S. Phila. principal's lack of credential was known
When they hired LaGreta Brown as the new principal of South Philadelphia High School last summer, officials knew she did not have an active Pennsylvania principal's certification, they said.
Brown was supposed to get emergency certification but never did. She served as principal for eight months anyway and resigned Thursday after The Inquirer raised questions about her credentials.
Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman acknowledged Friday that there could be others in the district with similar problems. "This may be an issue for more than just LaGreta," she said.
Brown was not certified to work as a high school principal in Pennsylvania, state records show. In 2000, she was issued a certificate to work as an elementary school principal. But that certificate became inactive in 2005 after she failed to complete continuing-education requirements, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education said.
The Philadelphia School District Office of Certification should have checked to make sure Brown's paperwork was in order, but her case slipped through the cracks, human resources chief Estelle Matthews said Friday.
"There was no follow-through," Matthews said.
A new policy will require teachers and principals to provide paperwork proving emergency certification within 30 days, Matthews said.
"We're not going to take their word for it," she said. "We didn't have a clear process in place, but we will."
Brown came to Philadelphia from Atlantic City, where teachers said she had created "a hostile work environment." Brown resigned from that district in advance of a school board vote on her termination.
Her tenure at South Philadelphia High also was tumultuous. On Dec. 3, the school was rocked by racial violence when 30 Asian students were attacked by groups of mostly African American students. Seven Asian students required hospital treatment, and a federal civil rights inquiry and state Human Rights Commission investigation are pending.
Ackerman said she had known about Brown's time in Atlantic City when she was hired and insisted that Brown received no preferential treatment.
Brown was supposed to get emergency certification but never did. She served as principal for eight months anyway and resigned Thursday after The Inquirer raised questions about her credentials.
Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman acknowledged Friday that there could be others in the district with similar problems. "This may be an issue for more than just LaGreta," she said.
Brown was not certified to work as a high school principal in Pennsylvania, state records show. In 2000, she was issued a certificate to work as an elementary school principal. But that certificate became inactive in 2005 after she failed to complete continuing-education requirements, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education said.
The Philadelphia School District Office of Certification should have checked to make sure Brown's paperwork was in order, but her case slipped through the cracks, human resources chief Estelle Matthews said Friday.
"There was no follow-through," Matthews said.
A new policy will require teachers and principals to provide paperwork proving emergency certification within 30 days, Matthews said.
"We're not going to take their word for it," she said. "We didn't have a clear process in place, but we will."
Brown came to Philadelphia from Atlantic City, where teachers said she had created "a hostile work environment." Brown resigned from that district in advance of a school board vote on her termination.
Her tenure at South Philadelphia High also was tumultuous. On Dec. 3, the school was rocked by racial violence when 30 Asian students were attacked by groups of mostly African American students. Seven Asian students required hospital treatment, and a federal civil rights inquiry and state Human Rights Commission investigation are pending.
Ackerman said she had known about Brown's time in Atlantic City when she was hired and insisted that Brown received no preferential treatment.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20100515_S__Phila__principal_s_lack_of_credential_was_known.html#ixzz0o67vIUxb
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