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Bad Principle

March 9, 2012

TAPCO principal yanked after wide inquiry finds many abuses

by Geoff Decker, at 7:33 pm

New York City’s top-ranked high school two years ago achieved its lofty score under a veil of academic improprieties that ranged from fudged student records to inflated test scores, according to a lengthy report released today by the Department of Education.

After a sweeping, 17-month investigation into Theatre Arts Production Company School, investigators concluded that the school’s leader, Lynn Passarella, was directly responsible for much of the misconduct.

Substantiating nine of 19 allegations against her, the investigators also concluded that under Passarella’s watch student transcripts were falsified, school funds misused, and non-credited staff were assigned to teach a loosely defined “Wellness” class that replaced physical education requirements.

They also concluded that Passarella had personally marked students present when they had been absent — altering a metric that factors into schools’ progress report grades. TAPCO received the highest score among all city high schools in 2010, insulating the school from criticism and guaranteeing Passarella a hefty bonus even as allegations about improprieties began to pile up.

The Department of Education removed Passarella from TAPCO this morning and will move to fire her. Chancellor Dennis Walcott issued a statement saying that Passarella’s behavior was “dishonest and disgraceful, and shows a blatant disregard for principal responsibilities.”

Even when the investigators did not formally substantiate allegations, they often concluded that improprieties might well have taken place.

For example, they decided that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Passarella had pressured teachers to inflate or even change students’ Regents exam scores and course grades. But an analysis of Regents exam answer sheets found that nearly 200 answers had been changed, more than 80 percent from incorrect to correct. (Students told GothamSchools last year that their math teacher had instructed them to change incorrect answers on a 2010 exam.) The investigators also found that just 3 percent of course grades were failing, compared to 20 percent of high school course grades issued citywide.

Similarly, they found they could not conclude that many teachers left TAPCO because of Passarella’s behavior. But they found ample evidence that teachers felt intimidated by her and also calculated that teachers left TAPCO twice as often as teachers at other schools.

Investigators interviewed 45 current or former staff members and 11 current or former students in compiling their 110-page report. In one instance, a teacher told investigators that when he expressed doubt that all of his kids would pass the Regents exam, Passarella replied, “Go watch ‘Stand and Deliver.’” She referred to the classic film about a Los Angeles teacher who propelled poor students to success on college-level math classes.

Passarella also put in place a system that ensured that the school’s student attendance rates would never suffer. Whenever attendance dipped below 92 percent on any given day, staff members who tallied the data were required to notify Passarella, who would change the sheets, according to interviews from the report.

“Oh, I saw that student,” Passarella would comment before making the changes, according to a secretary who worked at the school.

TAPCO students interviewed for the probe told investigators that they could not recall taking some of the physical education classes that appeared on their transcripts. The students instead had taken a class called “Wellness,” which appeared as physical education credits on their official transcripts and was little more than a free period.

Teachers credited to teach every other subject but physical education were recruited by Passarella to teach the class and given free reign in creating a curriculum. One teacher cited in the report said he spent an entire period teaching students breathing exercises. One student’s Wellness experience was called “game club” and included playing Connect Four, Uno, Checkers, Chess, and other board games.

The investigation also revealed that Passarella generated deep resentment from her staff. Assistant Principal Demetri Nicolopoulos called her “evil” and “vindictive.”

The investigation began in 2010 after the Department of Education received two anonymous letters, one sent by 10 anonyomous authors.

Teachers at TAPCO were told that Passarella was removed immediately after school ended this afternoon but were not given a reason. Students were given a letter to bring home to their parents. A longtime Bronx administrator, Ron Link, will take over on Monday.

Former and current teachers we spoke to this afternoon who were named on the report all agreed that Passarella should have been removed, but they expressed a range of reactions.

“I think she had a clear overall vision of what she wanted the school to be, but did not know how to implement it in any way,” said one teacher, who asked to remain anonymous.

“I’m happy,” said a former teacher who was among the unusually large number of teachers to leave in recent years. “I believe in karma and I think these things happen for a reason.”

A spokeswoman for the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators said, ”We are reviewing this extremely serious and lengthy report on Principal Passarella; we are prepared to give her full and fair representation; and the burden rests with the Department of Education to prove any allegations brought against her.”

“The scandal at TAPCO – formerly the number one school by the DOE’s own measure – raises serious questions about the credibility of the Progress Reports and the methodology the DOE has used to close dozens of schools,” said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.

