers are deserving of the 7% increase requested in their next contract".
Teenager sleeps with 24 year old. Let's make this a national headline....
And before everyone get's all testy with me, I still wouldn't care if it was a female student with a 24 year old male. Look at pop star Miley Cyrus for example. When she was 15 she looked like she was well over 18. It's just a fact that students are looking older and older lately. It's easy for the media to try to coax everyone to read the story by using such words as "boy" rather than "teen".
It's Bush's Fault!
What is a 15 year old doing in 8th grade?
Can somebody tell me why this kid is 15 and in elementary school?
Mr. Cyclops- The myopia suggested by your name is appropriate. Maybe add a "high-n-mighty" to it? Then you'll nail your attitude. Why assume others are to blame? Thinking this kind of thing can't occur without purposeful obliviousness is ignorant.
For a minute there, I was quite concerned.
I'm glad the child had teacher supervision.
First - can you tell me how a 15 year old is in EIGHTH GRADE???
who cares
We know what would happen if the teacher was male and the student female!
Isn't Morgantown on the 'Clean Coal' mountain topping tour?
this whole thing doesnt make sense. the boy's not harmed, it doesnt seem like he was raped. she probably just thought she could take him on vacation or something, its too weird.
Shouldn't the sex offender registry and notification laws prevented this, or enabled people to prevent this?
Isn't that why these laws exist?
This is disgusting. I bet it happens more often than the public knows about, as the double standard is still there between male teachers and female ones. Hopefully stories like this one will continue to get out and the double standard will go away.
I FIND THIS TO BE SICK. WHAT DID SHE FIND IN THIS YOUNG BOY THAT SHE COULDN'T FIND IN A MAN HER AGE? IT MAKES ME SICK IT SEE THIS GOING ON . WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO ?
I had a major crush on my eight grade teacher.
She was way hotter than Lavoie.
And smarter too. Ms S. gently told me no way.
Teachers should know better, but I'm sure the boy will be just fine.
The kid is 15 and elementary school? Is this true? or is this a screw up and the kid is in high school and the teacher teaches in elementary school?
How could this teacher not be aware of the consequences of her decision. Some of these 15 year olds are good looking, six feet tall, and very swave. However, a teacher that is confident, great self esteem and cares about her profession would never begin a relationship with a student - male or female. Apparently, she had difficulty with communication with people in her age group. The news people making statements "the student was found safe" is a real hoot!! The student was having the thrill of his life for the time being.
too bad they will have to deal with the fall out for her stupidity....
Why is this child 15 and in 8th grade. Already, I hear a blast of noise from an all-too-complacent family.
When I was growning up, having a realtionship with an older woman was how most teenage guys found out about sex. They were GRATEFUL!
Now, she is a felon, a sex pervert and he is an innocent. bystander.
I was 15 once. I was NOT an innocent bystander, but an active and interested participant in all the sex I could get.
Of course, I was very young, and using sex to work out a slew of other
personal problems, but I would never have ratted out my partners.
problems, but I didnt'
mrcyclops, putting blame on everyone besides the teacher in question is as immature as the kids on the playground blaming each other for cutting in line. Are you paying attention to YOUR co-workers? YOUR neighbors? Did that extra pat on the back mean "something more"? Blaming fellow co-workers before we even know the whole story is a cop-out that I'm sure the defense would just LOVE!
Massachusetts--W.Virgina , sister states.
Do we know why a 15-year-old is a student at an elementary school??
A 15 yr old who attends an elementary school??
son of a gun!!!
I guarantee she'll get a lesser prison sentence than a man would get.
Oh that's great, blame everyone but the teacher herself.
I'm curious: Why is a 15 year old still in elementary school?? Most 15 year olds are in 10th grade. Not that it matters. This is really disturbing.
Fifteen and he's still in 8th grade?
Dayam, how bad are the Holyoke schools?
This is happening all over the country. Go to www.schoolteachernews.com and click on the Scandal page. This year they have documented over 75 of these types of incidents. In 2008 they found 479 of these kinds of cases.
I hope she has a sweet Plan B.
As the mom of a 6 year old, I am outraged. But for all the questions, if you child is born after the cut off date, they graduate high school now at 19, it sounded weird to me too since I just turned 17 when I graduated.
What no one seems to be grasping is that it is possible this 15 year old boy is special needs and woudl be a reason that he was in 8th grade and also in a special class in the Elementary School. Which makes it even more sick for this woman!!!
ok my son will turn 14 in 8th grade and he did not stay back or start late. This kid was either held back or started late, that's all. The focus should be on the teacher and that is all.
She looks older than 24. She looks like early 40's
Uknow what?! Back off!!
She is one of the best teachers!! She was juss really stressed and had no one to comfort her!! So stop trash talkin her if u don't know what really happened!!
And as for the boy, he's one of my friends and this elementry skool has middle skool.. And there's a such thing as staying back!! So think before u open ur big mouth!!
I can't believe at the number of people who are hung up on the fact that this kid is in elementary school and that they are missing the bigger picture of someone who either had or was about to commit statutory rape with a CHILD. Hello?! anyone home in there? Go back to your idiot box - it apparently has worked so well for you so far.
Get a grip everyone. It's called "Maurice Donahue Elementary School" but it serves grades K-8. I used a little tool called "The Google" to figure that out. I don't know why a 15 year old is in 8th grade, though.
IF she's found guilty ... and it sure appears that she DID commit a crime ... lets see if she has to register as a sex offender. It appears that she ought to be at least a level 2 maybe even a 3.
Wow.
OK it is a k - 8 school and he probably stayed back a year.
