John Dewey High School Principal Kathleen Elvin will be fired and two assistant principals, Andrew Kenney and Joseph Antonucci, will be disciplined for running a credit recovery program that did not meet the standards of the Department of Education, according to an investigation released Wednesday.
“The results of the investigation are disturbing and show there was a failure to follow the DOE’s protocol during the 2013-2014 school year," said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña in a statement. "We have begun the process to have Ms. Elvin’s employment terminated, and she will be removed from payroll shortly."
Complaints about the Brooklyn school first came to investigators' attention last year, when teachers claimed they were assigned to teach a class called Project Graduation which most students passed, even though they did not do the work and/or had low attendance rates.
Teachers complained in the spring of 2014, and a group of them were interviewed by investigators. Some alleged their names were attached to classes they never taught; others said they supervised classes where students were studying subjects the teachers were not certified to teach which is against state law.
The teachers said the Project Graduation classes were filled with up to 30 students who were taking English, math, science and history.
“I had life science, I had mathematics, I believe I had algebra and trigonometry,” social studies teacher Wade Goria told WNYC. “And believe me, my competencies in both of these subjects was very, very limited."
The department's investigation, released late Wednesday, substantiated this in finding Elvin allowed courses to be scheduled in such a way "that instruction could not be provided." However, it could not substantiate allegations that she and others pressured teachers to pass 85 percent of their students.
The investigation focused on the 2013-14 school year. But the department said allegations of similar complaints during the 2014-15 year should be reported to the Special Commissioner of Investigation.
Some teachers told WNYC the practice definitely continued. Physics teacher Michael Klimetz, a 20-year veteran at the school, shared documents he said proved students were passing credit recovery classes last semester despite low attendance rates. They also took more credit recovery classes than state law allowed.
According to Klimetz's documents, one student took four credit recovery classes at the same time last semester. And despite attendance rates that ranged from 33 percent to 48 percent, the student passed most of the classes.
"So first off, they weren’t even getting enough time," he said. "How did the grades get through?"
Klimetz did not teach any of these so-called PM classes, which was were given after school. But a teacher who did confirmed the classes often had low attendance. Declining to be identified for fear of retaliation, the teacher said students were given course packets to complete over the semester filled with material that was neither comparable to a regular high school class nor sufficient to determine proficiency.
“It was one size fits all,” the teacher said, and the student work was often lacking. “Lots of kids handed in garbage.”
Elvin did not respond to a request for comment. She made enemies at Dewey after being named principal in 2012 amid city efforts to improve the school which has been struggling for years. The Bloomberg administration unsuccessfully tried to shut down several schools, including Dewey which had a four-year graduation rate of 66.5 percent in 2012. The teachers union won a lawsuit blocking the move.
Last year, Dewey's four-year graduation rate was almost 74 percent.
Schools are allowed to give credit recovery classes, but the rules are very strict about the level of work and attendance required to pass. The Independent Budget Office reported that credit recovery peaked in the 2010-11 academic year, when 134,663 students were registered in these classes compared to 6,838 students in the 2006-7 school year. The Department of Education cracked down on the practice in 2012, after an audit found errors and possible evidence of cheating at 60 schools.
But credit recovery was so widespread at Dewey that students called it "Easy Pass." One student said that also continued this year. “At the graduation ceremony before everybody stepped out, some of the seniors were chanting 'Easy Pass,'” he said, though he declined to be identified.
The Department of Education said principals and superintendents would receive training this summer on the protocol for credit recovery. Elvin will be replaced by Connie Hamilton, who currently leads Kingsborough Early College School.
Goria, the social studies teacher, said he welcomed a fresh start because there's a lot of rebuilding to do.
"We're extremely pleased that Kathleen Elvin will no longer be principal because she has done enormous damage to John Dewey High School," he said.