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How come the DOE is not filing 3020-a charges against the Principal since OSI substantiated the grade changing by her?

Maybe you should ask the DOE #2 at the education meeting.

And the DOE has gone so far as to continue to employ her in another position.  I ask again..How can this happen? That is not a rhetorical question.  Does anyone know? Is there precedent?

It’s good to hear that another principal was removed for corruption or the likes.  But, removal of a principal does not mean termination.  This principal should not be allowed to keep her license or to have a job in the DoE.  In fact, she should return the $25,000 or any other monetary compensation.  If Walcott thought the grade changing was improper, then ask for the return of the bonus money.  Will this happen?  No!  Unfortunately, she did what many principals are doing.  There’s a monetary take in order for the mayor to look good with the data.  The mayor will speak to Walcott to sweep this incident under the rug for this particular principal.  This will enable other principals not to have fear of their unethical, corrupted behavior.  Now she’ll be at another site providing PD on the “The Preventive Measure of Eluding Grade Changing Procedures” to all new principals.

Kudos go to the staff at the school for blowing the whistle.   

Precedent for DOE/OSI hanky-panky? Try this on. In 2004, I reported Regents tampering in writing to my principal, Lennel George, at the Cobble Hill School of American Studies in Brooklyn. Instead of informing OSI or SCI of my corruption allegations as required by city law, George plotted with LIS Kathy Pelles to conduct an illicit, totally rigged intramural investigation that—surprise—found no tampering. Their scheme worked until I went over their heads to SED that ordered a real inquiry. Thereupon, in 2005, OSI sustained the tampering and nailed George and Pelles for cover-up. He was removed from Cobble Hill and got a 3020-a; she a mere letter of reprimand. For reasons still murky, SCI reinvestigated the case and concluded in 2007 that there was insufficient evidence of cheating and none of cover-up.
Chancellor Klein had to decide whom to believe? His own cop who obtained three detailed confessions confirmed by two eyewitness or SCI’s hapless gumshoes who failed to audit the disputed Regents exams or contradict a single substantial fact in OSI’s report. Without explanation Klein endorsed SCI crooked account. How crooked? Like OSI, SCI was forced to admit that neither George nor Pelles disclosed my allegations to investigators, which not only violated city law (Mayoral Executive Order 16) but also SCI’s own Reporting Obligations. Without citing these twin transgressions SCI ridiculously and dishonestly found no cover-up, and Klein went along for the ride.
Like Saraceno, instead of being kicked out, Pelles was kicked upstairs to network leader. The forgiving Arbitrator at George’s hearing found that I warned him of Regents cheating, but ruled that he was “preoccupied” by other matters at the time and thus not guilty. As if any other matter was more important than crimes committed on his watch. Karma struck back when the DOE closed Metropolitan Corporate Academy, his subsequent gig, and rated him at the bottom of the principal pile.
Prediction: Walcott’s whitewash of Saraceno will boomerang. The odor will eventually lead to an independent Atlanta-style probe of the DOE’s heretofore ineradicable, top-to-bottom culture of cheating.     

Isn’t this what all schools are doing? and make no mistake, it’s not just in the NYC DOE.  Many schools upstate are using credit recovery programs to help their students catch up with credits… my daughter goes to a HS in Yorktown, she did credit recovery summer school for her math classs… do I agree? no!  math skills require a deeper understanding that a computer program can provide but she earned the credit… don’t be fooled… all schools do this

Once again the DOE does something that will help destroy a large school.  I work at Lehman, and will make no comments about Dr. Saraceno as a principal.  If she was found doing something illegal or against the rules, certainly she should be removed.  Although as queensteach pointed out the only thing she was found guilty of was giving a few students who passed the regents passing grades for the course.  While I certainly disagree with this, there are far worse crimes, and this is not very different from the awful credit recovery that goes on city wide.  However leave it to the DOE to make this decision coincidentally on the last day of summer school. So now there will be no teachers or administrators in the building for two weeks.  Of course we will have no say in our new principal, we will get another handpicked mayoral appointee. This new appointee will then have likely one week with the current administration, and just two days with the teachers at Lehman, before students enter the building.  Once again we will have new policies implemented with no input from teachers, that are thrown together last minute. How can this be good for our students?  There is no reason they could not have made this decision back on July 1st, so they could give thought into our new principal and give him/her time to plan with our summer school staff at least.

In fairness, having just read the OSI report that is provided in this article a point must be addressed. Carmen Farina former DOE official in charge of learning and instruction back in 2006 or 2007 issued a memo that allowed for up to 1/3 of a students final grade for a subject can be calculated utilizing a students regents examination score. Does this change the outcome or conclusion of the allegation of changing student call scores?

Sadly, I have seen this very thing every single year of my time in the DOE, and at the three schools I’ve worked in, this scam is a way of life. 

Mr. Nobile, from your keyboard to G-d’s ears, please! (Somebody say “Amen!”)

Any word on who is going to replace her?

Saraceno was the most incompetent principals ever.  It is kind of funny how she remains employed even after she did get caught cheating.  You can’t change failing grades to passing grades when students failed the course.  She left the school in the worst possible condition and noone in their right mind will want to take over.

The DoE should start creating new small schools and take in proposals from ouster principals in the following area of administrative expertise:  Savvy Style Scandals, Grade Changing Shinanigans, Higher Order Harrassment (verbal or sexual), Misappropriation of Budget Funding, Per Session Pilferage, Exploitation of Probationary Extensions.