10 7581 la Et Al Redacted

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  • Youdontneedtoknow

    So if the highest rated school in the land has cheated their way to the top, why aren’t the media trying to investigate the possibility that those schools, who honestly graduated the students whom they could graduate, are possibly operating with the highest form of integrity but are being shut down because they refuse to compromise the integrity of teachers and are giving students the grades they have rightfully earned???? Gotham Schools….why aren’t you investigating the true story behind school closures??

  • Vote NO!

     This  is  the  case  at  many  of  the  “PLA”   schools.  The  students  weren’t  just  “passed  along.”   The  “data”   is  “low”  compared  to  other  schools  which  may  not  have  as  high  standards  for  student  performance.  Now  the  PLA  schools  are  being  punished  for  “not  playing  the  game.”

  • rf

    Is this one of the schools used to “prove” that small high schools are “better” than older, large schools?

  • bee

    Maybe they should do away with principals bonuses, or make it a bonus that goes towards the school.

  • Hunter

    Yes, Gotham Schools please investigate. There is a much bigger story and it involves the DOE setting up certain successful schools to fail. Look to your sources in Williamsburg. How do you explain a school like IS 318 having kids lined up to attend yet the school has a C grade and the most poorly rated teacher TDR reports in the city? Wake up!

  • Vote NO!

    The  Daily  News  has  the  story  too.  You  notice  how  the  story  is  released  on  a  Friday  night.  The  time  when  government  officials  release  stories  they  don’t  want  people  to  know  about.

  • JEFF S

    Go right to the beginning of the report and look at the educational experience of the Principal of this school and please somebody tell me how a person who is licensed for nursery school ends up being a Principal of a school that contains secondary grades?  She is capable of formulating a grading policy for secondary school students?  Please.  But then again Empror Michael I feels that educational experience is not necessary to be a Principal.  And remember she is evaluating teachers and according to the Emperor, this is the way of the business world.  If she says a teacher is incompetent, the teacher must be incompetent.  Sickening.

  • Rogerdodger

    It’s incredible how long this investigation took.  It was apparent to many from the start that things were amiss.  Well, at least they got it right in the end.  Heard through the grapevine that this principal was a terror.

  • Notgoingtohappen

    As being one of those affected by this nasty human being, I for one hope to get retribution for the damage she has done to my life and career. 

  • http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/ Norm

     IS 318 has real programs for kids during the school day like Yoga, robotics, even sewing. They could have done what so many other schools do — get rid of the things not tested and focus on tests. Thus the C and the “poor” teacher ratings because they actually teach real stuff there.

  • Itishappenning

    This is going on all over the place. Principals are acting as stooges of Bloomberg, and at the same time are doing anything to keep their jobs. As a result, teachers like NGTH (and me) wind up paying for it.

  • http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/ Norm

    Ed Notes published an article on TAPCO quite a while ago and over the years people have been leaving comments. Last night a series of comments were left that truly gives one a sense of what was going on there. All that should have been obvious to an educator and it didn’t need an investigation to see all of that.
    Over this time there have been 81 comments and comments have
    continued to flow in. A perfect example of the double standard at the
    DOE where a teacher sneezes without a handkerchief and is put in the
    rubber room for corporal punishment. Read the comments for a full picture:
    http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/03/that-cheatn-principal-passarella.html

     

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/F4CP65SVUU5ZQWVKA2RUZ4ITCM Bronx Teacher

    Norm, the writer of that series of comments on Ed Notes deserves an applause.  We’d also like to thank you for giving us the forum to express our displeasure, outrage, and disgust with the so called “leadership” at TAPCo.  Many careers were ruined by Passarella, many students’ lives have been sacrificed. 

    I wrote the original posting which I posted on JD2718′s Do Not Apply List.  I’m glad I can say I had a small part in this.  For many, I’m hoping the healing can begin.  For current TAPCo teachers and students … a new day has dawned, and I wish them the best of luck.

  • Did_she_spend_the_bonus

    Allegations 4, 8,14, 17, & 19 are BS they throw at any principal who pushes staff. The rest are enough for firing her. Now, look up the food chain. Her misdeeds are her own but are motivated by Suransky, Nadelstern, now Walcott also. TAPCOs exist in every borough at every level of school due to their pressuring of schools and, in turn, many weak or greedy principals pressure their teachers. Off with their heads.