Its different down there
first of all i dont know why everyone is ragging on the kid for being enticed by this woman and if you are 15 and in 8th grade it means that you have stayed back once. It's not like the kid is 22.
As a high school teacher in Western Massachusetts and former union rep, I want to make very clear that I will be VERY surprised if the MTA stands behind her or offers any sort of support statement, per comment by Kid Canton, above. Second, I believe Holyoke did some shuffling of schools last year after the close of some of the middle schools, which may be why the photo is of an elementary school. Third, a CORI check is required before a teacher is hired by any school in any capacity, but obviously, it is not a crystal ball. Yes, 15 in the 8th grade is sad, but what is sadder is when teachers are pressured to socially promote students who cannot read, add, or read a clock into the high schools. This happens more often than you think: why do you think we as a state aren't earning 100% passing rates on the MCAS. And yes, it amazes me that teachers even consider dating children: it's not about the fact that they are in a trusted position of power over these children, it's that IT'S MOLESTATION, plain and simple. Teacher, nurse, business man, parent... any way you slice it, yuck. And last but not least, the gender roles are often reversed: it's the media that runs amuck with female teacher/male student reports. The papers choose not to report the opposite scenario because it doesn't inspire lengthy commentary blogs like this one.
Massachusetts and W. Virginia sister states.
does anyone realize that the average age of 8th graders is 14?? This kid might have stayed back one time.. very common.. or was from a different town or state with a different cut off time then transfered here...sooo relax about the age people! Bigger fish to fry... 8th grade is considered MIDDLE SCHOOL not elementary school..
annd sadly a 15 year old boy is pretty "developed" and from my conversations with well any guy that i know, their response is "Why didnt my teachers look like that!!" or "I would have done the same thing!'' . . . I dont agree with it, but its reality, what 15 year old boy is going to turn down and young pretty teacher?? hardly any.. so maybe that should be an issue addressed as well. I highly doubt that this 15 year old boy, who I doubt was scrawny, was dragged against his will by this woman..
not to say the teacher shouldn't have knows better, CLEARLY she abused her authority and should never have even put the idea into the kids head.. shame
Oh, for heaven's sake. Read more carefully. He's 15 and in 8th grade. What's the big deal? By most reckoning, he may have stayed back just ONE year. As for the name of the school having "Elementary" in its name, anyone who reads the article CAREFULLY will correctly infer that the school spans many grades, and of course houses an 8th grade class. Holyoke may have two tiers of schools: "elementary" and "high school". Before you go posting questions about the boy being in elementary school, please polish up your critical reading skiils first and READ the article in its entirety and carefully. Don't just scan it. It is better to be silent and thought a fool instead of speaking and remove all doubt.
Kid Canton, take your anger/resentment of teachers to the faces of the Teacher's Union. NEVER, would a Teacher's Union "stand behind" a teacher that not only KIDNAPPED but possibly raped a child. FIND ME ONE EXAMPLE WHERE THIS IS THE CASE. There is none. Go back to school and learn something...oh wait, it's the teacher's fault you're like this. Good grief!
The 24 year old woman (really, a very young kid in the grand scale of things, although an adult in the eye of the law) clearly has some serious psychological and boundary issues that, hopefully, she will get some help to deal with and overcome so she can go forward and lead a healthy life. However, the extreme attention, scrutiny, etc. , and knee jerk reactions that a case like this brings will not help the issue.
Hopefully the 15 year old will get the support he needs to contextualize and get past this experience,
this is illicit
I smell a lifetime movie in the near future
It's called "Donahue Elementary School" but it serves K-8, okay everyone so calm down. But why everyone is so fixated on this detail like it's even remotely relevant to this very serious story is a mystery to me.
I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPNING I ACTALLY KNO THE 15-YEA OLD BOY HE IS MY EX BOYFRIEND!!!! I'M VERY SHOCKED!!
I want to know why everyone wants to know why a 15 year old is in an elementary school. Because he is. OK??!!!! Does it somehow change anything? Maybe he flunked or maybe he started school late. Jeez-louise. Give it a rest.
The mother inquired about the relationship on Friday the 13th, but the teacher already left for Feb vacation, so she could not be questioned. No one at the school had this woman's home phone or cell? Maybe her email? The principal has to take some responsibility for just ignoring the situation.
If this kid is in the 8th grade at 15 years old there has to be something seriously wrong with him. I was 17 on my first day of college! I feel bad for him and the family. Truly a sad situation.
u know what u should chil!! i had ms.lavoie as teacher last year & she was the best!! she was juss under a lot of stress nd needed comfort..
plus if u don't know the meaning of why this happend then SHUT ur mouths!!
nd that kid, he's one of my friends.. nd hello, there's a such thing staying back!!
I would be more concerned about the mental state of both teacher and teen.Especially the teacher. The majority seem concerned about his grade level which is really not what should be the shocking part.We entrust our children to the people who call themselves teachers and end up abusing our children.Its a sad world when the grade of the person is more shocking then the crime committed.
I went to HS with lisa. weeeeird
This is a NON issue. The kid lived out a fantasy, leave it at that. We should be concerned with more serious news like prize winning noodle kugels, and even violent crime.
And by the way, why isn't anyone asking why this kid is in elementary school?
in Holyoke, the elementary schools are k-8. and if he was just a year behind his peers he would be in the 8th grade.
The average age for a student in the eighth grade is 13.
If this boy's birthday was after the cutoff date, he would have been required to wait an additional year to start school, making him several months to a year older than the average student in his grade, so 14. Similarly, if his birthday is in January or February, he would now be a year older than expected, again 14.
If he failed one grade or attended a readiness program, he would be another year older, making him 15. Strange on first glance, but does not make him stupid.
im sorry lisa.