Education Week - May 11, 2022 - 3

Ga. School Board Catches
Flack Over Firing Leader
The school board in DeKalb County, Ga., is getting its hands slapped-
at least figuratively.
In a virtual meeting late last month, the board abruptly fired its superintendent,
Cheryl Watson-Harris, the district's sixth leader in a decade.
Watson-Harrison, who'd been at the helm less than two years, said she'd
been " blindsided " by the dismissal and disconnected from the virtual
meeting.
Now, the governor, state schools chief Richard Woods, and DeKalb County's
chief executive officer, are taking the board to task over the dismissal.
" I am highly concerned that these serious issues in DeKalb County
could be a result of a school system choosing politics over students, families,
and educators, " said Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican. He said he
would coordinate with Woods on possible further action.
The district had already been in the spotlight of late after a group of
students videotaped dire conditions at Druid Hills High School. The
school board turned down their plea to fix the problems, instead voting
to make minor repairs at schools across the board.
Woods, in a letter to school board chair Vickie Turner, blasted the termination
as a " step backward, " noting he had sent a letter the day before
the firing saying the board needed to work with state officials to solve
facilities issues brought to light by the video.
" Instead of moving deliberately and decisively in line with my recommendations,
the board chose to largely meet this moment with dysfunction
and deflection, " Woods wrote.
In 2013, Gov. Nathan Deal replaced a number of school board members
after the district was threatened with a loss of accreditation. The
new board hired Michael Thurmond, now the county's elected CEO, as
interim superintendent.
" I didn't go through all that-this county didn't go through all that-to go
back down that road again. It makes no sense. " The firing, he said, " feels
a lot like that crap " he'd inherited.
VIDEO COLLECTION
Inside Latino Parents' Push for
Healthy, Culturally Appropriate
School Lunches
Parents have tried to convince this Colorado
district to enhance its school meal menu, but
navigating the process has come with challenges.
Edw.link/BetterSchoolLunch
Teachers Getting Accused
Of Using Fake COVID Cards
Fake IDs are nothing new, but what is new are fake vaccination documents-for
teachers and students.
New York City school officials have placed several dozen teachers
and other school employees on leave for submitting what they said was
fraudulent proof of COVID-19 vaccination. On New York's Long Island,
a high school teacher has been charged with falsifying documents
for allegedly providing phony proof. And a Kentucky teacher has been
temporarily suspended with pay following an allegation that they created
fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine cards for six students to use during
a recent field trip.
In New York City, the United Federation of Teachers is challenging
the disciplinary action.
" Fraudulent vaccination cards are not only illegal, they also undermine
the best line of protection our schools have against COVID-19-
universal adult vaccination, " said New York City schools' spokesman
Nathaniel Styer. " We immediately moved to put these employees-
fewer than 100-on leave without pay. "
In Nassau County, Tricia Manno, a teacher at Sewanhaka High
School, was arraigned on charges including criminal possession of a
forged instrument and offering a false instrument for filing, District
Attorney Anne Donnelly announced.
According to prosecutors, Manno, 47, submitted a digital copy of a
vaccination card to the Sewanhaka Central High School district.
District employees suspected forgery and asked Manno to submit the
original card, prosecutors said.
She said she had lost her original card, the prosecutors said, then went
to the medical center, showed staffers there a digital image of the forged
vaccination card, and asked for-and received-a replacement.
Manno pleaded not guilty at her arraignment.
In Kentucky, an unnamed McCracken County High School teacher
is the subject of the investigation into allegedly handing out fraudulent
COVID-19 vaccine cards to students. The district is not disclosing where
the field trip took place " to protect the privacy of students and staff. "
Vol. 41 * Issue 33 * May 11, 2022
4 Why Misusing 'Groomer' as a Political Smear
Is Especially Dangerous
4 School Sports Are Back.
Where Are the Athletes?
6 'It Can Save Lives': Students Testify
To the Power of Poetry
8 Key Takeaways From Praying-Coach Case
While U.S. Supreme Court Deliberates
10 1 in 5 Educators Say They've Experienced
Long COVID
12 A Flood of Federal Cash and Then Layoffs.
What Gives?
14 With Millions of Kids on the Line,
Can Schools Make Tutoring Work?
15 Online Tutoring Can Be Effective,
Research Shows
16 What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
17 What Should Culturally Relevant Teaching
Look Like Today?
OPINION
20 What If We Treated Public Education
Like the Crisis It Is?
21 Why Students Can't Tell
Fact From Fiction Online
24 Hardest Year Ever?
One Teacher's View
DEPARTMENTS
2 Briefly Stated
5 What the Research Says
22 Letters to the Editor
23 EdWeek Top School Jobs
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Education Week - May 11, 2022

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