TEACHER IN DRUG CASE WAS PRAISED IN SPRINGBORO

Educator accused of allowing sale, use of drugs in home.

The personnel file of the Springboro school teacher facing drug charges along with her 15-year-old son paints a picture of an exemplary and dedicated educator.

Nothing foretells Amy Panzeca’s arrest this week on drug charges nor the letter sent Wednesday from her employer, Springboro Community Schools. It stated:

“Effective immediately and until further notice, you are hereby placed on paid administrative leave pending the resolution of your pending legal circumstances.”

A year before her home was raided in May by a Warren County drug task force, Panzeca received a much different letter from the district. The April 2016 letter was to inform her of a nomination for the prestigious EPIC (Engage, Prepare, Inspire and Challenge) Teaching Award. Nominations come from parents, staff, alumni and community members. Although Panzeca did not receive the award, the letter included in her personnel file stated the nomination “places you among the most admired and respected educators in our district.”

Panzeca’s attorney, Andrea Ostrowski, did not immediately return calls to this news organization seeking comment.

Panzeca first joined the district at Clearcreek Elementary School for the 1994-95 academic year, when she was known by her maiden name Amy Arnold.

Throughout her 23-year career at Springboro schools, she taught fifth, sixth and eighth grades. She spent the most number of years teaching fifth-graders, most recently at Five Points Elementary School.

Panzeca’s base salary was $72,623 in 2016, according to the Dayton Daily News I-Team’s Payroll Project.

Evaluations showed Panzeca was a highly competent teacher; she had a good rapport with her students; and she planned engaging lessons for her classroom. In July 2003, she earned a permanent teaching license for first through eighth grades by the Ohio Department of Education.

At different points in her career, Panzeca served as the head junior high cheerleading coach; vice president of the teachers union, Springboro Education Association; and as a mentor teacher.

Before she was offered a fulltime position at Springboro schools, the Miami University graduate worked as a substitute teacher for Springboro schools and several Butler County school districts, including Fairfield City, Lakota Local and Ross Local