  • Youdontneedtoknow

    Gotham should investigate…..they seem to be the only news outlet that tries to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Schools are being closed down to make way for new schools with no data in a massive rush to cleanse the Bloomberg legacy before he leaves office. This is so obvious …am I the only one seeing it? Close schools – bad data goes away – new schools open – no data to taint the almighty data pool – turnaround schools are a joke. Shut the door ..throw out the teachers… put in shiny new low paid teachers …the data will be the same because the environment will be toxic for the kids. Why are parents not OUTRAGED at this farce? 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002397245457 Mary Conway-Spiegel

    “…are possibly operating with…integrity…”  This is not a possibility — this is a fact.  I’ve been told by many “failing” phasing out school personnel in the know that those students who graduated were those who deserved to, which often leads to lower graduation rates, lower School Report Card Grades.
    The DOE was not interested in these examples of integrity…and is currently not interested in any real gains made by schools ie Maxwell.  
    The genius of the intentional, or unintentional marketing plan of all this “reform” is that stories like the above make the case for even more of the same and/or prove only the incompetence of schools, not the incompetence of the DOE.  Genius, just couldn’t work better for policy makers or worse for children…
    I’m in awe of it…

  • Youdontneedtoknow

    You are right … I stand corrected. It is not a “possibility” but a fact.
    “Good guys finish last” should be the new tag line of the DOE to replace the absolutely false tag line of “Children First.” It is NOT about the kids.

  • AndreyT_teacher_TAPCo

    I have not yet read the whole 113 pages of the “investigative report” but I can tell you right away that there are, at least 2 (two) mistakes concerning me, Andrey Tarnarutskiy. I doubt that the investigators were detail oriented and accurate as they should be in such a case. I was hired to work at TAPCo as a theatre consultant in August, 2010 (starting working from the first day of 2010-2011 school year). I DO have a permanent drama/ performing arts certificate since 2005 and file at DOE NYC since 1998. I was hired as a full-time drama teacher on January, 30, 2011. Nobody ever asked me anything, inquired about my work or relationships with the principal and students but used the words of somebody who really wanted to add as much to the scandal as possible without too much concern for actual truth. I wish I knew where (who) this information came from. At least, to understand who is so angry at TAPCo that their search for fairness and truth turns into something else.

  • Jennifer

    Principals should not be earning salaries that are so much higher than the teachers they supervise, especially since it is well known that many, though not all, administrators were failed teachers in the classrooms.(By the way, that principal’s salary is only $30k less than the governor earns.  Absolutely crazy!)  Bloomberg has created a situation in which many principals act imperiously, turning the schools they supervise into their personal fiefdoms, and using any means necessary to keep their crowns.  The sad part — the unbelievably sad part – in all of this is that the most vulnerable students are being taught to game the system.  Learning – real learning – takes a long-term commitment and manifests as incremental change, not dramatic improvement.   We should all have learned by now that any other result is questionable at best. 

    Btw:  What does it mean to be the “top-ranked”?  I don’t know anyone who would seriously consider sending their child to that school.  These school “grades” are distorting information that parents receive about which schools are actually working and which aren’t.

    I also agree with comments here suggesting that the DoE is setting up successful schools to fail.  Ten years ago, the schools in my neighborhood had scores rivaling the best suburban schools on Long Island.  Now, their numbers have dropped precipitously.  Parents know how to evaluate a school, but the system is doing everything in its power to make real qualitative evaluations impossible.  What does it mean if a teacher has a high value add for students who are still failing or close to the bottom of the class?  It means the school is still not one that parents want their children to attend.

  • I noticed that…

    The healing will begin when Ron Link is there at the helm of the school.  He’s an all-around great guy and a pro-teacher advocate.  Best of luck to everyone at TAPCO.

  • Bbbbbbbb

    Sounds to me that you may be incompetent!

  • Bronx Teacher

     Mr. T, why do you feel the need to defend yourself?  This is not about you.  Who cares if you have a real certificate or not?  I’m pretty sure you’re the ONLY person who noticed.

  • AndreyT_teacher_TAPCo

    It doesn’t mean that it is correct. And using ANY means to achieve even the necessary result is not the best way to do the right thing. And why shouldn’t bother me a lie about me personally? And, by the way, I don’t mind to use my real name to explain myself while many people are trying to be extremely secretive.

  • AndreyT_teacher_TAPCo

     Looks to me that you may be very quick to jump to conclusion!

  • F4Failure

    The rewards for being principal don’t outweigh
    the risks an excellent educator once said to me. He would be an excellent principal but chooses not to. 
    It is a known fact that there aren’t enough quality applicants who have interest in becoming principals. Most quality educators prefer to stay in the classrooms as principals often have to deal with unrealistic expectations placed on them by the NYCDOE. The constant struggle between NYCDOE and UFT pitting principals against staff. The constant disrespect of the title of principal as many assume that since someone has chosen to become a school leader them must of been failed leaders. 

