School Administrators Also Fraudulently & Illegally “Fix”
Grades Given to Educators
In Order to Sabotage Careers & Manipulate Others into Toxic
Conformity
By Luis Angel Perez
The front page of a newspaper is conventionally
reserved for stories that manage to convince professional press executives of
their inherent high-level of importance to the public and their viability to
attract the attention of as many people as possible. One theme occupying an
entire front page of a newspaper speaks volumes about a press company’s level
of commitment to that particular story. Tuesday, August 04, 2015, the New York
Post, used their entire front page to visually scream out to the public what
they have subtitled, “The official scandal in our schools” – referring to the
fraudulent and illegal practice of “Grade Fixing”.
In the past, “Grade Fixing” was essentially
fueled by competition for school budgetary incentives, personal administrative bonuses,
and in order to portray a public image of “effective leadership”.
Unfortunately, today, the fuel is of a
more vicious accelerant, igniting an even greater urgency to commit such
infraction, rapidly engulfing our moral compass, and before you know it,
disintegrating our principles into sheer ash, as we are pushed by, powerful
people, into toxic conformity.
High Ranking Officers in the Department of Education
Support the Fraudulent & Illegal Actions of “Grade-Fixing”
This past school year, (2014-2015), a
colleague was unfairly treated, harassed, and at the end of the school year,
shortly before becoming tenure, terminated from her employment because she
disagreed with, among other things, the Principals’ fraudulent and illegal
actions of “fixing” student grades. District six (6) Superintendent, Manuel
Ramirez, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) District Representative, Mayra
Cruz, and the Office of Special Investigations, were all informed of this serious
violation but the people who violated the law here were not, and most likely
will not be, held accountable because such fraudulent and illegal actions are
condoned and covered-up by higher leaders in the Department of Education.
“Grade-Fixing” to Sabotage Careers &
Manipulate Others into Toxic Conformity
Unfortunately, fixing student grades is
not the only fraudulent and illegal behavior conducted by leaders of our
schools. Department of Education Administrators Also Fraudulently &
Illegally “Fix” Grades Given to Educators In Order to Sabotage Careers &
Manipulate Others into Toxic Conformity.
Educators that slack-off but assist administrators
in their immoral and unethical campaigns, typically receive inflated scores
while conscientious educators that advocate for safety, fairness, and
improvements for schools unfairly receive poor scores.
This type of fraudulent and unlawful
behavior of grade “fixing” is also condoned by higher administrators, (District
Superintendents, Chancellor’s Office Officials, Public Officials, Union
Officers), as evident by their record of negligence toward fairly investigating,
properly addressing, and fairly holding subordinates accountable for abuse of
power and legal infractions. Instead, higher administrators elect to engage in
the incessant concealment of such unethical practices.
The Legal Department’s Role
in Rampant abuse of Power & Ethical Misconduct
Lying Under Oath & Obstruction of Justice
The fraudulent and unlawful behavior of
grade “fixing” and abuse of power is further strengthened by the intimidation
and support provided by the Legal Department of the Department of
Education.
The Three (3) Subcomponent Rating System Explained
During the school year of 2013-2014, I
was responsible to teach a great group of 4th graders. At the end of
this school year, I was evaluated based on the sum of three (3) subcomponent
scores:
1- State Measures and 2- Local
Measures, (both of which consist of
the Measure of Student Learning,
(MOSL), at State and Local Levels).
Essentially, these are ratings
provided based on how students, under my direct
care,
performed on all of the New York State Science Examinations, New York
State Mathematics Examinations, and the English Language Arts Examinations,
State Mathematics Examinations, and the English Language Arts Examinations,
for that particular school year.
- & -
3- the Measure of Teacher
Practice (MOTP), (a score made of points that come
directly from the Principal’s and Assistant Principal’s observations).
directly from the Principal’s and Assistant Principal’s observations).
Ratings Received in Each of the Three (3) Subcomponents
It is prudent to mention here that the
school year of 2013-2014 was the infamous school year when all of the New York
State Standards were abruptly and unfairly raised and when this new teacher
evaluation system was initially rolled out.
At the end of the 2013-2014 school
year, I received the following ratings from the three (3) different
subcomponents:
1. From the State Measures, I received an EFFECTIVE
rating.
2. From the Local Measures, I received an EFFECTIVE
rating.
* Both of which compose the Measure
of Student Learning, (MOSL).
3. From the Measure of Teacher Practice (MOTP), I received
an INEFFECTIVE rating.
an INEFFECTIVE rating.
More Evidence of Persecution by School Officials
It is important to note here that the Measure of Teacher Practice (MOTP), a
score made of points that come directly from the Principal’s and Assistant Principal’s
observation, is the only subcomponent of this entire rating system which allows
school administrators, (in my case, Assistant Principal Olga Ramos and
Principal Zoraida Hernandez), access to freely log into the system to “fix” the
Measure of Teacher Practice (observations) scores in order to manipulate an
educator’s overall annual rating.
