Teacher brought gun, suicide note to school. Odyssey had her arrested

An Odyssey substitute teacher and Buckeye resident who was arrested for bringing a gun and four apparent suicide notes to school had her teaching privileges suspended for four years by the state board today.

The suspension stems from an incident that happened in July at the Odyssey Preparatory Academy in Goodyear, where a newly hired Spanish teacher found a black semi-automatic handgun with ammunition in the former teacher’s desk, according to a Goodyear police report.

Elsa Torres, the substitute teacher in question and a Buckeye resident, allegedly left the gun there after reportedly moving on to a new position at an unnamed Buckeye high school.

The new teacher's discovery prompted her to notify the principal and school staff, who secured the gun. According to the report, school staff subsequently turned off the departing teacher's keycard and locked down classrooms.

“Odyssey Preparatory was in lockdown,” a responding Goodyear officer wrote. “The administration was locked inside the front office, and Goodyear Police Dispatch had to advise them that it was okay to open the front door for officers to enter the campus.”

School staff also discovered family photos and envelopes addressed to what they believed were her children, according to the Goodyear police report. Goodyear police later translated them and realized they were suicidal.

Kenneth Olson, an Odyssey director, opted to prosecute Torres, according to the report.

Torres was arrested on felony charges that the Maricopa County Attorney’s office later downgraded.

“She simply didn’t threaten anyone from what I could tell from the report,” wrote a county attorney, Jason Kalish, in correspondence to the city. “Endangerment would also be difficult to prove. Submit to the city for misdemeanor prosecution on the weapons charge and any interference.”

The Odyssey family of schools consists of five campuses, including two in Buckeye, which educate approximately 3,000 students.

Odyssey and a teaching mental health crisis

Odyssey’s branch and charter schools have been no stranger to troubled teachers and missteps on its campuses.

Earlier this month, a Buckeye-based Imagine Schools teaching assistant accused of child molestation avoided a prison sentence by agreeing to a plea deal.

Diana Pirvu, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted child molestation in Maricopa County Superior Court. Pirvu admitted to having sex with the 13-year-old victim, according to a probable cause statement.

The probation sentence comes after Jessica Kramer, a former Buckeye-based Odyssey Institute for Advanced and International Studies teacher, was sentenced to three years in prison in December for similar offenses with a 16-year-old victim, according to state documents.

Both Kramer and Odyssey Institute for Advanced and International Studies face a civil suit alleging that the school brand knew of the inappropriateness. The lawsuit alleges Kramer signed the victim out of yoga class to spend time with the teen student, had oral sex with him and used him as a designated driver.

Alyssa Todd, another female teacher at the same school, was arrested on charges of molesting a 15-year-old. Her trial is set for late May.

A recent study conducted by Nature cited workplace dynamics and COVID-era stressors as key contributing factors in new levels of teacher burnout and suicidal ideation.

The study referenced a review that measured burnout in teachers, which ranged as high as 74%, with depression ranging as high as 77%.

“Teachers are frequently positioned as frontline gatekeepers in identifying and supporting students with suicidal ideation, their own mental health and well-being are rarely addressed,” researchers suggest in the study.

Additionally, a June survey by the RAND Corporation found that teachers work more hours and earn less pay than comparable workers. The report claims that teachers were also twice as likely to report job-related stress or burnout as their peers in other fields.

According to recent job postings, the Odyssey brand typically starts teachers at around $38,500 to $42,000 a year. This wage falls below MIT’s living wage calculation for Arizona.

InBuckeye made four attempts to contact the school about the police report. No effort was made to collaborate or offer comment.

Update: A previous version incorrectly attributed Privu, instead of Todd, to employment with Odyssey. Additionally, Odyseey is a charter, not a private school system.