    I’m not sure if this is the way it is and always will be. But folks lets be clear, you don’t have a wealth of talent sitting on the sidelines waiting to be called into the game. 

    Education is sad on many levels and this happens to be one of them. 

  • guest

    Lehman HS was blessed to have Janet Saraceno for 3 yrs…  She hid away in her office all day doing all the illegal stuff she was found guilty of…  Her horrendous leadership was a major cause for Lehman’s demise…  She gets to keep a job while hundreds of current Lehman staffers are left in a TURNAROUND situation…  The DOE should have TURNED her around and THROWN her out after her 1st year was under investigation…  Does the DOE ever get evaluated for the horrendous principal training and placements they’ve done under Bloomy???  

  • Guest

    just like it takes eons to remove incompetant teachers it takes eons to remove- fire a lousy principal thanks to the principal and teachers union the one thing this system suceeds at is giving incompetants “due process” who cares about the kids

  • FIGHTtheFIGHT

    so it’s obvious to everyone that a principal can drive a school into the ground or make it a great place to work.  Not everyone is made out to be a school leader and yet those who are, don’t see it as a desirable job. I guess it is luck when a school has a good principal. 

    I wonder if there are any honest, hard working principals out there. Charter schools are recruiting the top principals out there, paying them well and moving them into positions of professional developers to recruit and develop future leaders. Meanwhile back at the DOE, they place someone Dr. Janet Saraceno to drive Lehman H.S. into the ground. Just understand the DOE just sat back and let it happen. Please be advised that in all these transformation schools you will eventually see co-located Charters in each of these buildings. See Jane Adams as there are Charters being brought in there starting next year. I wonder where we are headed.  

  • Jay1

    I worked at a school in the Bronx for a few years.  The cheating by the administration, and the pressure they exerted on teachers to falsify records and data, was off the charts.  The first principal I worked under there was ‘removed’ or more properly ‘promoted’ to a ‘success’ coach position.  (The school was a zoo under her watch, but it always seemed to have ‘high’ marks!)  The second principal was even worse.  I was personally told to give a kid a credit – a kid who showed up ONE TIME to my class the entire semester!  I refused, and the principal gave it to him anyway without my signing off!  Then the harassment campaign began and I saw the writing on the wall and moved on.  I recently heard he was removed for incompetence.  I’m sure he was ‘promoted’ as well!

  • anonymous

    The gap is actually not that wide, particularly when you consider that principals work a 12-month schedule.

  • TAPCO Student

    I’m a student at TAPCO and I honestly never imagined Ms.Lynn to be like this. I wouldn’t wanna see anyone living or even working under pressure while being told to give good grades and credits to students who don’t even deserve the credit. I certainly wouldn’t wanna get a passing grade knowing I don’t deserve them. I haven’t met the new principal yet, but I hope he doesn’t repeat the actions that Ms.Lynn had done.

  • BKTR

    Well said. BrOoklyn Teacher outgoing chapter leader no BloombergPutin 3rd term 1 is more than enough why doesn’t anyone want to be uft CL anymore?;) :(

  • Abc123

    But Ms. Lynn had a choice.  She did not have to do this.  But unfortunately she chose to.  Why?  To improve HER grade.  To make HER look good.  To get HER bonus.  Kids… I know this is hard to hear, but she was more about herself than she was about the kids.  She pretended otherwise, but EVERYONE who was close to her knew the real story.

    When the school became number one she had school staff make up copies of her photo to distribute to the press (no one asked for one).  She blew up the newspaper articles and number one rankings and posted it around the school.  She even had dreams of a television special where she was depicted as the principal who turned around this school in the Bronx and helped all the suffering children to better lives.

    Problem is… this story is fiction.  She is about herself.  Please, kids, make no mistake about it.

    I think you kids deserve more in a leader.  You need a leader who walks the walk.  How can we ask you to be honest, decent, and to NOT cheat when our principal does nothing BUT cheat.  You guys are not earning your passing grades and neither did she.  You want to end up like her?  Disgraced, humiliated, unemployed, unemployable, and maybe facing criminal charges. 

    Let’s give this new guy a chance.  He seems wonderful. In our staff meeting today he told us this is about serving the kids.

    And we have news for you.  Holding you accountable, making you EARN your grades, teaching you right from wrong, disciplining you when you make mistakes…. this IS serving you.

    Make no mistake about it.

  • Kim

    too much too little too late. i complained at the district years ago nothing was done.

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