All
six (6) evaluations conducted here, by the Assistant Principal and Principal, were
fraudulently and illegally “fixed”. All six (6) evaluations were saturated
and manipulated with untruths and much bias in order to “fix” and thus attain
an overall rating of “ineffective”, which is exactly what administration needed
as a prerequisite to filing 3020a charges against me.
Lying Under Oath & Obstruction of Justice by Legal Counsels
Representing the Department of Education & the Chancellors’
Office
The utter disregard to the rule of law and human rights within the
Department of Education was greatly pronounced during a 3020a hearing held in
April 2015, when Principal Zoraida Hernandez and Department of Education Legal
Counsel, Shareema Abel, both knowingly lied
under oath and on the record about my Measure of Student Learning (MOSL)
scores.
The following are the initial questions
(Q.) that Principal Zoraida Hernandez
was asked, under oath and on the record, and answers (A.) which she provided, during a 3020a hearing cross-examination, concerning
my MOSL scores.
It is important to note here that Principal
Hernandez’ respiration rate notably increased, her face became increasingly flushed-red,
and she became especially fidgety when the topic of my MOSL scores came up.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Q. “Do you recall what Mr.
Perez’s MOSL score was for the 2013-2014 school year?”
A. “I didn’t get it because I
didn’t have access. He wasn’t in the system when those scores came out.”
Q. “Okay. So you never saw
it.”
A. “No.”
Seconds after, legal counsel
representing the Department of Education, Shareema Abel, requested to go off-the-record
for a moment which then transformed into an entire lunch break. When we
returned from the lunch break, Department of Education Legal Counsel vehemently
argued -
(1) her client, (Principal
Hernandez), should not be questioned about the document which contained my MOSL
scores,
(2) nine (9) times that - the
principal had never seen it, had no access to it, and or received it.
(3) she, (herself), never saw
that document before.
It is important to mention here that
despite requests for the production of my MOSL scores during discovery, (discovery:
the pre-hearing procedure where each party can obtain evidence from the other
party), Department of Education Legal Counsel, Abel Shareema, still, even at
this very late period of the hearing, had not provide the scores into evidence and
still vigorously resisted to provide said information into evidence, despite
asserting that, “me being the department
of education issue these” and after the arbitrator/judge ordered her to
produce it as soon as possible. Eventually, she reluctantly provided this
information into evidence.
It is also important to note here that Department
of Education Co-Legal Counsel, Jade Fuller also vigorously shielded assistant Principal
Olga Ramos from testifying about her understanding of the scores that make up a
teacher’s evaluation; the Measure of Teacher Practice (MOTP), and the Measure
of Student Learning (MOSL).
The very foundation of the Department of
Education’s testimony, that they never have seen or received my MOSL Scores for
the school year of 2013-2014, collapses upon itself when they attempt to
justify the reason why they have not seen or received my MOSL Scores.
When the legal counsel representing me
attempted to submit into evidence my MOSL Scores, Department of Education Legal
Counsel, Shareema Abel, testified that that was the first time that she had seen
the document and further argued that “…the
school did not receive it, because once a teacher is removed out of a school,
they don’t have access to this.” Department of Education Legal Counsel also
testified that the principal never seen it nor receive it, “…because the Respondent was charged before this was provided to her or
she had access to it… (“her” being the Principal and “Respondent” being
me). Department of Education Legal Counsel further testified that she and the Principal
of the school never saw my MOSL Scores because this document was issued after I
was charged and consequently taken out of the system.
The problem with this argument is that,
as evident by the documents below, I was actually charged after the MOSL Scores
were issued by the Department of Education and after the MOSL Scores were
received by school administrators. I was charged with the 3020a on Monday,
September 8, 2014, at the end of the school day, (days after setting up the
classroom for the school year and days after interacting with the students
assigned to my care).
The MOSL scores were issued by the
Department of Education prior to September 08, 2014. The MOSL Scores were
actually issued on Tuesday, September 02, 2014; seven (7) days prior to me
being charged with the 3020a and thus while I was still in the system. This is
clear-cut evidence of fraudulent, unethical, and immoral behavior. This is blatant
obstruction of justice.
Additionally, school administrators had
forgotten or conveniently ignored the fact that they had actually placed a hard
copy of my MOSL Scores inside my assigned mailbox in the main office of the
school. School administrators had also forgotten or conveniently ignored the
fact that I then provided this information to United Federation of Teachers
(UFT) Union Officials, whom made copies, electronically scanned, and
electronically forwarded said document, along with many other documents, directly
to the Department of Education in order to prepare for the 3020a charges which
I was formally appealing.
Why are government officials,
that are entrusted with the
safety and education of children and
entrusted with being role models to professionals
and the public,
allowed to repeatedly violate the law and
human rights?
We cannot hope to create effective plan
of corrections as long as we continue to ignore one of the most instrumental
factors to the suppression of effective teaching and learning; abuse of power
by our “leaders”.
Please help Educators facilitate
high standards.
Thank you immensely for your time
and energy. Best wishes to all, always.
Sincerely,
Luis Angel Perez,
Middle School Science & Mathematics,
First Grade, Fourth Grade Educator & Advocate
