A teacher at Peterson Elementary School had three 8-year-old girls shave off his beard in front of the classroom, then made them pledge not to tell their parents about the incident, parents of the girls said.

He has returned to teach at the school after winter break. The incident occurred the week before Thanksgiving.

Michael McLane, a third-grade teacher who has worked for the district for several years, described the event as a "story starter" for a writing activity, according to a letter from the school's principal.

But several parents viewed his actions as questionable. "I was like: 'What?' You know," said one mother, whose daughter was holding the clippers during the incident. "It alarmed me."

Calls made to McLane's cell phone on Tuesday weren't returned and his voice mail was full. After school Tuesday, he hung up after a reporter identified herself as being from the Sun-Star. Several other calls and messages left at the same number during the past month were similarly not returned.

The parents involved in the incident asked that their names not be published to protect their children.

According to the woman's daughter, McLane had the students gather around the classroom just before recess one day. He took out an electric razor and started shaving his beard. Then he asked which of his students wanted to give it a try.

McLane called each student by name, the parent said.

There were few volunteers: just three girls.

After his beard was shaved, the students said they returned to their desks and were told to write a story about shaving McLane's beard.

The students told their parents that their teacher said it was a story that he would keep as his secret. It wouldn't be sent home to parents as other work completed in the classroom was, according to the kids.

And if they did tell, they would have to sit out the classroom Christmas party, children told their parents.

According to two sets of parents, their daughters kept mum about the incident until the parents pried out the information that had been visibly troubling the girls.

"My daughter came home from school, and she was upset because her friend told a secret and couldn't come to the Christmas party," one mom said.

The three girls involved in the incident have been transferred out of the classroom, their parents said.

When one mother requested a transfer, she was told that another student in the classroom was in line ahead of her daughter. Four students, or one-fifth of the class, were trying to transfer or had transferred out of the classroom in mid-December.

Such a ratio of transfers is considered unusual in local elementary schools.

Greg Spicer, the district's superintendent of personnel services, said the school and the district immediately began investigating complaints from parents. Spicer added, however, that privacy laws prohibited him from speaking about specific complaints against teachers.

Without commenting about the specifics of the shaving case, he explained the general process of this type of complaint. When a parent complains, he or she is sent to the principal, who records information about the complaint. The principal fills out a complaint form and investigates the allegations.

"We want parents to know that safety concerns are of the utmost importance," Spicer said.

He also said that if a teacher breaks a law, he or she is immediately put on leave.

McLane -- or any teacher in a similar situation -- didn't break a law, according to the school district. Instead, he may have practiced poor judgment, Spicer conceded.

Although the events occurred in the third week of November, a letter from Principal Nolan Harris about his investigation wasn't sent home until Dec. 12. It read, in part:

"As you may be aware, the last week before the Thanksgiving break, Mr. McLane had the class participate in a face-shaving activity with an electric razor as a story starter for a writing assignment. He later instructed the students that if they told they would not have a Christmas Party. Needless to say, that instruction was inappropriate and was not well received by several parents, staff or the Administration. On behalf of myself and the District, we want to apologize to the students and parents."

The rest of the letter seems to emphasize the inappropriateness of the threat about the Christmas party -- not about the face-shaving itself.

Dr. Julia Johnson, a licensed educational psychologist in Southern California, said the event could lead to deep anxiety and confusion among the children in the classroom.

Johnson said the children are told from a young age to trust and respect their teacher. "That's why this classroom situation is so significant. This teacher, to them, is the embodiment of trust," Johnson said. "He's using manipulation, and this whole ethic of trust is completely obliterated.

"In the school day, most of our kids are educated, are taught, about 'stranger danger' to keep them safe. When they hear somebody tell them, 'It's our secret. This is our secret, don't tell anyone,' alarms go off. But this is coming from the teacher, so this is confusing to them."

Depending on the child, that confusion can manifest in different ways. Some kids may feel an intense anxiety, Johnson said.

"If kids have heightened anxiety, then they aren't going to be able to engage their memory and cognitive processes and they are not going to do as well in the classroom," she said.

As far as the actual act of face shaving, Johnson said it may not resonate as an inappropriate act as strongly with children as it does with adults.

One big question remains unanswered, Johnson said:

"What was he getting out of this?"

Reporter Danielle Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.