Interim Principal Works to Comfort Parents and Students

The interim principal at Urbana's Thomas Paine Elementary School says he's working hard to push through this tough time. The school has been in turmoil since last week when a second grade teacher was accused of sex crimes. The district asked Ken Paxton to fill in as principal after putting Janice Bradley on paid administrative leave. On Thursday he visited every classroom to explain to the kids where the school will go from here. Paxton says everyone at the school is working together to make it a safe environment for the kids. "Consistency for kids is going to make them the most comfortable. The least amount of changes we can make the better off we're going to be. So our goals are the same as they were two weeks ago, three weeks ago. We're here to do what's best for kids," Paxton says. He also sent a letter home for parents today to let them know exactly what he told the kids when he met with them. He's also working to make more resources available to students and parents to help them cope with what's happened. Meantime, a child advocacy center is interviewing children from McLean County  in connection with the sexual abuse investigation at Thomas Paine. Jon White previously worked for Unit 5 schools as an elementary teacher, and that has Normal Police concerned. The advocacy center will interview at least five former students to see if any abuse happened there. White says he is innocent. He was released after posting $50,000 bail on Friday.